1. No category

Skills development in the study of
history
The Atlantic slave trade exemplar
Analysing and applying
The approaches contained within these materials are for
exemplification purposes only. Practitioners should adapt these to suit
the needs of their learners. Practitioners should refer to SQA
documentation at all times. Practitioners are encouraged to share good
practice by contacting Education Scotland through customer services.
The Atlantic slave trade exemplar
National 3 – Higher
• This exemplar should be read in conjunction with Section
1: Introductory advice and guidance.
• These examples are adaptable and will help to stimulate
further development of approaches to learning and
teaching.
• None of the presentations included in this support are
designed to be used with learners in their current form.
The presentations provide advice, guidance and
exemplars for practitioners to reflect on in their own
planning for learning and teaching, and if used should be
adapted to suit the learners and setting.
The Atlantic slave trade exemplar
National 3 – Higher
• Practitioners should always refer to the relevant SQA
documentation when creating materials so as to include
material for all relevant skills and knowledge.
• As the approaches are transferable across the study of
any historical unit due to the focus on the pathways to
develop skills, this could be an opportunity for
practitioners to share their skills with other practitioners
in the delivery of history by leading CPD sessions for
colleagues.
• Practitioners could also use this opportunity to share and
develop skills in interdisciplinary and intersector
contexts, eg through Glow Meets etc.
Recording information
There are a number of traditional ways to record the information, such as
jotters, diary entries, posters, postcards, collages etc.
Where possible ICT can support the recording of information for most of the
following activities in a number of new, interesting and exciting ways:
Blogs – Glowblogs offer an excellent way to record information. The learners
could take turns updating the blog with information or they could each run
their own blog. Wordpress may be an option for those without access to
Glow.
Podcasts – Podcasts provide learners with a platform that can reach
thousands. They can aid the development of literacy skills and provide
feedback from people outwith the school environment. Audacity is an
excellent piece of software for this purpose.
Recording information
Emodo profile – This secure social networking site for practitioners
and learners offers a familiar-looking site for learners to update.
Practitioners could ask learners to pretend to be someone highlighting
the journey of a slave over a period of weeks.
Emails – Collaborating with another school, learners can exchange
emails with details about the information they have learned. Different
schools could research the story of different slaves and exchange their
results at the end of every week, including interesting facts or stories
about the slave’s journey etc.
Powerpoint, Prezi and smartboard presentations – Learners will be
familiar with PowerPoint. Creating their own requires planning and an
understanding of the sequence of their information.
Recording information
Twitter – Practitioners may wish to explore the idea of learners writing
in the style of a tweet. Twitter’s 140-character limit presents a
challenge for learners. It is a good method for summarising learning.
Practitioners should exercise professional judgement prior to engaging
with any social media platform.
Video – Learners can film themselves role-playing a scene, as news
reporters, characters from the period of study, modern historians
evaluating the past etc.
Talking heads – Learners can record themselves acting as the talking
head of a character, answering questions about the period they lived
in.
Infographics – Infographics are also worth exploring. Piktochart is one
of many online web applications that allows learners to create
infographics easily.
Recording information
Video games – There are now many games that offer a level of
creativity in exploring new ways to record information. Little Big
Planet provides creative opportunities for interactive
information presentation, and some excellent examples can be
found on video-sharing websites.
Minecraft – This is another creative platform for learners to use
to interact with history. It has been used by practitioners to build
medieval villages (after lesson planning) and could be used to
build plantations, a slave galley, recreations of the buildings the
tobacco lords built and other scenes from the period.
Photographs – Digital cameras have made it easy to quickly take
photos, and they offer a great opportunity for recording
evidence in the classroom (and outside).
List of activities
1. Group or pair discussion
2. Fish diagram
3. Discussion questions
with a report
4. Collage
5. Conversion
6. Perfect answer
7. Filling in the gaps
8. Paraphrasing
9. Summarising
10. Thinking skills grid
11. Skimming
12. Scanning
13. Sequencing
14. Odd one out
15. Exchanging viewpoints
16. Jigsaw
Group or pair discussion:
stimulus questions
Overview
This activity encourages learners to think about questions
that may lead to a particular answer and share them with
their peers. It has the potential to challenge learners, who
may think creatively about possible alternative questions, and
encourages thinking about different interpretations and
understandings within the support of a peer group.
Skills
Remembering
UnderstandingApplying
Group or pair discussion:
stimulus questions
How it works
1. Learners are given high-level open questions.
2. Learners are encouraged to think of as many answers as
possible.
3. Learners then share their answers with their peers.
4. Learners can discuss, with their peers, the answers they have
come up with and justify how they arrived at a particular
answer.
Group or pair discussion:
stimulus questions
Questions
Do you think racism increased or
decreased with the widespread
use of slavery?
To what extent did religion play a
part in the development of the
What were the humanitarian
slave trade?
concerns over slavery?
Why was widespread support for How did the trade affect Africa as
abolition of slavery slow in
a continent?
materialising?
Group or pair discussion:
stimulus questions
Recording information
If practitioners maintain a Twitter account for learning and
teaching purposes, they may wish to tweet learner responses.
