Literacy through History Videography Days
Every pupil in the Prep School was given the opportunity to participate in a Literacy through History workshop. Led by professional videographer Adam Pepper, pupils were shown clips depicting significant historical events. Mr Pepper than created bespoke literacy activities, based on the topics they are studying in English this half term.
The workshop for Year 3 focused on Roman Gladiators. They explored the life of famous gladiator Virus, they learnt about gladiator training techniques and explored the history of the Colosseum – including a tour of what it is like today. The session concluded with a letter writing task with pupils assuming the character of Virus and writing home to his family.
Year 6 learnt about Mayan history, writing a travel blog about Chichen Itza in Mexico and an adventure story about king Ballam and his life in a Mayan fishing village.
Year 5 are studying Ancient Greece so after taking a tour of Crete, they wrote a postcode explaining the history of several key historical buildings. They then watched film clips about Theseus and wrote a non-chronological report about his life. Finally, they wrote a newspaper report explaining what happened in the labyrinth, a link into the journalism English topic in the Y5 English curriculum.
Finally, Year 4 spent a day watching clips to enhance their understanding of Myths. They used the day to explore what is meant by myths and were inspired by the story of gladiator Virus to write their own myths, portraying their gladiators as mythical superheroes.
All the pupils found the event extremely engaging, challenging and inspiring. Our thanks the Wilton Trust for their financial help that made the event possible.
Mrs Doran
