Lucy Worsley explores how the houses Jane Austen moved around to impacted her work.  Severton, Bath, Lyme, and the various houses live on in her novels.  Although many of the houses Jane lived in or visited don't exist any more their spirit still lives on in her novels.

Worsley kicks off the episode with visiting Severton and the site of the Jane Austen's childhood home.  She talks about how she grew up.  The people she met and the story with Tom LeFroy.  Growing up, good conversation revolved around music and books.  She talks about how her brother was adopted by a rich family and how that impacted Jane's life. 

Jane was the poor relation in the family as her, her father, her mother and her sister moved around to various houses.  She was expected to earn her keep by entertaining the family when they stayed with the rich relations.  The family moved around to various homes after her father retired, eventually stayed in Bath.  After her father died, her brother took her, her mother, and sister in.  Worsley also takes care to discuss Austen's loves and her career as a writer as well as where she wrote her novels.

I know this is a history blog, but documentary would be very appropriate for an English Literature class, especially if there is a sub in the room.  Even if you don't use it in class, then you can share it with a student who is doing a paper on Jane Austen.

For use in the classroom: just highlight, copy and paste into a word document or a google document for use in the classroom.  You can easily format these questions to your specifications.

The Video is available at this YouTube Link.

Jane Austen Behind Closed Doors Questions:

1. Where did Jane Austen originally grow up?
2. What was her father’s occupation?
3. How did Mr. Austen supplement the family income?
4. How young did Jane Austen start writing?
5. What was a big part of Austen’s social life?
6. Who did Jane meet at Deane House?
7. What was all the rage at the time?
8. Where did the Austen’s vacation on the seaside?
9. Where did the Austen’s permanently move?
10. Where didn’t Jane and her mother want to live in Bath?

Jane Austen Behind Closed Doors Answers:

1. Where did Jane Austen originally grow up? - Steventon
2. What was her father’s occupation? - Rector at the church
3. How did Mr. Austen supplement the family income? - Farming and Boys boarding school
4. How young did Jane Austen start writing? - 11
5. What was a big part of Austen’s social life? - Music
6. Who did Jane meet at Deane House? - Tom LaFroy
7. What was all the rage at the time? - Home Theatricals
8. Where did the Austen’s vacation on the seaside? - Lyme Regis
9. Where did the Austen’s permanently move? - Bath
10. Where didn’t Jane and her mother want to live in Bath? - Trim Street

Today will be a little different.  I will share several documentaries from World War II on one of deadliest shipwrecks in history: Wilhelm Gustloff.  I heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff from my pre-calculus teacher, Mr. Shiffer and was shocked to see that it was the biggest wreck.  I like learning about shipwrecks and not just the Titanic.

This ship was built by the Nazis and it was used to reward good workers with a cruise.  During World War II the Navy commandeered the ship for barracks for U-boat crews.  It sat at Anchor in Poland for the duration of the war.  Eventually it was the ship where thousands of refugees placed their hope in escape in before finally becoming their tomb.

The Wilhelm Gustloff story served as inspiration for Ruta Sepetys: Salt to the Sea.  You can purchase it on Amazon.  If you use that book in an English class, then I would recommend that you show your class a documentary about the shipwreck to enhance the reading experience.

World's Deadliest Shipwreck
The World's Deadliest Shipwreck was the Wilhelm Gustloff, it was sunk towards the end of World War II by a Soviet Submarine.  The survivors of this shipwreck were pushed aside as more pressing manners came to the forefront as well as the need to forget how Germany behaved during the war.  With the end of the war, since it was German ship, nobody didn't care they were German victims of a shipwreck since the atrocities of the Holocaust came out.  Now the remaining survivors are telling their tale as computer science answers the question how can so many people die in one night?

You can check out the video link here.

I would recommend that a teacher show this documentary in a classroom.

Sea of Death
Divers explore the shipwrecks of three refuge ships that were sunk at the end of World War II.  These ships were sunk by Soviet torpedoes and killed over 20,000 people over the course of several nights.  They were the Stueben, Goya and the Wilhelm Gustloff.  The divers check the condition of the wrecks.  Now the survivors of these wrecks are finally able to tell their stories after decades of silence.

If you need a filler for a class or to have available for the sub then show this documentary.

Available on YouTube

Last Voyage of the Wilhelm Gustloff
This is a National Geographic documentary on the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff.  The refugees were fleeing from vengeful Soviets.  Some refugees captured and sent to Siberia.  They go to the people who survived the Gustloff sinking.  The Gustloff was torpedoed by a Soviet submarines.  For those who manage to climb onto a raft it soon became a life and death struggle.

