Britain in the 1950s€¦ · London in the 1950s which offered a new artistic perspective, often...
Transcript of Britain in the 1950s€¦ · London in the 1950s which offered a new artistic perspective, often...
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Britain since 1948 Information Sheet
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
Britain in the 1950sHome Life
It was rare for women to work once they were married in the 1950s. A woman’s place was in the home with her children, but in this decade lots of appliances were introduced to make a housewife’s work easier, such as vacuum cleaners, cookers and toasters. Only around a third of families had a washing machine though and even fewer had a refrigerator or freezer. The home was where the family spent most of their leisure time. Families would listen to the wireless in the evenings or watch TV if they had one. Children would play board games or play outside with their friends.
Work LifeIt was the responsibility of the man of the household to earn a living for his family. The jobs that women had held during the war years were given back to men and the women were no longer entitled to equal pay. At this time, there were lots of jobs available in factories and there was little unemployment. Around 1 in 10 employees worked in professional or managerial posts. There were around 700,000 coal miners in Britain due to the high demand of coal for electricity. Because there weren’t as many opportunities for travel as there are today, people worked close to where they lived.
PopulationIn 1951, the population in Britain was 50,290,000. 25% of the population in 1951 was over the age of 50. Britain experienced a ‘baby boom’ during the 1950s as after the war there was a rise in the number of births. The war also caused a surge of settlers from countries such as Jamaica and the Caribbean because Britain needed workers to help rebuild the country after the war. But many people feared the increase of black communities, particularly in areas such as Birmingham, Nottingham and west London. This was demonstrated by the Notting Hill race riots in 1958.
TechnologyAs well as advances in technology at home, such as with televisions and telephones, there were also a lot of technological changes around the world and even in space. Sputnik, launched by the Soviet Union on 4th October 1957, was the first satellite to orbit the earth. In 1956, the first transatlantic telephone cable was laid between America and Britain. 1956 was also the year that the hovercraft was invented.
There were lots of developments for computers too. The silicon chip was invented which made computers smaller although computers will still only used in industry. Sputnik
Popular CultureAfter the austere years of the 1940s, the 1950s was a period when young people wanted to enjoy themselves. Young people stopped dressing like their parents and developed their own styles. There was a big influence from America
in Britain, particularly in terms of music as rock and roll became more and more popular. Pop Art began in London in the 1950s which offered a new artistic perspective, often using items drawn from advertising, comic strips or mundane objects. The most famous Pop Artist was the American Andy Warhol.
Inventions1950 - Credit card1951 - Superglue1953 - Transistor Radio1954 - McDonald’s restaurants1955 - Lego1956 - Hovercraft1956 - Velcro1956 - Computer hard disk1958 - Modem1958 - Hula Hoop1959 - Barbie dolls1959 - Microchip
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Read the Information Sheet and answer these questions: true or false?
Can you correct the statements that are false?
Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________
Britain since 1948 Worksheet 3A
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
More people had freezers than washing machines. True
False
Families spent most of their leisure time at home. True
False
Half of all employees held professional or managerial posts.
True
False
There were around 700,000 coal miners in Britain. True
False
A quarter of the population of Britain was over 50 in 1951.
True
False
Sputnik, the first satellite, was launched by America in 1957.
True
False
Pop Art began in New York. True
False
Lego was invented in 1955. True
False
Barbie dolls were invented in 1956. True
False
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Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________
Britain since 1948 Worksheet 3B
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
1. List 5 appliances that were introduced in the 1950s to make a housewife’s work easier:
Read the Information Sheet and answer these questions:
