What can sources tell us about poverty in 1904?

This lesson sequence for Year 12 and 13 students was written by Debbie Bogard from City & Islington Sixth Form College in London.

Overall enquiry question

Poverty c1904: Attitudes and action – what can sources tell us about poverty in 1904?

Learning objectives

  • develop source skills through analysis of contemporary sources, identifying reasons for similarities and differences between sources
  • examine why the government was concerned about levels of poverty in the beginning of the 20th century and how it understood the causes
  • think critically about the nature of acquiring data and the extent to which a data set can help historians understand how poverty was experienced in the early 20th century
  • compare the 1904 inter-departmental report with the 1904 survey and assess the degree to which the survey corroborates the findings of the report

Resources

Download the teacher’s notes, contextual essay and lesson plans (ZIP, 11.73Mb)