What was life like during World War Two? - Geraldine and Daniel

As part of the year 6 topic 'What was life like during World War Two?' the teacher took a creative approach to meeting the history objectives and promoting discussion. This meant that the topic was more than a series of speeches by the teacher followed by writing tasks.

The aim of the six lessons was to inform and provoke discussion about life during World War Two, and also included food technology and oral history.

The six lessons gave the pupils the opportunity to experience different aspects of life and develop understanding of ordinary people's lives during World War Two.

In the initial lesson, which set the scene and was based on discussion, the pupils constructed a timeline from a number of real World War Two events. The pupils then studied a photograph of a school being evacuated. They discussed questions they had about the photograph, including who the children were, why they were being evacuated and where they might have been going.

The second lesson focused on the effects of air raids on the local people of Edmonton. The pupils re-enacted an air raid in the classroom by blacking out the windows and playing an air-raid siren. A member of staff played the role of an air-raid warden. Pupils took cover beneath the tables and discussed how it felt being under the table in cramped conditions not knowing what might happen next. They only emerged when they heard the all-clear siren.

In the third lesson pupils discussed the effects of evacuation on the children of Edmonton. A member from the local community shared his wartime experiences of evacuation with the pupils. The pupils were enthralled by his story.

For the fourth lesson the pupils used authentic ingredients and recipes from the early 1940s to highlight that with imagination even very limited ingredients can be made tasty.

The after-effects of the Blitz were devastating for many people. In lesson five the pupils watched a short video of the bombing of London and news footage of Churchill's tour of the aftermath of the Blitz. Using the 'guided walk' technique, the pupils imagined that they were a member of the community and wrote about their experience of the event.

For the final and summative lesson the pupils wrote a short essay describing the effects of World War Two on their own family. They prepared for this by discussing the war with their relatives.

This six-hour unit motivated the pupils to carry out their own research and many told stories of their grandparents' experiences of the war. This widened their knowledge and understanding of the impact of World War Two in the local community.

To explore what happened to ordinary people in areas of Britain attacked by German bombers.

To develop an understanding of life in World War Two from a variety of different sources and different experiences.

To develop spoken language and a range of vocabulary about emotions.

To produce pieces of writing that reflected each pupil's individual response to their learning experiences.

Geraldine's writing shows that she understands that the effects of war reached places far beyond Europe and that there were implications beyond the immediate effects on people directly involved in the bombings. Geraldine also shows that people were resourceful and responded imaginatively to the challenges they faced. This work shows aspects of level 3 in knowledge and understanding.

Daniel's text clearly shows his research and interest in his family's involvement in the war. He links general points about evacuation to his grandparents' own experiences. Although the writing is not well structured, it clearly shows that Daniel values the accounts and that he understands that evacuation had both positive and negative consequences. Daniel's work also shows characteristics of level 3 in knowledge and understanding.