Lesson Aim:
- To enable the pupils to examine oral evidence collected in 2005 and relating to school in 1943
Materials:
- Access to Internet
- Copies of games played in 1943
- Children's copybooks and writing materials
Step 1: Discussion
Conduct a discussion about games played by pupils in the schoolyard at breaktime.
- What games do you play at breaktime?
- What equipment do you need to play the games? e.g. ball, skipping rope, imagination.
- Do you play games in groups or pairs?
- Are there games that only boys/girls play?
- Are there games that both boys and girls play?
- Are there games that only junior pupils play?
- Are there games that only senior pupils play?
- What rhymes do you chant/songs do you sing when playing the games?
- Who taught you how to play the games?
- Can you remember when you first taught how to play the game?
- Do you know how old the game is?
- Do you know who invented the game?
- Is the game/song/rhyme Irish? How do you know?
- Have you ever created any 'new' games to play?
Step 2: Establishing the lesson's content
Explain that today the class will be learning about games that primary pupils played in 1943.
With the help of the pupils, calculate how many years ago 1943 was. e.g.
2006
-1943
63 years ago.
Ask the pupils if they have any relations/neighbours/family friends who would have been attending primary school in 1943.
Step 3: Brainstorming
Ask the pupils to brainstorm their ideas about schoolyard games in 1943. This could be done by the pupils individually, in pairs or in groups.
Ask the pupils to brainstorm their ideas about how you could discover what games pupils played in 1943. e.g. find a book, ask my granny, look at pictures.
Instruct the pupils to select the section 20th Century schools in Raheny
Instruct the pupils to select the year 1943
Examine the information presented about the year 1943
Instruct the pupils to select examine the oral evidence under the sub-section Games
When the Games page appears, ask the pupils to play the audio-visual snippet of the interview conducted with Sylvia.
Explain/ask the pupils what type of evidence this snippet includes:
- primary sources
- pictorial evidence
- oral evidence
Remind the pupils to listen very carefully and demonstrate how the pupils can restart the snippet, should they wish to hear it again.
Instruct the pupils to read the instructions on how to play the games mentioned by Sylvia, by clicking on the appropriate buttons.
Discuss the games that Sylvia mentions, with the pupils.
What games did Sylvia play when she was at primary school?
- Have you ever heard of these games?
- Have you ever played these games?
- What equipment did Sylvia and her classmates use to play the games?
- Do you think the games played in 1943 are different from the games played by pupils in this school?
Divide the class into groups and give each group a copy of the instructions on how to play the games mentioned by Sylvia. These can be printed from the website.
Explain to the pupils that at the next breaktime they are to play the game that has been assigned to their group, following the instructions printed on the page. Note that the pupils should be permitted to play only those games that are considered appropriate and are in accordance with the schools health and safety policy.
After breaktime elicit the pupils' views on the games.
- Were they fun to play?
- Would you play them again?
- Are they suitable for all ages?
Alternatively, the games could be played as part of an integrated P.E. lesson.
When the lesson's activities have been completed, the pupils should record what they have discovered about schoolyard games in 1943, documenting the ideas they had about schoolyard games in 1943, before and after the lesson.
The pupils may wish to record their ideas in written or pictorial form.
The pupils could design and conduct an interview with a member of their family and record their experiences of school.
Design a series of games that reflect life in the 21st century.