Dickens: 'Oliver Twist' and poverty in Victorian Britain

Whilst living here at 48 Doughty Street, Dickens wrote one of his most famous novels - Oliver Twist. In this session pupils will explore this celebrated book as well as excerpts from his non-fiction writing, in order to explore poverty in the Victorian era and Dickens’s life and work as a social reformer. This is a great session for students who like to be stretched.

Fragment of the original manuscript of Oliver Twist, 1837, 
AA2 © Charles Dickens Museum

Curriculum Links:

• English Literature, pre-1914
• Understand increasingly challenging texts through:
  Making inferences and referring to evidence in the text
  Knowing the purpose, audience for and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension
• Read critically through:
  knowing how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, presents meaning
• making critical comparisons across texts

• giving short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas and keeping to the point

• ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain, 1745-1901 (Social Reform)

Optional Extras

Informative and highly entertaining Dickens walk, exploring London through Dickens’s eyes.
For more information click here.
 
Costs:
Onsite – 2 hours. All workshops are integrated into interactive guided tours of the historic house.

Class of up to 30 students, Off-peak £250 (Jan-Oct), Peak £295 (Nov-Dec). Please enquire for smaller groups. 

Booking

Booking forms and enquiries should be sent to: education@dickensmuseum.com
Download onsite education visit booking form
Download onsite education visit terms and conditions
Download onsite education visit visual story for schools

We can accommodate a maximum of 30 students per booking slot. We have the capacity to run two half day sessions onsite each day from 10:00 – 12:00 and 13:00-15:00. Please note that for the safety of your group we require a minimum adult-to-student ratio of 1:10 for each onsite booking.

Please be advised that full payment is required in order to confirm your booking. Amendments and cancellations must be made at least 21 days prior to your visit, after which no refund will be available.