This could be one possible way to record information from this
activity. Discussion around the questions could be recorded as a
podcast.
Fish diagram
Overview
This activity encourages learners to think about the causes of
questions. This offers learners the opportunity to investigate
the reasons we have particular questions and offer alternative
answers/approaches. It has the potential to challenge
learners, who may think creatively about possible alternative
questions, and encourages thinking about different
interpretations and understandings.
Skills
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Creativity
Fish diagram
How it works
1. Learners use the fish diagram to add their reasons in
the Reason 1–4 boxes along the fins.
2. They then fill in any additional information about
these reasons in the lines leading to the centre, for
example they could write ‘racist attitudes’ along the
fins and then explain why people fear death on the
Details lines.
Fish diagram
Reason 1
Racist attitudes
Believed Africans
were inferior to
Whites
eg David Hume
Darwin also used
Christians believed
Africans were
heathens
Felt Africans
needed 'saving'
Reason 3
Religious
motivations
Reason 2
Shortage of labour
What were the reasons
behind the growth of the
slave trade?
Labour needed for
New World
development
Native Indians poor
slaves; criminals had
finite contracts
Slave
‘factories’ set
up
African tribes
raided inland for
slaves (to profit)
Reason 4
Active participation of
Africans
Slave
Trade
Fish diagram
Recording information
This activity could be recorded on a PowerPoint, a smartboard, a
poster, a whiteboard or in a general paint program.
Discussion questions with a report
Overview
This activity encourages learners to think about questions that may
lead to a particular answer, share them with their peers and create
a report for others to learn from. It has the potential to challenge
learners, who may think creatively about possible alternative
questions, and encourages thinking about different interpretations
and understandings within the support of a peer group, with the
ultimate focus being on the report.
Skills
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Creating
Discussion questions with a report
How it works
1. Learners are given a series of leading questions which enable
them to develop their understanding of a topic from simple
observations to more high-level questioning and hopefully
reflective learning.
2. Learners produce a draft report for the class.
Discussion questions with a report
Consider the following questions, discuss your ideas with a partner/group
and use this information to draft a report.
1. Why did certain goods became more popular as a result of the slave
trade?
2. Who benefitted from the trading of these goods?
3. In what ways did the sales of tobacco and sugar change Scotland?
Draft a report on the question:
'From 1707 to 1766 fewer than 30 direct slave voyages left Scotland,
therefore the economic impact of the slave trade on Scotland was
minimal.' How accurate is this view?
Discussion questions with a report
Consider the following questions, discuss your ideas with a partner/group
and use this information to draft a report.
1. How did one race of people come to believe that it was right to enslave
another and to profit from their unpaid labour?
2. What effects did creating a racial slave system have on those who owned
slaves?
3. Why did those who were enslaved rarely use violence to resist their
oppression?
4. In what ways did slaves attempt to create families and their own cultures
and societies in the face of such violent oppression?
Draft a report on the question:
What led many in British society to conclude that the slave trade was
wrong?
Discussion questions with a report
Extension/alternative ideas
• Learners could create their own questions for discussing a
wider topic, pinpointing areas that need to be studied to fully
answer the question. These could be put to their peers.
• Learners could also, on completion of an essay, work
backwards to provide the questions that they had to answer
to reach their conclusions.
Discussion questions with a report
Recording information
Using a Twitter-style 140-character limit to summarise answers
to the initial questions can be effective, as can recording the
discussion on tape or video. The report can be written and
posted on a blog for learners to view each others’ different
writing techniques and standards.
Source analysis with a report
Overview
This activity encourages learners to think about questions that
relate to sources, share them with their peers and create a report
for others to learn from. It has the potential to challenge learners,
who may think creatively about possible alternative questions, and
encourages thinking about different interpretations and
understandings within the support of a peer group with the
ultimate focus being on the report.
Skills
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Creating
Source analysis with a report
How it works
1. Learners are given a source to examine.
2. They are then given a series of leading questions which
enable them to develop their viewpoints on the source from
simple observations to more high-level questioning and
hopefully reflective learning.
3. Sources should be differentiated for the different levels of
ability in the class.
4. Learners produce a draft report for the class.
Source analysis with a report
Source A is a passage drawn from Jean Barbot, Barbot on Guinea: The Writings of Jean Barbot on West Africa
1678-1712. (This source was chosen by Simon Newman, Professor of American Studies at the University
of Glasgow.)
'Among the Moors are persons engaged in various occupations, those at the coasts being mostly merchants,
fishermen, goldsmiths, canoe-men, house-builders, salt-makers, roofers, farmers, potters, porters, etc. Each is
engaged in his occupation in order to gain a livelihood and even to become rich, since nowadays, having studied
us Europeans, they are as ambitious and greedy as formerly they were simple and content with the necessities
of life, not even being acquainted with the use of clothes.
Of all their occupations, that of the merchant is the most honourable. The agents and merchants
usually come out to the ships in small, neat canoes paddled by two Moors, they themselves sitting in the
middle on a little wooden stool and having beside [each of] them a cutlass, a pipe and a small reed basket to
contain whatever they buy on the ship...
