As a lecturer in education teaching humanities at Plymouth University, I spend my time encouraging student teachers to move away from writing lesson plans with a focus on research and recording, to creating lessons that are dynamic – engaging children in historical activities to develop a passion for history. Student teachers’ own experiences of primary education have often been structured by the QCA lesson exemplars that were followed closely by many schools when the National Curriculum was first introduced. I decided to choose an aspect of history that they were unlikely to have been taught in their primary schools. The aim was to demonstrate how a subject that some student teachers describe as ‘dry’ when they are first asked to research it, can be brought to life. These interactive activities are not dependent on strong literacy skills, which themselves can form a barrier to children developing their historical skills, knowledge and understanding...