Durham County Record Office: the official archive service for County Durham and Darlington

Resource Packs

Durham County Record Office Archive Education Service has eight resource packs for use in schools. The packs are available in Durham Learning Resources boxes, which will also include related resources such as books and props, or from the Record Office directly. Contact Durham Learning Resources or get in touch with our Education Archivist to find out more.

All packs were developed in collaboration with a local teacher. Each pack includes:

laminated copies of documents
lesson plans
interactive whiteboard presentations.

Ourselves (KS1)

Explore how clothes and toys have changed over time, how children's heights and weights compare to those of Edwardian children (and what this tells us about food). Also use archive photographs of families from different cultures to learn the names of external body parts and understand that people may look different, but are really the same.
National Curriculum links:
Identify, name, draw and label the basic parts of the human body and say which part of the body is associated with each sense.
Describe the importance for humans of exercise, eating the right amounts of different types of food, and hygiene.
Compare and sort everyday objects

Victorian Children (KS2)

What was it like to be a child in Victorian Durham? Investigate school, work, mining and home life.
National curriculum link: Extends chronological knowledge beyond 1066

Local Area (KS2)

See how a local school used photographs to explore local landmarks and find out about miners' banners, before creating their own school banner. Includes advice on available local history sources, how to find and use them.
National curriculum link: Local history study

Science (KS3)

Science from a new perspective! Use archives to find out about eclipses, variation and classification of plants, and see what remedies pharmacists were prescribing in the early 20th century.
National Curriculum links:
Ask questions and develop a line of enquiry based on observations of the real world, alongside prior knowledge and experience
The varying physical and chemical properties of different elements
Defining acids and alkalis in terms of neutralisation reactions

Science: Medicine through Time (KS3)

Resource Pack - KS3 Medicine through Time

What medical help was available to soldiers in the First World War? What healthcare did ordinary people have access to in Victorian Durham? What happened during Cholera outbreaks? Use archives to investigate and find the answers. Includes a chance for students to have a go and replicate remedies from archive recipes.
National Curriculum links:
Showing how scientific ideas have developed historically
Ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain, 1745-1901
Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day

Local History (KS3)

See how a local history teacher and her students used the census to investigate the area around her school. Includes advice on available local history sources, how to find and use them.
National Curriculum links: Local history study

World War 2 (KS3)

Who were the Aycliffe Angels? What was Christmas like during the war? This cross curricular pack looks at these questions and includes a host of activities ranging from music to drama to food technology. Many of these activities were also delivered in primary schools and so would suit a Key Stage 2 class too.
National Curriculum link: Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day

Poor Law (KS5)

How did the Poor Law work in County Durham? Why did the system need to change? Use a local investigation to bring the national issues into focus.