Those who buy on their own account do not usually sell the goods again until the ships have left, in
order to make more gain. They also make much profit on the goods they buy for others, since they hand over
the goods to them at a much higher price than they gave for them, or else they hand over short weight...
These Moorish merchants do not trade only in gold but also in slaves, whom they bring to the ships
in fairly large numbers when there are wars. But in peacetime, as was the case on the whole Gold Coast in 1682,
there is little trade in these and they are very dear... Hardly ever is ivory traded, because such ivory as they have
there comes from far inland or from Quaqua or Congo, and because they use it for trumpets, bracelets, and
other things they make and use, which means that ivory is dear there. Hardly any wax is available, since they
employ it to make candles (whose use they have known for some time).'
Source questions with a report
What is this source describing?
When was it written?
Why do you think Jean Barbot wrote this book?
What is Jean Barbot’s attitude towards Africans on the West Coast?
How economically important is slavery for the average trader on
the West Coast?
Source analysis with a report
Source B is a passage drawn from William Smith, A New Voyage to Guinea: Describing The Customs,
Manners, Soil, Climate, Habits, Buildings, Education, Manual Arts, Agriculture, Trade, Employments,
Langauges, Ranks of Distinction, Habitations, Diversions, Marriages, and whatever else is memorable among
the Inhabitants, 1745. (This source was chosen by Simon Newman, Professor of American Studies at the
University of Glasgow.)
'The Negroe Town of Cape Coast [British trading headquarters] is very large and populous. The Inhabitants, tho’
Pagans, are a very civiliz’d Sort of People, for which they are beholding to their frequent Conversation with the
Europeans. They are of a warlike Disposition, tho’ in time of Peace, their chief Employment is fishing, at which
they are very dexterous, especially with a Cast-Net, wherewith they take all Sorts of Surface Fish, nor are they
less acquainted with the Hook and Line for the Ground Fish. It is very pleasant to see a Fleet, consisting of
Eighty or a Hundred Canoes, going out a Fishing from Cape Coast in a Morning, and returning in from Sea well
freighted in the Evening, which may be seen every day during the dry Seasons, except Tuesday which is their
Fittish Day, or Day of Rest. They frequently venture abroad in the Rains, tho’ they are sometimes drove in again,
at the approach of a Turnadoe, before they have been two Hours abroad’.
The Grand Caboceroe [powerful intermediary between Europeans and local people] of this Town, is
a Christian, nam’d Thomas Osiat. He was carried when young to Ireland, where his Master dying, left him in
Care with a Widow, whome Name was Pennington, who kept the Crown or Faulcon Tavern near the Change in
Cork. She took Care of his Education, and had him baptiz’d by the Reverend Dr. Maul, now Lord Bishop of
Cloyne. After having obtain’d his Freedom, in this Manner, he in Time return’d home to Cape Coast, where he
now lives in very great Grandeur, and is of the utmost Service to the English, both for the carrying on their
Trade in the Inland Country, and preserving Peace with all the neighbouring Powers, especially the Town of
Elmina...'
Source questions with a report
What is this source describing?
When was it written?
Why do you think William Smith has written this book?
What is William Smith’s opinion of the Africans he describes?
What bearing, if any, does Smith’s religion have on his account?
How does Smith’s account compare with Barbot’s?
Source questions with a report
Extension/alternative ideas
• Learners could create their own questions for discussion
beyond the sources, pinpointing areas that need to be
explored further to fully answer the question.
• Different sources could be presented to different groups and
instead of a report, learners could create a presentation on
the source to the other groups.
Source questions with a report
Recording information
Recording the discussion on tape or video can be effective. The
report could be written and posted on a blog for learners to view
each others’ different writing techniques and standards. If the
learners are creating a presentation instead of a report, using
PowerPoint or Prezi may be a good way to record the
information.
Collage
Overview
This activity asks learners to represent their views on an issue
or concept in a visual, creative and engaging way. It
encourages learners not only to communicate effectively, but
also to develop their interpretation skills in considering other
people’s work.
Skills
Understanding
Applying
Analysing
Collage
How it works
1. Each group is given a relevant word, idea, issue or concept that
they must represent using a range of provided materials. Such
materials might include magazines, newspapers, sticky shapes,
coloured card and paper, marker pens, scissors, glue and pens.
2. Groups must discuss what their key term/concept means and
record how they decide to represent this, with supporting reasons.
3. The practitioner may wish to establish certain criteria for the
collages in order to add a challenge aspect to the activity (this is an
opportunity to involve learners in creating success criteria and for
practitioners to ensure differentiation is effectively planned into
learning so that all learners are fully involved, engaged and
challenged).
Collage
How it works
4. Learners are given a time limit to complete the task.
5. Groups can present their work to others or groups can navigate
around the room to consider the work of each group.
6. Each group should discuss and take notes on the work of others.
Discussion can take place about what each group felt the other
groups were trying to represent and how they interpreted this.
Active
resistance
Unhappy
Running
away
Wants
change
Damaging
property
Resistance
Mental
Passive
resistance
Physical
Arson
Working
slowly
Collage
Recording information
Presenting the collage as a poster is the best traditional method
for this activity, but allowing a group to create a poster on a
computer is also a good approach. Little Big Planet could also be
used as a way of creating collages.
