Activity 5: Post-task listening session and ‘Day in the Life’ task

Setting: Classroom or archive space

Estimated time: 90 minutes

Resources needed: Writing materials including Sharpies, post-it notes, base maps of research area, acetate cut to the size of the maps, newspaper front pages from different publications published on the same day, three photographic images featuring people, menu stands (optional)

Organization: Participants work in small groups (between 3 and 6) seated at the same table, all resources provided on tables

Purpose: This is repeat of the pre-task activity as a form of assessment to evaluate participants’ learning as they have engaged with the DSSL framework activities.

Activity structure: Facilitators set up the classroom space with all resources already on tables. Go through activity prompt with participants (see next page for example). Groups are given around 25 minutes to review the materials and select a character(s) for their Day in the Life story. You may choose to stop participants after an initial 10 minutes to share early ideas. It is important to stress that you are not expecting the stories to be historically accurate – participants should not worry about names, dates and locations. They are aiming to tell a story which is plausible, a form of historical fiction.

Depending on how many groups you have, they can either share their stories with the whole class when finished or teams can pair up and feedback to each other.