In this activity pupils are cast in the role of local museum curators specializing in the commemorating and interpreting of Life on the Home Front during World War Two. A new museum is being built and they need expert advice. The dilemma the pupils have is that there is very little space in the new museum, so hard choices will have to be made. Pupils work collaboratively in groups to decide what should stay and what should go. There are six distinct phases to the lesson which starts with Call MY Bluff and ends with pupils in role evaluating each other’s presentation.
Learning objectives
- Pupils are able to describe a range of roles adults played on the Home Front which were unique to that time.
- They can explain how each group helped to develop the ‘Blitz Spirit’ and ‘kept the home fires burning’.
- Pupils’ grasp that people making representations of the past eg in museums have to prioritise which stories to tell and whose contributions to feature most prominently and to also appreciate that this is controversial.
Are the pupils ready?
This activity should come towards the end of a topic. None of the objects should need very much explanation,
