Think about what you would define as a source for history teaching… is this the same thing as evidence?

They overlap but are not in fact the same! A simple definition to begin with:  

• A source is anything that contains information about the past.  
• Evidence is what we take from that source to utilise it for a specific purpose. 

The reason I use the phrase ‘anything’ is that the list of what we could use is potentially endless. In What is History? historian E. H. Carr wrote:

‘The facts are available to the historian in documents, inscriptions and so on, like fish on the fishmonger’s slab.

The historian collects them, takes them home, and cooks and serves them in whatever style appeals to him.’

The implication is that facts are the backbone of the historian’s crafts. Sources of evidence are what allow historians to acquire those facts. But then the historians must do something with them.

This is important to consider because the breadth of what teachers could use is potentially daunting if they are unsure about which offers most value to the unit in question.  

So… what does this mean for teachers? 

Primary and secondary sources for history

Two terms that present immense amounts of confusion are primary and secondary sources.

Should we introduce them in KS1? You can, but personally, I wouldn’t because it is not mentioned in the curriculum and is so nuanced, we need to approach it deliberately and carefully.

By the end of Year 2, if children know what a source of evidence is, how to use them in history and that a range of them exists, that’s a great starting point!

In KS2, you can add to this understanding by distinguishing between primary and secondary.

Primary sources are a snapshot in time with a direct link to the matter in question.

Secondary sources have a layer of interpretation and are not directly connected to the matter.  

Using sources in history

When teaching, we need to embed sources of evidence throughout so children understand both what we currently think about the topic in question, and how that knowledge was acquired.

The national curriculum refers to this in both Key Stages 1 and 2 in two main parts:  

1. The different ways in which we find out about the past.  

2. The different ways in which the past has been depicted.  

Therefore, when teaching we must accomplish both parts to meet the NC specification but, more importantly, support children in gaining a more in-depth understanding of what it means to ‘do history’.

When planning and teaching, I would suggest the following approach in order to facilitate this. 

First, clearly define history units with enquiry questions. This allows you to emphasise which parts of the period are most important to their learning.

In addition, this narrows down which sources of evidence are most likely to offer the valuable knowledge needed to understand and then answer said question.

If this is not currently how history is approached at your school, I would suggest taking a look at the Historical Association’s enquiry toolkit, which can be accessed for free at tinyurl.com/tp-HAtoolkit 

Once this is in place, define the knowledge that is central to understand the enquiry question and then answer it.

This once again allows you to further narrow the field of study, considering which sources of evidence are the most pertinent.

Once this in place, the key is to find a range of sources to build as clear a picture as possible.  

Modes of delivery

The language of Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction is common parlance in many primary classrooms, even if they aren’t aware of the work that underpins it.

If we teach maths in small steps because it’s beneficial, why wouldn’t we do it in history too? I do, we do, you do… the same principle still works here!  

Start by thinking about what the children have studied so far, specifically around the range of source material and how it was utilised.

Do they have knowledge we can activate and build on? 

Then, model the relationship between the enquiry question and the source material so children know that what we learn from a source must add value to that question.

Without that, we may only get generic information that doesn’t add to the enquiry process.  

Why does this matter? It’s important that pupils gain both substantive and disciplinary knowledge.

However, history has the word story in it for a reason. We need to historicise knowledge in order to place it within a particular ‘story’ of the past.

Focus on building a more detailed picture of the past and connecting the various snapshots and interpretations the children have encountered to form a stronger and more secure understanding.  

Sources of evidence, then, are what we use in history in order to construct our knowledge of the past.

Therefore, we need to teach them explicitly and throughout the teaching sequence.

Ensure children know that sources offer us some evidence towards our enquiry but are unlikely to provide a complete picture – such is the nature of history!  

3 common misconceptions

1. There is a definitive list of knowledge to take from sources of evidence. This is not true because there are many categories of source material we may choose to tap into. An archaeological object is inherently different to a diary, therefore what they offer is also fundamentally different. Historian Christine Counsell said a key difference is whether the source offers conscious commentary or not. The question we ask is what drives the evidence we take from the source.  
    

2. Sources are either useful, or they’re not. Once again, the answer is more complex and led by the important role enquiry questions play. Can an object be unreliable given it just is? The reliability is more likely a feature of what we endeavour to learn from it and our interpretations based on the limited picture it presents. Reliability is more likely to be an active consideration when dealing with a commentary. Here, bias does matter and considering it is right and proper. Make sure the children are aware of who wrote it, when, why, etc, alongside their perspective. Without that, we may know what someone said about something, but are missing what facilitated their particular perspective of that event.  

3. Primary sources are better than secondary. This is not the case even if the person writing the source material actually witnessed the event to which the source relates. They offer a perspective on what happened, but this is one snapshot of many. A secondary source collates a broad range of evidence and therefore has a wider field of study which includes primary source material.   

