Living History

Description of Unit

All countries, including Uganda, are shaped by their History.

It follows that a person’s education is incomplete if it lacks knowledge of the past events which have shaped our current lives.

The aims of this Living History Project are to:

  • Give young people an awareness of recent history and of the events and changes that have taken place during the lifetime of their elders.
  • Enable them to act out the roles of journalist or investigative historian trying to discover the truth of what life was like in the immediate past, and how major national events affected those lives.
  • Encourage children and students to talk with their parents, grandparents and wider family and friends about their lives in earlier times.
  • Foster a sense of empathy and understanding of the lives of their elders and an appreciation of the knowledge, experience and wisdom those older have gained during their lives.
  • Promote closer relationships between the generations and engender a sense of pride in their families’ achievements.
  • Give young people experience in planning and conducting an investigation: framing questions, conducting oral interviews, listening and recording skills, reporting results orally, in writing and using art and drama.

There are separate activities for primary children and secondary students, with the primary children being cast as Junior Reporters and the secondary students as Senior Reporters.

The teacher has an important role to play in leading initial discussions to work out what aspects of life are to be investigated. At each level we provide ideas for fruitful lines of questioning for the “Reporters”, but we strongly recommend that, once initiated, teachers allow the Young Reporters to take ownership of the investigations.

Teachers will, however, need to offer helpful guidance and suggestions at key points and, in particular, ensure that the enquiries are brought together (synthesised) and evaluated through presentations and discussion. A suitable way should be found to present the findings – this could be in written form, using pictures or posters, or presented as a piece of drama.  

%d bloggers like this: