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The National Archives Education Service

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The Education Service provides free online resources and taught sessions, supporting the National Curriculum for history from key stage 1 up to A-level. Visit our website to access the full range of our resources, from Domesday to Britain in the 1960s, and find out about more about our schools programme, including new professional development opportunities for teachers.

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The Education Service provides free online resources and taught sessions, supporting the National Curriculum for history from key stage 1 up to A-level. Visit our website to access the full range of our resources, from Domesday to Britain in the 1960s, and find out about more about our schools programme, including new professional development opportunities for teachers.
The Boxers of Whitechapel
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The Boxers of Whitechapel

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Free printable teaching resource pack including four case studies on Whitechapel in 1880 using original historical documents for a document led enquiry/investigation. Whitechapel in the late 1800s was an area of overpopulation, industry and crime. With such wide systemic issues it can be easy to lose sight of the experiences of the individuals who lived in the area. This lesson explores the historic environment through the interconnected lives of four individuals who lived in the area during the 1880s. What can the stories of two West Indian boxers, the daughter of an Irish carpet maker and a child born in Whitechapel itself reveal about the challenges and benefits of living around Commercial Street in the Victorian era? Suitable for Edexcel GCSE History: Whitechapel, c1870-c1900: crime, policing and the inner city Migrants in Britain, c800–present Crime and punishment in Britain, c1000–present AQA GCSE History: AC Britain: Migration, empires and the people: c790 to the present day
Huguenots in England
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Huguenots in England

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The Huguenots were Protestants who fled France and Wallonia (southern Belgium) from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century due to religious persecution during the European Wars of Religion. After the English Reformation, England was seen as a safe place for refugees. What did Huguenots find when they arrived in England? How did they settle and set up their own religious and economic communities? How did they impact upon English society, especially in urban settings? This lesson shows that the Huguenots came to England as immigrants and were on occasion in need of economic and governmental support. Importantly, they also brought their skills and expertise as silk-weavers, silversmiths, merchants, vine-growers, wig makers, and hat-makers to England, helping England to expand its global horizons. While Huguenots could be praised for adding value to the English economy, the English could be hostile to what they saw as a threat to their own livelihoods. Use this lesson to explore the Huguenot experience of migration in seventeenth century England, with original documents ranging from 1553-1765.
Magna Carta: The great feudal feud for all
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Magna Carta: The great feudal feud for all

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This lesson provides pupils with knowledge of the different classes of people in the medieval England (King, Barons, Knights, Burghers, Peasants) and asks them to consider how Magna Carta may have affected each of them. At the end of the lesson pupils will have gathered information that can be used to write a short piece on who benefitted from Magna Carta in 1215. This lesson is the second in a sequence of three designed to be used with the BETT Awards 2016 and Medea award 2016 winning Magna Carta resource website. These lessons include PowerPoint presentations, teacher’s notes and other material for use in classrooms. The lesson resource website guides students through medieval history and documents with the help of reenactors as students create their own digital chronicle of the creation of Magna Carta.
Remembering Windrush
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Remembering Windrush

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Learning about the story of the Empire Windrush The National Archives has created some resources for you to use in your classroom with our video to remember the story of the Windrush generation. In the video, pupils take a historical journey from early times to the 1960s. They start with evidence of a Black presence in Britain from earlier migrations and explore the story of the Empire Windrush with other documents from The National Archives. Why did people leave their homes in the Caribbean to come to Britain? What was it like when they arrived? How were they treated then and in the years that followed? Historical sources also include music and some original footage from the period. We hope that the commentary and documents will encourage your pupils to explore the past and ask questions about how this Caribbean immigration changed life in Britain. Before watching the video, we advise teachers discuss the meaning of such terms as: blitz, immigrant, commonwealth, British Empire, colony, colour prejudice, inequality, discrimination, and colour bar. Please note that some of the language and terms used in the documents in video are not appropriate or acceptable today. The documents cover sensitive subjects. We suggest that teachers look at the material carefully before introducing to pupils. In April 2017 the British Government apologised for its treatment of the Windrush generation. Some people were told that they lived here illegally and faced deportation from the country. There was widespread shock at the impact on the lives of many Black Britons, and this became known as the Windrush Scandal. Approach of Video In such a short video it is not possible to present a detailed account of the Windrush story and its impact. Therefore, we highlight the story through four key documents, these include extracts from a government information pamphlet about Britain created for a Caribbean audience, a telegram about the passengers on the ‘Empire Windrush’, extracts from a housing report in the 1960s and a photograph of the Notting Hill Carnival. We hope teachers will explore the topic further using our lessons with original documents and activities to deepen understanding of events raise questions for discussion and consider the nature of evidence. Resources: All resources include teacher’s notes, background information, document captions, transcripts, and some have simplified transcripts. There are four connected lessons to this video which can be found in our shop.
Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee
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Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee

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The National Archives has created some resources for you to use in your classroom with our video to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. The film tells the story of Elizabeth II’s 70 years as Queen using genuine historical sources from The National Archives and The Royal Collections. It includes music and some original footage from the period. Pupils take a historical journey through the decades, from the 1950s to 2020s. We hope that the commentary and documents will encourage your pupils to explore the past and ask questions about how the Queen’s role has changed and life in Britain altered over time.
Writing War, Writing Peace
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Writing War, Writing Peace

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Writing War, Writing Peace is a creative writing anthology written by students who spent a week at The National Archives, learning from our records about the experiences of Nurses in the First World War. Mentored by Melvin Burgess and Sara Robinson, the students were encouraged to explore service records, diaries and photographs to put together their own creative pieces inspired by real events. These stories and poems are the result.
Women’s Histories
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Women’s Histories

