Teach Primary Issue 18.5

1 | LOOK AROUND YOU It might sound obvious, but we can often take the things on our doorstep for granted. What local landmarks are there near your school? These could be big, such as a castle, or a smaller structures like statues or war memorials. What stories can they tell us? Examine street names too; they can tell us a lot about who or what was important in the local area in the past. Taking a walk around your neighbourhood can reveal unexpected aspects that can form the basis of a local history study. 2 | UNTRODDEN PATHS Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to do research before teaching a new local history topic. It can often take longer than anticipated and may lead you down all sorts of unexpected and surprising routes – you’re sure to find odd snippets of new information that will interest pupils. 3 | ASK A GRAN One of the best ways to find stories about what your local area was like in the past is to talk to people who have lived there for some years. What was the area like when pupils’ parents or grandparents were young? How has the landscape changed? Do people still have the same jobs? Interviewing people face to face provides children with the opportunity to carry out their own enquiry, and offers an immediacy that will engage more reluctant learners. It can be a great opportunity to forge links between different generations in the community too. 4 | STUDY YOUR SCHOOL Look at your school logbooks. Up until the 1950s, headteachers had to keep detailed records of daily school life. These accounts are fascinating and can reveal how national events impacted on the local community. The logbooks for my school note the times that school started later after night-time air raids. Others may record outbreaks of illnesses we don’t suffer from now, or holidays and celebrations that tell us about local industries. See tinyurl.com/tp-Logbook for a logbooks lesson plan. FEATURES HISTORY 5 | IN THE PICTURE Photographs can provide a fascinating glimpse into the past. Children love spotting features in old pictures that they can still recognise. Photos of people can show how clothes have changed, and make us think about how lifestyles were different from today. It’s fun to compare the formality of Victorian pictures to the photos we can take on our phones now. Local newspapers can be a great source of historical images (see point 8). 6 | WHAT’S OCCURRING? Local events, memorials or people can help children to understand the national or global picture at a particular point in history. For example, local abbey ruins can be a way to look at the dissolution of the monasteries. A plaque to a local anti-slavery campaigner can give an insight into the slave trade. Think carefully about how to fit these items and events into your curriculum though, as you want the focus to stay on local aspects. 7 | WHAT WAS HERE? Maps are a brilliant way of tracking how an area has changed over time, and of spotting features that existed in the past. Ordnance Survey maps date back to the 1840s and can be found on the National Library of Scotland website ( maps.nls.uk/os ) . How has the land use in your area changed? Are there more houses now? Were there industrial buildings that no longer exist? Maps can help introduce the idea of chronology and inspire discussion about why changes have taken place. 8 | EXPERT ADVICE Libraries and archives can provide a wealth of useful information about your local area including newspapers, maps, plans of buildings, and photographs. Local museums often celebrate the heritage of the area and bring the past to life through artefacts and displays. Staff are often happy to help, and may have ideas that you haven’t considered exploring in class. You don’t have to go on a class trip to uncover fascinating stories from the past 8 WAYS to study local history RACHEL BRUCE is a primary school teacher in York who is passionate about local history and reading. She is anHistorical Association teacher fellow and subject leader. www.teachwire.net | 11