Lesson Ideas for Commemorating 1916

Hello everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed midterm, I certainly did. I took the whole break to relax, and I didn’t do any school or blog work whatsoever, so I am quite proud of myself for switching off!

I decided to get out of Dublin for the few days for a change of scenery. I split my time off between Galway and Ennis, and had a really lovely time, sleeping, lunching and relaxing!

Our Easter break is only three and a half weeks away, so between now and then I will be focusing on the Easter Rising in my classroom.  We are reading The Guns of Easter, so lots of my activities will be based on that. Here’s a rough draft of what I will be covering:

 

English:

Novel Activities ( will go into this in more detail in a follow on post)

 

Letter Writing:

Examine the letter Padraic Pearse wrote to his mother. Write her response.

Write a letter to the rebels- how did they feel during the Rising? How did they feel about the lack of support from the public?

Narrative:

Pretend you are trapped in the GPO with the rebels. Write about your experience.

Pretend you are one of the rebels during the Rising. Explain why you decided to take part in the fight.

Recount Writing:

Write a recount of the Easter Rising.

Create a classroom newspaper of articles on 1916

Persuasive Writing:

Write a persuasive letter from Pearse to the volunteers persuading them to take part in the Rising.

Debate:

A class debate based on whether the Rising should have gone ahead or not, and its importance in Irish history.

Poetry:

Read The Mother by Pearse

Diary entries of leaders

 

History:

Create a timeline based on the events of the 1916 Rising.

Write a fact file for each of the leaders of the Rising.

Mini projects on the Easter Rising- women during the Rising/children during the Rising/ warfare/political reasons/Dublin during the Rising

Study of the Proclamation

 

Geography:

Projects on Ireland/Dublin

3D mapping of the parts of Dublin used during the Rising

 

Drama:

Make a mini film of the events of the Rising.

Hot seating of Pearse and other leaders

Conscience Alley- reasons for and against the Rising

 

Music:

Song singing/listening and responding to the ballad ‘Grace’. (Beware- it is a VERY sad song!)

Art:

Construction: construct the GPO and other buildings which were used during the Rising.

Drawing: Design a poster Pearse may have used urging people to support the Rising.

Fabric and Fibre: Create a collage to commemorate the leaders of the Rising

 

Here are a few useful links I have found which I will be using

Colin Farrell tour

https://www.scoilnet.ie/post-primary/decade-of-centenaries/easter-rising/

 

http://www.teachnet.ie/portfolio/1916-seven-days-in-history/

 

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/learning-zone/primary-students/subjects/history/history-the-full-story/ireland-the-early-20th-ce/leaders-of-the-1916-risin/

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/1916-schools