The huge wealth of heritage material in Sheffield can enrich pupils’ imagination and give to “airy nothing a local habitation and a name”, but it’s difficult for busy teachers to select and provide effective experiences without background support.
Raising awareness
Sheffield is a multicultural community, and it’s important for the next generation to be aware of the richness of the city’s past and present as they grow to be its future.
I offer these programmes as part of a whole-curriculum introduction to the local environment and the dramatic effect of successive generations on the local environment, society and culture:
Places
Click the links for detailed information about –
Documents
I can provide links to the main sources of documents and artefacts for school students to examine at –
- Sheffield Local Studies Library – books, newspapers and maps
- Sheffield Archives – documents and maps
- Picture Sheffield – online collection of still photographs and maps
- Yorkshire Film Archive – online collection of moving-image footage
The indexing of each of these collections is erratic and not easy to navigate, but the material is invaluable.
People
The most precious resource for learning about the times before our birth is living people. There’s a legion of public speakers on many aspects of Sheffield life, and others who can be recruited to talk about their memories. I can recommend speakers, some of whom expect a fee, though others are willing to give their time pro bono.