Stuart Tiffany Stuart is a primary teacher, history CPD provider and consultant. He is also the author of Mr T Does Primary History (£21.99, SAGE) is out on 8 July.  Follow Stuart on Twitter @Mr_S_Tiffany and see more of his work at mrtdoeshistory.com

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JUMP TO A SECTION

• Book recommendations
• Why you should use historical fiction in your classroom
• How to include diverse stories

Best WW2 books

The Tunnel by Pie Corbett

This free download for KS2 pupils contains an original story by literacy superstar Pie Corbett. It also features reading and writing classroom activity ideas. You’ll also get a PowerPoint of the story so your class can read along with you.

Using the model text and after investigating some local history, your pupils will be able to write a powerful piece about the experience of a WWII evacuee.

Letters from the Lighthouse

Emma Carroll (Faber & Faber, KS2)

Letters from the Lighthouse is a mystery; a spy story; an evacuee story; a refugee story. Set in World War 2, the book revolves around main character Olive’s persistent efforts to solve the mystery of her sister’s disappearance.

The book is set in a coastal Devon village dominated by a lighthouse. This lends atmosphere and plenty of scope for exciting adventures.

What makes this one of the best WW2 books for KS2 is that it encourages children to think and talk about important themes. Download our free PDF full of classroom activity ideas.

Resist

Tom Palmer (Barrington Stoke, ages 9+)

Tom Palmer’s latest children’s novel is a historical story set in the Netherlands during WW2. It’s inspired by the Resistance childhood of Hollywood star, Audrey Hepburn.

Life for ordinary Dutch people in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands is perilous and full of hardship. There is very little to eat and they face the constant threat of arrest and enslavement.

After the murder of her beloved uncle and the capture of her brother by the Germans, Edda is determined to do anything she can to help the resistance fight back. But how much risk is one teenage girl willing to take?

Free resources

Get a sense of the book by reading the first chapter for free. Find lots of free classroom resources on the author’s website, including:

• Playscript
• Cover prediction worksheet
• Settings map worksheet
• Colouring
• Author Q&A
• Author Films on research, settings, dance, occupation and Audrey Hepburn

A Medal for Leroy

Michael Morpurgo (HarperCollins, ages 8-11)

This is a typically accomplished and absorbing read from one of the UK’s best loved storytellers, Michael Morpurgo.

It’s inspired by the true story of Walter Tull. He was the first black officer ever to serve in the British army and a genuine unsung hero. A brief but compelling biography of this extraordinary man is included at the end of the book.

It’s also strongly influenced by the author’s own experience of what can happen when families attempt to keep painful secrets from each other.

A Medal for Leroy is about identity and self-discovery. It’s also about the events of two world wars and the history of prejudice. It’s irresistible.

The Apple Spy

Terry Deary (A&C Black, ages 7-11 years)

The Apple Spy retells the extraordinary true story of twins Jamie and Marie. They realise that the suspicious strangers they see at the railway station in their little Scottish village are, in fact, German spies.

With courage, determination, and a healthy dose of disobedience, the young siblings alert the authorities, dodge assassination, and track down the one who very nearly gets away.

It’s thrilling stuff, based on meticulous research – but still as colourful and irreverent as you would expect from the author of Horrible Histories.

It’s Perfectly pitched for independent readers in lower KS2, and written with the clear aim of supporting the history curriculum. This book – along with the others in the series – would be ideal for comprehension work, and a great prompt for creative writing.

Why not see if pupils can produce a play script based on the plot?

The Boy at the Top of the Mountain

John Boyne (Doubleday Children’s, ages 10+)

John Boyne’s book, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, was first published in 2006 and became a global sensation. It’s not without its critics, however. The Holocaust Education Trust sets out the issues it sees with the book here.

In 2015, Boyne returned to the topic of WWII with The Boy at the Top of the Mountain. This time, he seems determined to stretch his readers’ sympathy even further than before.

What happens at the ‘top of the mountain’ turns out to be as central to our understanding of the horror of the Nazi regime as was the meaning of ‘the striped pyjamas’. Once again, a young boy’s innocence is the prism through which the terrible truth is refracted.

After the death of his parents, Pierrot is taken in by his aunt. She’s a housekeeper at Hitler’s Berghof, where Pierrot is gradually seduced by the dark authority of ‘the master’.

This is a compelling and thought-provoking read, though not one to recommend lightly; the violence, including a threat of sexual assualt, is stark.

But it is the slow, chillingly inevitable corruption of the protagonist into a willing follower of the Führer, with all that entails, that is likely to linger.

If you’re interested in exploring The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas with your class, find the best resources to accompany it here.

My Friend the Enemy

Dan Smith (Chicken House, £6.99)

A couple of youngsters find an injured German pilot in the woods following a WWII air raid. They decide to help him recover and get home, rather than turn him in to the authorities.

From the first page, events and emotions are described with a thrilling intensity. The two main characters, Peter and Kim, are hauntingly authentic.

As the narrative develops, the children are forced to question not only their assumptions about what ‘the enemy’ must be like, but also the nature of friendship and courage, the importance of loyalty, and the role of those left behind while others go off to fight.

