History at key stages 1 and 2    (Year 5/6)

Explain some of the main changes in Britain since 1948, eg change in population structure, more cars, increased consumerism.

Ask the children to identify their piece of evidence (see 'points to note'), describe it and place it on a time line in the correct decade.

Ask the children to look at all the evidence for one decade. What does it tell us about the decade? Compare one decade with today. What has changed? What has stayed the same?

Discuss with the children some of the causes of the changes, eg impact of new technologies, changes in transport, immigration.
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Section 2: What types of evidence can we use to find out about life in Britain since the Second World War?

Refer to the sources of information used in the first activity and to children's prior learning in history to talk about the different types of sources of information available in different periods that the children have studied, eg What type did we use to find out about ancient Greece? The Victorians? What was similar? What was different?

Discuss with them the similarities and differences between this evidence and that for other periods. What types of evidence have we used to find out about change since 1948? What other types of evidence could we use to find out about this period that is not available for different periods they have studied?
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Section 3: THE ENQUIRY: What are the changes in work, home life, popular culture, population and technology in Britain since 1948? When did these changes happen?

Using a range of sources of information discuss some of the characteristic features of British society before WWII, eg listening to the radio, unemployment during the Depression, fashion, range of foods available, movement of people including refugees, emigrants and immigrants pre-1942.

Talk about what it means to do an enquiry. Introduce the two main questions and the topic areas. Explain that the enquiry is carefully structured in five stages. They will work in groups to research a topic and will present their findings using a time line.
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Section 4: THE ENQUIRY STAGE 1: What are the changes in work, home life, popular culture, population and technology in Britain since 1948? When did these changes happen?

Divide the children into groups. Allocate a topic and relevant sources to each group. Ask them to focus on: What are the most important changes in your topic area since 1948? When did they happen? Children familiarise themselves with one or more sources and collect information. They record their findings in two columns, headed 'What do I know?' and 'What would I like to know?'
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Section 5: THE ENQUIRY STAGE 2: What are the changes in work, home life, popular culture, population and technology in Britain since 1948? When did these changes happen?

Discuss with each group the progress of their enquiry, eg What have they found out so far? What else do they want to know? What are they finding difficult? How could they solve their problems?
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Section 6: THE ENQUIRY STAGE 3: What are the changes in work, home life, popular culture, population and technology in Britain since 1948? When did these changes happen?

Introduce specific questions for each topic, eg on population of Britain: What was Windrush? When did it happen? Why were African Caribbeans invited to Britain? What contributions have they, and other groups, made to life in Britain? How have they changed it? Why were people leaving England at the same time? Where did they go? Can you find out how one person or family felt about moving? Allocate these questions to individual children within a group.
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Section 7: THE ENQUIRY STAGE 4: What are the changes in work, home life, popular culture, population and technology in Britain since 1948? When did these changes happen?

As a class, discuss each group's findings. The children select the most important changes found in their topic and place them on the class time line.
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Section 8: THE ENQUIRY STAGE 5: What are the changes in work, home life, popular culture, population and technology in Britain since 1948? When did these changes happen?

Ask the children What else do we want to find out? How can we do it? Each group identifies four or five questions that they have been unable to answer so far.

Arrange a visit from a person who is old enough to talk about change in Britain since 1948.

Each group asks the visitor four or five questions about their topic and the children note the main points.

Discuss the interview with the children, eg Which of the experiences of the person surprised them? How did the experiences match what they had found out? What did they find out from the person that they were not able to find out from their other sources of information?
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Section 9: What links and connections can we make between the changes in British life since 1948?

Use the time line to stimulate the children to identify the links and connections across all topics, eg What changes in work led to changes in the population? How did changes in technology lead to changes in food?

Place arrows on the time line to show where changes in different areas can be linked to each other.
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Section 10: What have been the most important changes since 1948? How are these changes linked?

Ask the children to use all the information the class has found out to write an extended response to the questions. Discuss with them how they could organise their answer, eg How will you start it? What could you say at the end? How will you back up your ideas? Will you include quotes/pictures from sources?
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