You're previewing the student experience. You don't need to complete this lesson — your progress and XP aren't saved.
Beginner
60 mins
Teacher/Student led
+80 XP
Teacher-led from the board. Pupils do not need a device, but can follow on one.

Two Views of Country Schools

Compare a personal memory of starting school with a government record of schools from the same area in 1824. Sort what the two sources say into facts and opinions to see what each reveals and why their views differ.

Teacher Class Feed

Load previous activity
    Your turn
    Your teacher is running this lesson on the board. Here is the part you can try yourself.
    Interactive slideshow
    Drag sort

    1 - Look and Wonder ~4 mins

    Listen to a man remembering his first day at school, one part at a time.

    What do you notice? What do you wonder?

    2 - Read and Learn ~8 mins

    Read each slide. Find out what a source is, and meet two kinds we will use: a memory and a record.

    3 - Sort the Evidence ~15 mins

    Here are eight of the 27 schools in the government's record for Clogher parish in 1824, the same part of County Tyrone where the man in the memory grew up.

    The table: Schools in Clogher parish, 1824

    Look at the rows in the table.

    The memory we heard had three parts: the first day, only three scholars, and a barn in summer. Keep those in mind as you sort.

    Sort each card. Is it a fact, or what someone thought or felt? Say why.

    A fact, or what someone thought?

    4 - Write It in Your Copy ~4 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    In your copy, finish these three lines.

    Only the memory tells us ...

    Only the record tells us ...

    They differ because ...

    Words you may use: readers, Parliament, money, one boy's life.

    5 - What Can't It Tell Us? ~10 mins

    Think back to the memory and the record.

    What can each source tell us about country schools, and why do the two views differ?

    What can each source NOT tell us?

    6 - What We Learned ~5 mins

    an old open book and a folded official paper with a seal on a wooden table
    source something left from the past we can still use
    an older person at a desk writing about their childhood by window light
    memory one person's recollection of their own life
    a magnifying glass held over an old page with a clear detail circled
    evidence what a source shows that we can use to answer a question
    two people looking at the same schoolhouse from different sides of a lane, each seeing a different part
    perspective where somebody stood, which shapes what they noticed

    A boy's memory and a government record both tell us about country schools, but each from a different place. Who made a source, for whom and why, changes what it can show and what it leaves out.

    When two people describe the same place today, what might make their views differ?

    Pupil practice · Activity Sheet
    Module 1 · Our School, and the Schools Before It
    Lesson 1 · Two Views of Country Schools
    Download Activity Sheet (PDF)
    End of lesson
    123learn · Sample lesson

    That was a sample lesson from History for 5th Class

    Every lesson in the course is ready to teach like this one. See what else comes with it, and how to order it.

    Copyright Notice
    This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2026. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.
    🍪 Our website uses cookies to make your browsing experience better. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more