Voices of the Past: Exploring Change and Continuity · 5th Class

Active learning ideas

The Siege of Derry

Active learning works well for this topic because the Siege of Derry was a prolonged ordeal where ordinary decisions and daily life mattered as much as grand battles. Students engage with the human scale of history when they step into roles and analyze firsthand accounts rather than memorize dates alone.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Conflict and Resolution
• NCCA: Primary - Local Studies

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

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 30 min · Small Groups

Role-Play: The Gates Debate

Divide students into small groups to role-play the confrontation between Governor Lundy and the Apprentice Boys. Assign roles with brief character cards detailing motivations. Groups debate and vote on shutting the gates, then share outcomes with the class.

Analyze the primary causes of the conflict between James II and William of Orange.

Facilitation Tip

For the role-play, assign each student a persona with a 10-word backstory to ensure everyone participates meaningfully.

What to look for

Provide students with a Venn diagram. Ask them to compare and contrast the motivations of the Jacobite and Williamite forces. Prompt: 'List two reasons why James II's supporters wanted him back and two reasons why William of Orange's supporters wanted him to rule.'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 40 min · Small Groups

Collaborative Timeline: Siege Events

Provide students with event cards on causes, key dates, and relief. In small groups, they sequence events on a large class timeline, adding sketches of daily life impacts. Discuss how sequence reveals patterns of hardship.

Explain how the siege impacted the daily lives of the city's inhabitants.

Facilitation Tip

In the timeline activity, provide pre-cut event cards so students physically arrange them to grasp the siege’s length and sequence.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you were a child living in Derry during the siege. What would be the three biggest challenges you would face each day?' Facilitate a brief class discussion, encouraging students to share their ideas and justify their choices based on what they've learned about rationing and danger.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Simulation Game
• 35 min · Pairs

Source Analysis: Eyewitness Accounts

Distribute excerpts from siege diaries and maps. Pairs highlight evidence of daily struggles like rationing bread and water. Groups present findings, linking to key questions on causes and commemoration.

Justify why this event continues to be remembered and commemorated today.

Facilitation Tip

When analyzing eyewitness accounts, ask students to highlight one word that captures the writer’s tone before discussing broader patterns.

What to look for

Present students with three images: a map of Derry from 1689, a drawing of a cannon, and a modern photograph of the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall. Ask students to write one sentence for each image explaining its connection to the Siege of Derry.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Formal Debate
• 25 min · Pairs

Formal Debate: Lundy's Legacy

Pairs prepare arguments for and against Governor Lundy as hero or traitor, using provided sources. Hold a whole-class vote and reflection on leadership in conflict.

Analyze the primary causes of the conflict between James II and William of Orange.

What to look for

Provide students with a Venn diagram. Ask them to compare and contrast the motivations of the Jacobite and Williamite forces. Prompt: 'List two reasons why James II's supporters wanted him back and two reasons why William of Orange's supporters wanted him to rule.'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should avoid framing the siege as a single battle or glorifying any side, instead emphasizing the human cost and local agency. Research shows that when students role-play factions, they grasp complexity better than through lectures alone. Focus on primary sources to correct oversimplified narratives about command structures or civilian impact.

Successful learning looks like students recognizing the siege as a crisis of endurance, not just conflict, and connecting personal stories to political stakes. They should articulate how blockades and starvation shaped outcomes and debate leadership choices with evidence from multiple sources.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Collaborative Timeline activity, watch for students compressing the siege into a few days or weeks.

  Use this activity to pause at key dates like 7 December and 19 July, asking students to add one daily hardship for each month to the timeline cards.

• During the Source Analysis activity, watch for students attributing command of the siege to James II himself.

  Have students circle every title in their documents (e.g., 'Earl of Tyrconnell') and create a class list of roles to clarify who led operations.

• During the Role-Play activity, watch for students assuming the siege only affected soldiers.

  Assign each student a civilian role (e.g., baker, child, merchant) and require them to include a daily struggle in their opening remarks.

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game
• Formal Debate