KPS teachings
It illustrates how children were taught in a KPS school the 1800’s. The classes were usually very large so children were taken in smaller groups by an older pupil called a monitor at certain times during the school day. They stood in a semi-circle and would repeat words or letters until they got them right. The class teacher at these times would supervise what was happening. Parents who were accustomed to the schoolmaster teaching each child in the pay schools or hedgeschools disliked the monitors teaching the children.
Courtesy of The Church of Ireland College of Education.KPS teachings
Courtesy of The Church of Ireland College of Education.
Courtesy of The Church of Ireland College of Education.
KPS teachings
It illustrates how children were taught in a KPS school the 1800’s. The classes were usually very large so children were taken in smaller groups by an older pupil called a monitor at certain times during the school day. They stood in a semi-circle and would repeat words or letters until they got them right. The class teacher at these times would supervise what was happening. Parents who were accustomed to the schoolmaster teaching each child in the pay schools or hedgeschools disliked the monitors teaching the children.
Courtesy of The Church of Ireland College of Education.
Select some Pictures. Use a data projector, overhead projector or visualizer to enlarge them sufficiently for the whole class.
1. Brainstorming
Examination of a picture of a school in the past. Children identify similarities and differences which they notice. They speculate on when the picture was taken. They compose questions based on the picture. From these they list some things that they would like to learn about schools long ago.
2. Picture Jigsaw
The teacher cuts a picture of the interior/exterior of a school or children going to school in the past into three or four jigsaw pieces. These are placed in envelopes , one envelope per picture. Children work in groups of three. They are given one envelope and remove one piece at a time from the envelope and speculate on what the picture will finally be like.
3. Odd one Out.
This is a good warm up strategy which promotes interesting discussion. Teacher can choose a number of pictures concerning school in the past or nowadays and place them on a sheet. Children in pairs or small groups have to identify which they think is the odd on out and why. Three or four pictures is sufficient. Alternatively, teachers can place words to do with schools in a list of five or six. Children work in pairs to identify the odd one and why. The odd one out should not be too obvious.
4. Predict a Fact activity.
In pairs, or small groups, children are asked to predict a fact about a schools at a particular time-hedge schools, schools in Norman times, in the time of grandparents/great-grandparents. They then find out some information from pictures, texts etc and compare this information to their predictions noting similarities and differences.
5. Thinking Game Examples below.
Whatever is chosen should be examined from the point of view of each hat. Children can consult a picture or written text to help them to fill each section. It is an individual task at first. Then children compare answers. One section can be done at a time as children work through the unit. This activity works also as a tool for revision.
White hat: (facts) What I know about schools in the 19th century
Red Hat What I feel about corporal punishment then.
Yellow hat: Advantages of benches over chairs
Black hat: Disadvantages of benches
Green Hat: New ideas about schools then
Blue Hat: Summary of what I have learned
6. Examine an artefact from schools long ago.
See Teacher Guidelines for approaches to artefacts.