Suzannah Lipscomb explores the hidden killers of the Victorian Home.  The home was a domestic haven during this period.

The Middle class was bombing and they were creating homes that were cozy safe havens.  Gadgets started to become more available.  Consumerism started to boom and it was the first time that "standard of living" started to appear.  You measured how good your life was based on how many objects you possessed.  Good taste was a moral quality.  However what they welcomed into their homes was potentially deadly.

The first killer of the Victorian home was found in the drawing room.  This killer was found on the walls of the house.  Green was a popular color.  It was found in wallpaper, toys, and carpets.  However, reports of deaths and illnesses rose.  The ingredient in wallpaper that caused the illnesses or death was arsenic.  The Victorians were unaware of what was poisoning them and would have thought that there was a cholera outbreak.  The affects of arsenic poisoning were similar to cholera.  Newspapers slowly started to report the link between the wall paper and the mysterious illnesses that plagued the Victorians.  Germany eventually banned the sale of arsenic wallpapers.  Queen Victoria eventually banned Green wallpaper from her palaces and then the English government finally stood up and paid attention.

The next hidden killer in the Victorian home: the bedroom.  The Victorian woman needed to look just right.  Lipscomb looks to the corset as the next hidden killer of the Victorian home.  A small amount of Victorian Women tight laced their corsets and it shifted their internal organs and caused pneumonia.  Suzannah participates in an experiment with tight lacing.  She takes the stairs and walks on a treadmill and feels lightheaded after the experiment.  The sports medicine doctor finds that her breathing was changed.   To see an alternate opinion on corsets check out this video. 

The next hidden killer was found in the kitchen.  New gadgets were created in order to help out with keeping the home.  Gas was brought into the home to help with light and heat.  People dying from gas were widespread.  It was colorless and odorless.  Gas companies sabotaged each other at the expense of the people.  It was all experimental when gas was incorporated into the home to tragic consequences.

To find out about more killers continue to watch the documentary.  You also may want to use this series in a science class as well and ask the students how Suzannah applied the scientific method to the hidden killers of the home.

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.  All questions should fit onto one page after formatting.

You can find the link for the YouTube video here.
 
Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home – Questions

1. Which class grew during the Victorian Period?
2. What inspired the Victorians to spend? 
3. What phrase appeared for the first time in history? 
4. Who said “to teach taste is to form character?” 
5. What room did Suzannah start in? 
6. What indicated good taste and good standards? 
7. What was found in wallpaper that was a hidden killer?
8. How did people make the connection between illness and wallpaper?
9. How much arsenic was in a Victorian Room? 
10. Who owned an arsenic mind? 

Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home – Answers

1. Which class grew during the Victorian Period?  - Middle Class
2. What inspired the Victorians to spend?  - Great Exhibition of 1851
3. What phrase appeared for the first time in history?  - Standard of Living
4. Who said “to teach taste is to form character?”  - John Ruskin
5. What room did Suzannah start in?  - Drawing Room
6. What indicated good taste and good standards?  - Wallpaper
7. What was found in wallpaper that was a hidden killer?  - Arsenic
8. How did people make the connection between illness and wallpaper?  - They went to the seaside
9. How much arsenic was in a Victorian Room?  - 2.5 milligrams of arsenic
10. Who owned an arsenic mind?  - William Morris

For July Fifth, I am going to share a classic Time Team episode: Maryland, USA.  The team explores St. Mary’s City, Maryland.  It is one of the earliest colonial sites in America.  A park grew up around the area with reconstructed buildings.  Time Team will work with the American archeologists to continue to excavate the site.

They plan to look at the cemetery, which could be the biggest colonial cemetery that they know of.  Then they look at St. Peter’s a brick manor house.  It was the biggest home in the colony.  Finally, they will look for the original fort.  There are two possible spots where the fort could be.  The geophysics team had gotten a start on the site.  It was the first time that geophysics was used on the St. Mary’s site.

1694 the St. Peter’s home was destroyed by gun powder, so they are using a magnetometer to determine where the house was.  The funny piece about this is that all electronics needed American adapters.  They found a clear building in the results.  The St. Peter’s site had been dug before to determine where the house was, unfortunately, the person did not leave any records as to the location of the building.  The archeologists begin digging.  They find the walls of the house based on geophysics.

In the 1630s the chapel was built and the Time Team looks to see how big the cemetery was.  The site manager shows the Time Team a burial that happened.

The team moves to the fort and may have found the site of the original fort.  The site manager is cautious about it because the site was used as part of the 300th Anniversary of Maryland.  Tony Robinson mentions that it is typical Time Team: staring off with two sites, wanting to narrow it down to three but then ending up with three sites.

