john w. Posted 28 October , 2003 Share Posted 28 October , 2003 Having set out to research my village memorial after having looked at the super websites that are in existence... are there any Pals who are actively taking what they have found or the skills they have learnt into the classroom to get young people who live around the memorial to take an interest in what is fundamentally part of their local history? Some of what I am doing is research via the internet.. use of databases, CWGC, Census, and so on. Talking to the older members of the community, as the WW2 info is not genrally available in the same way as WW1. Taking pictures, finding pictures, local not ones from the period. Local history books and reading how national events affected the local life. I would like to know if possible the level to which this is happening if at all.... John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 28 October , 2003 Share Posted 28 October , 2003 I'm definately trying to get my website (and the research into the four memorials) into the secondary schools "on the patch" - so far without success. One school never replied to either email or letter. The other originally showed some interest in using the website for project work. The teacher offered an invite to talk to students but, then, has never been back with dates (in spite of gentle reminder). We can but try, mate. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john w. Posted 28 October , 2003 Author Share Posted 28 October , 2003 I believe its either year 7 or 8 that 'do ww1', but the problem I know is getting to the memorial, crossing roads and things. With the way that legislation goes, teachers are liable for anything if it goes wrong... I came across a student from that age who had to look for a picture of ww1, she duly found one put it in a border and then put her name to it... end... How far is it to the memorial ? Perhaps the local scouts or guides might do this... who knows... John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted 28 October , 2003 Share Posted 28 October , 2003 Details of my local Memorial are in the History Depts of both local High Schools. The pupils select a name and find out all they can about him or her, where they came from, what did they do before 1914, where they died, what was happening at the time, how it fitted into the overall War effort, what was happening at home. They also have the list of casualties in a set of encapsulated sheets for use when touring the battlefields and cemeteries so they can find graves and locations of local men involved in battles. In Scotland it is in Standard Grade and Higher. It is also being used in local studies and genealogy classes in the Community High School. I'm taking the class in the latter on 6th November. Any details you publish must be in a format which is of use in the curriculum eg. encapsulated lists for use in the rain! Aye Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john w. Posted 28 October , 2003 Author Share Posted 28 October , 2003 Malcolm Impressed.. much better than my recent experience.... Looks a worthwhile experience and also the students get to know something about the people they are studying. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Thompson Posted 28 October , 2003 Share Posted 28 October , 2003 Both year 6 classes from a local primary school are currently focusing their lessons on remembrance and sorrow, linking their history topic with Remembrance Day. As part of these studies they will be visiting the local cemetery next week where I have been invited to talk to them and show them the war graves there, my research into local servicemen and the impact that both world wars had on the local community. Some parents will be accompanying us in order to provide a safe ratio of adults to children. The Cemetery Officer for the region has also kindly arranged to open the chapel in the cemetery to assist with the presentation. Other local schools have also expressed an interest in a similar venture. All this was arranged following a chance meeting with the Cemetery Officer recently and was instigated at the schools behest. Hopefully this will spark some interest in the minds of the younger generation. Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john w. Posted 28 October , 2003 Author Share Posted 28 October , 2003 will be interested to see how the Year 6 get on and their reactions to the work... please let me know as it will be good to see what went on... Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham-McAdam Posted 29 October , 2003 Share Posted 29 October , 2003 I'm teaching Y9 First World War for the first time this year (what a treat!) and having to split the groups with a regular history teacher (I'm mostly music). I've been doing a project on the school memorial (52 men from Lincoln School). Each student has a name to research and the aim is to produce a Powerpoint (which they all understand from ICT) presentation about each, with CWGC data, cemetery plans and photos and local photos. All very interesting, I think and often a good result (including perhaps a germ of an interest in visiting these places). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john w. Posted 29 October , 2003 Author Share Posted 29 October , 2003 Not only will that cover the History but also IT Key Skills level 2, worthwhile checking if you do it... How have the kids reacted to it.. do they find it good? and is it a good way in to teach WW1? What do the powerpoints look like in the end? Do you just use text and pictures? John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Thompson Posted 3 December , 2003 Share Posted 3 December , 2003 I mentioned previously in this thread about a series of talks that I would be giving to local schoolchildren who were invited to visit their local cemetery to learn about the men who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. I am pleased to say that the event proved a great success and was picked up by the local paper who ran an article on it. The cemetery has suffered from vandalism recently and the local Council hope that these tours will help young people appreciate the grounds and understand the role it plays in the community. I thought I would share a snippet from a subsequent letter received from one of 10 year olds: "Thank you very much for the time and effort that you put in to teach us about the cemetery last week. It was a very emotional visit. I never knew how many people died in the world wars, there were so many! The picture that I remember is the one from France of all the graves in rows. It was very moving. On Sunday, I attended the memorial service at the park, with Mummy, Daddy and my sister. There were lots of people who were wearing medals. Yesterday we had two minutes silence in the hall and I thought about what you had said and about all the people from the town that had died in the wars." There are intentions to repeat this exercise in the future and the local council have suggested placing a named plaque on each tree in the cemetery in remembrance of the 20+ war graves. A very worthwhile exercise. Regards Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 4 December , 2003 Share Posted 4 December , 2003 I think there's evidence here of some excellent work going on. Schools often fail to appreciate the importance of a local war memorial as a historical document. I find that sometimes teachers don't know where the local memorial is and they often are not aware of any specific local connection with the Great War. I'm thinking of one school where no-one - staff or pupils - knew that a Zeppelin had crashed on their town, despite the fact that some of the students live in or near the two streets named after the pilot who shot the airship down. Local studies of this kind can be an important part of provoking interest, as people have noted, but (with some notable exceptions which we've heard about on this forum) schools do seem a bit slow to realise this sometimes. However - well done the pioneers! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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