Resources for Secondary Schools

What we offer

• Boxes with objects relating to KS3 First World War for loan to schools
• 'Through the Eyes of a Soldier' - A KS3 First World War teachers pack

Plus bring KS3 World War I History to Life with classroom sessions using objects and information about Warwickshire soldiers created by a retired FE college history lecturer.

Students will:

• work in small groups
• develop communication skills
• evaluate and infer from the evidence
• gain a sense of chronology
• develop historical enquiry skills
• improve evidential comprehension and understanding

Further information: handling boxes

The boxes contain different objects and ephemera. There is a mixture of real objects, facsimile copies of ephemera and high quality historically accurate reproductions of uniforms and equipment. The manufacturer supplied the uniforms and clothing equipment for the TV programme ‘The Trench’ and is also widely used by living history groups.
Objects may include periscope, compass, trench cap, webbing, jacket, sweetheart brooch, photos, postcards, next of kin plaques, medals, army documents, Xmas gift box and letters.
The handling boxes include guidance notes on how to handle the objects and brief descriptions of each object.

The main links to the History Curriculum are:
Historical enquiry
Pupils should be taught to:

• Identify, select and use a range of appropriate sources of information including documents, printed sources, the media, photographs, music, museums, buildings and sites, and ICT-based sources as a basis for independent historical enquiries

Historical interpretation
Pupils should be taught:

• How and why historical events, people, situations and changes have been interpreted in many different ways

The school must collect and return the boxes to the museum. The boxes are loaned on a weekly basis (Monday to Friday) for which there is a £15.00 charge.

Further information: ‘'Through the Eyes of a Soldier' - A KS3 First World War teachers pack

Unlock the past with the pack, which focuses on the experiences of Reg Wilkes. Students will be able to identify with him, as he was a local teenage soldier. The activities use a variety of primary sources, including letters, personal diaries, photos, newspaper articles and the Battalion War Diary. The pack is linked to the national curriculum, namely history, the literacy strategy and ITC. Students are able to use Reg’s experiences to explore the wider picture of the War and typicality. There is an emphasis on developing historical enquiry skills. The pack aims to develop evidential understanding, comprehension, inference, emphatic understanding, evaluation skills and a sense of chronology.

The main links to the History Curriculum are:

Chronological understanding
Pupils should be taught to recognise and make appropriate use of conventions that describe historical periods and the passage of time.

Historical interpretation
Pupils should be taught about:

• How and why historical events, people, situations and changes have been interpreted in different ways
• How to evaluate interpretations

Historical enquiry
Pupils should be taught to:

• Identify, select and use a range of appropriate sources of information including documents, printed sources, the media, photographs, music, museums, buildings and sites, and ICT-based sources as a basis for independent historical enquiries
• Evaluate the sources used, select and record information relevant to the enquiry and reach conclusions

Organisation and communication
Pupils should be taught to:

• Prioritise and select historical information
• Accurately select and use chronological conventions and historical vocabulary appropriate to the periods studied to organise historical information
• Communicate their knowledge and understanding of history, using a range of techniques

For a review of the primary sources see the article “‘Please send socks.’ How much can Reg Wilkes tell us about the Great War?” in Teaching History magazine, Issue 114 March 2004, written by Sally Evans, Chris Frier, Jemma Phillips and Sarah Colton.
The pack, only available from the museum, can be obtained for £10.00 (including p + p).

For further details contact Stephanie Bennett Tel: 01926 491653 rrfmuseum@hotmail.co.uk