The Heritage Family History School Records Project
The Heritage Family History School Records Project is a new project aimed at Key Stage 2 pupils. I hope it will get children interested not only in the history of their school and their locality but also in their own personal heritage.
All the downloads are free, but I would be grateful for any feedback good or bad or for ideas of how the project could be improved, extended or promoted further.
The project aims to do the following:
- 1. to increase children’s awareness and appreciation of their own environment and community and how that community has changed over time.
- 2. to make use of school records and other locally available records and to create unique school projects that can be preserved for posterity.
Age Range
The expected age range of children undertaking the project is 7-11 years.
School Syllabus
Although it is nominally based around the history of your school and its locality, the project is also designed to specifically link in with two areas of the National Curriculum, namely Victorian Britain and Local History Study.
The project is suited to key stage 2 meeting the curriculum objectives and bringing to life QCA History Units 18 (What Was it Like to Live Here in the Past) and 13, (How Has Life in Britain changed). It satisfies the National Curriculum Geography units in terms of record collection and analysis and use of maps at different scales and of Art in terms of “Sense of Place” objectives (Unit 6c). It also uses the general requirements of ICT and language learning. The project can be taught as a discreet history project, or it can be part of your creative curriculum, as there are cross curriculum links with geography and science, Religious Education ands ICT.
Downloadable Information Sheets and Timetable
A six-week timetable with suggestions for your project and a set of Information sheets to accompany the timetable are available as PDF downloads below.
Format of the Project
The project is run on a suggested six-week thematic timetable consisting of six 2- hour lessons, although it can of course be adapted to meet your timetabling needs.
Uploading and Storing of the Project
The aim is for each school to create a unique project that can be persevered for posterity. You may wish to develop your project into a powerpoint or other visual presentation for uploading onto the school website or to create a paper version to use as a school exhibition. The end result of the project will be a well presented project celebrating local and national communities which can be shared by the community at large.
What Media to Use
Apart from text of course, we encourage you to use photographs, old and new, drawings by pupils, as well as of the school records themselves, if this is possible without damaging them.
Information Sheets
The following are PDFS for teachers to download either to use themselves in the lesson or to give to the children to work through.
Info Sheet 1: Schools and Education.
Info Sheet 2: Maps, Photographs and Directories.
Info Sheet 4: How to Research Your School.
Info Sheet 5: The Poor and the Workhouse.
Info Sheet 6: The Victorian at Work
Info Sheet 7: Transport in Victorian Times
Info Sheet 8: Victorian Britain
Download the School Records Project Timetable
Other accompanying documents
The Ames Family of Stanford. A sample family with census documents, photographs and for you to use if you wish.
If you are interested in my school talks, please email me on celia@heritagefamilyhistory.co.uk