Conversion
Overview
Being able to take information and convert it into another
format demonstrates understanding and also develops
analytical skills. This activity engages learners with source
material from the area of study. It also provides learners with
an opportunity to make a choice about how they want to
develop their understanding.
Skills
Applying
Analysing
Evaluating
Creating
Conversion
How it works
1. Learners are presented with an event, source or idea.
2. Practitioners should ensure that the presented material is
explained and that learners have the opportunity to discuss or
ask questions about it.
3. Learners are then given options about how they would like to
convert the presented information.
Conversion
Groups select from any of the following (found in Olaudah Equiano’s autobiography)
Being taken from his home
Life as a slave
The Middle Passage
On being freed
Groups convert your chosen text into a new format, which they will present to the
class. Possibilities include:
a mind map
a creative story
a poem
a storyboard
a diary entry
a flow diagram
a play
a comic strip
a song
Groups:
-explain/perform their piece to the whole class
-explain which source they chose and why
-explain the conversion it has gone through: why did they choose to present it in this
form, what are the key elements of the text and how have they expressed and
emphasised these?
Conversion
Recording information
The method of recording depends mainly on the way the learner
converts the data. Needless to say most, if not all, of the
recording suggestions would work here.
Perfect answer
Overview
This activity helps the learners to work as a group to develop
'perfect' answers to a question. It involves peer learning and
the sharing of the learners’ knowledge on the subject.
Skills
UnderstandingApplying
Evaluating
Perfect answer
How it works
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Learners work in groups.
Numbered questions are placed around the room.
Each member of the group is given a number.
In numerical order, learners take it in turns to go and find a question (these must
be answered in numerical order: learner 1 finds question 1, then learner 2 finds
question 2 and so on).
Once the learner has found the question they return to the group and tell
everyone what it is.
The group develop as detailed an answer as possible.
The learner who found the question takes the ‘perfect’ answer to the practitioner.
The practitioner can accept the answer, ask for an expansion or give a ‘clue’ to
take back to the group to discuss and find the ‘perfect’ answer.
The process is then repeated until the group has provided the ‘perfect’ answer.
The next learner then goes and finds the next question and the process begins
again.
Perfect answer
Importance of slave trade to
British economy
Perfect answer
Recording information
Blogs could be used to record the perfect answers, although
they could also be recorded on tape. A poster provides an
alternative way of recording the answers.
Filling in the gaps
Overview
This activity requires the learner to understand context and
vocabulary in order to identify the correct words or type of
words that belong in the deleted parts of a text. Words are
deleted from a passage according to a word-count formula or
various other criteria, eg all adjectives, all words that have a
particular letter pattern. The passage is presented to learners,
who insert the correct words in the gaps as they read to
construct appropriate meaning from the text.
Skills
UnderstandingApplying
Analysing
Filling in the gaps
How it works
1. Words are deleted from a passage according to a word-count
formula or various other criteria, eg all adjectives, all words
that have a particular letter pattern.
2. The passage is presented to learners, who insert correct
words in the gaps as they read to construct appropriate
meaning from the text.
3. The missing words can be presented in a separate box, but for
higher levels it is more constructive for the learners to come
up with the words themselves.
Filling in the gaps
The American Revolution had a _______ effect on trade, and
tobacco investors _______. However, many _______
Glaswegians had _______ into trade with the West Indies,
importing _______ and making rum, and by the end of the
18th century Glasgow had become Britain’s biggest _______
of sugar. Glasgow _______ as the second city of the British
Empire during the 19th century, _______ wealth from heavy
engineering, shipbuilding and _______ _______. This period
saw _______ growth in the city’s population and _______
size and it was _______ this era that Victorian Glasgow was
_______.
Filling in the gaps
Extension/alternative ideas
• Learners could be challenged to come up with their own ‘fill
in the gaps’ passages for other learners to complete.
Filling in the gaps
Recording information
This works well in jotters and on blogs, or practitioners could
tweet learners’ interpretation of the missing words. Practitioners
are also encouraged to explore Glow Blogs and Glow Wikis.
Paraphrasing
Overview
Paraphrasing involves the learner putting a passage from
source material into his/her own words. This activity requires
the learner to understand context and have an accurate
comprehension of the text.
Skills
UnderstandingApplying
Analysing
Paraphrasing
How it works
1. Learners should use alternative wording to the author’s
throughout the paraphrase.
2. Explain that it is important that learners use their own words
but they should make it clear that they are presenting
someone else’s ideas, eg According to Professor Tom Devine...
3. It is important that learners cite their sources.
Paraphrasing
Source A is from the 1837 printing of American Slavery as it is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses
‘Slaves belonging to merchants and others in the city, often hire their own time, for which they pay
various prices per week or month, according to the capacity of the slave. The females who thus hire
their time, pursue various modes to procure the money; their masters making no inquiry how they
get it, provided the money comes. If it is not regularly paid they are flogged. Some take in washing,
some cook on board vessels, pick oakum, sell peanuts, &c., while others, younger and more comely,
often resort to the vilest pursuits. I knew a man from the north who, though married to a
respectable southern woman, kept two of these mulatto girls in an upper room at his store; his wife
told some of her friends that he had not lodged at home for two weeks together, I have seen these
two kept misses, as they are there called, at his store; he was afterwards stabbed in an attempt to
arrest a runaway slave, and died in about ten days.’
