Young Historians at King’s Travel Back in Time
These allow pupils to dress up and immerse themselves in the way of life associated with a particular historical era.King’s pupils have been experiencing history in a distinctly personal way through their ‘Living History Days’. These allow pupils to dress up and immerse themselves in the way of life associated with a particular historical era.
Whilst Year 4 pupils came face to face with the brains and brutality of Roman Britain, Year 3 were transported all the way back to the Stone Age. The pupils found themselves realizing just how closely we are linked to our historical ancestors, and how much we build upon their knowledge even now.
Pupils in Year 3 enjoyed being real Stone Age inhabitants, dressed in fake animal skins to learn all about early humans and how Homo Sapiens came out on top – when Great Britain as we know it, was still connected to the Continent; humanity was just learning to farm and fence in livestock and a ripe old age would have been considered 30. Pupils learned how they lived and what animals they hunted, about the gender divisions in hunter gatherer societies, cave art and the increasingly sophisticated manufacture of stone age tools. Pupils also handled ancient Stone Age tools and weapons and learned how they would have been used to hunt woolly mammoths to survive, as King’s Year 3 teacher Victoria Atkins explained, “to put the wow factor into our Learning Challenge history lessons.”
The workshops were given by a Portals to the Past expert who explained to the pupils: “Your ancestors were just as bright and brilliant as you are today and developed their own original technologies, which successive generations have continued to build upon.”
This was confirmed by pupil Alice Kelly, aged 7, who said: “They had bigger brains than we have today and were actually very clever.”
Year 3 Teacher Grant Wallwork added: “This living history day is designed to inspire our young historians to delve deeper into mankind’s past. It builds on an earlier lesson in which pupils spent time in the great outdoors gathering stones and rocks, foraging for food and even trying to light a fire using flint.”
Year 4 pupils, meanwhile, dressed up as gods, goddesses and gladiators and asked “What did the Romans ever do for us?”
James Heald, 8, had the answers: “They built roads, houses, central heating systems and sewers. In fact,” he orated, “if you look around today, the Romans pretty much did most of it first, 2000 years before us today.”
However, Deshawn Wilson, 8, added: “They were also brutal and because they were so much better at fighting than anyone else they conquered the world.”
Lucy Bridgewater, 8, summed it up: “They were clever, but very, very scary as well.”
King’s Year 4 Teacher Adam Taylor explained: “We are completing our six-week analysis of all the Romans did for us, asking the question ‘brains or brawn?’ and the answer is, of course, both.”
