Having discussed the possible options for ways of commemorating his achievement, pupils have to create a new plaque on his statue, because the old words have worn and faded away. But what shall we write? Pupils offer ideas and then select the 6 most relevant from a list of 10, before writing their own plaque in just 30 words.
Step 1
This shorter session starts with a quick reference to Caxton’s works, using PowerPoint slide 2 . Pupils are invited to think of any ways in which the printing press would have changed the lives of people living not only 500 years ago but also today. Slide 3 offers a few important ideas.
Step 2
Now ask pupils to think of ways in which Caxton’s achievement might be celebrated. If possible, link this to other significant people they have studied.
The core activity is to create a new plaque to accompany the statue of Caxton outside the V&A museum in London. The old one is too short and doesn’t do him justice (see slide 4). So we have to come up with our own better version. Before pupils launch into this, they need careful preparation. With slide 5 (which describes
