A study of your local canal and related historical
sources can allow your pupils to engage in some genuine research and
to develop skills in interpretation.
Alternatively, you can download or adapt the case study and learning
activities, based on the Thames and Severn Canal. Click here
to view.
A study of canals can be linked to the National Curriculum as
outlined below.
Key Stage 2
Canals can form a focus for studying the local area for either
History, Geography or as a cross curricular study focusing
on the development of the canal and its effect on the local community,
environment and landscape, both past and present.
Canals can be used to illustrate themes for Citizenship including
preservation, regeneration, community involvement, local democracy.
Key Stage 3
History
'Britain 1750 -1900' specifies a study of how .. industrialisation
.. affected the United Kingdom, including the local area.
- A possible focus would be to examine a statement such as; The
--- industry would not have developed in this area if the -- canal
had not been built.
- Images of England could be used to identify evidence of your
local canal and industries.
- Historical sources from the web, local studies library, archives,
local canal trust or canal museum would allow pupils to engage in
historical interpretation; item 3 of the 'Knowledge, skills
and understanding' National Curriculum requirement. Visit the find
sources pages for more information.
Geography
- A study of canals can be linked to the following themes;
6g the changing characteristics of settlements; 6h changing
distribution of economic activity; 6j environmental issues
- It can allow pupils to study at a range of scales including
local and regional.
- It can be used develop pupils' skills in geographical enquiry
including; 1d analyse and evaluate evidence and draw and
justify conclusions; 2f communicate in different ways, including
using ICT.
- The Thames and Severn canal study can link to locational knowledge;
Rivers Thames and Severn
Citizenship
Canals can be used to illustrate themes including preservation,
regeneration, sustainability; community involvement, local democracy.
- There are many canal groups actively campaigning both locally and
nationally to have their canal restored. Most will have literature
or a website or may be willing to provide a tour or speaker. Visit
the Canal
Junction site for a list of canal societies or type the name of
the canal into a search engine.
- Pupils could be asked to join in cleaning up days or to look at
arguments for and against restoration from their own perspective and
formulate their own plans.
- The people who lived on canal boats in the nineteenth century can
be traced through the census or from canal boat registers and other
records that have survived in local archives, [either contact your local
record office or search the A2A[Access
to Archives] database using the keywords canal boat] and in the
Waterways
Trust archive. They formed a significant minority group with an
alternative lifestyle that could be studied as a comparison with contemporary
minority groups.
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