History at key stages 1 and 2 (Year 3/4)

Unit 18: What was it like to live here in the past?
Section 3: What can local buildings or sites tell us about the past?

Objectives

Children should learn:

that there are different sources of information for their area in the past
to develop skills of accurate observation and recording
to make deductions from physical evidence
to recognise that some questions can be answered by looking at buildings and others cannot

Activities

Outcomes

Children:

Arrange a visit to a local building(s). Ask the children to observe and record information to help answer questions such as What does it look like? How big is it? What is it made of? What is it used for now? What was it used for in the past? Has it always been used for this? Is there anything unusual about it? What are the surroundings like? Why do you think it was built here?

Lead a discussion on what sort of people the children think might have lived/worked/visited here. Ask them to look at size, number of rooms, decorative features and layout as clues to its use. Encourage them to ask questions about the place as it was in the past - even if it is not possible to find the answers!

Back in the classroom, ask the children to use reference materials, eg books, ICT to help them find out what it might have been like to have lived and worked in that building in the past.

identify some features of a building through observation and asking and answering questions
record their observations by annotating drawings or by labelling and completing a prepared outline
write a short, accurate description of the place suggesting who might have used it

Points to note

Teachers need to select reference materials that are accessible and relevant to the chosen locality.

Focus on what is special about the building. Develop a storyline for the investigation, and keep it in mind as sources are introduced and questioned.

This activity could be focused around a case study of a particular family or group of people linked with a house or workplace in the area; or on an interesting character who lived locally in the past; or on an event from the past, eg How were national events such as jubilees celebrated? How did the Second World War affect people in the local area?

Sections in this unit

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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.


	1. What is our area like today?
	2. How can we use maps to explore how our area has changed?
	3. What can local buildings or sites tell us about the past?
	4. What do pictures and photographs tell us about past life in our area?
	5. Which written sources can we use?
	6. How can oral sources help us to find out about how people lived?
	7. What was it like to live in our area in the past?