Worksheet to accompany the interactive materials at . /3

The "When" of History – Chronology

Task 1: What is Chronology?

Here are five pieces of information not necessarily in the correct order. Which of the following three events do you think it describes? Discuss with a partner, then take a vote.

There is a dead body lying on the balcony

Screams are heard on the balcony

A group of men come running out of the balcony

A group of men run onto the balcony

The man is alone on the balcony

Event

Votes

A murder

A suicide

The discovery of a body

Your teacher will then tell you the correct answer. Use this answer to complete the following sentences in your own words.

Chronology is the process of…

Chronology is an important skill for historians because…

Anachronism is a word used by historians to describe…

Task 2: How good are your chronological skills?

We talk of yesterday, tomorrow, last week, summer and winter to organise our memories and plan our future. Historians do the same.

• Using the information above and your own knowledge, complete this table.

Time

How is this measured in time?

The time in the morning

The time in the afternoon

365 days ago

10 years ago

One hundred years ago

One thousand years ago

Time before Christ's birth

Time after Christ's birth

Task 3: Long-term history - The Time Machine

If you had a time machine, where and when would you go? Explain your choice carefully (note: you must go back into the PAST).

Where?

When?

Why (NOTE: explain your answer FULLY!)

• You will now be taken outside. Order yourselves as a class from the earliest event to the most recent event. Each person should then provide an answer to the question "Where and when would you travel to, and why?". This may be filmed.

• Then, work out how many years separates the earliest event from the most recent.

• Space yourselves out at appropriate distances (e.g. each step could represent 50 years).

• Take a photograph when you have finished. This can be labelled as a piece of classroom display afterwards.

Task 4: Short-term History – your life story

Complete at least 5 rows of the following table (merits will be awarded to students who complete the entire table in detail). Through this you will start to understand how you personally fit into world history.

TIMELINE OF MY LIFE

Date

Important Event in my life

(TIP: include detail, e.g. where it happened)

Important Event in the world

(TIP: include plenty of detail – why was it important?)

For extra marks….Turn the completed table into a timeline using the timeline tool at .net. Personal events should be coloured differently to world events. Save the completed timeline and provide the web address where it can be found here:

my/_