Humanities
Humanities
It’s been a busy term in Humanities, with both the Year 7s and 8s undertaking minor and major KLTs. The Year 8s have learned the OPVL method of source analysis, interrogating historical sources for their values and limitations to a historian by questioning and challenging their usefulness and reliability. Following this, they studied how to construct source analysis answers in response to particular command terms, and have showed great progress in structuring responses in writing, embedding quotes into their own sentences and combining information extracted from sources with their own knowledge of topics. This has been in the context of our Medieval Europe unit, in which the students have looked at cause and consequence and change and continuity around key historical turning points including the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE, the Norman Invasion of Britain in 1066 and the Black Death of 1347-52. Having had the unique experience of living through a pandemic themselves, the students have brought a fresh perspective and understanding to their examination of this extensive plague.
The Year 7s have completed their study of Ancient Greece with an in depth look at how to construct paragraphs around an argument. Focusing on the Greco-Persian Wars of 499-479 BCE, the students have submitted some truly amazing work in which they have supported arguments about the contribution of different Greek city-states to the wars. This has included considering the perspectives of historians and understanding the significance of individual battles to the wider war effort.
The highlight of the last few weeks was the Year 8 Medieval Day on September 10th. Students participated in a rotation of workshops about different aspects of medieval life. They dressed in medieval armor, learned about the severe punishments meted out for petty crimes and played school games from the period. The archery workshop was a particular hit!
Here is what some of the students had to say about the day:
“It was great. I liked archery”
“The topics that we covered like the black plague and the different classes of the feudal system all seemed interesting to me”
“The activities were fun”
“it was educational”
Medieval day was very fun, showing us the ways people worked and demonstrating lots of things”
“Medieval Day was fun because there were a lot of different things”
The Year 7s are not missing out – they have their Hellenic Museum incursion coming up in Term 4, which is also full of active games. Don’t forget to complete payment and permissions on Compass!
Raquel Fenby
Curriculum Leader