KS1:1 How does Olaudah Equiano deserve to be remembered?
Enquiry question
1.Who is getting married in this photograph?
The Scheme of Work begins by encouraging pupils to examine a contemporary media image of an historical event, developing visual literacy skills and understanding that there are different layers of information present.
Combined History and Literacy Learning Objective
To ask and answer questions of an historical interpretation, speaking with clarity and listening to others in class.
Links with renewed Framework for Literacy, Year 2 strands
- 2. Listening and responding;
- Listen to others in class ask relevant questions and follow instructions.
- 7. Understanding and interpreting texts;
- Draw together ideas and information from across a whole text, using simple signposts in the text.
- 8. Engaging with and responding to texts;
- Explain their reactions to texts, commenting on important aspects.
Activities
Withhold information about the photograph showing two teenagers in
1790s costumes posing as Olaudah Equiano and his English bride,
Susanah Cullen, in1792 and its setting (St Andrew’s Church, Soham,
Cambridgeshire - the same church where the historic event took)
throughout the following activity. This adds to curiosity about it and
allows teachers to assess pupils’ understanding prior to the
introduction of any contextual knowledge.
Prepare enough copies (colour if possible) of the ‘wedding
reconstruction’ photograph from the Cambridge Evening News, 2007
(Resource A cut to 8 cm x 10 cm) and the inference frame (Resource
B) for small group work. Have electronic versions ready for wholeclass
discussion.
On the IWB, display the wedding ‘reconstruction’ photogragh (Resource A)
Distribute the ‘inference frames’ (Resource B) and photographs
(Resource A). Ask pupils to place the photograph in the middle of the
frame and read out the questions in each box (layer).
Ask groups to discuss the answer to the first question nearest the
photograph What can I see? writing words or making drawings in the
first layer of the frame that pick out details they directly observe from
within the photograph.
Pupils will probably move on to answer the second set of questions “What is happening? What is going on?” and write words or draw
in the second layer of the frame. This layer elicits higher order
thinking skills from pupils, as they must infer/make generalisations
from their more concrete observations (e.g. “They are getting
married”).
Take suggestions from pairs/groups in turn transferring these onto
the class-displayed version of the frame and taking other comments
and suggestions as they arise.
Use stems such as What? Who? When? Why? and ask pairs/small
groups to complete the last layer of the diagram in answer to the final
question What other questions can we ask? (e.g.“When did this
happen?”). Once pupils have attempted this, take suggested
questions and transfer some onto the class version of the frame.
As a plenary, invite pupils to suggest comments and questions that might link up across the frame (e.g. “a man” from the first layer links to “He may be getting married” in the second layer, which links to the question “Is he getting married?” in the third layer).
Keep a record of the questions transferred to the class-displayed version of the frame in response to the last question What other questions can we ask? These will be referred to later as a way of reinforcing learning. All the above activities may be completed using an IWB.
If a pupil asks ‘Who are these people really?’ and is frustrated by not knowing, you could play a guessing game, taking suggestions from the whole class, and adding them in the form of questions to the inference frame. Say you will keep their ideas and they will see who was right later.
Outcomes
- To have made direct
observations from the
photograph through either
writing or drawing in the
first layer of the inference
frame
- To have written or drawn
responses in the second
layer of the inference
frame
- To have posed questions
in written or oral form in
the third layer of the
inference frame
- To have participated in pairs/small group/wholeclass discussion, speaking clearly on their own and also listening to others in class.