Teachers TV: Primary History - Artefacts

KS2 history games: a classroom museum, dig box and lost suitcase

Three great lesson ideas for looking at artefacts with your KS2 class. Why not use a lost suitcase to raise questions, or try a classroom museum or an archaeological dig? A key principle for teaching history is to help your class raise questions, and make sure they back up their ideas with evidence. In this programme we see three ideas for teaching using historical artefacts demonstrated by Cathy McIlroy and Tom Boudell of St Gregory’s School, Sandwell. A lost suitcase inspires a detective enquiry into the owner of the case. What can photo albums, invitations and old school uniform tell about the owner and their life? A dig box in the classroom is a great introduction to archaeology. As the children dig deeper, older objects are revealed. Finally, having studied artefacts from the Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasures, the class takes the opportunity to make copies of some of them and display them in a working classroom museum, complete with security guard and receptionist!