home | teacher materials | about scan | feedback | contact scan

STUDY TOPICS SCHOOLS One hundred years ago most children went to their local Public School from the age of 5 - 13. Classes were much bigger than classes today so they had to be strictly controlled. Pupils were expected to sit up properly in neat rows and to pay attention to everything the teacher said. Boys and girls were separated in class and they often had different playgrounds as well. During the lessons, important facts were written on the blackboard. Teachers would point these out and make all of the class to say them aloud together. Most pupils used pencils for writing but they also had to learn how to write use a pen and ink. Slates and slate pencils were still used a hundred years ago. There are three sources in this section. Source 4A Source 4A - School Interior Hydepark Public School Source 4A is a photograph that shows what most classrooms were like a hundred years ago. It has a high ceiling with high windows so pupils cannot look outside easily. Click to enlarge the image, then answer the following questions. Questions Look at the desks and seats. How is this different from your classroom? Look at where the boys and girls are sitting. Is this different from your classroom. Look at where the teacher is. Is this different from your classroom? Source 4B Source 4B - School Log Book Teachers had to keep a log-book (a diary) of what happened in their school. This log-book could be checked and comments from official visitors could be added to it. Click to enlarge the image, then answer the following questions. Questions Find three pieces of evidence which show that school attendance was important in 1903. Which school subjects are mentioned in the log-book? Source 4C Source 4C - Register of Text Books Teachers had to keep a careful note of the books and papers which they needed for their classes. This list is from Limerigg Public school, Slamannan from 1903. Click to enlarge the image, then answer the following questions. Questions Which subjects does this show pupils studied? What activities does this list show pupils were given? This list mentions slates for writing. Look at Source 4A and see where pupils kept their slates.

site designed by Wark Clements