History · Year 2

Active learning ideas

Emily Davison: A Suffragette's Sacrifice

Active learning helps students grasp the emotional and ethical weight of Emily Davison’s story in a way that passive reading cannot. By stepping into roles, debating trade-offs, and building timelines, students connect intellectual understanding to personal stakes and historical consequences.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: History - Significant individuals in the past
• KS1: History - Events beyond living memory

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Mystery Object
• 30 min · Pairs

Pairs Role-Play: Suffragette Protest

Pairs select roles as Emily Davison or a fellow Suffragette. They practice chanting slogans and holding signs made from card. Perform short skits for the class, then discuss feelings involved. Wrap up with reflections on risks taken.

Who was Emily Davison and why is she remembered?

Facilitation Tip

During the Suffragette Protest role-play, assign one student as Davison and another as police, then rotate roles so all participants experience both perspectives.

What to look for

Provide students with a postcard template. Ask them to draw a picture on one side representing Emily Davison's actions or the Suffragette movement. On the other side, they should write one sentence explaining why she is remembered.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Mystery Object
• 45 min · Small Groups

Small Groups Timeline: Davison's Life

Provide key dates on cards. Groups sequence them on a large timeline strip, adding drawings of events like prison hunger strikes. Present to class and explain one event's importance. Extend by linking to today's rights.

How did Emily Davison show how strongly she felt about votes for women?

Facilitation Tip

When building the timeline in small groups, provide pre-cut event cards with dates and brief descriptions to help students sequence Davison’s life events accurately.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'What does it mean to be brave when you believe in something?' Ask students to share one way Emily Davison showed bravery and one way they or someone they know has shown bravery for a cause.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Mystery Object
• 35 min · Whole Class

Whole Class Debate: Taking Risks

Pose the key question on risks for beliefs. Divide class into agree/disagree sides. Each side shares two reasons with evidence from Davison's story. Vote and reflect on changes she helped bring.

What do you think makes someone willing to take a big risk for something they believe in?

Facilitation Tip

For the risk-taking debate, give each side a notecard with three possible counterarguments to practice during rebuttals.

What to look for

Show images of different protest methods, including historical Suffragette actions and modern examples. Ask students to point to the image that best represents Emily Davison's actions and explain their choice in one sentence.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 04

• Mystery Object
• 25 min · Individual

Individual Poster: Davison's Legacy

Students draw Emily Davison with symbols of her fight, like purple banners. Write one sentence on why she is remembered. Display posters and gallery walk to share peer insights.

Who was Emily Davison and why is she remembered?

Facilitation Tip

Have students sketch their poster drafts on scrap paper before finalizing to encourage thoughtful design and clarity of message.

What to look for

Provide students with a postcard template. Ask them to draw a picture on one side representing Emily Davison's actions or the Suffragette movement. On the other side, they should write one sentence explaining why she is remembered.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teaching this topic benefits from balancing respect for Davison’s sacrifice with critical historical analysis. Avoid turning her into a one-dimensional martyr; instead, ask students to weigh the ethics of her tactics and the movement’s escalation. Research shows students retain more when they grapple with ambiguity rather than being given a single ‘right answer.’ Use primary sources sparingly to avoid overwhelming students, but enough to ground discussions in reality.

Successful learning shows up when students move from surface facts to deeper questions about courage, justice, and consequence. They should articulate why Davison’s actions mattered beyond headlines, using evidence from the activities to support their views.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Suffragette Protest role-play, watch for students who dismiss early peaceful actions as ineffective or unimportant.

  Use the role-play to guide students through a staged escalation: start with a petition delivery, then a march, and finally an interruption. Ask them to reflect in pairs after each stage about why the Suffragettes felt compelled to increase the intensity of their actions.

• During the Small Groups Timeline activity, watch for students who believe the Derby protest instantly led to immediate voting rights.

  Provide blank space between the 1913 Derby event and the 1918 voting rights on the timeline. Ask groups to fill this gap with other key events, such as Davison’s funeral or the Representation of the People Act, to illustrate the time lag and other contributing factors.

• During the Whole Class Debate on Taking Risks, watch for students who label Davison’s Derby protest as impulsive or meaningless.

  Give each debater a ‘fact card’ with details about the Derby protest’s planning and Davison’s prior arrests. Require them to cite at least one piece of evidence in their arguments to ground abstract claims in historical reality.

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Methods used in this brief

• Mystery Object