Intermediate
60 mins
Teacher/Student led
Learning Goals
Learning Outcomes
Lesson Files
+85 XP
Teacher-led from the board. Pupils do not need a device, but can follow on one.

Work Here, Then and Now

Children read 1926 census figures for kinds of work in Ireland and in their own county. They build charts to compare work then and now and pin workplaces on a local map to see what has changed across three generations.

This lesson is made for your school

Its maps and local places change to show each school's own area: its streets, hills, castles and old workplaces. Pick your school to see the lesson as your class would.

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    Your written work is on page 12
    Interactive slideshow
    Bar chart builder

    1 - Look and Wonder ~5 mins

    Look at this photograph from about a hundred years ago. What work can you see? What do you wonder?

    Our question for today is how the work people do in our place has changed since 1926, and what has stayed the same.

    👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

    +15 XP

    2 - Read and Learn ~8 mins

    Let's find out what the 1926 census tells us about work.

    👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

    +15 XP

    3 - Chart Our County, Then and Now ~15 mins

    What did people in our county work at in 1926?

    1. Find our county in the 1926 table.
    2. How tall should each bar be?
    3. Which kind of work was biggest? Which were small?

    The table: In 1926, out of every 100 people with work, how many did each kind of work?

    Near our school today: people work at many different jobs.

    What has changed since 1926, and what has stayed the same?

    Our county at work, 1926

    +15 XP

    4 - Write It in Your Copy ~3 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    In your copy, draw one kind of work from 1926 and one kind of work near us today, side by side. Then finish these two sentences.

    In our county in 1926, the biggest kind of work was …

    Near us today, one kind of work people do is …

    Two empty boxes side by side labelled 1926 and Near us today, and 2 lines to finish underneath (a copybook page)

    +10 XP
    Pupil practice · Activity Sheet
    Module 2 · Our Place and Its Name
    Lesson 12 · Work Here, Then and Now
    Download Activity Sheet (PDF)
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