It can often be difficult to provide children with practical experiences which will develop their skills of historical enquiry. Here is a simple idea which can help develop a creative aproach to history.

 

You will need:

- a large tub (the size is up to you)

- enough sand to fill your tub (about 3/4 full works well)

- any objects which can be buried and act as 'artefacts' for example, bits of broken pot, old coins, stones.

(These can be tailor-made according to the period in history you are study, and depending on your own creativity! For the less creative ones among us, museums often sell small replica packs which can be purchased at minimal cost).

 

The idea is to have the children act as 'archaeologists' and carefully sort through the sand to see what they can find. This gives them a practical, 'hands on' experience which can form the basis of many excellent discussions of an historical nature.  Questions such as, 'What did you find? and 'What does that tell us about the people who lived here? draw on the children's creative imagination, but are also grounded in a real experience. Constructing a pitcure of the past through the use of different sources is now an idea which the children can associate readily with.

 

This activity can be adapted for older children by marking a grid over the tub with string, and having the children accurately record what they find on a corresponding paper grid.

 

This is an excellent way of introducing a new history topic, and can be used to generate the children's own lines of historical enquiry, as well as helping them to accquire facts about a particular historical period.

 

History can be taught in an interesting, fun and creative way! So go for it! Bring the past back to life, all with an old tub, a few bits of broken pot, and some sand!