GIVE OUT a single letter from the letters of Sikh soldiers written during the First World War from Resource Q for pupils to read and annotate in pairs or trios.

DISPLAY Resource P: Slide 5 and ask pairs to read the sample letter carefully, highlighting evidence of different terms from Resource P: Slide 5 in the text in different colours (where pupils struggle with literacy they could be given a simplified version of the text, a shorter letter or work with the support of an adult).

LEAD a discussion about the annotated letter, taking suggestions from pupils.

ASK small groups to read some or all of the letters in Resource Q and use different colours to highlight phrases or sentences that seem to give evidence of particular terms.

LEAD a discussion about:

• what these letters overall tell us about how Sikh soldiers saw themselves;
• how reliable these letters might actually be (this is before pupils are told these letters come from the record of the British military censor).

DISPLAY AND READ OUT the bullet points from Resource P: Slides 6 & 7 in turn, inviting pupil comment on how reliable they think the letters might be after hearing each point.

(Note: take care to steer away discussion from reaching the conclusion that the letters are of no use at all because they were subject to British censorship.)

GIVE OUT the three veterans’ quotes from Resource R for different fluent readers to read out when asked.

EXPLAIN that the historian who had interviewed Sikh veterans of the First World War in 1972 found out more than was referred to earlier in the lesson.

ASK a pupil to stand up and read out Resource R: Quote 1, then refer to the bullet points (a summary of the historian’s conclusions) from Resource P: Slide 8.

NOW ask a second pupil to read out Resource R: Quote 2, and ask a third pupil to read out Resource R: Quote 3.

LEAD a discussion about whether the information and sources that have just been read out prove that:

• the way Sikh soldiers saw themselves changed between 1914 and 1918;
• their relationship with the British had changed or was at least starting to change.

LASTLY display and explain the bullet points from Resource P: Slide 9.