"Immediately had our pupils hooked and the resulting work was excellent!"
BLITZ SCHOOL
Primary school WW2 workshop
WW2 primary workshop activity details
Learn about the key events of WW2, handle a range of real artefacts, blackout windows and bandage each other up WW2 style!
Interactive Timeline
Follow all the key events of the Second World War in a fun group roleplay activity
Covering all the topic content and linked to the suggestion in the National Curriculum to study the Battle of Britain as a "significant British event", our fun interactive timeline is a great way to add meaning to the period.
Key events covered include the outbreak of war, Hitler's invasion of Poland, evacuation, rationing, Dunkirk, the submarine war for the Atlantic, D-Day and the end of the war plus several more, all taught in a humorous way with appropriate moments when required for reflection on the sacrifice made by many people for our freedom.
First Aid
See and handle a complete WW2 home first aid kit and bandage up your friends
First Aid was an essential part of surviving the Blitz and in this activity we look in detail at what that entailed.
Beginning with a look at a genuine complete WW2 home first aid kit (made by Boots!) we move on to the different bandaging methods using a real instruction book from the time.
Pupils are then set several bandage challenges in pairs, from heads to arms, to hands! Who can do it exactly as per the proper WW2 instructions?
Artefact Handling Session
Handle a range of genuine Second World War artefacts!
In this activity pupils investigate our wide range of genuine WW2 artefacts for themselves (normally one per person) at their tables, in a pretend museum label creation task. These include completely safe gas masks, air raid warden equipment, evacuee items and much, much more. This is a unique oppportunity to handle real primary sources.
Blackout Activity
Discover for yourself how difficult it was to blackout windows!
One of the most difficult parts of life for people on the home front in World War Two was having to blackout windows to protect themselves from the German bomber planes and this activity allows pupils to experience this in a group competition.
They also learn what life was like in the blackout by looking at associated artefacts such as lamps and a sample of real blackout curtain from 1940 which is very black indeed!
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Morse Code (additional activity normally delivered on request)
Learn all about WW2 code breaking!
In this activity pupils learn about the Morse Code alphabet by using a genuine WW2 telegraph machine to send letters for their friends to guess. Time permitting, we also delve into WW2 code breaking methods by using a substitution code to discover a secret message!