A creative history workshop for Key Stage 1
What does it mean to be a child today? And how does that compare to childhood 150 years ago?
Childhood is an immersive drama workshop that invites Key Stage 1 pupils to explore these questions through play, storytelling and history.
Created by Cap-a-Pie in collaboration with historian Dr Laura Tisdall from Newcastle University, the workshop brings the history of childhood to life through the eyes of one unforgettable character.
When the children arrive, they discover a girl lying asleep on the floor. When she wakes, she introduces herself as Elizabeth Brown, an 11-year-old from Newcastle in 1875 who has somehow travelled through time.
Elizabeth has never seen a classroom like theirs. She doesn’t know what a television is, or a water bottle or a tap. She wants to know everything about being a child today.
The children quickly become the experts.
Together, they compare games, schools, family life and daily routines, discovering how childhood has changed and what has stayed the same. Along the way they explore Victorian Newcastle, the jobs children once did and how ideas about childhood have evolved.
Through role play, games, discussion and imaginative activities, pupils are encouraged to ask questions and share ideas.
The project was developed after conversations with teachers about bringing the KS1 history curriculum to life through drama, alongside discussions with children about power, agency and what it means to grow up today. Those conversations became the starting point for a workshop that is as much about children’s own lives as it is about the past.
As one participating teacher said:
“Children were definitely able to empathise with children their age whose lives were completely different in the past… particularly when considering the jobs children used to do.”
The workshop supports the KS1 history curriculum while developing communication, empathy, imagination and creative thinking.
Access
Our workshops are designed so every child can take part.
Activities include storytelling, movement, discussion, role play and collaborative play, providing multiple ways for children to participate.
The Team
Facilitated by
Jeannie May Adam and Brad McCormick
Directed by
Brad McCormick
Produced by
Katy Vanden
Created in collaboration with Dr Laura Tisdall, Newcastle University, and developed with teachers and pupils from North East primary schools.
Read more about Childhood in our blog.
