‘Why are historians still arguing about the First World War?’ Using original letters, reports, photographs and maps, students follow an enquiry led approach via six modules of 1-3 lessons each. Working with these sources your students will be able to put the evidence to the test and bust a series of common myths about this conflict, including were the soldiers ‘lions led by donkeys’ or did ’women spent the war nursing and knitting’. This scheme of work is designed as an an ‘off the peg’ resource for students learning about the First World War at Key Stage 3-4.

Discover the Dissolution is a national enrichment project run by The National Archives for schools and history groups. The aim is to allow students of all ages to practice their research skills. Groups are encouraged to use the Discover the Dissolution resources to locate a local monastery or nunnery that was involved in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1530s. They can then use the internet, libraries, local archives or other resources available to them to explore the story of the site. Once the research is complete, students can present their findings to others in the school and submit their work to the Discover the Dissolution Schools Map to be published online and made available for other students to use as an educational resource. You can find the main Discover the Dissolution Resource here: http://bit.ly/32k9Mlp

During her brief reign, Queen Anne received numerous petitions. A petition was a formal written request to the monarch by a person or group of people for a specific purpose. They included appeals from people against being sent to prison, or requests concerning religion, the sale of goods, pleas for jobs in the government or the Navy and so on. These requests therefore, can give insight as to how a monarch was expected to govern and carry out their role. Likewise, seals, used on most documents in the past to ‘close’ them and to prove that a document really was actually from the sender are useful sources for finding out about the monarchy. A Great Seal was particularly significant as it belonged to the monarch and was attached to all important documents which came from the crown. If a document had this seal, it had the monarch’s ‘seal of approval’ and reflected their commands. The seal used in this lesson is the Second Great Seal of Queen Anne and gives us clues about her image and how she wanted to be seen. Finally, some documents were decorated with images of the monarch to show that their contents relates to a particular ruler. This lesson contains an official treasury document which reveals an initial portrait of Queen Anne. Can you use the sources in this lesson to find out more about this Queen?

The purpose of this document collection is to allow students and teachers to develop their own questions and lines of historical enquiry on the Cold War. Students could work with a group of sources or single source on a certain aspect. Teachers may wish to use the collection to develop their own resources or encourage students to ‘curate’ their own ‘exhibition’ of the most significant sources on the topic. Another idea would be to challenge students to use the documents to substantiate or dispute points made in the introduction with this collection. We hope that the documents will offer students a chance to develop their powers of evaluation and analysis and enrich their understanding of this topic. Alternatively, teachers could use the National Archives Education Service’s Cold War website alongside this collection for specific questions or activities connected to these documents.

From the sealing of Magna Carta, the coming of the Armada, the Great Fire of London, a Christmas ceasefire on the Western Front in 1914 to Decimalisation in 1971, this selection of sources, based on records held at The National Archives, can be used in the primary classroom to support the National Curriculum element ‘significant events’ beyond living memory. The collection is by no means exhaustive, but contains some of the popular choices and other suggestions for teaching this topic. We hope to add to the collection over time. In addition, we have provided links to other useful resources for ‘significant’ events. The sources can be used within any scheme of work which is based on developing a sense of chronology where pupils can see that a particular ‘significant event’ fits into a time frame. Again working with sources in this way will help pupils to register similarities and differences between aspects of life between periods, for example comparing the Great Exhibition of 1851 with the Festival of Britain in 1951. Other ‘events’ sources can be used to consider questions of what we are remembering and why? Have things always been the same? Why have some things changed?

To mark the 100-year commemorations of the Representation of the People Act, the Education Service worked with professional film-maker, Nigel Kellaway, to engage young people (aged 16-19) with suffrage records held at The National Archives. ‘Suffrage Tales’ is the outcome of this project; a short stop-motion animation film, researched, created and filmed during Sunday 30 July – Friday 4 August 2017. As the power of the vote comes under scrutiny and provokes highly contentious debate, this film throws light upon the historical context of the franchise in a uniquely refreshing way. The young people involved drew upon a wide range of documents from our collection, to produce a film about their interpretations of the fight for women’s suffrage. The film is now presented here as an educational resource, teaching tales of Suffrage with accompanying questions for use in the classroom.

Holding History is a stop motion animated film created by students during a week-long workshop at The National Archives. The film was designed to highlight key historical stories from within our collection and covers a variety of time periods and themes. Many thanks to the Friends of The National Archives for their support on this project. When making the film, students were asked to consider: What is The National Archives? How has it changed and developed over the centuries? And what are the challenges, threats and importance of an archive in today’s world? Each student was then given a specific story to research within our records before they could storyboard, design, create and capture their stop motion sets. These finished film clips can now be used by teachers and students as brief overviews, introductions or interest points for the various topics explored within the film. These accompanying questions are designed to work alongside the film clip, to guide students in thinking about what they have learned from the clip or from their lessons and previous knowledge. Some questions can be answered from the film itself, others are intended to be answered after class discussion or independent thought. The clips can also work as a model for student’s creative exploration of history, allowing students to see what can be done to tell stories from history and inspire their own creative work – either through animation, drawing, storytelling or other creative exploits.

