Planning a history workshop for your school? Choosing the right provider can make all the difference. At Portals to the Past, we believe that history is more than just dates and facts; it’s a story waiting to be told. Our workshops are designed to be dynamic, interactive, and memorable experiences that leave students with a deeper appreciation for the past and a desire to learn more. From hands-on artifact exploration to dramatic reenactments, we offer a variety of activities to cater to different learning styles and curriculum needs.
Igniting a Passion for History
At Portals to the Past we deliver workshops across the curriculum, from the Stone Age to World War II. These day-long sessions utilise a variety of teaching tools and techniques to provide engaging and informative experiences. These include object handling, drama, talks and games.
A Dynamic Learning Experience
We have found that pupil engagement is improved by varying the style of delivery and focus of our talks. Brief and punchy, our talks give a groundwork in the subject to learners, which supports and complements their classroom learning. A good example is our armour talk, where we introduce the Roman soldier to the learners. This involves talking about what life in Rome was like and why people volunteered to be Roman soldiers. Then we bring a child from the audience and dress them in replica armour and show them the weapons. Children respond well to their friends being on stage and enjoy the spectacle.
Hands-On with History
As well as talks, we deliver object handling sessions where learners handle real and replica objects from the period being studied. In our Stone Age session, we use our personal collection of Stone Age tools and artefacts. We are particularly proud of our collection, which includes a Neanderthal hand axe and a replica from the British Museum of a carving of two reindeer swimming, made from mammoth ivory. Children draw the objects, encouraging observation, the craft of sketching and creating excellent evidence of learning. Some of the objects are cryptic and need explanation, encouraging the children to guess what they are, developing further intellectual skills.
Myths and Legends Brought to Life
We find drama is the best way to deliver myths. Greek, Roman, Saxon and Viking workshops tend to be myth-heavy, which can be delivered either as “story time” or by getting children to act it out and deliver lines fed to them. Children like to see their friends portray Thor, or Paris, even Romulus and Remus, allowing them to engage with the material and remember abstract characters not by strange names but rather the person their friends pretended to be.
Learning Through Play and Discovery
Finally, games and activities are used to encourage children to learn in different ways than they are used to. For all our workshops, we do a quiz where the children move between information boards, answering questions on a quiz sheet. One of the most rewarding days we have had was at a school where a child who found learning difficult finished the quiz in record time. He was very proud and his teacher pleased he had engaged with learning despite not realising that was what he was doing. Children respond well to active learning and active experiences such as playing games. We have a variety of games from the Bronze Age Greeks to those played by the Vikings during the period of the Danelaw. Children are amazed when we explain that the game they had just been playing was played by Odysseus and Achilles on the Trojan beach.
Enriching the Curriculum, Inspiring Young Minds
Portals to the Past uses a variety of techniques to bring history to life for learners and actively attempts to support the school in providing the best learning possible through curriculum enrichment. If you are interested in booking a session, please contact us today to discuss how we can help – Contact Us.