Explorers and Empires: A Journey Through Time · 4th Class

Active learning ideas

Our School Through the Decades

Active learning transforms abstract history into tangible discovery when students become historians of their own school. Handling old photographs, role-playing past classrooms, and interviewing community members makes the past feel immediate and real, not just dates and facts.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Local studies
• NCCA: Primary - My school

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

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: School Detectives

Students walk around the school looking for physical clues of age, such as date stones, old windows, or changes in building materials. They map these 'clues' to create a timeline of the building.

Analyze how the school building has changed since it was first built.

Facilitation Tip

During School Detectives, circulate with guiding questions like 'What clues in this photo tell us about how children learned?' to keep students focused on evidence.

What to look for

Facilitate a class discussion using these questions: 'Imagine you are a pupil from 50 years ago. What is one thing you would find surprising about our school today? What is one thing that feels familiar?' Encourage students to refer to specific evidence they found in their research.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 30 min · Whole Class

Role Play: The 1950s Classroom

Students experience a 10-minute 'old-fashioned' lesson using slates (or black paper) and strict rules. Afterward, they discuss how it felt compared to their modern, active classroom.

Compare a school day 50 years ago with a school day today.

Facilitation Tip

When setting up The 1950s Classroom role play, provide only period-appropriate props to deepen immersion and reduce modern distractions.

What to look for

Provide students with a simple Venn diagram. Ask them to label one circle 'School Day 50 Years Ago' and the other 'School Day Today'. In the overlapping section, they should write similarities. In the outer sections, they should write differences, drawing on information from interviews or documents.

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

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The Interviewer's Guide

Students work in pairs to write five questions they would ask a grandparent or past pupil about their school days. They then practice the interview with each other.

Explain what old roll books and photographs can tell us about the local community in the past.

Facilitation Tip

During The Interviewer's Guide, model how to phrase follow-up questions like 'What did you do for lunch?' to uncover details about daily life.

What to look for

Give each student a card. On one side, they should draw a simple sketch of one way the school building has changed. On the other side, they should write one sentence explaining what that change tells us about the past.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by starting with concrete artifacts before moving to abstract comparisons. Let students notice differences first, then guide them to connect those differences to people’s lives and historical contexts. Avoid overloading students with too many sources at once; build their analysis skills gradually through structured activities.

Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying changes in their school over time and explaining how those changes reflect broader historical trends. They should use specific evidence from documents, interviews, or visuals to support their comparisons.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During School Detectives, watch for students assuming schools were always the same.

  Have students compare modern classroom photos with historical ones on the detective board, noting differences in furniture, displays, and student posture to highlight change.

• During The Interviewer's Guide, watch for students seeing roll books as just lists.

  Guide students to count absences on specific dates and connect them to weather reports or local events, showing how data reveals stories about daily life.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Role Play
• Think-Pair-Share