Treasure

KS2

What does Treasure mean to you?

This is one of four units designed to be delivered at any, or all three of the stages of Primary school. Through exploration of the topic ‘Treasure’, children at KS2 can develop ‘Building Blocks’ of knowledge and understanding in key areas that will help equip them to make sense of the challenging history of transatlantic slavery later in their schooling. Explore the unit’s ‘Learning Objectives’ to understand how this unit prepares children for approaching this history. The topic has been designed to also deliver key components of the KS2 curriculum.

Children are asked ‘what is treasure?’ by considering which objects of their own have value. This draws out discussion around what is meant by ‘value’, and how objects are valued for different reasons – for example because they are loved and have sentimental value, because they are useful and necessary for a task, because they have religious or spiritual meaning or because they are constructed out of commercially valuable materials. Children will go on to learn about which objects and commodities had value in the past, and how and why the value of these goods has changed since then. The role of museums is also explored in this unit – drawing out discussion on how museum objects are selected, interpreted and displayed and how objects from around the world came to be in British museums today.

The unit is structured around a learning cycle and offers teachers a topic that can be tailored according to the needs and interests of the class and teacher.

Stage 1: Entry Activity

Treasure Chest

Children are asked to bring in to school an object that is special and important to them. Each child will ‘show and tell’ the class about their object and why it is special. All the objects are then displayed in a ‘treasure chest’ in the classroom and kept safe there for the duration of the project.

Teacher Approach

Adult led / supported – drawing out questions from the class such as:

  • Why is that object special?
  • Is it treasure?
  • What does it tell us about you?
  • Would you want to swap it for something that another child treasures?
  • What would you swap it for?
  • Does my treasure have a monetary value?
  • Does my treasure have a personal value?
  • Is this the same?

Big Question: How can we learn about history by looking at what people called 'treasure'?

Stage 2: Immersion

Children identify their challenge and raise their own questions to investigate. Final challenge is introduced.

Big Question: How can we learn about history by looking at what people called 'treasure'?

Pupil voice

opportunity for learners to ask questions to direct the enquiry
  • Why did people treasure things long ago that we now think of as cheap?
  • Did having something valuable give a person power?
  • Does it still?
  • How was treasure traded?
  • What can museum objects tell us about people?

Teacher Approach

leading the class or dividing into groups to undertake suggested activities
  • Children investigate objects to find out about what was valuable in the past in Britain and which of these are still valuable today (eg. salt, sugar, spices, gold, precious stones, coins). Focus on the KS2 History periods such as Vikings, Medieval, Tudors, Ancient Civilisations (Benin).
  • Investigate any local significance, find out how they got to Britain and what was traded for them.

Stage 3: Have a go

Children use their learning to have a go – activities that allow them to make mistakes and develop skills.

Big Question: How can we learn about history by looking at what people called 'treasure'?

Pupil voice

opportunity for learners to ask questions to direct the enquiry.
  • Why did people treasure things long ago that we now think of as cheap?
  • Did having something valuable give a person power?
  • Does it still?
  • How was treasure traded?
  • What can museum objects tell us about people?

Teacher Approach

leading the class or dividing into groups to undertake suggested activities.
  • Mapping origins of goods that have had high value in British history (tea, coffee, sugar, salt, gold, precious stones, coins etc), debating why some of these are no longer valuable today.
  • Exploring an ancient African civilization (Benin) as a case study of where some of these goods came from. Learning about Benin’s art, architecture, treasure and trade.
  • Finding out which British museums display ancient African treasures. What can these treasures tell us about African civilizations?
  • Writing object labels for old and contemporary ‘treasures’. What would the person who made or first owned the treasure say about it? What is the difference between monetary and personal value?

Stage 4: The Challenge

Big Question: How can we learn about history by looking at what people called 'treasure'?

Class compiles and displays an exhibition to answer the big question. They exhibit their own treasures, with labels explaining why they are treasures and what they can tell us about who they belong to.

Include in the exhibition:
A timeline of commodities that had a high value in British history with labels and maps explaining where they came from, how they were traded and why they were valuable.

Representations of treasures from the ancient kingdom of Benin, with labels explaining what they tell us about the ancient African continent.

Children prove their learning by answering the ‘big question’- adult steps back, children are empowered and supported.


Learning Objectives

Making sense of the history and legacies of transatlantic slavery in Britain today requires first some knowledge and understanding of some key areas. These have been listed in the Building Blocks resource as ‘Learning Objectives’ under the headings

  1. Africa, the Caribbean and North and South America (the African diaspora)
  2. Trade Links
  3. Human Rights
  4. Identity

When learning the history of Transatlantic slavery, children will learn how human beings were traded for commodities such as guns, cowrie shells, beads and manilas in order for these enslaved people to labour in the production of goods such as sugar and tobacco. In order to comprehend how this situation arose in Britain’s past, they must first appreciate how changing trade, global economy and domestic demand affected what was considered ‘valuable’ to the British market at this time, as well as which goods had high ‘value’ to African traders. The unit is designed to develop these building blocks of knowledge and understanding in children before they tackle the history of Transatlantic slavery.

Children who have completed the ‘Treasures’ unit at Key Stage 2 level will be able to discuss how goods have different values according to different perspectives, how the value of commodities has changed through history and why, and how museum ‘treasures’ can help us to understand the past. The unit also encourages children to consider how and why objects or ‘treasures’ of their own have special value and significance, and what it would mean to have such objects taken away or disrespected.

Beginning with simpler concepts at EYFS, then working through more sophisticated issues at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, completion of this unit will allow children to better understanding Ancient African history, the concept of trade and how a person’s identity is represented – essential building blocks of knowledge and understanding to make sense of transatlantic slavery. All children will learn this history at Key Stage 3.

USI ‘Building Blocks’ Learning objectives

By completion of this unit at Key Stage 2 children will:

  1. Africa, the Caribbean and North and South America (and the African ‘Diaspora’).

    1. Know about the African continent pre-transatlantic slavery, including its contribution to ancient civilisation, the development of trade and how this historical development compared with that of other civilisations in Europe.

  2. Trade Links

    1. Understand the system of trade and how it works and be able to give historical and contemporary examples of trade on a local and international scale.
    2. Know about the importance of trade to Britain and be able to give examples of goods that have been traded throughout history.
    3. Know about ships and the importance of the sea in the movement of goods around the world for trade, past and present.
    4. Be able to make judgements on the value of goods and what is fair and unfair relating to trade, give examples and communicate why they have made this conclusion.
    5. Be able to identify some of the commodities that they consume that are produced in Africa, the Caribbean and North and South America and use their knowledge to debate the fairness of the systems of trade for these.
    6. Be able to make links between the history of Britain, Africa, the Caribbean and North and South America to understand why inequalities exist between these countries in terms of trade.

  3. Identity

    1. Know that British society is shaped by a long history of various forms of migration from around the world and be able to give examples of how this has influenced our identity, and how Britain is viewed by other countries.
    2. Be able to discuss their identity and have a sense of their place in the world.