Who am I?

History Unit
How has the past shaped who I am?

In this unit pupils will deepen their personal understanding of who they are by looking at their own personal history, their family history and their local built heritage. Pupils will also have opportunities to develop a greater knowledge and understanding of how the past has influenced many aspects of their lives and their day-to-day world.

Key Questions:

Developing Pupils’ Thinking skills and Personal Capabilities Developing pupils’ Knowledge, Understanding and Skills
  • Accessing, selecting, recording and presenting information
    (Managing Information)
  • Contributing to group work and class discussions;
    (Working with Others)
  • Focusing, sustaining attention and persisting with set tasks; Taking personal responsibility for working in a group.
    (Self-Management)

Young people should have opportunities to investigate the past and its impact on our world today by developing:

  • enquiry skills to undertake historical investigations;
  • critical thinking skills to evaluate a range of evidence;
  • chronological awareness and the ability to make connections between events.

 

What is my story?
Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning … 		Possible Learning. Teaching and Assessment Activities
…to select information and justify their choices.
Managing Information 		Your Personal History

Pupils select events and dates that are important to them. Encourage pupils to think about:

  • local and global events that have occurred during their lifetime;
  • a time they visited a special place;
  • a time they received a favourite gift;
  • the birth of a sibling etc.
…to sequence information – placing events in chronological order. Chronology
Discuss with pupils the dates they selected as part of their personal history. Pupils explain how their chosen events/dates are part of their personal memory. They then record these dates in chronological order.
…to consider the usefulness of sources and select appropriate relevant information. Sources
Pupils generate ideas for a list of artefacts that would be most useful in illustrating their personal histories. Suggestions may include photographs from their family albums, old letters, favourite possessions, newspaper articles, old toys, medals, certificates of achievement etc. They should be able to talk about and justify their choice of artefact.
…to sequence information over time.

 

…to present work in a variety of media.

Pupils construct an interactive timeline of their personal history. This could take the form of a visual representation of ’Taking a walk in my past’ where the pupils design a personal road map of their history or a digital timeline could be constructed using a digital scanner or video camer a. Captions (using text or voice recording software) could be used to add depth and detail to their stories. Pupils present their personal history timeline to their peers.
Opportunity to assess ICT or Communication

 

What can my family history tell me?
Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning … 		Possible Learning. Teaching and Assessment Activities
…to make connections between information.
Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making 		Your Family History

Show a clip of a family based television series, for example, The Simpsons. Hold a question and answer session to help pupils explore and clarify the family connections between the characters.

 
…to generate questions. Display a large poster of a family tree; it could be of a fictional family or maybe the teacher’s family tree! Discuss the layout and structure with the class.

Pupils think of two or three questions to ask the person beside them on the contents of the family tree poster.

…to locate sort and present information.
Managing Information

 

…to work independently when carrying out research.
Self Management

Discuss with pupils how their identity has been shaped through the significant people in their lives and their families.

Pupils research and construct their own family tree poster. Photographs of family members could be included in the family tree.

Useful resource:

BBC Family History – www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory

Alternatively, pupils could draw some form of visual representation of individuals and/or family members who they feel have helped shape who they are today, for example, mum, dad, uncle, friend, youth leader, neighbour, teacher etc.

 

What can my name tell me?
Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning … 		Possible Learning. Teaching and Assessment Activities
 

Invite the pupils to share with their peers the information they know about their first name

Prompts may include, the meaning of their name, who chose their name, are they named after anyone, do they share their name with anyone famous or someone they have studied in history?

…to select, access and record relevant information.
Managing Information

 

Pupils research the meaning of their names.

Create a class name frieze, illustrating the meanings of all the pupils’ names in the class.

What can my surname tell me?
Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning … 		Possible Learning. Teaching and Assessment Activities
 

Explain to pupils that one of their most obvious links with the past is their surnames as they reveal a lot of information about our ancestors.

They can reveal the trade of one of your forefathers or the name of one of your ancestors.
…to select appropriate sources of information.
Managing Information 		Pupils research their surnames and their family coat of arms to find out more about who they are. Pupils could be guided to a variety of sources to access information, for example, the local library, the internet, older members of their family etc.
…to present information appropriate to audience.