Smith’s crystalline prose neither glamourises the conflict, nor reduces it to a sentimental simplicity; consequently, this is an intense, thought-provoking, and deeply satisfying read.

Real Lives – Alan Turing

Jim Eldridge (Bloomsbury, ages 9+)

Codebreaker. Scientist. Genius. Lifesafer. And also, of course, a complex and at times very troubled human being, living through a time when simply being himself was enough to get him arrested.

This slim biography of Alan Turing (part of Bloomsbury’s ‘Real Lives’ series) is written with admirable, accessible clarity of expression. It has a genuine sense of striving to understand the various factors that influenced the young Turing’s development into the scientist who cracked Enigma in WWII.

It’s an ideal introduction to the notion of potentially unreliable sources, too. The author is happy to make his presence felt at times, explicitly noting when he is expressing an opinion or belief rather than an objectively verifiable fact.

Why not share an extract with your class, and find out how far they trust what they are being told. What are they able to identify as speculation or romantic construction?

Why you should use historical fiction in your classroom

Whether learning about the past or trying to understand the present, stories based on previous times provide a wealth of opportunity for pupils, argues poet and writer Michael Rosen…

All writing starts from somewhere. Whether it’s real people providing inspiration for characters, or events from real life influencing a plot, there are various ways in which our experiences – and those of others’ – seep into our stories.

Personal life experiences, or those of people you know, are a great place to start when writing. When we ask pupils to create their own stories, they shouldn’t feel as though their ideas have to come as if from nowhere.

After all, some of the greatest storytellers throughout history have taken inspiration from all sorts of places. Take Hans Christian Anderson, for example; many of the stories he developed came from things he heard as a child.

It’s a well-used method amongst authors. So if they’re stuck for a starting point, we can encourage pupils to think of stories that already exist in some form. Use them create your own take on things, or to try and understand the experiences of others.

“We don’t want to scare the living daylights out of them”

This kind of understanding, however, can be difficult, especially when we’re dealing with ‘big’ concepts such as war, famine, and the impending dangers of the climate crisis.

Children’s POV

Approaching these kinds of topics with young children can seem like a minefield. We want to help them understand the world around them, and yet we don’t want to scare the living daylights out of them.

I think one way to do this is to approach narratives from the point of view of children around the same age as your pupils.

War, for example, is often incomprehensible to most adults. So in one sense it seems wrong that we should expect children to understand it. The whole concept often defies logic, as with the current war in Ukraine.

However, children are curious creatures. So it can be quite handy to consider things from their point of view, which is where literature created specifically for young people comes in.

Being able to tell a story about a child who is not an agent in war, but who is on the receiving end, can help us delve into these topics in a sensitive way.

Fake news

Tying fictional narratives to real life can also help children to understand the past, and it’s this connection with history that I hoped to achieve in my book, Please Write Soon.

Although the letters through which the story is told are made up, they are based on real events that happened to my dad’s cousin, Michael Rechnic; the inspiration for Bernie.

Fictionalised accounts of historical events and experiences can also give children the license to think about what might be real, and what might be biased.

Are the characters to be believed? Why are they telling the story in the way they are? What can we garner from the context of the story, aside from what the characters are saying?

It’s a good way to introduce children to the skills of inference and critical thinking, too; something that not only will support them in their schoolwork, but throughout their lives.

There are plenty of things in most stories that pupils can question and investigate; the story of Wojtek the bear, for example, who was adopted by the Polish soldiers, and who features in Please Write Soon.

“Stories give readers a distance from the concept, or even the reality they’re describing”

There may be some sharp-thinking children that pick up on this. They may wonder whether or not it was fair to bring an animal into a warzone.

Stories give readers a distance from the concept, or even the reality they’re describing. Pupils don’t have to take everything as read. Encourage them to challenge things.

Propaganda

Another issue pupils can investigate is that of propaganda. At first glance it may seem like a relic of wartime, but the pervasive nature of the media, and the wide access that children now have to ‘news’, whether that’s via TV, social media, or overhearing conversations at school and at home, means it’s possibly more relevant than ever.

For example, I went to visit my old school recently, and although many things haven’t changed – I took the same train to get there, and the waiting room at the station is still as it was – there are so many areas of life that are completely different.

For instance, I was at the school to talk to the sixth form. When I was in their position, I used to have to go down to Watford reference library to do research. I was lucky if I got the Britannica encyclopaedia out and found something more than what the teacher had already taught us.

In contrast, these days, we can all research an infinite number of things in seconds, on our phones. We don’t even need to go and turn the computer on, anymore.

It’s important that we help the younger generations to wade through all the information they’re getting, and figure out what is to be believed and what isn’t.

Research skills for students

This doesn’t just have to apply to modern-day information, either; you can encourage your pupils to develop historical research skills.

Ask them to take their favourite aspect of a book based in the past – whether that’s a character, an event, or even a theme – and see what additional factual information they can find about it.

In the case of stories about World War Two, children can look up Polish resettlement camps, Anders’ Army, Operation Barbarossa, and so on. This will help them contextualise stories, and fill in the gaps left by a subjective fictional narrative.

