7SN History - Lesson 1

Mr. Sidwell
Wednesday 16th August 2023
Remember to write in
L.O: An introduction to historical sources blue or black pen.
Write the date and L.O. at the top of a new page. Then, complete the starter activity in your books.

Starter:
Writing in bullet points, write down as many historical sources you can
think of that historians can use to build up a picture of the past. For
example:

● Photographs ● …
● … ● …
● … ● …
Term 1, Unit 1

Big Idea: Adaptability

Adaptability is demonstrated by the ability to change,
alter or cope with new environments or circumstances.
What is history?
The word ‘History’ is derived
from the Ancient Greek word
historía, meaning 'inquiry;
knowledge acquired by investigation'.

History is the systematic study and documentation of the

human past.
Discussion time!

“History is an unending dialogue between the present and the

past.”
- E. H. Carr

What do you think this means?

Discuss your ideas with a partner.
Discussion time!

"We shouldn't choose only those records that portray past

events in a positive light. The truth of history is woven from
many sources."
- Jim Bronskill

What do you think this means?

Discuss your ideas with a partner.
Discussion time!

“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived,

however, if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”
- Maya Angelou

What do you think this means?

Discuss your ideas with a partner.
Q: When did history ‘begin’?

If history is the study of the

past, how do historians study
ancient times?
Historians divide history into
two distinct periods:

1. BCE (Before Common Era,

sometimes called BC)

2. CE (Common Era,
sometimes called AD).

We are in the year 2023 CE.

CE counts forwards.
BCE counts backwards.
 Unit 1: Prehistory

Humans have only produced written texts for a few thousand years, but we have
been around for hundreds of thousands of years (or millions of years, if we include earlier
human species!).

So for the majority of our human past, there are no written historical sources.

This unit, as an introduction to the study of history, we will be looking at ‘prehistory’.

The prefix pre- means ‘before’.

Prehistory means the history (time period) before history was recorded / written.

Q: What periods of human history do you think ‘prehistory’ describes?

 Task: Matching activity
In your books, have a go at matching these times and events in chronological order, from
oldest (earliest) to latest. They are all jumbled up!
The word ‘chronological’ comes from the from Ancient Greek chronologia =
chronos (‘time’) + lógos (‘reason, explanation’)

● Roman Empire founded ● Jurassic Period

● World War II ● The Industrial Revolution period
● First iPad sold ● Great Pyramid of Giza built
● First space shuttle launch ● The Iron Age
● Shakespeare born ● First aeroplane flight