Schools

We can deliver workshops based on any element of the curriculum, it doesn’t have to be history. 

Just like the Green Howards, we’re a resourceful bunch and can adapt the content of our workshops to meet your requirements.  We use the fascinating history of this illustrious regiment, and the individuals who served, to create an unforgettable learning experience.  Browse our curriculum centred workshops below and get in touch to book your session.

Workshops: from £100 +VAT. Bespoke learning package prices on request.

Email: [email protected]

A war of words: writing and conflict

Exploring different reactions to war as shown through poetry, novels and journalism.
STUDENTS WILL
• Read historical and modern passages from literature to consider how they represent the experience of war
• Learn about the historical context in which these words were recorded
• Compare and explain differing representations
• Evaluate the motivations of authors when they write

Resources involved: The poetry, journalism and novels inspired by conflict. Reportage – war diaries versus the press, censorship, lesser known war poets, such as our own Purvis and Read.
OUTCOMES
• An appreciation of the difference between personal records, reportage, and propaganda
• An understanding of why different aspects of war might be emphasised by different authors
• An ability to begin to judge the reliability of sources and to appreciate that less reliable writing can still have value

Art and ammunition: recording warfare creatively

Investigating the visual representation of war by looking at war art, photography and film.
STUDENTS WILL
• Critically evaluate original footage from conflicts – what is shown and why?
• Use photographs and artwork to describe conditions experienced by soldiers at war.
• Explain why they think works of art are/are not effective
• Contrast official war art with personal sketches and records

Resources involved: Jack Purvis and Herbert Read archive, the work of official war art Paul Nash, diary sketches, sketching for observation and intelligence, regulations over cameras and usage, the first documentaries – controversy and propaganda
OUTCOMES
• A greater knowledge of how war is represented through art
• An understanding of different types of artistic representation – differences between documentary and commentary
• An appreciation that art may have more than one purpose
• An understanding of how art can raise awareness of social and political issues

Changes through time

Understanding change and continuity with reference to a specified themed study over time.  Choose from: uniforms or weaponry.
STUDENTS WILL
• Look at a wide range of artefacts from the whole history of the Green Howards
• Use these objects to identify similarities and differences over time
• Using historical context attempt to explain why some things change and some things stay the same
• Make judgements about which changes have been of most significance

It is often said that war speeds up development and is a catalyst for change. We will investigate just how true that assertion is.

Theme: weaponry.  The effect of changes over time on attack and defence. Strengths and weaknesses of weaponry and effect on tactics. Technological change from the front loading musket (with a range of 70 metres) through to RPG (a range of 920 metres). Tactical change using as an example, the Battle of Ginnis to total warfare such as Blitzkreig.

Theme: uniforms.  The effect of changes over time on uniform.  The British Army ‘Redcoats’.  Types of uniform from officers to the ordinary ranks. Changes in identity identity, safety, materials and the changing role of the uniformed services, such as UN and NATO.

OUTCOMES
• The ability to track and explain changes over time
• Knowledge of examples of cause and consequence, change and continuity – enabling students to make connections and analyse trends
• A better understanding of weapons, tactics and uniforms at different points in time.

Christmas in the trenches

Exploring and debating the myths and realities of the Christmas ‘truce’ of 1914.
STUDENTS WILL
• Investigate the context of the first Christmas of the First World War
• Use first-hand accounts to build an understanding of the Christmas Truce
• Learn about the extent of the ‘truce’ and reactions to it
• Learn why atypical historical events can dominate contemporary perceptions

Resources involved: primary sources of information about what happened on the Western Front in December 1914, the phrase It’ll all be over by Xmas”, Princess Mary’s gift tins, embroidered cards, the Ypres truce, Easter on the Eastern Front, media coverage, Army command reaction.
OUTCOMES
• An understanding of the different contemporary reactions to the ‘truce’ – both negative and positive
• An appreciation of different perspectives on the ‘truce’ over time and of how and why views have changed
• Developed reasoning and discussion skills to explain student views on the significance of the ‘truce’

Citizenship: Remembrance. All faiths and none

Investigating the ways in which sacrifice and loss during conflict is commemorated both nationally and individually.

STUDENTS WILL
• Use historical sources to discuss the nature of Remembrance on a national scale
• Use case studies of personal sacrifice to learn how families and communities remember those who fall during war
• Debate controversies in relation to Remembrance
• Using Commonwealth War Grave Commission headstones as a tool, investigate the role of faith and no faith in remembering those who died in conflict.

Using items from the museum’s collection, such as Field Marshall Haig’s original poppy, we will explore the symbols and ceremonies associated with the modern definition of Remembrance. We will explore how Armistice Day evolved from a day of celebration to one of reflection. Through a study of war cemetery headstones we will discuss why the designs of architects and sculptors have influenced the way we remember those lost in conflict.