From writers to royals, politicians, artists, inventors or campaigners, this selection of sources, based on records held at The National Archives, can be used in the primary classroom to support the National Curriculum element ‘significant individuals’ who have contributed to national or international achievements. The collection is by no means exhaustive but contains some of the popular choices and more for teaching this topic. We hope to add to the collection over time. In addition, we have provided links to other useful resources for ‘significant’ figures. The sources can be used within any scheme of work which is based on developing a sense of chronology where pupils can see that a particular ‘significant individual’ fits into a time frame. Again working with sources in this way will help pupils to register similarities and differences between aspects of life between periods, for example comparing Queen Anne to Queen Victoria or Florence Nightingale to Edith Cavell. Other ‘people’ sources can be used to consider questions of what we are remembering and why? Have things always been the same? Why have some things changed?

The National Archives holds many documents pertaining to the First World War, allowing us to investigate many aspects of wartime life. Within these collections we have gathered together examples of a variety of records that relate to Medicine on the Western Front. The collections cover key examples of the medical issues faced during wartime, innovations inspired by the war, and the triumphs and struggles of those serving as doctors and nurses as well as the soldiers abroad. Both these collections of original sources, Part 1 and Part 2, can be used to support GCSE thematic modules which cover Medicine through Time to the present day and the historical context of the British sector of the Western Front. Teachers have the flexibility to download and create their own resources from these documents, to develop their pupils’ understanding of how to work with sources and prepare and practice for source based exam questions. Each collection includes a wide range of sources to encourage students to think broadly when exploring these topics. With each collection we have suggested 5 tasks based on some of the documents. The tasks can be completed individually or in groups. There is a downloadable pdf of questions to help working with sources. All documents are provided with transcripts. We hope that exposure to original source material may also foster further document research. The following themes covered by the documents in Part 2 include: Treatments for ‘shell shock’, neurasthenia and gas attacks, government reports on ‘shell shock’ and ‘mustard gas’ The trench system and its organisation and topography. Weapons, experience of being under fire, defensive mining, gas masks Daily life on the front: from mud to hair cuts The attack on Hill 60, south west of Ypres, April 1915 The experience of ordinary men of their medical treatment and trench warfare gathered from some letters written by those who had worked for Great Western Railway before the war. The experience of some of the Women’s Army and Nursing Services on the Western Front

The National Archives holds many documents pertaining to the First World War, allowing us to investigate many aspects of wartime life. Within these collections we have gathered together examples of a variety of records that relate to Medicine on the Western Front. The collections cover key examples of the medical issues faced during wartime, innovations inspired by the war, and the triumphs and struggles of those serving as doctors and nurses as well as the soldiers abroad. Both these collections of original sources, Part 1 and Part 2, can be used to support GCSE thematic modules which cover Medicine through Time to the present day and the historical context of the British sector of the Western Front. Teachers have the flexibility to download and create their own resources from these documents, to develop their pupils’ understanding of how to work with sources and prepare and practice for source based exam questions. Each collection includes a wide range of sources to encourage students to think broadly when exploring these topics. With each collection we have suggested 5 tasks based on some of the documents. The tasks can be completed individually or in groups. There is a downloadable pdf of questions to help working with sources. All documents are provided with transcripts. We hope that exposure to original source material may also foster further document research. The following themes covered by the documents in Part 1 include: Type of injury which resulted from trench warfare. Medical treatments received by injured soldiers and some of the medical developments that came with the First World War. Dangers faced by soldiers caused by exploding shells, grenades, shrapnel, gas, personal combat, flooding, noise, acute stress. Type of medical services from transport to hospitals. (For the injured, this could involve initial treatment and transport by a Field Ambulance unit and return to duty or movement to a Casualty Clearing Station. From here injured soldiers could be moved to a Base Hospital before transportation to a British military/civilian hospital at home via hospital ship. Transport itself ranged from stretcher bearers, horse-drawn ambulances, motor vehicles, boats or ships.) Included here also is the personal War Office record of war poet Wilfred Owen (one of a specific record set of notable high-ranking officers in the British Army).

‘Armistice and Legacy’ is a graphic arts project illustrated by nine students who spent a week at The National Archives, illustrating their interpretations of First World War records and the research undertaken by The National Archives staff during the centenary of the war. The tales are told through the eyes of those who served in the war, showing the diverse experiences at the front and at home. The eBook can be used as a resource to learn about the experiences of war, or as an example of work your students could create inspired by historical documents.

