The aim of this lesson is to get students to engage with original documents relating to prison hulks. By interpreting these documents they can discover how the criminal justice system actually worked in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, especially with respect to ‘mercy’. They will also form an appreciation of the conditions on board prison hulks and dispel the myth that women were not detained on hulks.

The British were actively involved in the transatlantic slave trade. Forms of slavery were practised in British settlements and colonies, particularly in the Caribbean and North America, for around 200 years. Learn about Britain and the transatlantic slave trade using records held by The National Archives.

Animals at War is designed for upper elementary school students in 4th/5th grade. Students will be introduced to the kit with a story about a young child who uses a service dog in her everyday life and why this animal is so important to her survival. Young children are fascinated with animals and superheroes and this unit combines both of these interests into one. Animals played a key role during World War I and World War II and were used in a variety of ways. Countless animals provided tasks that would not have been possible by humans and their stories have been recorded in pictures, journals, legal documents, letters and newspaper articles. During this kit, students will work in pairs or small groups to use a variety of primary source documents to research 8 different animal breeds. Through this research, they will discover how the animal served, when they served, and how they were remembered. Interactive global mapping is embedded in both lessons to enable the students to see the impact that the wars had on the entire world geographically.

This provides teachers with some materials to explore anticolonial nationalism and independence in Southeast Asia. It is designed with an AP World History class in mind, but could also be used in a non-AP world history course. It begins with a storymap to introduce students to the topic, and includes additional readings, both secondary source (book review) and primary source, as well as discussion questions and research opportunities. 

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:fully identify Bete Giyorgis in Lalibela, Ethiopia [date, location, materials, patronage]describe the church’s historical context and symbolic meaningscompare its rock-cut, “subtractive” structure to that of “additive” structurescompare its Greek-cross form and function to that of the Byzantine-era Church of the Dormition at Daphni, Greecebe prepared to write a 5-page paper that compares and contrasts Bete Giyorgis and the Church of the Dormition

‘Armistice and Legacy’ is a graphic arts project illustrated by nine students who spent a week at The National Archives, illustrating their interpretations of First World War records and the research undertaken by The National Archives staff during the centenary of the war. The tales are told through the eyes of those who served in the war, showing the diverse experiences at the front and at home.

This instructional kit introduces students to the parts and people of some of the most successful political machines in US history. Students will learn the role political machines played in turn of the century society and in the survival and mobility of certain groups such as immigrants and lower class urban Americans. Students will then use a set of primary sources to uncover how machines helped and hurt Americans and American society at the turn of the century. Finally, students will use what they have learned about political machines from the primary source set or “exhibits” to assess the benefits of these organizations to Americans and American society. Students will answer the question “Were political machines more beneficial or detrimental to American society at the turn of the century” in an individual reflection and product.

Drawing upon recent historical scholarship, we have framed our lessons around encounters rather than contacts. Framing these events (i.e., the Taino encounter with Columbus, etc.) as encounters instead of first contacts reflects a more comprehensive and complete understanding of what actually happened. What follows is a rationale for why we have framed our lessons this way; please use this to shape discussions with your students about the important differences between encounters and contacts.

The purpose of this document collection is to allow students and teachers to develop their own questions and lines of historical enquiry on Attlee’s Britain, 1945-1951. The documents themselves are arranged according to theme, so that sources are grouped together rather than following a strict chronological order. Students could work with a group of sources or source type on a certain theme or linked themes.

Students learn about material culture in this Moveable Museum lesson plan by taking a firsthand look at how culture influences the kinds of things we do. The 12-page PDF guide has educator materials including background information, teacher strategies, assessment guidelines, and detailed notes about the curriculum standards addressed. The Becoming a Cultural Researcher activity worksheet has a series of questions that prompts students to reflect on the material culture of daily activities, customs, or ceremonies. There is a kid-friendly glossary of related terms.

This resource contains a hyperlinked list of National Archives current resources for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic histories on The National Archives website. It includes education resources, exhibitions, research guides, blog posts and podcasts by staff and external writers and links to external websites. The intention for this resource is to make it easier for teachers to find resources for teaching a diverse curriculum.

This is a station activity that teachers can use as a hands-on or a digital lesson.

People of African and Asian origin have lived in Britain for at least two thousand years. But this aspect of our heritage has been largely forgotten. By presenting a selection of relevant records held by The National Archives and other sources, the Black Presence exhibition aims to reclaim some of this history and make it more widely known.

In October 2021, The National Archives Education Service launched our first National Art Competition called ‘Capturing our Collections’, which closed at the end of February 2022. We wanted to encourage the entrants to think about the importance of using historical documents in exploring the stories of people or social and political themes in history. We therefore challenged our entrants to create their own artwork inspired by documents from our collection – such as letters, posters, photographs, newspapers, census records, maps, reports, wax seals or written testimonies. We are showcasing the winners here along with shortlisted entries. You can read some of the judges’ comments on the winning entries by clicking on them.

Dr Dan Gosling introduces E30/1458 and KB27/1073, documents related to the fall of Cardinal Wolsey.

The history of the British Caribbean is explored in this exhibition through government documents, photographs and maps dating from the 17th century to the 1920s and discovered during a cataloguing project at The National Archives of the United Kingdom.

This learning resource encourages the user to examine representations of race, culture and identity using The National Archives’ collection of photos, which spans 100 years of Caribbean history. Produced by the New Art Exchange in Nottingham as part of the Caribbean through a Lens project, we’ve made it available to download and hope it will continue to be used in a range of diverse settings.