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Sometimes it can
be hard just looking for that little spark of inspiration. You
have a free lunchtime and your enthusiasm is so high that you
actually want to give up your coveted free time to run a History
Club. The big question is:
"What will interest the pupils?"
This is a question that has plagued the
History Forum
since its inception and the only real answer is that every
school is different and all pupils want different things. But
what they all want is a club or an activity that will give them
a History experience totally different from anything they may
experience in the classroom.
Ideas on the
History Forum have included:
• Re-enacting the Battle of Hastings;
• Building a WWI Trench;
• Using History and ICT to stimulate their interest.
From a personal point of view I wanted to run a weekly activity
for a Yr. 10 group who were slogging their way through the
open-field-system, great depression and scientific advancements
in agriculture. I knew that the aim of this activity would have
to be educational yet entertaining, minimal effort on their
behalf because they are taking GCSEs and above all else
alarmingly gory.
At Liverpool University I studied Criminal History for a whole
year and seeing as how the girls would undertake a Jack the
Ripper piece of coursework I ran the idea of a Criminal History
Master Class past my own Yr. 10 History group. They were very
enthusiastic!
Allow me to describe one of the lectures that I gave.
The subject topic was Vlad the Impaler and the girls were
enthusiastic. I arranged my room into a lecture theatre with
myself and the PowerPoint equipment at the front, a table next to me
for my props and around 45 girls sitting in front of me.
Using the PowerPoint as illustrative support I explained about
Transylvanian History, the arguments between the Christians and
the Turks and how Vlad the Impaler was captured, imprisoned and
turned insane.
At various points in the lecture I used the PowerPoint, with sound
effects, to show pictures of Vlad and the impalements, but
images are not always descriptive or ‘entertaining’ enough. In
order to capture the girl’s attentions I always use props. This
particular lecture saw me slowly pouring undiluted Ribena, which
looks uncannily like blood, into a very fancy wineglass. I then
savoured the aroma and asked them if I dared to drink it – which
I did. I then took a piece of bread which had been dipped in
jam, supposedly blood, and ate it. It actually was disgusting so
my reaction was not faked.
We ended the whole lecture with a discussion on primary and
secondary evidence which would prove whether Vlad the Impaler
was real and where his body may have been buried.
The students that attend the lectures are very enthusiastic and
when they see new posters up around school prior to a lecture
they actually research the topics before turning up. Many of
them also linger at the end of a lecture to discuss it further.
One interesting factor about the lectures is the breakdown of
the participating students. Of 45 regular attendees only 21 of
them actually study GCSE History – the rest of them disliked it
at KS3. We also have 13 Gifted and Talented students and
approximately 12 SEN pupils. It is nice to see how diverse the
attendance is.
My advice to anyone planning an extra-curricular activity is to
find a subject that both you and the students like. That way it
is more like fun than work – well it is for me at least.
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