Whose Story are we Telling?

The Role of Perspective and Equity in History

Project Overview

This unit aims to explore historical events and figures through the lens of perspective and equity, focusing on how different groups have had their stories told and the impact of those narratives. The unit will integrate hisotry with other subjects like maths and design, and encourage students to reflect on how history is shaped by the perspectives of those who record it. During our class exhibition, we will showcase our understanding of historical perspectives through debate.

"It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view." - George Eliot

The Key Areas of Competence (KAoC)

This term's cross-curricular project will develop the children's skills in the following curriculum areas:

ROOTS: Personal, Social and Emotional Development

TRUNK: Communication and Language, Maths, Critical Thinking, Digital Communication and Language

CROWN: Creative Arts and Design, Understanding the World (History skills)

Steps to Success:

Step 1: Develop critical thinking about perspectives and equity

Step 2: Distinguish between fact and opinion in historical contexts

Step 3: Conduct research and analyse historical events from multiple perspectives

Step 4: Research and practice how to present our findings in an engaging debate

Project Launch

1st May

We started our unit discussing what our new project would look like and how it will focus on different perspectives of the same event. We spent some time researching historical events relevant to the UK and some trips that could match our interests. We have also identified our preferences for which historical events to focus on. A great start to our summer term project!

Update #1

16th May

As a class, we decided to focus our unit on two key case studies: the sinking of the Titanic and the Industrial Revolution. We began by exploring the connection between perspective and equity, which will serve as the lens through which we examine these historical events. We analysed the differing experiences of first- and third-class passengers aboard the Titanic, considering how their perspectives varied based on their social status. This led us to reflect on our understanding so far and identify any gaps in our knowledge.

Next, we discussed the distinction between fact and opinion, and practiced sorting historical events into these two categories.

To deepen our understanding of the Titanic disaster, we watched National Geographic videos that provided detailed insights into what happened.

Moving forward, we will incorporate mathematical data—such as coal production figures and average child labor hours during the Industrial Revolution—to connect numerical analysis with our historical inquiry. An engaged and focused start to our interesting inquiry!

"It was not fair that the women and children got to the lifeboats first. I think this because I believe in equal rights. Q. Were there enough lifeboats for everyone?" - Year 5/6 student reflecting on their learning so far

Questions to discuss:

What are the different perspectives about the events during the sinking of the Titanic?
How does perspective influence the way history is remembered?
Can our understanding of historical events change?

Update #2

13th June

Next, we explored different types of graphs—bar, line, and pie—and discussed which were best suited to various kinds of data. We sketched bar and line graphs showing coal output increasing over time and child labour hours decreasing.

Using this data, we considered different perspectives, such as those of child labourers and factory owners, and wrote from their points of view, with some students even dramatizing their roles.

We then shifted focus to the Titanic, examining the event from multiple angles. We watched videos featuring first- and third-class passengers, read inquiry transcripts that included overheard conversations with the captain, and explored a modern engineer's view of how the ship broke apart.

We created pie graphs to represent additional Titanic data, and began timelines that depict the sinking from two different perspectives in a visual format.

The students especially loved having their parents join us in class to share ideas— please come again!

Questions to discuss:

Which type of graph (bar, line or pie) best shows change over time, and why?
How might a child labourer and a factory owner have described the same event differently during the Industrial Revolution?
What surprised you the most about the different perspectives of the sinking of the Titanic, and why?

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