Local history: young children using written, printed and multimodal sources

Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.

Editorial note: Jo Barkham shows how creative, challenging and stimulating teaching can engage even the youngest pupils in the reading of written and printed text and multi-modal sources. She continues her account in the next edition of Primary History - What History Should We Teach?

Introduction

How often has a teacher wondered whether young learners would respond to both written textual and multi-modal sources (genres) incorporating text and pictures which seem dull and dusty, hidden away or just simply written for an adult audience of another, earlier generation? This article explores some possibilities, with illustrations from my own practice, working with a lively and inquisitive class of Year 2 children. These examples are drawn from work undertaken in the 1990s, but the principles are timeless...