There are even plenty of scenes in Please Write Soon, and I’m sure other historical fiction, that they can act out, or have a go at rewriting.

This works especially well with books that feature stories told through letters or diary entries. Pupils can really get ‘in-character’ and try out alternative versions of the narrative, or consider the same story from different points of view.

For instance, Wojtek the bear may have had a very different experience to his human counterparts. It would be very interesting to read a letter he might send home!

Explore epistolary novels more with these ideas for letter writing in KS2, from Bethany Walker.

Reading for pleasure

But books, of course, aren’t just for schoolwork. Reading for pleasure is one of life’s great joys, and very important for children’s development.

Books can carry us away to places and times we could never possibly reach in real life. They can also help us to navigate the ups and downs of our days here on Earth.

“Books can carry us away to places and times we could never possibly reach in real life”

One of the things I hope children will get from Please Write Soon is the understanding that many people in their grandparents’ or great-grandparents’ generations went through these terrible things and came out the other side.

Pupils may even know someone who survived the war. I also hope it will remind them that children are great improvisers, and find ways to get themselves through difficult times; they have an extraordinary capability for resilience.

Even when things are tough, it’s amazing what young people can get through. It’s a message of hope, I think.

Please Write Soon by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Michael Foreman, is published by Scholastic.

How to include diverse stories

We need to expand narratives beyond a narrow, white history, says author Dan Smith…

Many World War Two stories focus on events on the home front in Britain, but we need stories told from alternative perspectives.

We have an ever more diverse population in Britain, and I would like for every child to be able to see themselves in the stories they read, and the things they learn.

One of the most important things we can do is to show young readers that Britain did not have an exclusively white population in the 1940s.

We can explore the experiences of non-white children growing up in Britain at that time, making stories more relatable to modern young readers.

I have done this in my novel Nisha’s War (runner up in the Teach Primary Book Awards 2022) which is about a dual heritage British-Indian girl who evacuates from Malaya to England where she faces suspicion and racism.

These are the same issues that refugee children coming to Britain today will face – not to mention non-white children who have lived in Britain all their lives.

Accepting and understanding

The best WW2 books can highlight the effect these issues have on young people, and they can teach young readers to be more accepting and understanding.

And it’s important to remember that the war was far-reaching. It affected people right across Europe, Asia, and Africa, so I would like to see our stories stretch beyond the home front and explore different lives.

World War Two was not just about air raids over London, and the Normandy Landings. It was not just about white British men and women defending Britain.

I wonder how many school children know that 2.5 million Indians fought for Britain? The largest volunteer army in history. I wonder how many know that the soldiers who fought bravely when the Japanese invaded Malaya, were Indian.

Do they know that Nepalese Ghurkhas served in Italy, Greece, Malaya, Singapore, Burma, and Africa. Or that thousands of African, Arab, and Jewish soldiers fought for Britain across the globe.

And there are darker, more shameful histories, too, such as the three million Indians, mostly Bengali, who were killed by famine as a result of Winston Churchill’s policies.

There are still so many more stories to tell; so many more lives to explore.

It feels to me as if World War Two stories will always be relevant because they remind us of things that we must never forget. But we can make them more relevant by expanding and making them more inclusive.

Nisha’s War by Dan Smith is published by Chicken House. Find out more at dansmithbooks.com.

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As that subject’s only compulsory topic, we should expect pupils to have a strong grasp of the horrors emerging from a continent-spanning genocide that eradicated two thirds of European Jews.

The reality, however, is much more concerning. Research conducted among school pupils in England found that 15% couldn’t remember studying the Holocaust, and some worrying gaps in knowledge.

Over half believed that Hitler was solely responsible for the genocide of six million people, and that the killings took place in Germany alone. Worst of all, most were unable to explain why Jews were targeted.

Without this understanding, Holocaust education won’t prevent the kind of intolerance and persecution that might lead to the next genocide – so what would an appropriate Holocaust education look like in practice?

Three principles

At the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, we deliver Holocaust education to pupils from Y5 upwards, focusing on three principles, beginning with how and why the genocide developed.

We look at the ways in which key groups were responsible – the Nazi leadership; other countries’ leaderships; ordinary people who pulled triggers, guarded ghettos and manned death camps; and the bystanders in 22 countries who looked away. We prioritise the testimony of survivors whom students can meet and talk to, virtually or in person.

The second principle is that Holocaust knowledge should be linked to modern-day challenges. This doesn’t mean searching for a ‘Holocaust angle’ across all examples of humankind’s inhumanity since 1945 – but rather when secure knowledge is used to analyse the ‘othering’ of social, religious or ethnic groups by powerful actors, Holocaust education has the potential to prevent subsequent genocides.

Finally, we seek to develop critical thinking. Independent thought can prevent the mob mentality that fuels genocide, but only if this is based on secure, accurate and properly researched knowledge.

We can deliver programmes for Y5 to Y13 at our beautiful garden museum in Nottinghamshire, in schools or online, and can provide a warm, friendly learning environment staffed by in-house educators who are all former school teachers. So use us!