Pupils choose an appropriate way to present their research to their peers (poster display, ‘Talk to the class’ session, Each on Teach One* etc).

The information collected could include a picture of their family coat-of-arms and some new interesting and exciting information they found out about their ancestry, for example, whether or not their name originates from Norman times/ Gaelic Irish/with the Plantations etc.
Opportunity to assess Communication

 

What can others tell me?
Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning … 		Possible Learning. Teaching and Assessment Activities
…to generate ideas/categories of information.
Managing Information

Explain to pupils that they can find out more about their identity by talking to other people.

Pupils think of an older person they would like to talk to about their past and their memories. This person should be of their parents or grandparents age. As a class, brainstorm a list of topics they would like to find out more about. For example, where and when they were born, places they have lived, favourite pastimes, technological changes, did they ever take part in an important day in history, what has been the most exciting day of their lives so far, memories the interviewee has of the pupil etc.

…to ask appropriate questions to structure a simple historical enquiry.

…to collect and experiment with evidence that gives clues to the past.

Pupils devise interview questions (some time could be spent addressing the importance of choosing the right type of questions).

They then carry out the interview and record the information
…to select appropriate information for the task.

Use the information gathered to design an imaginative and creative Memories Capsule containing the memories of their interviewee that could be presented or sent to them on completion.

 

Can a building tell a story?

Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning … 		Possible Learning. Teaching and Assessment Activities

…to contribute their ideas and reach an agreement.
Working With Others

 

Your Local History

Historical investigation opportunity

Pupils brainstorm a list of historical points of interest in their local area which they feel have helped shaped part of who they are today, for example, school, church, castle, historical ruin etc. Pupils take a class vote on a place to research.

…to generate/design questions to structure a historical enquiry.
Managing Information

 

Pupils generate questions about their chosen building or historical site, for example:

  • When was it built?
  • What was it used for/what happened here in the past?
  • Who designed the building?
  • How has the architecture of the building changed over time?
How does the building add to the local area?
  • What if the building site was knocked down? What impact would this have on your local area?
… to select appropriate sources to gain information. Pupils brainstorm what methods of research and types of sources they may need to help carry out their investigation further.
… to extract relevant information from different sources.

Divide the class into groups and give each one a specific section of the building/historical site to research. Discuss how to go about the investigation and what each group needs to do to uncover clues from the past.

 
…to work collaboratively as a team.
Working With Others

Pupils agree on a way of presenting their research findings (a speech, a PowerPoint presentation, a web page). Each group must contribute to the presentation of their research findings by focusing on their particular aspect of the building or historical site.

 

…to appreciate the contribution of heritage in the local environment.

Pupils could invite groups such as The National Trust, the local historical society, tourism office or a local property developer to hear their presentations. Follow this with an open forum to discuss the importance of preserving/restoring buildings and historical sites in the local area.

Opportunity to assess ICT/Communication

 

What have I learned in this unit?
Learning Intentions
Pupils are learning … 		Possible Learning. Teaching and Assessment Activities

…to review and reflect on what has been learned and how.

to identify what skills they have developed.
Self-Management

Pupils reflect on their learning throughout the unit in relation to how the past has shaped who they are today.

3/2/1 Activity

Pupils reflect and record:

3 things new things they found out about themselves through this unit.

2 skills they developed.

1 thing they would like to find out more information about.

 

Development of Learning Outcomes
  • Research and manage information effectively to investigate historical issues, using Mathematics and ICT where appropriate.
  • Show deeper historical understanding by thinking critically and flexibly, solving problems and making informed decisions, using Mathematics and ICT where appropriate.
  • Demonstrate creativity and initiative when developing ideas and following them through.
  • Work effectively with others.
  • Demonstrate self-management by working systematically, persisting with tasks, evaluating and improving own performance.
  • Communicate effectively in oral, visual, written, mathematical and ICT formats, showing clear awareness of audience and purpose.
Links with other Key Elements Links with Learning for Life and Work

Personal Understanding.

Mutual understanding

Citizenship

Personal Understanding

Key concept – Self-Awareness