Activities and Downloads

Classroom activities

• ◆Timeline pegs: place key events from Mary’s life on a washing line in the right order.
• ◆Hot-seating: one pupil takes on the role of Mary Seacole and answers questions from the class.
• ◆Design the British Hotel: draw and label the rooms Mary might have needed to care for soldiers.

Writing task

Write a diary entry as Mary Seacole after her first week at the British Hotel. Describe what you saw, how you helped, and how you felt at the end of the day.

Quiz (4 questions)

• • Where was Mary Seacole born?
• • What did Mary set up near the battlefield?
• • What did soldiers often call her?
• • Which war did Mary help soldiers in?

Classroom activities

• ◆Book cover design: create a cover for Equiano’s autobiography that shows the key themes of his life.
• ◆Persuasive speeches: in pairs, write a short speech asking members of Parliament to end the slave trade.
• ◆Source detective: compare a short child-friendly quotation from Equiano with a factual textbook paragraph and discuss which is more powerful, and why.

Writing task

Write a letter from a British reader in 1789 to a friend, explaining what they learned from Equiano’s book and why they now believe the slave trade must end.

Quiz (4 questions)

• • In which century did Olaudah Equiano live?
• • What was special about Equiano’s book?
• • What change was Equiano campaigning for?
• • Roughly when was his book first published?

Classroom activities

• ◆Suitcase task: pupils choose ten items a Windrush passenger might have packed and explain each choice.
• ◆Then and now: match old and modern photographs of British high streets, buses and hospitals and talk about the changes.
• ◆Class map: on a world map, mark the Caribbean islands the passengers travelled from and the British cities they moved to.

Writing task

Imagine you are a child arriving in Britain on the Empire Windrush. Write a short account of your first week — what you noticed, what surprised you, and what you were most proud of.

Quiz (4 questions)

• • In what year did the Empire Windrush arrive in Britain?
• • Where did most passengers come from?
• • Which British service did many Windrush workers help build?
• • What was one challenge the Windrush generation faced?

Classroom activities

• ◆Museum cards: create a small ‘museum card’ for one Black Victorian, including a picture, dates, and why they matter.
• ◆Evidence sort: give pupils a mixture of sources (letters, photos, newspapers) and ask which help us learn about hidden histories.
• ◆Then-and-now stadium: sketch a Victorian football crowd and compare it with a modern crowd — what has changed and what has stayed the same?

Writing task

Choose one of the Black Victorians you have learned about. Write a short newspaper article that could have been published at the time, celebrating their achievements.

Quiz (4 questions)

• • Which queen gave the Victorian era its name?
• • What did Samuel Coleridge-Taylor become famous for?
• • Arthur Wharton was one of Britain’s first Black…
• • Why are historians only telling some of these stories now?

Classroom activities

• ◆Enquiry planner: pupils fill in a simple sheet with their question, sources, and next steps.
• ◆Local map: mark places on a map of your town that connect to Black history you have discovered.
• ◆Class exhibition: turn the classroom into a mini-museum for parents and other classes to visit.

Writing task

Write a short guidebook entry (100–150 words) for one place in your local area that connects to Black history, explaining why it matters.

Quiz (4 questions)

• • What is an ‘enquiry’ in history?
• • Which of these is a good source for local history?
• • Who could you interview to learn about your area in the past?
• • Where might you find old records about your town?

Classroom activities

• ◆Journey map: on an outline map, trace a route from Mali to Makkah and mark cities Mansa Musa passed through.
• ◆Packing list: decide what a great emperor might need to take on a journey lasting more than a year.
• ◆Source detective: look at a copy of the Catalan Atlas (1375) picture of Mansa Musa and list three things you can notice.

Writing task

Imagine you are a traveller who meets Mansa Musa's caravan in the desert. Write a short journal entry describing what you see, hear and think.

Quiz (4 questions)

• • In which part of Africa was the Mali Empire?
• • In what year did Mansa Musa make his famous journey?
• • Which city in Mali became famous for its scholars and libraries?
• • Why is the Catalan Atlas (1375) useful to us?