Cross-curricular learning

The lessons of the Holocaust can be embedded throughout the KS3/4 curriculum. In English language, pupils could compare ghetto diaries with perpetrator narratives. In RE, a class could discuss whether God can exist after the Holocaust.

In science, the anti-Jewish pseudo-science claiming evidence for ‘innate racial differences’ later adopted by Nazis can be the springboard for discussions of how scientific enquiry can be manipulated.

In PSHE, classes could explore how critical thinking can be used to debunk the antisemitic conspiracy theories that have gained considerable traction online in recent years.

A tough ask

Above all, however, prioritise Jewish voices and agency in the sources you choose for your teaching. If they tend to depict strong perpetrators and weak victims, that’s what the Nazis wanted you to think.

At the same time, ensure that pupils are sufficiently mature to engage with the subject matter – especially at Y8, which is increasingly the age at which students first encounter the Holocaust in history.

Teaching the Holocaust is a tough ask, but the rewards are enormous. Giving pupils secure Holocaust knowledge will enable them to better understand this uniquely destructive genocide, and help them make sense of the difficult world in which they live, and in time, will run themselves.

It’s vital that we get this right.

Mark Rusling is the Director of Learning at the National Holocaust Centre and Museum. He can be contacted at education@holocaust.org.uk

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30 Second Briefing

1. A 10,000-acre outdoor classroom 

Lee Valley Regional Park is a 26-mile-long park running through Hertfordshire, Essex and London – and that means a 10,000-acre green-space classroom! We deliver sessions at different sites up and down the park so each group can choose the best location and activity for them. 

2. A huge range of diverse topics 

Choose from geography, history, design, mindfulness and more! Our team cover a range of topics that link to the National Curriculum for KS1–4 and SEN groups as well as community groups.

Our programmes range from forest schools to discovery days covering habitats, the Stone Age, mindfulness and natural art.

3. Working as a team 

Alongside our outdoor learning programmes, we have great team-building sessions using our permanent orienteering course in the park. These sessions are perfect for secondary school children and above.  

4. Quality, experience and peace of mind 

Our qualified, DBS-checked education team hold accreditations such as the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge and APIOL. We offer a safe environment for all, with a focus on high quality risk management, so you can book with peace of mind. 

Our staff are trained in Makaton and hold Level 3 Forest School Leader awards, so you know you’re getting the best outdoor education experience. We’ll take care of everything, from managing your booking and checking what you need the session to deliver and adapting it where necessary, to supplying any kit needed.  

“Our staff are trained in Makaton and hold Level 3 Forest School Leader awards, so you know you’re getting the best outdoor education experience.”

5. Nurture their curiosity with nature 

Bring learning to life for your students! Our sessions empower children to develop their own learning and understanding of the natural world and mindfulness.

They’ll be in the moment and see nature, habitats and history up close, from meanders to minibeasts, orienteering to London 2012 legacy venues, and seeds to Stone Age tools. 

Discover how Lee Valley’s unique 10,000-acre classroom can engage your students! Visit www.visitleevalley.org.uk/outdoor-learning for more information and to book.

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I was struggling to decide how I was going to assess what the children had learned.

I remembered that in the past I had used concept maps within lessons, and in my lesson observation for my current role.

Concept maps are fantastic for pulling out connections between ideas, however, I remembered a training session on ‘solo taxonomy’ that had used hexagons to show content links through shape tessellation.

My children were also already used to using hexagons to make links through the work we’ve done with Alex Bedford and the CUSP curriculum, so I knew this was the way to go!  

Knowledge assessment

First, you will need to decide what knowledge you are trying to assess and connect.

For me, this was keywords, icons I had used, pictures, and questions that the children asked during lessons.

This was fairly simple and I added these to the hexagons – feel free to use this template that I put together for the Anglo-Saxon lesson: tinyurl.com/tp-HistoryHexagons 

Hexagons

This is where things can get messy.

You need to decide whether the age and sensibility of the class allows for them to cut out the hexagons themselves.

As I teach Year 5, I felt they were capable.

It was also a great opportunity for the children to discuss and interact with each ‘knowledge hexagon’.

Although I’m assessing their individual knowledge, it was important for the children to work in pairs as their discussion aided in knowledge retrieval.

But you can always cut them out yourself, beforehand.  

Grouping concepts

Next, we move on to sorting and grouping of the concepts.

Pupils will have started to discuss the concepts they can see laid out in front of them, but now they need to group them.

First, they need to put any hexagons that have a term or idea that they don’t understand to one side.

Pupils should lay the rest of the hexagons on the sheet of paper and arrange them in a way that makes sense to them. 

Explain and justify connections

Then the children will need to put any hexagons that they think are related close together.

It’s important to leave a small space between them, because the children will need to write in this space.

The beauty of this concept is that there are no real right or wrong answers.

Normally, as long as the children can explain and justify their connections, within reason, they’ll be able to arrange the hexagons as they see fit.  

Related terms

When pupils are happy with the placement of their hexagons, they should then stick them down.

