Strand: Local studies
Strand unit: Homes
The child should be enabled to
- compare and classify a range of homes in the area (ideally homes from a variety of periods)
size and layout, construction materials
decoration, furniture and fittings
heat, light, sewerage, water supplies
environs (e.g. street, flat complex, estate, garden, fields, trees, woods, play spaces) - investigate local and/or regional variations or similarities in building styles and materials
- investigate links between the age of houses and their location
- collect, study and classify domestic artefacts.
Integration
Geography: Human environments—People living and working in the local area
Strand unit: Schools
The child should be enabled to
- study the development of the school over a period
- relate the history of the school to the history of education in the parish or local area
bardic schools
schools in the penal era of the early 18th century
payschools (hedge schools) of 18th and 19th centuries
modern schools - explore the history of the school in the wider context of educational development in Ireland
national school system
work of religious orders
curriculum content and school equipment - use documentary and other sources
records in school (e.g. rollbooks, punishment books, inspectors’ reports)
oral history from former pupils and staff
school photographs
letters, bills, receipts, diaries
parish records (these can have valuable references to schools)
local newspaper reports (of school opening or extensions)
official printed reports (especially 19thcentury government reports on education in Ireland).
Integration
SPHE: Myself and the wider world—Developing citizenship
Strand unit: Games and pastimes in the past
The child should be enabled to
- become familiar with aspects of the history of games in the locality
games and sports in ancient times
development of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football
introduction of international sports such as tennis, hockey, soccer, rugby, golf - explore aspects of the leisure interests and games of local people in the past
board games, card games, street games
house visiting and story-telling
music and dancing
cinema, radio and television.
Integration
Physical education: Games
SPHE: Myself and the wider world—Developing citizenship
Strand unit: Feasts and festivals in the past
The child should be enabled to
- become familiar with the origins and traditions associated with a range of festivals in Ireland and other countries
local feasts and festivals
feasts and festivals celebrated by various
members of the school and local community, including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and other celebrations where appropriate
feasts and festivals of major world religions
feasts and festivals in ancient times - explore, discuss and record some of the ceremonies, stories, legends, poetry, music, dances and games associated with these feasts and festivals.
Integration
Physical education: Dance
SPHE: Myself and the wider world—Developing citizenship
Music: Listening and responding; Performing
Strand unit: Buildings, sites or ruins in my locality
The child should be enabled to
- actively explore some features of the local environment; suitable items or places might include:
streetscape (including building styles and
features, street furniture)
area of a town or village
industrial site (e.g. factories, mills)
local canal, bridges, road patterns, railways
ruined building (e.g. towerhouse)
site of an old monastery, graveyard,
Mass path, Mass rock, holy well
prehistoric site (e.g. rath, portal tomb)
farmyard, field and farm patterns
landlord’s house, houses of tenants
ice house, sweat house
battle sites
local rights of way - investigate various aspects of these sites
origins and location
maps of site then and now
appearance of site now and formerly
purpose of construction
elements which have changed and the reasons for change
elements which have remained unchanged
lives of people in this place over time - identify opportunities to become involved in enhancing and protecting the environmental features
- present findings using a variety of media and appropriate timelines.
Integration
Geography: Human environments—People living and working in the local area
SPHE: Myself and the wider world—Developing citizenship
Strand unit: My locality through the ages
The child should be enabled to
- study a period or periods in the history of the local village, town, city area, townland, parish or county; in fifth and sixth classes children should study periods not already covered in third and fourth classes
- become familiar with impor tant events in the history of the locality, setting local figures or events in the national and international context where relevant. In addition to the developments suggested for this unit in third and fourth classes, suitable subjects might include:
origins of place-names
local battle
changes in land settlement or use changing farming practices
significant events in the economic life of the area, such as the founding of factories, mills, or co-operatives
impact of changes in services and sanitation
patterns of relationships between towns and their surrounding areas - use evidence which is more diverse and more complex than heretofore
- collect local ballads, stories and traditions relating to these events.
Integration
Geography: Human environments—People living and working in the local area
SPHE: Myself and the wider world—Developing citizenship
Strand: Story
Strand unit: Stories from the lives of people in the past
The child should be enabled to
- listen to, discuss, retell and record a wide range of stories from the lives of people who have made a contribution to local and/or national life and to the lives of people in other countries through technological, scientific, cultural and artistic activities as well as those who have contributed to social and political developments
- become aware of the lives of women, men and children from different social, cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds, including the lives of ‘ordinary’ as well as ‘more famous’ people
- listen to local people telling stories about their past
- discuss the chronology of events in a story
- examine and begin to make deductions from some simple relevant evidence
- discuss the actions and feelings of characters
- discuss the attitudes and motivations of characters in their historical context
- express or record stories through oral and written forms, art work, music, drama, mime, movement, information and communication technologies
- use appropriate timelines.