Source A is a slave owner describing how slaves pay their owners for time off. The cost is
dependent on the skill of the slave, and how badly they are needed. If owners don’t receive
the money the slave gets flogged. The author alludes to the use of prostitution among female
slaves to raise the money. Other women cook, clean, pick or sell. The author describes the
situation of his friend, who kept two female slaves above his shop as mistresses/concubines.
Paraphrasing
Extension/alternative ideas
• Learners could be challenged to see who can come up with a
paraphrase in the quickest time. They must recite their
paraphrase without looking at the source. Other learners then
assess how good it was.
• Working backwards, the practitioner could supply learners
with a list of paraphrases and the learners match these to the
correct sources.
Paraphrasing
Recording information
Paraphrasing lends itself well to being recorded as a podcast or
vodcast, while blogging could also useful here.
Summarising
Overview
Summarising involves the learner putting only the main
idea(s) from the source material into his/her own words. As
with paraphrasing, this activity requires the learner to
understand context and have an accurate comprehension of
the text.
Skills
UnderstandingApplying
Analysing
Summarising
How it works
1. Summarising involves the learner putting only the main
idea(s) from the source material into his/her own words. This
is a useful skill and works well with note-taking.
2. The lower the word limit, the harder the task becomes.
3. Learners can compare their summaries after the task for
added comprehension.
Summarising
Source A is from the 1837 printing of American Slavery as it is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses
‘Slaves belonging to merchants and others in the city, often hire their own time, for which they pay
various prices per week or month, according to the capacity of the slave. The females who thus hire
their time, pursue various modes to procure the money; their masters making no inquiry how they
get it, provided the money comes. If it is not regularly paid they are flogged. Some take in washing,
some cook on board vessels, pick oakum, sell peanuts, &c., while others, younger and more comely,
often resort to the vilest pursuits. I knew a man from the north who, though married to a
respectable southern woman, kept two of these mulatto girls in an upper room at his store; his wife
told some of her friends that he had not lodged at home for two weeks together, I have seen these
two kept misses, as they are there called, at his store; he was afterwards stabbed in an attempt to
arrest a runaway slave, and died in about ten days.’
•
•
•
Some slaves had to pay their owners money for the time they weren’t working. Prices varied depending
on the skill of the slave.
Women afforded this by picking or selling food, or carrying out domestic duties like washing or cooking
(on ships). Others, younger women, turned to prostitution.
A friend of author kept two slaves as mistresses above his shop.
Summarising
Extension/alternative ideas
• Learners could be challenged to see who can come up with a
summary in the quickest time. They must recite the summary
without looking at the source. Other learners then assess how
good it was.
• Working backwards, the practitioner could supply learners
with a list of summaries and the learners match these to the
correct sources.
Summarising
Recording information
Summarising lends itself well to being recorded as a podcast.
Practitioners may wish to explore setting a 50-word challenge
where learners can only use a maximum of 50 words.
Thinking skills grid
Overview
This activity can help learners’ revision and understanding of
subtopics within the larger topics and units.
Skills
Remembering
Applying
Analysing
Creating
Thinking skills grid
How it works
1. Learners draw six columns on an A4 (or larger) sheet of paper,
landscape orientation.
2. Each column focuses on a different piece of knowledge they
have learned throughout a subtopic.
3. As they are both processing the information and recording it
in different ways, this activity caters to all types of learners.
4. Learners can compare their summaries after the task for
added comprehension.
Interesting
response
(What have
I found
interesting
about this
topic?)
Emotional
response
(What do I
love and
hate about
the topic?)
Negative
response
(The bad
points about
the topic)
Positive
response
(The good
points about
the topic)
Creative
response
(Draw
pictures
about the
topic)
Overview
response
(What
were the
main
points
about the
topic?)
Interesting
response
(What have
I found
interesting
about this
topic?)
Over 400,000
slaves died on
British ships
during the
Middle Passage.
Ships could have
a loose pack or a
tight pack,
eventually more
ships went for
tight pack as
more slaves
equalled more
money.
Emotional
response
(What do I
love and
hate about
the topic?)
I would hate to
have been a slave
(or doctor) on the
Middle Passage
ships.
The cramped
quarters, poor
supplies and bad
treatment from
the sailors would
have been awful.
My friends and
family could have
died around me.
Negative
response
(The bad
points about
the topic)
Slaves were
treated as cargo.
Slaves had to lie
on their backs in
the hold, so more
could be fitted in.
Disease was rife.
Discipline was
strong to avoid
any chance of
rebelling –
floggings,
torture and
hangings.
Positive
response
(The good
points about
the topic)
Slaves would
sometimes be
brought up on
deck for exercise.
The crew had it
in their best
interests to keep
the slaves alive
as it meant more
money.
There were lots
of Scottish
doctors on ships
to look after
slaves.
Creative
response
(Draw
pictures
about the
topic)
Overview
response
(What
were the
main
points
about the
topic?)