Next, get them to draw lines between the terms that are related and write next to each line the reason why they believe them to be related.

Finally, look at the hexagons that were put aside; if there are any that could now be related, can they be added?

I always add a few blank hexagons for the children to generate other ideas that you may not have thought of. 

Karl McGrath is the curriculum task design lead at Benton Park Primary school, Newcastle upon Tyne. Follow Karl onTwitter @MRMICT and see more of his work at pedabytes.com

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A few days later, we found a pile of twigs and sticks in the corner of the playground. These gradually accumulated over the next few days.

The children started to talk about what was happening, particularly when they discovered some extraordinary teeth and fossils.

It wasn’t long before they made the connection with the T-Rex and started to think the pile of sticks might be its nest. In the following days, we confirmed this when a dinosaur egg appeared.  

Now, you may have guessed that this special dinosaur visitor was a bit of a stunt. And you’d be partially correct – but it was also much more than that.

The dinosaur nest was in fact part of a Year 2 cross-curricular approach to teaching about dinosaurs, supporting science, art, history and English.

It’s an example of immersive learning, an approach we use across our school. 

Immersive learning 

Immersive learning has its roots in immersive theatre. This invites the audience to move through a theatrical world as active participants.

We have found the approach gives greater purpose to learning for the children and increases their engagement.   

The dinosaur nest and the visit from the T-Rex gave children a sense of awe and wonder.

They engaged in a number of ways, including dissecting dinosaur poo in science to learn more about the animal’s diet; writing stories linked to the dinosaur nest in English, inspired by The Dinosaur’s Diary by Julia Donaldson and The Dinosaur that Pooped a Planet by Tom Fletcher; and learning more about chronology and what the world was like during the time dinosaurs roamed the earth in history.  

Even now the project is complete, it has continued to have a positive impact on the children’s general engagement and communication.

They still find clues in the playground that they think could have been left behind by the dinosaur. It remains part of their day-to-day conversations.

Dinosaurs have been a topic of discussion and inspiration for much longer this year than they were during a different iteration of the topic last year.   

Why we use immersive learning

Using immersive theatre as a tool to educate, explain and enlighten is an emerging discipline.

We learned about it eight years ago when the charity Punchdrunk Enrichment led a whole-school immersive learning project.

It was about a travelling library, The Lost Lending Library, which arrived following the visit of a peripatetic librarian…  

Located behind a bookcase which had mysteriously replaced the door to our staff room, small groups of children discovered that it led into a fantastical library crammed with books of all sizes and colours.

They met the guardian of The Lost Lending Library, who told them about its travels and how it jumps from place to place driven by the imagination of young people.

The guardian explained that their colleague Gillian had reported a whole shelf of books missing. They asked the children to help by writing stories to replace them.  

All our pupils visited The Lost Lending Library and, whatever their age, were absolutely stunned.

Each child was given a library card so they could return, and in the days that followed they wrote many new stories for the library before it mysteriously disappeared. Although not before making every child a lifelong member!

We found that the children became much more engaged in their learning, enthusiastic about writing stories, and immersed in their work.

Children who usually never spoke in class contributed. Some families even reported that children were writing more stories for The Lost Lending Library at home. 

How to plan an immersive project

Immersive learning connects well with the creativity that so many primary teachers bring to their job, but it does require planning; dinosaurs don’t just appear in playgrounds!

Here’s how you can make it happen in your school: 

1. Think about what you want the children to learn and how this links to the curriculum. For instance, following The Lost lending Library, we wanted to sustain the children’s enthusiasm and engagement in writing. We created ‘Gillian’s Room’ in the corner of the school foyer. This created a link to the original immersive learning experience and building on it. Throughout the year, each class visited Gillian’s Room as part of their creative writing work; writing more stories to keep the library well-stocked throughout its travels.  

2. Start planning early. Year 2 teachers developed the dinosaur nest in the summer term over a four-week period. It also linked with our autumn term whole-school topic theme of ‘time’. It fitted into teaching on chronology; getting the children to think about the past which is a key historical skill in KS1. Artefacts in the nest such as the ‘fossilised’ dinosaur teeth also enabled pupils to develop their understanding of historical enquiry, as well as short and long-term timescales. 

3. Small-scale is good – immersive learning doesn’t need to involve lots of expensive equipment and resources. For instance, the dinosaur nest was simply sticks and some papier-mâché teeth and bones. 

4. Involve colleagues – once you have devised your immersive learning project, let everyone know what you’re planning. It’s important everyone is engaged and can respond correctly to children’s questions. 

Making children experts

In all cases, immersive learning values the expertise of children. With The Lost Lending Library it is the children who restore the books and stories to the shelves.

In Gillian’s Room they are the ones who need to write stories to keep the lost lending library well stocked on its travels; and with the dinosaur nest we relied upon the children to explain what was happening.

This increases confidence and changes how they see themselves in relation to their learning and their school.

They become more enthusiastic learners, and it encourages greater participation and breaks down social barriers.

