Activity One - Watch

A key part of learning about what happened in the past is to be able to interpret sources. Sometimes historians get this wrong as they may project what they think they know on to the object that they have found. Historians use primary and secondary sources to understand past civilisations and events but what does that mean? Watch the two clips below and answer the following questions:

1. Why is History an important subject to learn?
2. What is the key phrase about history?
3. What can history teach us?
4. Define what a primary source is.
5. Give three examples of what primary sources could be.
6. Define what a secondary source is.
7. Give an example of what a secondary source could be.
8. What is bias?

What is History? Question Grid

Activity Two - Listen and Draw

You now know what primary and secondary data is and why it is important to really focus on what we know about an era to decide what that source is telling us. Sometimes we can be misled by what we find. Watch the clip below and describe how Ariel misinterpreted the artefacts that she found.

The year is 4022 and Howard Carson, an amateur archeologist, falls into an abandoned excavation site. He finds himself at the bottom of a shaft and finds a 'Do not disturb' sign attached to an archaic doorknob. Using the book 'Motel of the Mysteries' by David Macaulay (1979) listen to what Howard Carson believes he has found.

• Draw a picture of what you believe Howard has found from the description given.

Useful Resource

Image Two - Motel of the Mysteries

Activity Three - Museum

We are now going to look at 360 degree images of real life artefacts that are currently located in the British Museum. Some of you might want to look at these images through the Virtual Reality googles. These artefacts help to inform us about past cultures.

• Collect a piece of A4 paper
• Choose an artefact that you like
• At the top of the paper write your artefacts name
• Draw a simple diagram of the artefact
• Describe what the artefact tells us about the past
• Write whether the artefact is a primary or secondary source

Useful Resource

Sketchfab - British Museum