2. What do you think a ‘wireless’ is?
3. How many employees worked in professional or managerial posts?
4. Why did people tend to work close to where they lived?
5. What was the population of Britain in 1951?
6. Why do you think the Notting Hill race riots occurred?
7. What was Pop Art and where did it start?
8. What year were these items invented?Lego
Hovercraft
Transistor Radio
Hula Hoop
Microchip
Velcro
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Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________
Britain since 1948 Worksheet 3C
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
Britain in the 1950s
Home Life Work Life
Technology Popular Culture
Population
Inventions
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Britain since 1948 Picture Cards
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
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Britain since 1948 Picture Cards
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
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Britain since 1948 Picture Cards
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
![Page 8: Britain in the 1950s€¦ · London in the 1950s which offered a new artistic perspective, often using items drawn from advertising, comic strips or mundane objects. The most famous](https://reader034.fdocuments.in/reader034/viewer/2022050410/5f86cf2b5425870a6970924c/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Britain since 1948 Picture Cards
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
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Britain since 1948 Category Cards
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
Home Life in the 1950s
Work Life in the 1950s
Technology in the 1950s
Population in the 1950s
Popular Culture in the 1950s
✤ How many children on average did each family in Britain have?
✤ Who looked after the children?
✤ What new appliances did people have in the home?
✤ What kind of shops were there?
✤ What hobbies did families pursue at home?
✤ How many families had cars?
✤ What inventions were there?
✤ What changes were there in how electricity was produced?
✤ What advances were there in space exploration?
✤ How many people had a telephone?
✤ What advances were made in computing?
✤ What advances were made in transport?
✤ How many people lived in Britain?
✤ What was the ‘baby boom’?
✤ Why were immigrants invited to Britain and where from?
✤ What was the reaction to immigrants?
✤ What were the Notting Hill riots?
✤ What was the average life expectancy?
✤ Who usually went to work?
✤ What was the average weekly wage?
✤ How many coal miners worked in Britain?
✤ Why were there lots of factory workers?
✤ What jobs did women do?
✤ How many people were unemployed?
✤ What clothes did different groups of people wear?
✤ What trends were there?
✤ What music was popular?
✤ Which films were popular?
✤ What TV programmes were started?
✤ What leisure activities did people enjoy?
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Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________
Britain since 1948 Research Sheet
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
Home life in the 1950s_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Did you know...?
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Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________
Britain since 1948 Research Sheet
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
Work life in the 1950s_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Did you know...?
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Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________
Britain since 1948 Research Sheet
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
Technology in the 1950s_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Did you know...?
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Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________
Britain since 1948 Research Sheet
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
Population in the 1950s_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Did you know...?
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Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________
Britain since 1948 Research Sheet
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
Popular Culture in the 1950s_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Did you know...?
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Read the Information Sheet and answer these questions: true or false?
Can you correct the statements that are false?
Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________
Britain since 1948 Worksheet 3A ANSWERS
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
More people had freezers than washing machines. True
False
Families spent most of their leisure time at home. True
False
Half of all employees held professional or managerial posts.
True
False
There were around 700,000 coal miners in Britain. True
False
A quarter of the population of Britain was over 50 in 1951.
True
False
Sputnik, the first satellite, was launched by America in 1957.
True
False
Pop Art began in New York. True
False
Lego was invented in 1955. True
False
Barbie dolls were invented in 1956. True
False
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Name: _____________________________ Date: ____________________
Britain since 1948 Worksheet 3B ANSWERS
Copyright © PlanBee www.planbee.com
1. List 5 appliances that were introduced in the 1950s to make a housewife’s work easier:
Read the Information Sheet and answer these questions:
2. What do you think a ‘wireless’ is?
3. How many employees worked in professional or managerial posts?
4. Why did people tend to work close to where they lived?
5. What was the population of Britain in 1951?
6. Why do you think the Notting Hill race riots occurred?
7. What was Pop Art and where did it start?
8. What year were these items invented?Lego
Hovercraft
Transistor Radio
Hula Hoop
Microchip
Velcro
Vacuum cleaners, cookers, toasters, washing machines, fridges, freezers.
A radio
1 in 10 employees
There weren’t as many opportunities for travel as there are today.
50,290,000 (fifty million, two hundred and ninety thousand)
e.g. people were scared about the increase of black communities
Art that drew on popular culture, e.g. adverts, everyday objects. It began in London.
1955
1956
1953
1958
1959
1956