See below for Curriculum Links

The Second World War impacted on the landscape of the United Kingdom in a number of ways, many of which can still be seen today. These activities are aimed at encouraging students to look at their local area and to learn to spot evidence of the impact of war, whether by finding and identifying the remains of wartime constructions and sites, or identifying what physical changes have come about as a result of the war.

Outcomes

• To recognise the different ways the Second World War impacted on the local area
• Identify changes that have occurred throughout the UK as a result of the War i.e. new towns
• Develop skills of using different a range of historical sources of information

Activity Description

Ask the group to find out about any wartime remains in their area, by asking their family, neighbours, or looking around them as they travel to and from school, shops or play. Show them the Images of the UK set to give examples of the different sorts of things they might consider, see and be able to recognise.

Using a map of the local area, ask the group to begin marking out sites, objects or places that they know are related to the Second World War, using pins, sticky notes or photographs. If you want to mark out different wartime elements, you might want to colour-code the index cards or sticky notes you use to mark the map.

Ask the group to interview older people – perhaps from their family, or some local veterans of the war – using some of the questions below (See also the Intergenerational Learning section of this site): What local wartime places were significant or memorable? What stories were or are there about these places, or about what happened there in wartime? What else can they remember about the wartime area that is no longer here? (Coastal defences, farms, factories, airfields, army camps, civic buildings, housing, etc) Was the area bombed during the war? Where did the particular bombs fall? Were there any particular buildings of importance in the area? If so, what were the buildings used for? Was anything done to try to protect them? (Groups could also carry out their own research using the questions above as lines of enquiry.) Write up their eyewitness accounts. Include: What happened Where it happened How they felt Why they remember it now

Mark the bombsites and eyewitness accounts onto the map – perhaps using just one or two phrases or quotes from their stories on sticky notes, or index cards that can be pinned onto the map.

Mark on the map places where buildings or the landscape has changed. Use sticky notes or index cards to describe them, and what is now in their place.

The group could also include their own feelings and reactions to the stories that they have been told or discovered and pin those onto the map, or record them in written or graphic form on blank postcards for display in the plastic curtains.

Carry out research in the local archives office or at the local newspaper to find photographs of local wartime sites and accounts of wartime events.  Pin up accounts of findings and photocopies of these pictures onto the map.

Activity Extension

Use information gathered to create a local ‘Memory Trail’ or walking tour. Points of interest could include: bomb sites, buildings, memorials, cemeteries, and good places to remember/reflect. Walk the route as a class and with veterans if possible.

Create an illustrated leaflet for your local tourism office or other schools/groups. This walk could be used as part of Remembrance Day activities in subsequent years.

Other Resources

Your local library or archive will contain old maps of the area, as well as photographs, postcards, newspaper reports and documents related to your area’s wartime history.
Ordnance survey maps can be seen at http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk although purchasing a real map will be more appropriate for this activity. Historic maps can also be purchased or viewed at http://www.old-maps.co.uk. Aerial photography of the UK can be viewed at http://www.getmapping.com.

The UK National Inventory of War Memorials aims to create an inventory of all war memorials in the UK. It includes an archive that can be searched by locality and can be seen at http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/.

You can also refer to the 24 Hour Museum’s ‘Learn How to Make a Local History Trail in Your City’ at http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/.

Curriculum Links

ENGLAND

KS2

History

1 Chronological understanding

a) Place events, people and changes into correct periods of time 

2 Knowledge & understanding

c) To identify and describe reasons for, and results of, historical events, situations, and changes in the periods studied

4 Historical enquiry

a) How to find out about the events, people and changes studied from an appropriate range of resources
b) To ask and answer questions

5 Organisation & communication

c) Communicate their knowledge and understanding of history in a variety of ways

6 Breadth of study

7) Local history study
11b) Britain since 1930

Citizenship

5 Developing knowledge, skills & understanding through:

f) Developing relationships through work and play (for example, with the elderly)

Geography

2 Developing geographical skills

c) To use atlases and globes, and maps at a range of scales
d) To use secondary sources of information (for example, stories, information texts, photographs)
e) To draw maps and plans at a variety of scales

3 Knowledge & understanding of places

e) To identify how and why places change

KS3

History

1 Chronological understanding

Recognise and make appropriate use of dates, vocabulary and conventions that describe historical periods and the passing of time

2 Knowledge, skills & understanding

a) To identify trends, both within and across different periods, and links between local, British, European and world history

4 Historical enquiry

a) Identify, select and use a range of appropriate sources of information

5 Organisation & communication

c) Communicate their knowledge and understanding of history using a range of techniques

6 Breadth of study

13) A World Study after 1900

Geography

2 Developing geographical skills:

c) To use atlases and globes, and maps and plans at a range of scales, including Ordnance Survey
d) To select and use secondary sources of information, including photographs
e) To draw maps and plans at a range of scales, using symbols, keys and scales