Despite ruling so long ago, Edgar’s reign is still visible in our lives today. It was during Edgar’s rule that England was divided into shires and hundreds for local governance. His coronation is the earliest to be described in detail and has formed the template for all coronations of English Royalty to this day. This lesson provides pupils with a glimpse of Anglo-Saxon society through one of the oldest documents looked after by The National Archives. The document is not part of our standard collection of royal and governmental documents preserved for administrative purposes, but was instead presented to us for safekeeping in 1868. This document is a charter, a formal statement of grant, making the recipient Ælfhere thane of a small area of what is now Devon. Pupils can examine the content of the charter to recognise the influence of the King and the Church over the land and its people. Pupils could research Anglo-Saxon life to discover what the land could be used for, in terms of farming and woodland crafts. Pupils can consider the rights of the King to use land he has granted to others for his own purposes as described in the Charter, and why this would be necessary during the Anglo-Saxon period.

Writing War, Writing Peace is a creative writing anthology written by students who spent a week at The National Archives, learning from our records about the experiences of Nurses in the First World War. Mentored by Melvin Burgess and Sara Robinson, the students were encouraged to explore service records, diaries and photographs to put together their own creative pieces inspired by real events. These stories and poems are the result.

Illuminated manuscripts are luxury items, displaying the wealth and often piety of their owners through golden details on religious or secular imagery. It is unusual, however, to see such religious iconography in the pages of Domesday. The importance of Domesday Book meant that several copies were needed, with three being made in the 13th Century. This copy, the Abbreviato, was made for the Exchequer and presents a shorter (abbreviated) version of the original book. The copy begins with the story of Edward the Confessor, showing scenes from his life to show his religious piety.

The purpose of this two part document collection is to allow students and teachers to develop their own questions and lines of historical enquiry on various social, economic and political aspects of 1920s Britain. The document icons are labelled so it is possible to detect key themes at a glance and they are arranged in chronological order. In part one the themes covered include: The economy: Geddes Axe, the Gold Standard 1925, unemployment Industrial unrest: General Strike, Hunger Marches 1927 & 1929 First Labour Government 1924 Communist Party of Great Britain Transport: motors cars and trains Role of women In part two the themes covered include: Education Housing BBC Transport: motors cars and trains Holidays, nightclubs and dog racing

Why were so many lives lost in the disaster? Exploring information and testimony submitted to the British government inquiry into the sinking of Titanic, students investigate why so many passengers and crew lost their lives in the early hours of 15 April 1912. Through close analysis of these documents, students link causes, reaching a conclusion about which factors were most significant. This workshop supports schools studying challenges to Britain and the wider world, 1901 to the present day. Book The Sinking of the Titanic now

Did people take Magna Carta seriously? In 1225, Henry II proclaimed that the legal rights granted in his latest version of Magna Carta would be ‘held in our kingdom of England forever.’ Students work with a range of documents to consider the lasting impact of the Charter in medieval England. This workshop supports schools studying the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509. Book Magna Carta now

Was appearance everything for a ruler in the 16th century? Henry VIII used symbols and images to display royal power. In this exciting session, pupils work with original documents from Henry’s reign to investigate how he was portrayed as a great monarch. This workshop supports schools focusing on a thematic study in British history (beyond 1066). Book Image of a King now

How typical was Albert Edwin Rippington’s experience of war? ‘…if you ever meet a chap that says he wants to go back call him a liar’. These are words penned by Albert Edwin Rippington, an employee of the Audit Office for the Great Western Railway. Albert, along with many of his colleagues, had enlisted to fight in the First World War. He was wounded in action and wrote about his experiences from his hospital bed back in England. Albert was clearly deeply affected by his time in the trenches, but how typical was his experience? Exploring a range of letters written by soldiers who enlisted from the Great Western Railway to fight, students will investigate these men’s experiences of war; the conditions in the trenches and in reserve, and the impact that these experiences had on their morale and health of these men. Book From the Front now

The early 19th Century saw many advances in science and medicine, in a time where scientific and religious ideas often clashed over what was morally correct. These ideas are explored in nineteenth century literature such as the novel Frankenstein, but the stories in the real world were often as shocking and brutal as the Gothic fantasy. This lesson explores the business of the grave robber and how they furthered the study of medicine through a grey area of the law. This lesson can be used as part of several fields of study for GCSE, including: Crime and Punishment History of Medicine/Health and the People Social Reform of the early 1800s Historical Context of ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley. The confessions of Bishop and May describe their daily lives in great detail. The full confessions are twelve pages long each, and so have been presented as extracts to provide the most relevant sections describing one particular case. The initial task can be completed as group work, in carousel, or individually as its own lesson before moving on to the rest of the sources. Care should be taken in providing the source describing the murder to students. The final source shows the on going effects of the Act over twenty-five years later, asking students to consider these sources in the context of a larger narrative.