For example, we saw children interacting together who never normally talk to each other.  

We were recently inspected by Ofsted and they talked about the pupils feeling inspired in their learning.

Immersive is not the only way we do this, but it is certainly an important factor. 

Characteristics of immersive learning  

• The story happens to the learner – they are protagonists, their feelings are as much part of the story as the characters they encounter.  
• Learners have a specific role – they are cast as the experts who are uniquely placed to help.  
• Pupils’ work helps propel the narrative forward – learning is positioned as a chapter in an unfolding story. 
• Pupils experience a tiny part of the imaginative world.  
• Impact beyond the experience – learners are encouraged to take their new role, for example as expert writers of adventure stories, back to their normal lives. 
• A means to return – there is always the possibility for pupils to return to the world they visited. 

*Developed by Punchdrunk Enrichment 

James Searjeant is headteacher of Wyborne Primary School in New Eltham, Greenwich. 

The post Immersive learning – How we improved outcomes (and impressed Ofsted) appeared first on Teachwire.

He was also a Holocaust survivor, having been deported with his parents from the Hungarian town of Makó at the age of five and sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Lantos first documented his experiences during this period in a 2006 memoir titled Parallel Lines. His new book, The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die (Scholastic, £7.99), is a companion piece of sorts, explicitly aimed at younger readers and written from a child’s perspective.

Lantos’ matter-of-fact prose ably captures the puzzlement, imaginative leaps and growing anxieties felt by a young mind when confronted with unimaginable horrors – perhaps seen most acutely in the devastating scenes that recount his father’s death from starvation while the family were interned.

Aside from brief authorial interjections to add historical context, we never leave the headspace of Lantos’ childhood self. For adults, The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die makes for a poignant read. For its intended audience, it provides an honest, yet accessible and therefore hugely valuable depiction of humanity at its worst.

What was your motivation for writing The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die?
My generation is the last group of Holocaust survivors. I’m now in my early 80s; I was 5 when we were deported. In a few years’ time, no one will be around to give evidence of what happened. Once we have died, it will just be a fact of history which can be negated.

I felt that telling the story now, for children, leaves an account of what took place. I’ve previously visited schools and colleges to give talks, but with that no longer possible, there will instead be the book.

Was it difficult for you to settle on the book’s narrative voice and sustain it?
It was quite difficult, but once I found the voice, I think it remained reasonably consistent. It’s only when I wanted to point to something – particularly at the beginning and the very end – that I wrote as ‘the writer’ of now, and not ‘the boy’ of then.

I can’t say that writing the book was a happy experience, but it was a satisfactory one. I set out to tell the story as I saw it at the time, as a boy of six. Instead of reflecting on, say, good and evil, I wanted to capture the boy’s sense of surprise and curiosity, and inability to digest the things that he encounters.

How did you personally come to be involved in Holocaust Education?
It started with the publishing of Parallel Lines, which made public an element of my past that even my very close friends of 20 years or more never knew about me. It was around then that I was first approached by schools to give talks, but I was rather reluctant. I don’t like to talk about myself, but I soon realised I had a moral obligation to do so.

Years from now, how would you like to see the history of the Holocaust taught to subsequent generations?
I sometimes feel that the Holocaust is presented as a single isolated event. Instead, it should be embedded in recent history, with students shown how it evolved out of intolerance, discrimination and eventually hate. I’d like to think that people will continue to learn from it – because the more recent examples we’ve seen of other genocides would indicate that those lessons haven’t been learned yet.

For more information, visit peter-lantos.com

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30 Second Briefing

1. Options for everybody

Made up of seven museums and galleries, National Museums Liverpool offers sessions for EYFS to post-16 students on topics ranging from Ancient Egypt and Transatlantic Slavery to fine art and wellbeing.

One of their venues, World Museum, has a planetarium and aquarium too, so there are even workshops where students can explore outer space or come face to face with live animals! 

2. Linked to the curriculum

All of National Museums Liverpool’s sessions are linked to the curriculum and have clear learning outcomes. These are clearly presented on their website for you to review prior to booking and align to your lesson plans.

3. Supported by resources

Many of National Museums Liverpool’s workshops are accompanied by resources and activities which you can complete before and after your session.

They will help to prepare your students for what they will experience at the museum or gallery, and post-workshop, will help to consolidate what they have learned during the session.

“National Museums Liverpool offers sessions on topics ranging from Ancient Egypt and Transatlantic Slavery to fine art and wellbeing.”

4. Affordable and accessible

For its core workshops for schools and groups, prices range from £49 to £99 per class. Each session can cater up to 30 or 32 students, meaning your workshop could cost as little as £1.54 per student. Booking is easy too, with the option to choose your slot on the website and pay online.  

For those who find the price of school trips prohibitive, National Museums Liverpool offers a schools bursary scheme for primary and secondary schools located in the Liverpool City Region, which can cover the costs of a workshop and associated travel up to £300. This is currently available for workshops at International Slavery Museum.

5. Flexible and adaptable delivery

Some of National Museums Liverpool’s most popular sessions for schools and groups can be delivered virtually, if you aren’t able to travel to its museums and galleries.

