Online Learning Package
Welcome to the home of Dalnavert Museum and Visitors’ Centre virtual school programming!
Is your classroom already registered? Click below for full access to Dalnavert’s online learning package.
About
Getting students excited about reading nineteenth-century literature can be challenging. However, with the right spark, students can be inspired to both read deeply and write energetically about now distant eras. The purpose of this Self-Guided Virtual Tour and Student Worksheet is to provide middle- and upper-year English Language Arts students with a first-hand experience of the Victorian era through a self-guided virtual tour of Dalnavert Museum. This house, built in 1895 in the Queen Anne Revival style, will transport the students into the setting of nineteenth-century novels that they may read, such as Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, or Frankenstein, and will also serve as a laboratory for emerging creative writers.
Students will be able to navigate through Dalnavert Museum’s Virtual Reality Tour, accompanied by a worksheet that provides information and asks questions to prompt reflection. On each storey, they will pause and listen to recordings of works by celebrated nineteenth-century authors. They will also learn about aspects of daily life in the nineteenth century and major social issues related to gender and class. During the readings, students will have time to listen, observe and connect their surroundings with major themes of celebrated literary works.
A guiding goal of the Virtual Reality Tour and Worksheet will be to afford students with an opportunity to observe the setting and atmosphere of a Victorian home. By observing the physical spaces and artifacts, students will come to a better understanding of the appearance, values, and daily lives of the characters they read about in fiction as well as the real people who lived during this time period. Students will be introduced to numerous rooms of the home and will be encouraged to make their own observations and ask questions about the space and artifacts in relation to this time period. Through this careful study, students will develop an understanding of setting and hone their own skills for creative writing.
A secondary goal of the tour is to introduce students to two important themes: gender and class. The roles of men and women, and upper and lower classes, are just some of the underlying concepts that can be explored while touring Dalnavert. The home provides an excellent view of Victorian domestic spaces where men or women were not allowed access; the solarium and the dining rooms are two such rooms that had prescribed gender rules. In terms of class, members of the lower classes, for example, would not be allowed to enter through the front door, while upper classes would avoid places of “work”, such as the kitchen. The gender, age and class stereotypes are often in stark contrast to 21st-century custom, and through observing these discrepancies, students will have many opportunities to discuss and consider the themes/concepts of gender, age and class in their own lives.
What We Provide
A 9-page Student Worksheet that allows students to self-guide through the Virtual Reality Tour, and includes questions that students can answer on a printed worksheet, a digital copy, or in classroom discussion.
Audio recordings of sections from three classic novels: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, and A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
An accompanying Teacher’s Guide with additional information and suggested answers for all questions on the Student Worksheet
A fun Scavenger Hunt to prompt a more free exploration of the Virtual Reality Tour (also great for younger years!)
How to Register
Email us at info@dalnavertmuseum.ca with any questions, or to register your classroom today!