Thomas Churchyard introduces you to POP 1578!
What is Putting on a Pageant 1578?
Putting on a Pageant 1578 (POP 1578) is a FREE* online primary school heritage education programme. Through the lens of local history, POP 1578 explores the exciting story of Queen Elizabeth I’s journey across East Anglia culminating in magnificent festivities in Norwich in 1578.
Using a methodology called ‘Structured Stories through Immersive Adventures’** we approach the telling of Queen Elizabeth I’s unique visit to Norwich through easy-to-use Google Slide Shows embedded and led by film clips of our archivist and a ‘real’ Elizabethan called Thomas Churchyard. The film clips are further supported by story maps, drama games, animation, and craft activities. POP 1578 acts as a springboard for historical study and storytelling across primary key stages. Click HERE to watch a Thomas Churchyard film clip.
* Registration is FREE. Simply fill in your email and create a password when prompted. Once registered Curious Spark will receive notification and will unlock your access.
**Inspired by Royal Historic Palaces Curious Stories: Supporting primary literacy in the historic environment. By Fenella Goodhart, Deborah Hogan, Claire Chard and Emma Morioka 2017.*
The POP 1578 programme (.pdf)
Register here for POP 1578
POP 1578 is funded by Arts Council England. As part of the ACE award to Curious Spark, we need to evaluate your experience to share with them. Please email firstname.lastname@example.org to inform us of your participation. We will send through a short evaluation document at a time of your choosing.
How to start your POP 1578 journey…
Starting the POP 1578 programme could not be simpler. Curious Spark offers free in-school or live online training sessions to support teaching staff to become familiar with the content of POP 1578 and how to deliver it in class.
POP 1578 uses one Google Slide for each session. Each session Google Slide includes a series of film clips, activities and recaps. The teacher simply clicks through each slide page to enjoy and complete the session with their pupils. All session resources are downloadable/printable from the POP 1578 website including teaching guidance for each session, lesson plans, aims and objectives, and pre-written letter templates and tasks to send home.
There will be some preparation and printing pre-classroom sessions and the occasional need to order art resources.
“The sessions we were able to complete before lockdown were immersive, and the knowledge gained was remembered by the children long after the sessions finished (my own son can still recall key dates, people and events after six months away from school!).”
“It was brilliant meeting Thomas Churchyard and imaginatively travelling back in time, it really took the children out of the classroom and into Elizabethan Norwich.”
— Mr Cook, Charles Darwin Academy KS1
Getting the parent/carers involved!
To truly embed the POP 1578 approach we encourage you to fully engage with your pupil’s parents/carers. We have prepared “Explore More at Home’ tasks and letter templates for each session to encourage family involvement. Plus we have also devised 3 highly creative family ‘Explore More’ sessions which can be completed in the classroom with parent/carers invited to participate (or at home if your remote classroom is operating). Click HERE to watch one of the ‘Explore More’ animation activities.
Evaluation results from Curious Stories* evidenced an increased use of imagination, student confidence and self-esteem, language development and improved communication between parent, child and school.
Each of the 7 classroom sessions and the 3 Explore More sessions have a main Google slide embedded with short films of archive professionals, historical characters, or artists who guide and encourage curiosity and discussion as well as introducing activities.
Click HERE to check out the introductory film of Session 1 where Annie the Archivist invites the children to help her.
Activity Film Clips
Activity instructions and drama games film clips are included in the Google slides. If all session resources are prepped, the slides and resources will guide the session. No in-depth pre-session research is needed by the teacher. Although we recommend teachers and any support staff run through the session Google slides prior to delivery in class. Click HERE to see one of the Drama Game clips.
There are drama activity film clips and adapted British Sign Language film clips to aid and encourage story map actions.
Structured Stories through Immersive Adventures
The POP 1578 programme adopts a blended approach of Pie Corbett’s ‘Talk for Writing’ with immersive storytelling in a method termed ‘Structured Stories through Immersive Adventures’.
We use this methodology to tell the story of Queen Elizabeth I’s visit to Norwich in 1578. It enables children to imitate the language of this unique historical event before reading about it, analysing it, and eventually writing their own version of it.
LIVE in-school experience!
We also offer a LIVE in-school experience! Using the ‘Structured Stories through Immersive Adventures’ methodology we approach the telling of Queen Elizabeth I’s unique visit to Norwich through storytelling, story maps, drama games, animation, and craft activities led by our POP 1578 education team.
Our Archivist, Elizabethan protagonist, Thomas Churchyard, and resident artist will visit your school to recount the amazing story of the Queen’s visit.
For more information click here
Putting On A Pageant 1578 is brought to you by Curious Spark
Curious Spark’s mission is to champion curiosity, in heritage, our cultures and the arts to evoke positive change in people’s places and spaces.