The story of the refugees was heartbreaking as well as a the story of the children who died with their feet sticking up above the water due to the life vests.

Available on YouTube

The Sea Hunters - Wilhelm Gustloff
The Sea Hunters, lead by Author Clive Cussler explore the wreck of the Wilhelm Gustloff and tell this forgotten story of World War II.  There were suggestions as to why this tragedy was forgotten.  The intention of this mission was to find, document and publish their findings about the wreck.

If you wanted a second option for a documentary to show to a class, this would be on my list as a recommendation.

Available on YouTube

If you think you're going to get away from your science teacher in a history class, you're very wrong!  You can apply the scientific method to a history class!  You can see from shows like Secrets of the Castle, Edwardian Farm, Victorian Farm, and Tudor Monastery Farm that there is a science to what they're doing, even though they are living in a historic era.  I would call it this type of history, Experimental History. 

So the scientific method is this:

1. Make an observation.
2. Ask a question.
3. Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation.
4. Make a prediction based on the hypothesis.
5. Test the prediction.
6. Iterate: use the results to make new hypotheses or predictions

So how does that fit into a history class?

1. Make an observation: You do this by looking at the available documents and materials that survived or are currently known.  I know through technology that new documents are being uncovered and that these new documents are digitized to become available for everyone.
2. Ask a question: This is straight forward, based on the documents you read, you start asking questions.
   
3. Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation: Then you reform your question or try to come up with an explanation. 
   
4. Make a prediction based on the hypothesis:  You make a prediction on what materials that are available.
5. Test the prediction: Do more research or create an experiment. Look at Guedelon Castle, that experiment began with the question "how do you build a castle?"  Over the years the castle builders have been able to refine their building techniques.
   
6. Iterate: use the results to make new hypotheses or predictions: here you draw conclusions based on your research and document them.

Check out this Episode of A Stitch in Time on YouTube and observe how the scientific method is applied to designing and creating a historic outfit.  Even historic costumers apply the scientific method to their work when they create costumes for a TV show or play.

If at the start of the year, there needs to be a sub in a science classroom and your class is learning about the scientific method, consider showing Secrets of the Castle for a lesson in the scientific method!  You can put these questions on a worksheet and the students can answer the questions.

Scientific Method - Experimental History Style
Secrets of the Castle Questions:

1. How do they observe a historic event?
   
2. What question were the historians asking?
   
3. What was the hypothesis they created?
4. What predictions could they make based on their hypothesis?
5. How do they test their predictions?
6. How do they present their results or draw their conclusions?

Ruth, Peter, and Alex finish their year on the Victorian Farm.  With the failed hay harvest, the team looks to recover with the wheat harvest.  They finish off their year celebrating the harvest with a feast.

Peter and Alex get to grips with Victorian technology in preparation of the wheat harvest.  The harvester that was used had a device that helped tie wheat bundles and was invented by a Wisconsin farm hand.  Ruth learns the art of plaiting straw stalks and discovers how addicting it can be.  It was a simple skill that could make a farmer money.

Ruth also explores the impact of the Empire on the Victorian Kitchen.  She uses curry mix to prepare the boys a meal.  Peter arranges to have the cart they plan to use to haul the wheat in repaired since it was not used in decades.

They celebrate the end of the time on the Victorian Farm with a party.

You can use this episode of the series in the classroom when there is a sub in the room.  Unless you want to use it as a supplement for a lecture in a history classroom.

You can highlight, copy, and paste the questions into a Word, GoogleDoc or Google Classroom document for use in school or home school.  Format it the way you want to.  All questions after formatting should fit onto one page.

You can find the link to the YouTube video here. 

Victorian Farm Episode 6 Questions:

1. What crop failed?
2. What crop did they want to succeed?
3. How long does it take to harvest what by hand?
4. What new skill did Ruth learn?
5. What did Ruth try in the kitchen?
6. When was the first curry house opened in London?
7. What did the boys make to bring in good workers?
8. What did the boys want to put on the poster?
9. What type of berries did Ruth pick?  What are they known in America as?
10. How did the team celebrate the harvest?

Victorian Farm Episode 6 Answers:

1. What crop failed? - hay
2. What crop did they want to succeed? - wheat
3. How long does it take to harvest what by hand? - One week
4. What new skill did Ruth learn? - Straw platting
5. What did Ruth try in the kitchen? - curry
   
6. When was the first curry house opened in London? - 1811
7. What did the boys make to bring in good workers? - beer
8. What did the boys want to put on the poster? - “Best beer around.”
9. What type of berries did Ruth pick?  What are they known in America as? - Windberries/bilberries, Blue Berries
10. How did the team celebrate the harvest? - Harvest fest