Resources involved: Haig’s poppy, Dead man’s penny, posthumous medals, family remembrance books; newspaper obits and poetry; CWGC headstones and cemetery records

OUTCOMES
• Develop an understanding of the meaning of the symbols, sounds and objects associated with Remembrance
• Expand their understanding of why it is important to remember those who have died as a consequence of conflict
• Have appreciation that how we mark the end of conflict can change over time
• Understand the breadth of backgrounds and values of those who served from across the British Empire
• Broaden their knowledge and understanding of how Britain has been influenced by the wider world

Explore the object: items from our collection

Introducing students to historical objects from the museum’s collection. Explaining the role of museums in remembering, and interpreting the past. Curating a mini exhibition.
STUDENTS WILL
• Explore a range of objects from the museum’s handling collection
• Form valid historical questions to help select objects to tell a story
• Explain their selections and interpret these objects to curate a mini exhibition

Resources involved: items from the museum collection, labelling and interpretation.

OUTCOMES
• A better understanding of museums, of why they exist and how their collections evolve
• Learn how to ask valid historical questions
• Develop communication and presentation skills
• An understanding that objects offer something different to the historian or general observer when compared to written sources

I won’t go! Conscientious objectors and the First World War

Equiping students with the knowledge to judge and debate whether it was a braver decision to fight on the battlefield or to refuse to do so.
STUDENTS WILL
• Study volunteering and conscription at the outbreak of war
• Discuss case studies of pacifists/conscientious objectors and their motives
• Learn the difference between conscientious objectors and absolutists
• Select evidence from a range of sources to construct an argument

Resources involved: Information about local tribunals, motivations for pacifists, white feathers, courts martial, propaganda, Richmond 16.
OUTCOMES
• An ability to understand social attitudes towards pacifism at the time of the First World War
• Ways of evaluating the intention, effect and honesty of propaganda
• Skills of selection in relation to historical evidence
• The ability to constructed a supported argument in support of an historical stance

Sounds of War: conflict and music

Exploring the role of music in the military and in society during periods of conflict. Understanding the impact that war can have on musical development and historical memory.
STUDENTS WILL
• Learn about the military uses of music – bugles, bands and drums
• Listen to, analyse and describe examples of music used for information and instruction, for morale and for remembrance
• Investigate changes in music as a result of war
• Reflect on how music can affect their mood and attitude

Music and war are intrinsically linked, from bugle calls to soldiers’ songs. We will use original recordings to work out how music was used to inform and motivate and sometimes to mislead. The impact of war has always influenced composition and performance, from the birth of jazz to the creation of War Requiems or Big Band music. Using case studies of the likes of George Butterworth, Vaughan Williams and Glenn Miller we will track the influence and changes in music over time.

Resources involved: Recordings of military bands and bugle calls, trench gramophones, soldiers’ songs, classical music, national anthems, works by George Butterworth, Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten and the influence of civilian musical fashions, such as jazz and swing, on the wartime playlist.
OUTCOMES
• An awareness of the different roles that music has played during conflict over time
• An understanding of how conflict and culture influence one another
• Comparisons between modern and historical music from times of conflict

The Second World War: Fighting Fascism

Developing a knowledge of the principal events of World War Two and identifying key turning points in the conflict.
STUDENTS WILL
• Learn about key events in the Second World War through photos and accounts
• Investigate the development of tactics as the war progressed
• Compare events to decide upon key turning points
• Develop an explanation as to why the Allies won World War Two

The Second World War is a huge topic to cover. We help to make the conflict accessible, through the use of real experiences and by selecting key events. While developing a clear chronology, students will be able to make decisions as to when and why victory looked out of reach and how the odds turned in favour of the Allies.

Case studies will be drawn from:  Appeasement, Phoney War, Blitzkrieg, Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, Eastern Front and the USSR, Pearl Harbour and the USA, North Africa, Italy, D-Day, the road to Berlin
OUTCOMES
• An overview of Second World War chronology
• Skills of evaluation, judging the significance of historical events and developments
• Improved decision-making skills
• An ability to express, develop and support an opinion

The Second World War: Home Front

Understanding how people prepared for, reacted to and adapted to the war at home.
STUDENTS WILL
• Use objects and narratives to learn about people’s experiences of war
• Examine the conditions imposed upon citizens and explore how they would feel if it happened to them
• Learn how the Second World War was a total war – changing all aspects of life for civilians as well as the military
• Evaluate the contribution of ordinary people to the war effort

Resources involved: baby gas masks, evacuation suitcases, first hand accounts of what life was like as a civilian contributing to the war effort, propaganda (posters, films, songs), Civil Defence (ARP, gas masks, shelters, personal responsibility, blackout), evacuation (why, where, Phoney War, memories), The Blitz (shelters, experiences, effect – military, industrial, morale) The Home Guard, equipment and legislation.
OUTCOMES
• An understanding of how civil liberties can be restricted to preserve longer term freedoms
• Empathy with those who endured the privations of the Second World War
• An appreciation that the military success of the Second World War were dependent upon the efforts of the whole nation
• An ability to envisage what it would be like to live through the Second World War

Trenches, terror and trust. The Yorkshire soldier and the First World War

Understanding the experiences of an infantry soldier during the First World War
STUDENTS WILL
• Use original artefacts to learn what life was like as a soldier in the First World War

Resources involved: the museum’s handling collection, accounts of soldiers on active service, trench systems, sources revealing friendship and adventure, service and sacrifice, reactions to returning to a ‘land fit for heroes’.
OUTCOMES
• Develop an ability to accurately describe conditions on the Western Front
• Learn to interrogate historical sources to maximise their learning
• Use their ability to link apparently disparate sources to construct a narrative
• Interpret objects to better understand the past