3 Knowledge & understanding of places

d) To explain how and why changes happen in places, and the issues that arise from these changes

6 Themes

g) The changing characteristics of settlements

iv) Patterns and changes in urban land use

NORTHERN IRELAND

KS2

History

Historical skills & concepts

a) Chronological awareness by

• Using words or phrases related to the divisions of time

b) A sense of the past and a range & depth of knowledge & understanding, by identifying

• Some of the characteristic features of past societies and some of the main events
• Some things which have changed and some things which have remained the same

c) Awareness of evidence, historical enquiry & interpretations by

• Using sources of information appropriate to their age and ability to gain information about an aspect of the past 
• Extracting factual information from appropriate range of sources

Geography

Geographical skills

a) Use photographs, maps and plans of different scales for different purposes
b) Draw simple plans and maps without the use of scale

The Environment

d) Some of the ways in which people affect the environment both locally and globally

KS3

History

Historical skills & concepts

a) Chronological awareness by 

• Placing events, people and changes in the periods studied within a chronological framework, noting key dates

b) Range and depth of historical knowledge and understanding by

• Describing and explaining reasons for and results of some of the historical events and the changes in the periods studied

d) Historical enquiry by

• Identifying, collecting and recording information from a range of sources appropriate to their age and ability to investigate, with increasing independence, aspects of the period

e) Organisation & communication by

• Recalling, selecting and organising information deploying terms accurately to communicate their knowledge and understanding of history

Study Unit 4: The Twentieth-Century World

a) The Impact of World War

• Either the First or Second World War, or a major event or turning point which illustrates the nature and impact of total war

Geography

OS Mapwork skills

e) & f) Draw simple maps and plans

Research, Data Handling & Presentation Skills

a) Analyse and extract relevant information from a range of sources
c) Use information technology as a medium for research, to process data and to present geographical information

Geographical Themes

Settlement

d) Land use changes in settlements and how these affect people

SCOTLAND

5-14 Guidelines

Environmental Studies - People in the Past

Knowledge & understanding

Change and continuity, cause and effect

• Developing an understanding of change and continuity over time and of cause and effect in historical contexts (Levels C, D & E)

The nature of historical evidence

• Developing an understanding of the variety of types of historical evidence (Levels C, D & E)

Skills

Reviewing and reporting on tasks

• Presenting findings in an appropriate and coherent way
  Focus of study: The Twentieth Century

Environmental Studies - People and Place

Knowledge & understanding

The human environment

• Developing an understanding of the patterns of human activity on the Earth’s surface (Levels C&D)

Personal & Social Development

Inter-personal relationships

• Communicate and interact with growing confidence within a wider circle of people

WALES

KS2

History

Range: Life in Modern Wales & Britain

1 Chronological awareness

1) Use chronological frameworks

2 Historical knowledge & understanding

2) To identify and describe the main events, situations and changes within and across periods

4 Historical enquiry

1) Use a range of sources including representations, interpretations and, where appropriate, ICT to investigate historical topics
2) Ask and answer questions about the past

5 Organisation & communication

3) Present results with increasing independence in a variety of ways

Geography

Range: The local area

1 Geographical enquiry & skills

1) Observe and ask questions about geographical features and issues
7) Make and use maps and plans at a variety of scales
9) Use secondary sources for information, ideas and explanations

2 Places

6) Develop a better and fuller understanding of their own local area and community within the wider context of Wales e.g. …historical factors

3 Theme

1) Identify ways in which people affect the environment

Personal & Social Education

Skills

• Listen carefully, question and respond to others

KS3

History

Range: The Twentieth-Century World

1 Chronological awareness

1) Place events, people and changes within their wider chronological framework

2 Historical knowledge & understanding

3) Make comparisons and connections between the main events and developments studied, both within and across periods
4) Assess the significance of the main events, people and changes studied

4 Historical enquiry

1) Investigate historical topics independently using a range of historical sources in their historical context, including oral accounts
2) Ask and answer significant questions
3) Select sources and collect relevant information from them

5 Organisation & communication

1) Select, recall and organise historical information with increasing independence and accuracy
3) Communicate with increasing independence in a variety of ways

Geography

Range: Wales

1 Geographical enquiry & skills

1) Identify questions about geographical features and issues and establish an appropriate sequence of investigation
6) Make maps and plans at a variety of scales, and select and use appropriate graphical techniques to present evidence on a range of maps 
9) Select and use photographs…and other secondary sources to inform their studies

2 Places

1) Identify the physical and human features which give rise to the country’s distinctive characteristics

Personal & Social Education

Skills

• Listen attentively in different situations and respond appropriately