UK National Archives - Educationhttp://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/
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What is this site about?
This site, designed for both teachers and students, contains a wealth of online resources for use in class or at home. There are topics and online lessons as well as podcasts.
There is obviously a concentration on British history but there is such a wide variety of resources that gives it a much broader appeal. The topics are designed to be more in-depth while the lessons are for one class with an emphasis on questions that can be given for homework.
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Sections within the site include:
Early Modern 1485-1750 |
Empire and Industry 1750-1850 |
Victorians 1850-1901 |
Early 20th Century 1901-1918 |
Interwar 1918-1939 |
Second World War 1939-1945 |
Post War 1945-present Why was it chosen as Site of the week?There are a number of reasons why this was chosen as site of the week:
- It has such a vast array of resources that are relevant to all levels of History - Primary, Junior Cert and Leaving Cert.
- The resources can be downloaded in pdf format which allows their use in class with or without Internet connection.
- The resources are clearly divided into different levels of ability of key stages and these broadly correspond as follows: Key Stages 1 & 2 = Primary; Key Stages 3 & 4 = Junior Cert / Transition Year; Key Stages 5 = Leaving Cert
- It deals with the topics in an appealing and useful manner – based on using primary documents with crucially supporting contextual information.
- Each topic is broken down into a number of enquiry questions or sub-topics that help students to better understand the period being covered and to reach independent conclusions based on the evidence.
For example, the World War I topic -
The Great War: Conflict and Controversy - has the following enquiry questions:
- Why did Britain go to war in 1914?
- The Trench Experience
- Lions led by donkeys
- Why was it so hard to make peace?
- How has the Great War been remembered?
How could it be used in class?For
Junior Cycle there are a large number of relevant resources that could be used in class. For instance:
Uniting the Kingdoms - Ireland examines the British conquest of Ireland from 1169 up to the end of the Nine Years War in 1603. It has explanatory text and primary sources. This material is very relevant in First Year in understanding Medieval Ireland and in Second Year as an introduction to the Plantations.
World War II is a remarkable resource that is divided into the different theatres of the war. Each contains animated maps and investigations using primary sources. The most relevant theatre is the West. Very relevant in Third Year and should be used after some background introduction in class.
At
Senior Level some of the resources that are Key Stage 3-4 are still very relevant especially for Transition Year. For Leaving Cert the focus would be mainly on Later Modern Europe 3 but there are some useful topics covered for Later Modern 2, 4, 5 and 6 as well. Here are some very relevant resources and how they tie in with the Irish History curriculum:
World War One - LME2
Heroes and Villains - LME 3/6 - particularly useful as it examines a personality and a controversial event in their career with the aid of primary documents, e.g. Stalin and Industrialisation, Churchill and Dresden, etc.
The Cabinet Papers 1915-1979 - LME 3/4/5 - covers events such as the
General Strike (1926) ,
Economic Policy in the 1930s,
Second World War and
British Withdrawal from India (1947).
India – The Road to Partition (1939-1947) - LME 5 - a large number of scanned primary documents covering the major events or themes with transcripts that are ideal for use in class.
Cold War - LME 4 / 6 - this resource could also be used at Junior Cert as the three case studies are covered Berlin Blockade, Korean War and the Cuban Missiles Crisis. Looks at the causes and course of the Cold War with the aid of primary documents.
Civil Rights in America - LME 6 - a wealth of scanned original primary documents with transcripts similar to India above.
Useful Podcasts
The Making of the Stalinist State - LME 3
Summer of '69 - LME 4