Tony comments that American Archeologists are different from British Archeologists in that the Americans work slower than their British counterparts.  The site manager points out that American history is not as deep in the ground as British history and so they do take their time to find out what they can about a site.  Tony asks Phil if he is coming to an understanding in regards to the work speed.  Phil is saying he is adapting.  Tony comments that the American way does not miss a thing and that they found a musket ball as a result of the approach.

Stewart that he found the correct site for the original fort.  The site manager is not sure about that assertion.  He found more air photos of the site that show faint walls and towers.  From the available evidence, the St. Mary’s fort had four sides.  Stewart has been finding additional effort for the location of the fort.  The landscape is helping firm his assertions as to the true location of the fort.  Did Stewart find the true location of the fort?  Continue to watch to find out.

You can access the YouTube video here. 

I am glad to finally be able to share a blog about Time Team.  It is a fantastic show with a variety of topics teachers can choose from.

Time Team Maryland Questions

1. What three sites did the Time Team look at?
   
2. What year was St. Peter’s house destroyed? 
3. How big were the exploratory trenches that were dug? 
4. What industry was big in St. Mary’s? 
5. List Three Things You’ve Learned From This Episode:

           A)
           B)
           C)

Time Team Maryland Answers

1. What three sites did the Time Team look at? – Cemetery, St. Peter’s house, Fort
2. What year was the St. Peter’s house destroyed?  - 1694
3. How big was the exploratory trenches that were dug?  5 by 5
4. What industry was big in St. Mary’s?  - Tobacco
5. List Three Things You’ve Learned From This Episode:
   

              A)
              B)
              C)

The series concludes with Anne Boleyn's execution.  Borman explores the documents that lead up to that event and hope that Henry VIII would grant her a reprieve.  

Anne believed that there would be a reprieve from Henry VIII.  She was up all night the day before her execution.  Her mood swung wildly between composure and hysteria.  She cheerfully welcomes death, the constable of the tower noted. 

The four men who were found guilty of adultery with the Queen were executed on Tower Hill.  Anne would be executed within the tower walls.  A scaffold was built.  Cromwell wanted Anne executed quickly so Henry VIII would not change his mind.  Henry VIII wanted to get rid of Anne.  Cromwell persuaded Cramner, the Archbishop of Canterbury to write off the marriage between Anne and Henry VIII.  Elizabeth was made a bastard. 

Cramner had his doubts about Anne's guilt and spent a sleepless night before her execution.  He knows her better than anyone.  She would have told him if she was guilty.  He believes her innocent and that Henry would save her.  However, Alexander Alice, a friend of Cramner came to him in order to tell him a chilling nightmare.  Alice saw Anne's execution in his dream.  Cramner now knows that Anne is going to be executed.  He goes to Anne for her final confession and communion.  She confirms her innocence with him, and if she was lying it meant she would have condemned her soul.

The people in the meantime are starting to mutter against the execution.  Are they coming to the side of Anne Boleyn's side?  Cromwell is growing nervous.  He had the people cleared out of the tower.  Anne prepares for her execution.  She dresses with a red kirtle and black dress. 

Henry VIII dictates that Anne Boleyn be executed by the sword, rather than by burning or executed by the axe.  It was the first time that a Queen of England was executed.  A precedent was being set with this execution.

To continue to learn more about the day of Anne Boleyn's execution, continue to watch the documentary.

I would use this documentary for research into Tudors and would show clips from it to a class as part of a lecture.

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.  All questions should fit onto one page after formatting.

You can find the link for the YouTube video here.

The Fall of Anne Boleyn Episode 3 Questions

1. Who wanted Anne dead?
2. Who was waiting in the wings to replace Anne?
3. Who had Thomas Cromwell annul the marriage between Anne and Henry VIII?
4. Did Thomas Cramner support Anne?
5. What role did he play in Anne’s life?
6. Did Thomas Cramner believe Anne to be innocent?
7. Who had a terrible nightmare?
8. What was the nightmare about?
9. Both Anne and Thomas Cramner hoped the king would do what?
10. How many times was Anne execution delayed?

The Fall of Anne Boleyn Episode 3 Answers

1. Who wanted Anne dead? - Thomas Cromwell
2. Who was waiting in the wings to replace Anne? - Jane Seymour
3. Who had Thomas Cromwell annul the marriage between Anne and Henry VIII? - Thomas Cramner
4. Did Thomas Cramner support Anne? - Yes
5. What role did he play in Anne’s life? - Personal confessor
6. Did Thomas Cramner believe Anne to be innocent? -Yes
7. Who had a terrible nightmare? - Alexander Alice
8. What was the nightmare about? - Anne’s execution
9. Both Anne and Thomas Cramner hoped the king would do what? - Grant Anne a reprieve
10. How many times was Anne execution delayed? - Twice