“Policing Whitechapel 1888–1891

1-Hour Lesson – Fully Interactive – Ready to Teach

Imagine patrolling the foggy, gaslit streets of Whitechapel at night — every shadow could hide a story. This lesson plunges students into the reality of policing the East End between 1888 and 1891 and asks them to consider how effective Victorian law enforcement really was.

Dear Colleague,

This lesson is the fourth part of a 5-lesson set on Whitechapel (1888–1891). It introduces students to the organisation of policing, the daily challenges faced by officers, and contemporary public attitudes toward the police. Pupils will work with original sources, develop evidence-based explanations, and practise GCSE-style writing.

All lessons in this series follow a consistent model to help students learn coherently and always understand where they are in their learning.

Learning Objectives:
LO1: Identify the main challenges faced by police patrolling Whitechapel
LO2: Analyse contemporary sources showing police practice and public reaction
LO3: Evaluate how effective policing was in maintaining law and order in Whitechapel

Lesson Features:
Starter slide (revision questions, date, word bank, image link to topic)
Clear learning objectives and an engaging enquiry question on slide two
Three tiered tasks (knowledge → source analysis → GCSE-style extended writing)
Group/class-assessed activities for tasks 1 & 2; individual assessed writing for task 3 with teacher support available one-to-one
Extension task to spark debate and deepen understanding
Differentiated resources to support mixed-ability classes and SEN/EAL pupils

Fully assessed activities with clear success criteria

What’s Included:
Ready-to-teach PowerPoint slideshow covering all activities
Source sheets and worksheets for all three tasks
GCSE-style writing scaffold and model answer
Homework, reading resources, and task templates

This lesson is ideal for Year 8 or GCSE students and fits seamlessly into Whitechapel, Crime & Punishment, or Victorian Britain units.

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Best regards,
Alessio