History · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Mary Seacole: A Crimean War Heroine

Active learning helps students grasp Mary Seacole’s role beyond textbook facts by stepping into her shoes and seeing her actions firsthand. Hands-on tasks make her bravery, skills, and impact visible in ways that passive reading cannot.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: History - Significant individuals
• KS1: History - Comparison of significant individuals

• 25–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 35 min · Small Groups

Role Play: Seacole's Journey to Crimea

Divide class into small groups. Provide props like hats and bags. Groups act out planning the trip, facing rejection, and arriving at the hotel; rotate roles. Conclude with sharing one challenge overcome.

Who was Mary Seacole and how did she help people during the war?

Facilitation Tip

During the role play, assign clear roles like soldier, Seacole, or officer to keep dialogue focused and ensure every pupil participates.

What to look for

Ask students: 'Imagine you are a soldier in the Crimean War. Would you prefer to be treated by Mary Seacole or Florence Nightingale? Explain why, thinking about how they helped soldiers.'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 25 min · Pairs

Timeline Sequencing: Key Events

Print picture cards of Seacole's life: birth in Jamaica, Panama nursing, Crimea travel, hotel opening. Pupils in pairs sequence them on a class timeline strip, then explain choices to the group.

What difficulties do you think Mary Seacole faced, and how did she keep going?

Facilitation Tip

For the timeline sequencing, provide cut-out event cards with dates and brief descriptions to help visual learners order events accurately.

What to look for

Provide students with a simple timeline with pictures of key events in Mary Seacole's life. Ask them to put the pictures in the correct order and verbally explain one event to a partner.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 30 min · Whole Class

Venn Diagram: Seacole and Nightingale

Draw large Venn circles on paper. Whole class brainstorms similarities (both nurses, helped soldiers) and differences (Seacole self-funded, battled racism; Nightingale led hospitals). Pupils add sticky notes.

How are Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale the same, and how are they different?

Facilitation Tip

When making the British Hotel model, limit materials to encourage creativity within constraints, such as using only recycled items to reflect resourcefulness.

What to look for

Give each student a card. Ask them to draw one thing Mary Seacole did to help soldiers and write one word that describes her character, such as 'brave' or 'kind'.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 40 min · Small Groups

British Hotel Model

In small groups, pupils build simple models using boxes, fabric, and toy figures to show the hotel setup. Label areas for food, medicine, and rest; present how it helped soldiers.

Who was Mary Seacole and how did she help people during the war?

Facilitation Tip

In the Venn diagram task, provide guiding questions such as 'How did each woman support soldiers?' to scaffold critical comparisons.

What to look for

Ask students: 'Imagine you are a soldier in the Crimean War. Would you prefer to be treated by Mary Seacole or Florence Nightingale? Explain why, thinking about how they helped soldiers.'

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by emphasizing action over abstraction. Research shows that role-play builds empathy while timelines develop chronological thinking. Avoid long lectures about her life—instead, let students reconstruct her journey. Use discussion to bridge past actions to present values like fairness and resilience, helping students see her as a real person making real choices.

Successful learning looks like students confidently explaining Seacole’s contributions, comparing her with Nightingale through evidence, and articulating why her story matters. They should move from vague admiration to clear, specific understanding of her skills and challenges.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• Students think Mary Seacole was just a cook during the role play.

  During the role play activity, pause after scenes where students act out Seacole bandaging wounds or giving herbal remedies. Point to the materials list and say, 'Notice the bandages and herbs in her kit—these show her nursing skills beyond cooking.'

• Students assume Mary Seacole was less important than Florence Nightingale after creating the Venn diagram.

  During the Venn diagram task, ask pairs to present one way each woman was vital. Then prompt them to explain which contribution had a bigger impact on soldiers’ daily lives, using evidence from their diagrams.

• Students view the Crimean War as irrelevant after sequencing the timeline.

  During the timeline sequencing activity, ask students to connect one event to a modern issue, such as healthcare access or prejudice, by saying, 'How does Seacole’s story connect to fairness today?'

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Methods used in this brief

• Role Play
• Outdoor Investigation Session