Slaves were
treated as
cargo.
Up to 50,000 a
year were being
transported in
the late 1700s.
The heat and
awful conditions
led to many
slaves dying.
The Middle Passage
Thinking skills grid
Extension/alternative ideas
• Columns could be added or taken away.
• The learners’ choices could be discussed during the lesson to
aid other learners and provoke debate.
• Examining the learners’ choices can provide insight into the
practitioner’s own approach to the course, providing a good
opportunity for reflective thinking .
Thinking skills grid
Recording information
This can be recorded as a PowerPoint or smartboard
presentation, as a Prezi, an infographic, on a blog or as a poster.
The drawing column could be created in a generic paint package
on a computer.
Skimming
Overview
Introducing learners to skimming (and scanning) can help
develop their engagement with texts and encourage them to
approach their reading of texts and sources more analytically.
Skills
Understanding Analysing
Evaluating
Skimming
How it works
1. The learner 'skims' the text, looking for the gist of the piece.
2. This involves reading the title, subtitles, paragraph headings
and any annotations, followed by the first and last
paragraphs.
3. This provides the learner with a good idea of what the text is
about before a deeper reading (or not, as the case may be).
Skimming
1. The learner is given an article (or book) and told they have a
strict 5 (10) minutes to find out what it is about.
2. After the time is up, they have 5 minutes to write down
everything they have learned about the article or book
without looking at it again.
3. Once the 5 minutes are up, they take it in turns with a partner
to explain what the piece was about (without notes).
4. After this, the learners compare the notes they took and
discuss their choices as well as the techniques they used.
5. New material is given out and the learners repeat the
process.
Scanning
Overview
Introducing learners to scanning (and skimming) can help
develop their engagement with texts and encourage them to
approach their reading of texts and sources more analytically.
Skills
UnderstandingAnalysing
Evaluating
Scanning
How it works
1. The learner 'scans' the text with rapid eye movements,
looking only for the specific information they require, which
the practitioner can define – author, date written/published,
information on a specific topic or key words.
2. The information can then be underlined, highlighted or noted
down.
3. This method works best if only a particular part of the text is
relevant to the learner, and saves reading the whole piece.
Scanning
1. The learner is given an article (or book) and told they have a
strict 5 minutes to find out a specific piece of information the
practitioner defines.
2. After the time is up, the learners explain what techniques
they used to find the information.
3. New material is given out and the process is repeated, with
learners now aware of and implementing the successful
methods of scanning.
4. Four different pieces of information could be given to groups
and each learner asked to find one piece. The group is only
finished when everyone has found their piece of information.
5. This could be used in a competition between different groups
once the learners are confident in their scanning abilities.
Sequencing
Overview
Introducing learners to sequencing can help them understand
the importance of coherence and cohesion within a piece of
text.
Skills
UnderstandingApplying
Analysing
Sequencing
How it works
1. The learners reorganise the mixed-up pieces of text into a logical
order.
2. Learners can do this by themselves, in pairs or in groups.
3. Sequencing can also be done on the smartboard using touch-screen
software, with learners and dragging and dropping text into the
right order.
4. Examples of text to sequence might be:
- essays (cut up into paragraphs)
- a text-based source (cut up into sentences)
- a transcript from a speech
- academic articles (cut up into paragraphs)
5. This is an excellent activity for raising awareness of how the
learner’s own essay should be structured (ie beginning, middle,
end).
Mixed up
Sequencing
Consequently, T.M. Devine has recently posed the far-from-rhetorical question ‘Did slavery make Scotia
great?’.
Williams was heavily criticised, although his detractors underestimated the true extent of the overall
relationship as they narrowly focused on the profits of the maritime trade in slaves.
Devine now argues that Scotland ‘could provide more fertile ground’ for historians who seek to establish
that slavery had a profound impact on Scottish industrialisation as it was a relatively poor society in 1750
which underwent rapid growth whilst dependent on slave economies for raw materials as well as external
markets for exports, in addition to capital transfers to the burgeoning industries in manufacturing, mining
and agriculture[D].
More recently, Joseph Inikori reinforced the view that slavery and overseas trade were the
principal determinants of a ‘commercial revolution’ in England.
For Inikori, commerce with slave-based economies in an Atlantic system dependant on chattel slavery had
significant multiplier effects on English industrialisation as well as shipping and on the commercial and
financial infrastructure[Y].
These issues have promoted vigorous academic debate since the publication of Eric Williams’s pioneering
text Capitalism and Slavery in 1944. Williams defined an exploitative global relationship in which the
profits of the slave trade and commerce with the slave colonies were crucial to the industrial
development of Great Britain[L].
The two most controversial questions regarding chattel slavery and Great Britain in the modern era are
economic in nature: how profitable was the West India trade and how did slavery influence the industrial
and agricultural development of the nation?
However, whilst there is a mature yet inconclusive historiography regarding the impact on England, the
relationship between chattel slavery and Scotland remains obscure.
Correct order
Sequencing
The two most controversial questions regarding chattel slavery and Great Britain in the modern era are
economic in nature: how profitable was the West India trade and how did slavery influence the industrial
and agricultural development of the nation?
