Y7: 1-3. Why History?

Year 7A & Year 7B

Today you are going to investigate the study of History in a bit more detail.

Follow the instructions step by step:

A bit of revision:

WHY do we study History?

History has interesting stories.
There are also other benefits…

Let’s look at the benefits of studying History:

For example, based on her experiences and observations in Crimea, Florence Nightingale trained nurses to work in clean sanitized conditions in hospitals. Today, our hospitals are clean and organised because many years ago Florence Nightingale created sanitary conditions so that patients could receive the best care.

Here is another example:

“Saved by the bell” means “rescued from an unwanted situation”. This expression has an interesting history: Many years ago people were sometimes mistakenly buried alive! Medicine was not so advanced and doctors sometimes thought that people were dead when they were simply in a coma. People who feared being buried alive were buried in special coffins that were connected to a bell above ground. Guards listened for any bells in case they had to dig up a living person and save them “by the bell.”

For example, there are Europeans living in Southern Africa because of colonization. In the 1600’s the Dutch traded with India by sailing around Africa to the east. The set up a halfway post at the tip of Africa to get fresh supplies for their sailors. These Dutch settlers are my ancestors! (That is also why I speak a language that is very similar to Dutch, called Afrikaans.) Today, some people in South Africa speak Afrikaans and some speak English. That is because the Dutch and the English were fighting in a war in the 1800’s and the English then took over the Dutch colony in Southern Africa.

Here are two examples:

Theodore Roosevelt Inspires the Teddy Bear. (1:51 minutes long)

The Dentist Who Created Cotton Candy. (1:31 minutes long)

Carefully read the information in the table below to see which skills you will acquire by doing History as one of your school subjects.

As we progress through the Year 7 History course we will fill in the table (stuck into your History book), as you acquire new skills.

Now that you know what History is and why we study History, we need to consider “time”… In the study of History we often mention dates. So, let’s read the article called “Father Time”. (It is stuck into your exercise book.) In the next lesson we will discuss this article in more detail.