There are two virtual classrooms available to book directly on their website, or you can contact the team about adapting your in-venue session if you can’t find what you’re looking for. 

Sessions can also be adapted for students with additional needs and you can discuss your requirements with the team in advance.

All of National Museums Liverpool’s venues are accessible and their website is full of helpful information which you can look at before you visit.

The post 5 reasons to try… National Museums Liverpool for a school trip appeared first on Teachwire.

Celebrating over 35 years of the bestselling DK Eyewitness series, DK are now inviting your class to find out even more amazing facts by joining their free 45-minute Ask an ’Ologist webinar, exclusive for schools, on 22 March at 10am. 

Intrigued? Find out how to attend and submit your questions here.

But who are these mysterious ’Ologists? They’re the experts behind the Eyewitness series – brilliant academics, TV presenters, museum curators, authors and even film consultants. Meet them below. 

“DK are inviting your class to find out even more amazing facts by joining their free 45-minute ‘Ask an ’Ologist’ webinar.”

Win books and a special school visit from an ’Ologist

These ’Ologists will be put to the test with the toughest questions of their careers – asked by your class! These questions can be submitted from now until 11 March here, with the ’Ologists selecting questions to be answered on the webinar itself.

AND what’s more – each will choose their favourite question, the writer of which will win a set of 50 Eyewitness books for their school and a school visit from one of the ’Ologists.

Meet the ’Ologists

For this inaugural session, DK (and a special to-be-announced guest host) will be joined by… 

Darren Naish, palaeontologist – Darren has worked for the BBC’s Natural History unit and is a science communicator and dinosaur expert. As a part of his work, he’s named fossil animals, dinosaurs and flying reptiles. 

Joann Fletcher, Egyptologist – Joann is lead ambassador for the Egypt Exploration Society and a professor in archaeology. She regularly writes and presents award-winning TV shows on the BBC and Channel 4. (Picture courtesy Dr Amr Aboulfath.)

Cat Hickey, zoologist – Cat works at Whipsnade Zoo and is an expert in biodiversity, conservation and genetics. She also spent a year in Madagascar working with ring-tailed lemurs! 

Jack Challoner, scientist – Jack trained as a science and maths teacher before working for London’s Science Museum. He has written 50 books on science and technology.

So how does my class take part?

Enter the competition and ask your class’ questions here. No question too big or small, just make sure that they are related to DK’s four chosen topics of Dinosaurs, Ancient Egypt, Science or Animals.

Submitting questions is easy and takes less than five minutes; simply gather your class’ questions beforehand and submit them in one go. 

Find out more about the event and sign up for updates here, or be the first to know registration details (as well as details on future events like this) by signing up to DK Learning.

What is the DK Eyewitness series? 

Loved by teachers and kids across the world, DK Eyewitness is an amazing series of books that cover just about every subject under the sun (including astronomy!). Every book is jam-packed with photos, illustrations and juicy awe-inspiring facts designed to help kids become real experts. Browse the books here.

The post Challenge the experts & win exclusive prizes with DK in this special free webinar! appeared first on Teachwire.

Published by Caboodle Books Ltd, 2022. Written by Stephen Davies.

Books for topics

Whenever I do a talk or assembly about my new book, The Ancient Egypt Sleepover, I describe the real sleepovers organised for children in the British Museum, and then ask, “What could possibly go wrong?”  

Ten hands shoot up. 

“Yes, you,” I point. 

“THE MUMMIES COME ALIVE AND START ATTACKING CHILDREN IN THEIR SLEEPING BAGS!” 

“Exciting!” I grin inanely. “Who else has an idea?” 

Nine hands go down, because everyone else was thinking the same thing.

One hundred years of schlock horror and 50 years of Scooby Doo have convinced us all that Egyptian mummies love nothing more than to attack Egyptologists. You disturbed my rest and now you must pay! 

For children’s authors, too, the lure of the mummy is strong.

Our fingers itch to write about Egyptian mummies that sit bolt upright in their coffins, walk stiff-legged into the rain and order roast hippo and chips from the nearest kebab van.

But let’s face it, that kind of book is not much help to the children in your classrooms trying to get their heads around their Ancient Egypt topic. 

I wrote The Ancient Egypt Sleepover as a whole-class read for Key Stage 2.

I wanted to write something exciting and funny but entirely devoid of ancient curses or marauding mummies.

Instead, the book has a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory vibe, with a group of unsuspecting children (clutching golden tickets, no less) rocking up at the British Museum for a night of Ancient Egypt-themed activities.

Things go wrong, of course. There is a mystery to solve and a dastardly heist to foil. 

The Ancient Egypt Sleepover consists of 21 short chapters intended for reading aloud over the course of one month.

I produced some teaching notes to accompany the book, including the ideas and suggestions outlined in this book topic. 

Stephen Davies lives in London and enjoys visiting primary schools to conduct Ancient Egypt-themed writing workshops. See more of Stephen’s work at authorsabroad.com 

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