These issues have promoted vigorous academic debate since the publication of Eric Williams’s pioneering
text Capitalism and Slavery in 1944. Williams defined an exploitative global relationship in which the
profits of the slave trade and commerce with the slave colonies were crucial to the industrial
development of Great Britain[L].
Williams was heavily criticised, although his detractors underestimated the true extent of the overall
relationship as they narrowly focused on the profits of the maritime trade in slaves.
More recently, Joseph Inikori reinforced the view that slavery and overseas trade were the
principal determinants of a ‘commercial revolution’ in England.
For Inikori, commerce with slave-based economies in an Atlantic system dependant on chattel slavery had
significant multiplier effects on English industrialisation as well as shipping and on the commercial and
financial infrastructure[Y].
However, whilst there is a mature yet inconclusive historiography regarding the impact on England, the
relationship between chattel slavery and Scotland remains obscure.
Consequently, T.M. Devine has recently posed the far-from-rhetorical question ‘Did slavery make Scotia
great?’.
Devine now argues that Scotland ‘could provide more fertile ground’ for historians who seek to establish
that slavery had a profound impact on Scottish industrialisation as it was a relatively poor society in 1750
which underwent rapid growth whilst dependent on slave economies for raw materials as well as external
markets for exports, in addition to capital transfers to the burgeoning industries in manufacturing, mining
and agriculture[D].
Mixed up
Sequencing
However, slavery was not hereditary, and the children of slaves were usually regarded as being free
members of the household of their parent’s master.
People living in West Africa, both free and enslaved, did not see their lives as being shaped or dominated
by trade with the Europeans and the transatlantic slave trade.
However, the massive size of the transatlantic slave trade meant that in wars and raids a very great
number of West Africans were captured and sold to the Europeans.
Enslaved Africans who were sold to the Europeans and transported to the Americas would experience a
very different form of slavery to those who were slaves in Africa.
Most stayed on or near the coast, and they knew little of the heavily populated African interior.
Slavery had been an important social institution in West Africa long before the arrival of the Europeans.
The transportation of over ten million African slaves to the Americas implies an absolute European
dominance of West Africa that simply did not exist.
But those West Africans who were taken in chains to the New World suffered very different experiences.
In Africa slavery was predominantly a system of organising labour in a society with many people but
limited opportunities for land ownership and economic survival.
West Africans controlled the trade in gold, ivory, spices and eventually slaves, and historians continue to
debate whether West Africans should be regarded primarily as victims of or participants in the
transatlantic slave trade.
In Europe land was the main form of wealth-producing property, but in much of West Africa rulers and the
elite owned land, and slaves became an important form of wealth-producing property, enabling their
owners to profit from the land they rented from local rulers.
Relatively few Europeans settled on the West African coast, and many of those who did were soon struck
down by yellow fever, malaria and other diseases.
Correct order
Sequencing
The transportation of over ten million African slaves to the Americas implies an absolute European
dominance of West Africa that simply did not exist.
Relatively few Europeans settled on the West African coast, and many of those who did were soon struck
down by yellow fever, malaria and other diseases.
Most stayed on or near the coast, and they knew little of the heavily populated African interior.
West Africans controlled the trade in gold, ivory, spices and eventually slaves, and historians continue to
debate whether West Africans should be regarded primarily as victims of or participants in the
transatlantic slave trade.
Slavery had been an important social institution in West Africa long before the arrival of the Europeans.
In Europe land was the main form of wealth-producing property, but in much of West Africa rulers and the
elite owned land, and slaves became an important form of wealth-producing property, enabling their
owners to profit from the land they rented from local rulers.
However, slavery was not hereditary, and the children of slaves were usually regarded as being free
members of the household of their parent’s master.
In Africa slavery was predominantly a system of organising labour in a society with many people but
limited opportunities for land ownership and economic survival.
However, the massive size of the transatlantic slave trade meant that in wars and raids a very great
number of West Africans were captured and sold to the Europeans.
Enslaved Africans who were sold to the Europeans and transported to the Americas would experience a
very different form of slavery to those who were slaves in Africa.
People living in West Africa, both free and enslaved, did not see their lives as being shaped or dominated
by trade with the Europeans and the transatlantic slave trade.
But those West Africans who were taken in chains to the New World suffered very different experiences.
Sequencing
Recording information
Sequencing can be stuck into jotters or posted on blogs. The
discussion over the right order of the pieces could be recorded
as a vodcast or podcast.
Odd one out
How it works
Overview
1. Odd one out is an activity that can be used as a springboard
for initial exploration of the topic or as a tool to consolidate
knowledge. Learners are encouraged to explore for
themselves the similarities and differences between ideas
and to foster an understanding relationship between them.
Skills
Remembering Understanding Applying Analysing
Odd one out
How it works
1. Learners are given a set of key words, ideas, places, events or
people, depending on the learning area and topic.
2. Learners must decide on the odd one out in each grid or list. Often
there may be no right or wrong answers and any word might be the
odd one out. Learners must therefore give a justified and valid
response as to why they chose a particular word and the nature of
the relationship between the other words on the list.
3. A discussion afterwards might concentrate on how learners made
the connections between the words, the processes involved and
whether the group work has helped learners to see different
connections which they otherwise might not have considered.
