Index of topics
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Snapshots (single lessons)
Snapshots are lesson-sized activities based around a small number of original sources.
1066-1500
Henry VIII - Court Rules 2
How did Henry VIII get up in the morning? This snapshot looks at the rules of court - the Ordinances of Eltham.
Sources used: painting
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Mary Queen of Scots - Kirk-O-Fields 2-3
What happened in 1567 on the night that Mary´s husband was killed? Examine the evidence.
Sources used: painting
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Elizabeth I Royal Seal 2-3
What can the seal tell us?
Sources used: picture
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Elizabethan Propaganda 2-3
How did the English Government try to show that the Spanish were threatening to invade England in 1588?
Sources used: handwritten document
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Spanish Armada 3
Did God really help the English to defeat it?
Sources used: picture, handwritten document
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Contact with Native North Americans 3
What was early contact like? Read the journal of an early settler.
Sources used: handwritten document
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Shakespeare 3
What kind of man was he? This snapshot gives you the chance to look at primary sources concerning Shakespeare, including financial information and his last will and testament.
Sources used: picture, handwritten document
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Guy Fawkes 2-3
Why was Guy Fawkes tortured? This snapshot includes orders sent to the Tower and Fawkes´ confessions.
Sources used: handwritten document
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Great Plague of 1665-1666 3
How did London respond to the Great Plague of 1665-1666?
Sources used: handwritten document, typed document
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Fire of London 1-3
What happened in the fire of London?
Sources used: Map, hand written document, typed document
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Captain Blood 3
The King, the crown and the colonel: How did Thomas Blood try to steal the crown jewels in 1671?
Sources used: picture, handwritten document, typed document
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Captain Cook in Hawaii 3
Why was Captain Cook killed? This snapshot combines a drawing of the bay in Hawaii where Cook died with an eyewitness account of events.
Sources used: painting, handwritten document, picture
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British Reaction to French Revolution 3
How did the British react to July 1789?
Sources used: handwritten document, typed document
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1833 Factory Act 2-3
Did it solve the problem of children in factories? Examine the evidence.
Sources used: photo, typed document
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1834 Poor Law 2-3
What did people think of the New Poor Law? The focus is on an anti-poor law poster.
Sources used: poster
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Rebecca Riots 3
3
What happened during the Rebecca Riots?
Sources used: cartoon, hand written document, typed document
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Florence Nightingale 2-3
Why do we remember Florence Nightingale? What qualities did she look for in her nurses?
Sources used: photo, handwritten document, picture, typed document
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19th Century People - Family life 2-3
What can we tell from a photograph? What can we tell from a census return?
Sources used: photo, typed document
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Victorian Family History 2
How can we find out about the life of a Victorian child using family sources?
Sources used: photo, handwritten document
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Victorian Leisure - Past pleasures 2-3
How did the Victorians have fun?
Sources used: photo, picture, poster
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Victorian Homes - Rich and poor 2-3
Was there much difference between rich and poor homes? Documents are about Hackney, East London.
Sources used: map, photo, typed document
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Victorian Life - Trimdon Grange 2-3
What was it like living in late 19th century Trimdon Grange (County Durham in the North of England)? This snapshot combines photos, maps and a census return.
Sources used: map, photo, typed document
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19th Century Mining Accident 2-3
What happened at the Trimdon Grange mining disaster? Read the official report and a survivor´s story.
Sources used: photo, handwritten document, typed document
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19th Century Mining Explosion - literacy focus 2
This is a snapshot on the Trimdon Grange mining accident, with tasks that focus on literacy.
Sources used: picture, typed document
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Say "Cheese"! Queen Victoria´s Family Photograph 2-3
Why is no one smiling in Queen Victoria´s family photograph? Tasks in this snapshot encourage you to see how much evidence there is in one photo.
Sources used: photo
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Slavery 3-4
How did the Abolition acts of 1807 and 1833 affect slavery? Look at evidence from photos and court records.
Sources used: handwritten document, photo
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Bussa Rebellion 1816 3-4
How and why did the enslaved Africans of Barbados rebel in 1816?
Sources used: map, handwritten document
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Victorian children in trouble with the law 2-3
Did the punishment fit the crime?
Sources used: photo
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Victorian Prison 3-4
Why were Victorian prisons so tough? Examine photos and a prison floor plan from 1884.
Sources used: diagram, picture
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School Dinners 3-4
Why were school dinners brought in? Documents focus on an experiment in Bradford.
Sources used: statistics, photo, typed document
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Streets of Late Victorian London - literacy focus 2
This snapshot on Late Victorian London includes a poem and tasks that focus on literacy.
Sources used: photo, typed document
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Victorian Railway Accident - Rob Roy - literacy focus 2
This snapshot on a Victorian railway accident is based on a letter and photograph and includes tasks that focus on literacy.
Sources used: typed document, photo
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Edwardian Schools - How we were taught 2-3
What was school like 100 years ago?
Sources used: photo
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The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 3-4
Who was on board?
Sources used: photo, handwritten document, statistics
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A Soldier's Record - World War 1 3-4
What can you tell from this record? This snapshot focuses on Donald Campbell, a young Scottish man who joined the army in 1903. Find out what happened to him.
Sources used: picture, handwritten document
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Naval Tragedy - Death at Sea in World War 1 3-4
Were lives wasted when the Indefatigable sank?
Sources used: typed document, handwritten document
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The Zeppelin Raids 3-4
How did First World War Zeppelin air raids affect British civilians? The snapshot uses a report, a diary and a photograph.
Sources used: typed document, photo
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The German occupation of the Rhineland 3-4
What should Britain do about it? Read the minutes of the Cabinet meetings.
Sources used: typed document
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Chamberlain and Hitler, 1938 3-4
What was Chamberlain trying to do?
Sources used: typed document, handwritten document, map
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What was it like to be an airman in WWII? 2
This snapshot on a WWII bombing raid is based on an interview with WWII airman Gordon Ford and looks at the experiences and effects of British bombers on German cities.
Sources used: photographs, video
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Evacuation to Shropshire in World War 2
2
What was it like for children from the city who were sent to to the British countryside at the beginning of the war?
Sources used: photo, newspaper, letter, oral history
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Evacuation to Canada in World War 2 2-3
How much care was really taken with the children? Examine the official government records to find out.
Sources used: photo, typed document
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The Home Front 2-3
How did people prepare for war at home? This snapshot is based on posters, leaflets and other sources from the time.
Sources used: poster, typed document, diagram
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British response to V1 and V2 2
How did Britain respond to the threat of attack by rockets and missiles in 1943? What would you have done if you were advising the War Cabinet?
Sources used: photo, typed document, diagram
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World War 2 British Government propaganda 3-4
How did the British government try to keep the support of the people of West Africa during World War 2?
Sources used: typed document, picture, map
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Adolf Hitler - Character 3-4
Was Hitler a 'passionate lunatic'? Read the reports of people at the time and draw your own conclusions.
Sources used: cartoon, typed document
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Hitler Assassination plan 3-4
How did the British plan to kill Hitler?
Sources used: map, typed document
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Belsen Concentration Camp, 1945 3-4
What did the British find when they entered Belsen concentration camp? This snapshot is based on a report on camp conditions and photographs of the camp guards.
Sources used: photo, typed document
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Post War Immigration - Bound for Britain 3-4
This snapshot uses a range of sources to examine the experiences of West Indians immigrating to the UK.
Sources used: photo, typed document
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1966 World Cup 3-4
Did England rig the result? These documents were confidential for 30 years.
Sources used: poster, typed document
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