Oxford Street in the 1960s

Photographs are very useful and productive documents when teaching history. They provide a snapshot of the past such as this one from just outside Selfridges on Oxford Street in London c.1962-64. Combined with further images from Heritage Explorer, clips from Pathé News, extracts from the 1911 Census, locally gathered images and knowledge or even a local field trip, photographs can be used very effectively as a way of engaging children in the period or aspect of history which is being studied. This photograph could be used by both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 teachers to deliver particular requirements of the National Curriculum (changes within living memory or local history) or as a discrete means of developing historical skills. The following suggestions could be applied to any photograph of your local city, town or village or other site of interest...