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This resource contains a hyperlinked list of National Archives current resources for Women’s histories on The National Archives website. It includes education resources, online exhibitions, research guides, blog posts and podcasts by staff and external writers and links to external websites. The intention for this resource is to make it easier for teachers to find resources for teaching a diverse curriculum. We are committed to further improving our resources and continuing to increase the women’s histories told through our education resources and collections. Women can be found throughout our collections, but their narratives are often harder to find. As this resource shows we are working to reclaim the voices of women and address these historical imbalances, to represent an inclusive history of everyone in the resources we now develop.
Holding History
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Holding History

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Holding History is a stop motion animated film created by students during a week-long workshop at The National Archives. The film was designed to highlight key historical stories from within our collection and covers a variety of time periods and themes. Many thanks to the Friends of The National Archives for their support on this project. When making the film, students were asked to consider: What is The National Archives? How has it changed and developed over the centuries? And what are the challenges, threats and importance of an archive in today’s world? Each student was then given a specific story to research within our records before they could storyboard, design, create and capture their stop motion sets. These finished film clips can now be used by teachers and students as brief overviews, introductions or interest points for the various topics explored within the film. These accompanying questions are designed to work alongside the film clip, to guide students in thinking about what they have learned from the clip or from their lessons and previous knowledge. Some questions can be answered from the film itself, others are intended to be answered after class discussion or independent thought. The clips can also work as a model for student’s creative exploration of history, allowing students to see what can be done to tell stories from history and inspire their own creative work – either through animation, drawing, storytelling or other creative exploits.
Bulaya Chanda
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Bulaya Chanda

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Samson Jackson is believed to be one of six Black Africans to have served on the Western Front during the First World War. He changed his name in 1915 from Bulaya Chanda to Samson Jackson. In the 1920s, he started using the name Chief Luale (Luali) for his career on the stage. Bulaya Chanda was born in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) around 1895. He was of the Awemba or Bemba tribe who are a Bantu speaking people found in the north-east corner of Zambia, near the border with Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo). Use the sources in this lesson to find out more about his fascinating life and how his experiences challenge popular beliefs about the First World War and inter-war period. **Suggested inquiry questions: ** What documents can we use to find out about the life of Bulaya Chanda? How do Bulaya’s experiences challenge popular beliefs about the First World War and inter-war period? What can we discover about leisure and entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s? Connections to the curriculum **Key stage 3 ** Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day: the First World War and the Peace Settlement; the inter-war years. **Key stage 4 ** AQA GCSE History: Depth study: Conflict and tension: the First World War, 1894–1918 Thematic study: Migration, empires and the people: c790 to the present day
Armistice and Legacy
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Armistice and Legacy

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‘Armistice and Legacy’ is a graphic arts project illustrated by nine students who spent a week at The National Archives, illustrating their interpretations of First World War records and the research undertaken by The National Archives staff during the centenary of the war. The tales are told through the eyes of those who served in the war, showing the diverse experiences at the front and at home. The eBook can be used as a resource to learn about the experiences of war, or as an example of work your students could create inspired by historical documents.
May Fourth Movement 1919
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May Fourth Movement 1919

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In 1897, Germany colonised a part of China called Qingdao (also spelt Tsingtao) in the Shandong region. At the start of the First World War in 1914, Japan joined Britain in fighting against Germany as part of the Anglo-Japanese alliance. Japanese troops occupied the German territory in China during the Siege of Tsingtao. After the end of the war, the Paris Peace Conference met to decide the terms of the Versailles Treaty. The conference began on 18 January 1919, and the peace treaty was signed on 28 June 1919. At the conference, Chinese delegates insisted on having the occupied region returned to China. On 3 May 1919, a telegram from the Chinese delegates revealed that the ‘Great Powers’ (Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States) had decided that Japan would be allowed to keep the occupied territory in Shandong. A secret agreement between Britain, France, Italy, and Japan was also revealed to have been made in 1917, giving Japan the territory in exchange for military aid. This agreement sparked a mass protest on 4 May 1919 in Beijing, mainly led by university students. The students passed resolutions, sent correspondence to the peace conference, and targeted Chinese politicians who were seen as having failed the people. The protests developed into a mass movement across China, including general strikes and boycotts. As result, the Chinese delegates refused to sign due to the public pressure. The May Fourth Movement was a turning point for China and its relationship to the West. What do British government documents tell us about how Britain and the other Great Powers viewed Chinese demands?
Civil War People
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Civil War People

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The five videos in this series called ‘Civil War People’ have been updated to a greater quality from our focussed topic website English Civil War. View our videos to find out how a Bishop, Puritan, Scotsman, Irishman or King Charles I himself possibly viewed the prospect of civil war in 1642. Their words help to provide information which supports the document activities. Look at the videos first! Then, explore a specific linked document activity for each character. Try and read the original document. Each document is provided with background information, questions, a transcript and a simplified transcript to help. Please note that the document used in each activity can also be seen in the topic website English Civil War alongside other documents so you can expand your studies!
First World War - Scheme of Work
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First World War - Scheme of Work

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‘Why are historians still arguing about the First World War?’ Using original letters, reports, photographs and maps, students follow an enquiry led approach via six modules of 1-3 lessons each. Working with these sources your students will be able to put the evidence to the test and bust a series of common myths about this conflict, including were the soldiers ‘lions led by donkeys’ or did ’women spent the war nursing and knitting’. This scheme of work is designed as an an ‘off the peg’ resource for students learning about the First World War at Key Stage 3-4.