Odd one out
Source A:
http://hitchcock.itc.virgin
ia.edu/Slavery/detailsKey
word.php?keyword=e019
&recordCount=1&theRec
ord=0
Source C:
http://hitchcock.itc.virgin
ia.edu/Slavery/detailsKey
word.php?keyword=JCB_
012032&recordCount=3&theRe
cord=0
Possible answers
Source B:
http://hitchcock.itc.virgin
ia.edu/Slavery/detailsKey
word.php?keyword=c017
&recordCount=2&theRec
ord=0
Source D:
http://hitchcock.itc.virgin
ia.edu/Slavery/detailsKey
word.php?keyword=haza
rd2&recordCount=1&the
Record=0
• A – it is the only one set on
the Middle Passage
• B – it is the only one where
black people are guarding the
slaves
• C – it is the only one to show
the method of oppression
• D – the only image that shows
the slaves without their
captors or means of
incarceration
Odd one out
Extension/alternative ideas
• Learners could create their own odd one out boards, either by
themselves or in groups, and have a discussion about the
choices.
Odd one out
Recording information
Recording this activity and the debate that ensues on video is
perhaps the best method. Learners could also be presented with
the pictures and asked to write a blog post describing which one
is the odd one out.
Exchanging viewpoints
Overview
This activity can be used to develop learners’ understanding
of different points of view regarding a debatable topic. Not
only must they listen to others, but they have to describe the
views of other learners.
Skills
Applying
Analysing
Evaluating
Creating
Exchanging viewpoints
How it works
1. Each learner will need a name tag that can be easily swapped with
a partner.
2. A question which provokes debate should be posed to the class.
This might be a new topic or one that learners have already studied
if using the task for revision.
3. Learners are given a short amount of time to consider their answer
to the question and instructed that they will have to describe their
view to another learner.
4. A time limit is set during which learners must describe their view
and at least one reason why they have this view. Learners exchange
their name tags so that they are wearing each other’s.
Exchanging viewpoints
How it works
5. Learners must then find a new partner and instead of describing their own
view, they describe the view of the person whose name tag they are
wearing.
6. Once the time is up, they again swap name tags, find a new partner and
describe the view of the person whose tag they are wearing.
7. This can be done as few or as many times as required, depending on the
time available.
8. Learners write down as many of the different views as they can
remember.
9. After a period of time the learners are asked to place their name tags on a
large piece of paper and to express and explain the view of the learner
named. The learner named can then add further points of clarification or
correct any errors.
Marco – Slave
Yes, it has ruined
millions of African lives.
I was taken from my
family when I was five,
and my sister and my
brother were taken ten
years earlier.
Rory – Slave owner
Absolutely not. Slaves
have a limited period of
use – seven years is the
best we can get out of
them. What will we do if
we can’t replace them?
Kirsten – Ship owner
Most of my business
involves trading slaves
and goods to Africa. If we
make it illegal I’ll lose
thousands of pounds.
Should the slave trade be made illegal?
Amy – Pro-abolitionist
It has to be! It is a
deplorable act and
distinctly un-Christian.
Josh – Antiabolitionist
No! They are
uncivilised and do not
deserve freedom! They
were made to work.
Exchanging viewpoints
Recording information
Recording on video is a great medium for this activity, although
each group recording themselves is also a good approach.
Learners might record themselves as talking heads, defending
their viewpoint. Alternatively, each learner could make notes.
Interrogation (also called hot seating)
Overview
This activity calls on the practitioner, or a learner or group of
learners, to play the role of a character from the period of
time being studied.
Skills
UnderstandingRemembering
Evaluating
Interrogation (also called hot seating)
How it works
1. The practitioner, learner or groups of learners pose as a character
from the period of study (eg an anti-abolitionist). This can be a
famous character, an anonymous person or a group of people.
2. The remaining learners can question and interrogate the
character(s) on any aspect of the history period they are studying.
3. The actor(s) must stay in role throughout the interrogation, sticking
to what should be his/her opinions (for example defending the
slave trade).
4. It can work well if participants are given an opportunity to revise
the topic/the character’s stance, as questions and answers can then
be prepared.
Interrogation (also called hot seating)
Characters could be:
Interrogation (also called hot seating)
Recording information
Recording on video or tape is a good approach for this activity.
The podcast can be revisited at a later date for learners to
evaluate and reflect on their questions and answers.
Jigsaw
Overview
For more complex work, this activity provides learners with
the opportunity to develop expertise in one area of a subject
and then return to their group with 'experts' from the other
areas to tackle the whole subject.
Skills
UnderstandingApplying
Analysing
Jigsaw
How it works
1. The learners are in groups of four (or however many pieces of
evidence you want to provide).
2. They are split up and move to four different stations, where they
spend 10 minutes learning about one area of the problem.
3. After the time limit, everyone returns to their original group, which
now has four experts on the four different areas of the subject.
4. Working together, the learners use the information they have learnt
to tackle the task on the subject.
Jigsaw
Recording information
Poster work is a good method for recording information in this
activity, as are blog posts. A podcast from each group on their
findings can also prove interesting.