Exploring Our Past: From Stone Age Ireland to Ancient Civilizations · 3rd Year

Active learning ideas

Play in Early 20th Century Ireland

Active learning lets students physically engage with historical play, making Ireland’s early 20th century culture tangible. Hands-on recreations of games and role-playing help students grasp how community, space, and technology shaped childhood pastimes in ways that textbooks cannot convey alone.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Life, society, work and culture in the past
• NCCA: Primary - Local studies

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Experiential Learning
• 45 min · Small Groups

Game Stations: Irish and Global Play

Prepare stations with equipment and rules for Irish games like marbles and equivalents from other countries, such as jacks from the US. Small groups rotate every 10 minutes, play each game, then chart similarities and differences on shared posters. Conclude with a class share-out.

Compare traditional Irish games to games played in other countries.

Facilitation Tip

Set a 5-minute timer for the Artifact Gallery Walk to maintain energy and keep students moving purposefully between stations.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a child in Ireland in 1920. Which games would you play and where? How might listening to the radio or going to the cinema change your afternoon?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to draw on specific game examples and technological impacts.

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

Activity 02

• Experiential Learning
• 30 min · Pairs

Play Space Mapping: Local History

Provide historical maps or photos of the local area. In pairs, students identify and mark spots used for play, like streets or fields, noting community features. Pairs present maps and discuss how spaces shaped games.

Analyze how community and outdoor spaces were used for play.

What to look for

Provide students with three statements: 1. Traditional Irish games were mostly played indoors. 2. Streets were important play spaces in early 20th century Ireland. 3. Radio and cinema had no effect on children's play. Ask students to mark each statement as True or False and write one sentence to justify their answer for statement 2.

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

Activity 03

• Experiential Learning
• 40 min · Small Groups

Drama Scenarios: Tech Changes Leisure

Divide into groups to script and perform scenes of a day before and after radio or cinema arrives. Include traditional play versus new listening or viewing. Debrief on predicted shifts in time use.

Predict how the invention of radio and cinema changed leisure time.

What to look for

Show images of different play activities (e.g., children playing hurling, a family listening to a radio, a street scene). Ask students to write down the name of the game or activity shown and one word describing its setting (e.g., 'field', 'home', 'street').

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

Activity 04

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Toys and Games

Display images or replica toys from the era. Students in small groups visit stations, note materials and uses, then vote on most changed by technology. Discuss findings whole class.

Compare traditional Irish games to games played in other countries.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a child in Ireland in 1920. Which games would you play and where? How might listening to the radio or going to the cinema change your afternoon?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to draw on specific game examples and technological impacts.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with what students know about play today, then contrast it with historical evidence. Avoid romanticizing the past: emphasize both the joy and the constraints of early 20th century play. Research shows students retain more when they analyze primary sources alongside active tasks.

Successful learning looks like students confidently demonstrating games from the era, mapping local play spaces with historical accuracy, and articulating how radio and cinema altered leisure. They should connect personal experiences to historical sources and artifacts.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Game Stations, watch for students assuming traditional Irish games followed strict, formal rules like modern athletics.

  Use the stations to highlight the fluid, community-driven nature of games by encouraging students to modify rules or equipment and observe how play adapts.

• During Drama Scenarios, watch for students oversimplifying how radio and cinema changed leisure as an immediate replacement for play.

  Have students in roles act out gradual shifts, such as a child choosing between playing marbles and listening to a radio program, to show layered changes over time.

• During Play Space Mapping, watch for students assuming play spaces were always formal parks or sports fields.

  Direct students to include streets, doorsteps, and empty lots in their maps, using local examples to reinforce the idea that everyday spaces hosted play.

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Methods used in this brief

• Experiential Learning
• Gallery Walk