Voices of Change: Ireland and the Wider World · 6th Year

Active learning ideas

Life During The Troubles

Active learning works because this topic demands empathy and perspective-taking. Students move beyond abstract dates to confront human stories, and kinesthetic activities like mapping and role-play make the emotional and physical realities of daily life during The Troubles tangible and memorable.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Social, cultural and aspects of everyday life
• NCCA: Primary - Story

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 50 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Eyewitness Accounts

Display 8-10 primary sources like childrens' drawings, diary excerpts, and photos around the room. In small groups, students spend 5 minutes per station noting daily impacts on routines and safety, then share one key insight in a whole-class debrief. Follow with a graphic organizer to compare Catholic and Protestant experiences.

Analyze how the conflict affected the daily routines and safety of families.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, position yourself near one poster to monitor engagement and be ready to prompt students with questions like, 'What emotion stands out in this account?'

What to look for

Provide students with a map of Belfast or Derry/Londonderry. Ask them to draw one Peace Wall and write two sentences explaining its purpose and one consequence for daily life in the surrounding neighborhoods.

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

Activity 02

• Fishbowl Discussion
• 40 min · Pairs

Pairs Mapping: Peace Walls Impact

Provide maps of Belfast or Derry. Pairs research and mark Peace Wall locations, noting construction dates, purposes, and effects on community access and play areas. They add annotations from survivor quotes and present findings to the class.

Compare the experiences of children growing up in different communities during The Troubles.

Facilitation Tip

For the Pairs Mapping activity, circulate to listen for pairs justifying their wall placements with evidence from their readings or discussions.

What to look for

Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'Imagine you are a 10-year-old living in Belfast in 1975. What is one specific change to your daily routine that the conflict has caused, and how does it make you feel?'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Fishbowl Discussion
• 45 min · Small Groups

Role-Play Simulation: Daily Routines

Assign roles as children from different communities facing a curfew or riot alert. In small groups, act out decisions on school, play, or family safety, then debrief on common and unique challenges using a reflection sheet.

Explain the purpose and impact of 'Peace Walls' on urban landscapes.

Facilitation Tip

In the Role-Play Simulation, stop the activity after five minutes to ask each pair to share one adjustment they made to their routine and why.

What to look for

Present students with three short, anonymized quotes from individuals who lived through The Troubles. Ask them to identify which quote best illustrates the impact of sectarianism on daily life and explain their reasoning in one sentence.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Fishbowl Discussion
• 35 min · Whole Class

Whole Class Timeline: Personal Stories

Co-create a class timeline of Troubles events interwoven with 5-6 anonymized childrens' stories. Students contribute excerpts via sticky notes, discussing how conflict altered birthdays, friendships, and holidays.

Analyze how the conflict affected the daily routines and safety of families.

Facilitation Tip

During the Whole Class Timeline, write student contributions on the board in real time to model how personal stories build a broader historical narrative.

What to look for

Provide students with a map of Belfast or Derry/Londonderry. Ask them to draw one Peace Wall and write two sentences explaining its purpose and one consequence for daily life in the surrounding neighborhoods.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should anchor discussions in primary sources to ground empathy in evidence. Avoid framing this topic as solely political; emphasize the mundane disruptions that made up daily life. Research shows that when students hear children’s voices directly, they’re more likely to challenge stereotypes and recognize shared humanity across divides.

Success looks like students shifting from generalizations to specific details when describing individual experiences. They should use evidence from sources to explain how conflict disrupted routines, and they should articulate differences between communities without oversimplifying shared human responses.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Gallery Walk: Eyewitness Accounts, students may assume the Troubles only affected adults. Watch for...

  During the Gallery Walk, circulate and ask groups to point out specific lines that show how children’s schooling, play, or family routines were disrupted, reminding them that headlines often obscure these personal details.

• During the Pairs Mapping: Peace Walls Impact, students may assume all Peace Walls were built for the same reason. Watch for...

  During mapping, ask pairs to compare their maps and note differences in wall placement, then refer them to source quotes about security versus segregation to clarify varied purposes.

• During the Role-Play Simulation: Daily Routines, students may assume experiences were identical across Catholic and Protestant communities. Watch for...

  During the role-play, pause to ask each pair to identify one rule or restriction that felt unique to their assigned community, using the simulation cards to prompt specific examples.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Fishbowl Discussion