Initially individual students started making assumptions about what they thought Taupō’s history would have looked like. They thought of vintage cars, no iPads, and no crocs for shoes.
All students added to a class visual timeline using photos, drama games and sharing stories both orally and in written form.
Researching the past included reading, watching reenactments, and looking at a range of images. Van used his knowledge of hunting and related it to how people in the past caught and cooked food. With his peers he discussed how the past and the present had different techniques for catching and cooking food.
Students discussed how they would have had to use natural materials like wood to make weapons with each other.
After researching the past, Room 14 used this knowledge to play a variety of drama games and activities including;
- Yes Let’s
- What Are You Doing?
- Talk Show
- Freeze Frame
Their favourite activity was Freeze Frame. To play this game students look at an image from the past and then ‘placed’ themselves in the situation, the where and when of it. Students liked this because it allowed them to enter the past in a fun and interactive way.
This image is of pre-colonisation Taupō. The students entered this photo and acted like they were fishing and cooking.
Here we are acting out cooking in the olden days. They didn’t have ovens.
We made a fire to cook food on.
We had to hunt for our food first, because they didn’t have a Pack n Save.
In another freeze frame the image is of Taupō with a bus in the image.
We had to go to town, so we caught the bus.
Here children have entered a 1960’s classroom.
I’m the teacher and teachers used abacuses.
School was strict in the olden days. They all sat in lines like we are.
As the teacher, I am proud of Room 14 ‘s learning and of the students taking risks during the drama sessions so that they could put themselves in the ‘shoes of others.’ By using drama and oral language, students were able to learn about the past and changes over time in a fun and engaging way.
Comments are disabled for this post.