Teacher's Pack
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TEACHER’S PACK Contents of this pack • Introduction • Pre-visit and visit information • Teacher Resource: – Activity Worksheets 1-4 – Drama Guidelines – Activity Worksheets 5-7 • Wordsearch • Class evaluation sheet • Glossary • Poster competition S T N te CON Introduction B ack G R O U N D I N F O R M at ION Edinburgh grew up around its castle. The huddle of huts which first clustered around the castle rock gradually spread eastwards. By the late 17th century, Edinburgh was by far the most populated place in Scotland. The High Street was Edinburgh’s one major - and exceptionally fine -thoroughfare, with the Grassmarket and Cowgate roughly parallel below it. But elsewhere, it was a maze of narrow closes. By modern standards, 17th century towns were horribly dirty and smelly. There was no sanitation. Waste was just thrown onto the street, where it built up…and ran down! So, on this crowded spine of land, where the buildings grew upwards - often by as many as eight storeys - society was organised vertically, the wealthy close to the top above all the filth and the poor at the bottom in the midst of it. Here, all classes or trades lived and worked. The great townhouses of nobles, churchmen and merchants with all their servants and retainers, nestled cheek-by-jowl with the vast mass of the toiling poor. And though some people enjoyed extravagant luxuries, life for most was basic, noisy, dirty, precarious, and short. You will experience the vibrant sense of place and time, and of the lives of the people who lived, worked and died in the closes: of Alison Rough, who was to prove as troublesome after her death as she had done in life; of the Craig family who lived at the bottom of Mary King’s Close before the ‘pestilence’ destroyed their lives; and indeed of the widow Mary King herself who lived near the top of the close with her four children. Meet the Foul Clengers, identifiable by their grey tunics marked with a white saltire, who cleansed plague ridden houses. Or you may encounter a merchant, one of the wealthier members of Edinburgh’s society, like Thomas Patterson. Or Euphame and Jonet, Mary King’s own daughters. Or even a lowly servant girl who will tell of life in the close. Where DOes ‘The ReaL MarY KING’S CLOse’ EXperIENce FIT INTO the CUrrICULUM? 1. As part of an established class topic. 2. As a programme of study. 5-14 StraNDS AND TarGets The following extract from the 5-14 Environmental Studies document, People in the Past, can be highlighted and inserted into teachers own forward planning folder. 5 - 1 4 S T R A ND S A ND T A R G ETS Knowledge and understanding: people in the past Pupils should also be developing informed attitudes in relation to the knowledge and understanding strands below. See page 42 in the Guidelines booklet for relevant DIA strands, or click on the page symbol above. Pupils are able to: Strand Level A Level B Level C Level D Level E Level F People, events and • give examples of • describe some • describe the • describe some • explain the motives • apply knowledge societies of people and events features of life in the diversity of lifestyles of features of societies, or actions of people in and understanding of significance in the past in the past that are past for a chosen topic/ people in the past, e.g. people and events from particular historical the motives or actions Developing an important to them in period the life of a peasant as the past and situations of people in particular understanding of relation to their families, opposed to a suggest why they • explain the values or historical situations, distinctive features of or in relation to their landowner might be considered attitudes that and/or the values and life in the past and why community significant characterised various attitudes of particular certain societies, people • give examples of societies in the past societies in the past to and events are regarded stories they have • explain why reach conclusions on a as significant. heard that give them particular societies, given historical issue or information about the people and events from question past, and the past are thought to describe what they have be of learned significance Change and • give some examples • describe changes • make a comparison • identify important • demonstrate a • apply knowledge continuity, cause and of changes that have that have led to between present and features of a detailed knowledge and understanding of effect affected their own and present circumstances past lifestyles/ development that and understanding of the process of cause Developing an other people’s lives in relation to their circumstances/ have changed over an the main features of a and effect to provide understanding of and the life of their own lives, e.g. how features. (What is extended period of particular event/ a detailed explanation change and community homes,lighting, clothes different? What is the time, e.g. transport, the development/attitude as to why a particular continuity over time (before/after, past/ have changed same?) role of women with regard to change development/event and of cause and effect present) • give reasons why • give some reasons • explain in simple and continuity took place and give a in historical contexts. • give some reasons these changes took for differences, and for terms why these • give some reasons to balanced assessment as why these changes took place aspects of features were explain why a to the significance of its place • give examples of continuity important and specific historical event/ consequences continuity in relation describe what effects action/ to their own lives, e.g. they had on people’s development took place everyday routines lives and what the specific consequences were 5 - 1 4 S T R A ND S A ND T A R G ETS Pupils are able to: Strand Level A Level B Level C Level D Level E Level F Time and historical • demonstrate an • using their age, • put a series of events • explain the meaning • explain the • compare and contrast sequence Developing awareness of annual make a simple timeline with their dates in of the terms ‘BC’ and ‘AD’ relationship between timelines from a an understanding of patterns and the showing significant chronological order • place a number specific dates and the significant historical time and how events sequence of events in events in their lives • use the words ‘decade’ of events from a relevant century period in different parts in the past relate their own and others’ • sequence a small and ‘millennium’ specific historical • name and place of the world to one another in a lives number of pictures/ correctly development on a significant historical chronological sequence. • know ways of objects from different timeline that crosses periods in chronological describing and periods in chronological the BC/AD divide, e.g. order measuring time, e.g. order the development of night/day, seasons, • use the word ‘century’ writing from early months, yesterday/ correctly people to present day today/tomorrow communication The nature of • talk about objects • suggest some simple • describe ways • suggest a variety of • suggest ways in which • describe how heritage historical evidence from their own past types of evidence that in which people sources of information society’s awareness of and evidence can be Developing an and say what they were would tell them about remember and preserve about the past and its own past can affect used in both positive understanding of the used for and why they a given person/event/ the past, e.g. war what use they might be its present and future and negative ways, variety of types of are important to them development from the memorials, and suggest to someone studying a development, e.g. e.g. to promote social, historical evidence • describe what old past. reasons why they particular topic devolution in Scotland, economical or political and their relative photographs/films, etc., should do this. • explain the meaning conflict/peace in ends. significance. can tell them about of the term ‘heritage’ Northern Ireland. people or places in the and give some past. examples, e.g. castles, literature, etc. Pre-Visit The information and activities have been designed to introduce the children to the Close and its place below the High Street in Edinburgh. A major part of this process is introducing the children to some of the characters connected to the Close for over 400 years from 1500 to 1900. The experience begins with a visit from an inhabitant of Mary Kings Close. Before the visitor arrives in school, the children should have completed:- • Activity Worksheet 1 and a list of appropriate questions for the visitor. • Activity Worksheet 2 should be completed while the visitor is in class. • Read Activity Worksheet 3 a letter from Mary King. T H E V I S I T The tour takes approximately 1 hour. Toilets are located in the main reception area before you go down into the Close. Children’s belongings must be carried with them at all times as there are no cloakroom facilities. BACK G R OUND INFO R M AT ION As the children climb down the steps into Mary Kings Close their world changes. The visit itself is a very exciting experience and they have to look, listen, smell and feel. They will be moving from the daylight in the High Street down a steep close with little light getting in. The twilight of the Closes creates atmosphere and sets the scene but is not conducive to filling out worksheets or note-taking.