Strand unit: Myths and legends
The child should be enabled to
- listen to, discuss, retell and record a wider range of more complex myths and legends from different cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds in Ireland and other countries
- discuss the chronology of events in the stories
- discuss the actions and feelings of characters
- relate the myths and legends to the beliefs, values and traditions of the peoples from which they came
- discuss the forms of expression and conventions used in myths and their retelling
exaggeration, repetition, fantasy, caricature - explore and discuss common themes and features which are to be found in the myths and legends of different peoples
- express or record stories through oral and written forms, art work, drama, mime, movement, information and communication technologies.
Integration
Music: Listening and responding; Performing
Visual arts: Many stories may inspire artistic work.
Drama: Drama to explore feelings, knowledge and ideas, leading to understanding
Strand: Early peoples and ancient societies
Strand unit: A selection from:
Stone Age peoples
Bronze Age peoples
Early societies of the Tigris and Euphrates valleys
Egyptians
Greeks
Romans
Celts
Early Christian Ireland
Vikings
and a selection from:
Central and South American peoples e.g. Aztecs
Asian peoples e.g. peoples of the Indus valley, Ch’in and
Han empires of China
African peoples e.g. Benin peoples
North American peoples e.g. Native American peoples
Australasian peoples e.g. Maori
The child should be enabled to
- become familiar with some aspects of the lives of these peoples
origins
homelands and migrations
homes, settlements and urban developments
food and farming
clothes
work and technologies
tools and weapons
cultural or artistic achievements
language(s), myths and stories
leisure and pastimes
faith, beliefs and religious practices burial practices
links these people had with Ireland or Europe (as appropriate)
arrival, settlement and life of these people in Ireland (as appropriate)
relationship of these people with other civilisations
long-term contribution of these people - examine critically, and become familiar with, evidence we have which tells us about these people, especially evidence of these people which may be found locally and in Ireland, where appropriate
- record the place of these peoples on appropriate timelines.
Strand: Life, society, work and culture in the past
Strand unit: A selection from:
Life in Norman Ireland
Life in mediaeval towns and countryside in Ireland and Europe
Life in the 18th century
Life in the 19th century
Language and culture in late 19th and early 20th-century Ireland
Life during World War II
Life in Ireland since the 1950s
The child should be enabled to
- become familiar with aspects of the lives of these people
homes of people
settlement patterns and urban developments
clothes
foods and farming
technologies which people developed and their influence on the lives of people
people at work
culture, art and music
language(s) and literature
leisure and pastimes
faith, beliefs and religious practices
migration and emigration
relationships of different groups of people to one another (e.g. landlord and tenant in the 19th century)
simple treatment of some of the social,economic, political or religious issues of the time (e.g. fear of plague in mediaeval towns, penal laws, decline in use of Irish in the 19th century, life of workers in 19th-century industrial towns)
long-term contribution of people and events at this time to the development of modern Ireland - examine and become familiar with evidence which informs us about the lives of people in the periods studied, their thoughts and concerns, especially evidence which may be found locally
- record the place of peoples and events on appropriate timelines.
Strand: Eras of change and conflict
Strand unit: A selection from:
The Renaissance
The Reformation
Traders, explorers and colonisers from Europe
The Great Famine
The Industrial Revolution
Changing land ownership in
19th-century Ireland
Changing roles of women in 19th and 20th centuries
World War I
Modern Ireland
The child should be enabled to
- become familiar with aspects of these periods
ways in which the everyday lives of people changed
changes and conflicts in people’s thoughts and beliefs
reasons for these changes and conflicts
people, organisations and events involved in bringing about change or adapting to change
local evidence of changes and conflicts
the reactions of people to changes and issues which they experienced
the long-term effect of changes and conflicts - examine and become familiar with evidence which informs us about the lives of people in the periods studied, their thoughts and concerns, especially evidence which may be found locally
- record the place of peoples and events on appropriate timelines.
Strand: Politics, conflict and society
Strand unit: A selection from:
16th and 17th-century Ireland
Revolution and change in America, France and Ireland
O’Connell and Catholic Emancipation
1916 and the foundation of the state
Northern Ireland
Ireland, Europe and the world, 1960 to the present
The child should be enabled to
- engage in simple studies of some of the more important aspects of periods in which political changes or movements have had an important influence on the lives of people in Ireland
- acquire some knowledge of the major personalities, events or developments in these periods
- explore, discuss, compare and develop some simple understanding of the attitudes, beliefs, motivations and actions of differing individuals and groups of people in the past
- begin to develop some appreciation of the ‘mind-set’ of former generations
appreciate that the notion of tolerance developed over time, that the notion of equality of treatment of people had to evolve over time - acquire insights into the attitudes and actions of people in contemporary Ireland
- develop a growing sense of personal, national, European and wider identities.
Strand: Continuity and change over time
Strand unit: Possible units may include:
Homes, housing and urban developments
Nomadism
Food and farming
Clothes
Transport
Communications
Energy and power
Workshops and factories
Schools and education
Literature, art, crafts and culture
Caring for the sick
Barter, trade and money
The child should be enabled to
- study aspects of social, artistic, technological and scientific developments over long periods
- identify examples of change and continuity in the ‘line of development’
- identify the factors which may have caused or prevented change
- refer to or use appropriate timelines.