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' Field 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 1-2
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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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 World War Two? 2
This snapshot on a World War Two bombing raid is based on an interview with World War Two 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 Two
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 Two 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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Government Posters 2-3
How did Britain encourage people at home to help win the war? This snapshot is based on posters and a film from the time.
Sources used: posters, film
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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 Two British Government propaganda 3-4
How did the British government try to keep the support of the people of West Africa during World War Two?
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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