The Stone Age
This term as part of our curriculum, Year 2’s focus has been the Stone Age. During our lessons, we have explored a range of topics, including survival, the making and use of tools, shelters and homes and hunting and gathering.
The children have shown great curiosity throughout our lessons, asking questions to further develop their knowledge. A particular interest amongst the year group has been Stone Age tools. The children were keen to gain a deeper understanding of how the tools were made and used during this time period. In our art lessons, we put this knowledge into practice by creating our own model tools using clay, twine and sticks. They have enjoyed comparing the tools to modern-day appliances and machines. We have had fascinating discussions comparing all our Stone Age topics to our lives today, and how different it would have been to live in prehistory.
A Visit to the British Museum
Following the children’s interests, we took a trip to the British Museum. The children were extremely enthusiastic, asking questions and making predictions about what we might see during our visit. They were able to view a range of Stone Age artefacts and were fascinated by the tools on display. They enjoyed listening to information about how the tools were used, what materials they were made from and how they helped people with everyday tasks such as hunting, preparing food and making clothing. The children noticed that only the stone part of the tools remained, and we had great discussions about what may have happened to the wooden part of the tools. It was brilliant to see the children interested in archaeology and ask questions about how we can learn about prehistory.
Further into our visit, the children discovered information about Stonehenge. They were keen to learn more and spent time asking the museum staff questions. They were particularly interested in discovering why Stonehenge was built and what it might have been used for during prehistoric times. The children enjoyed sharing their thoughts and ideas and showed great curiosity. This inspired them to create some amazing silhouette pictures of Stonehenge once they were back at school.
Comparing Prehistoric Artefacts
The children’s favourite part of the day was comparing tools from the Stone Age and Bronze Age. We were fortunate enough to have time to explore the Bronze and Iron Age displays during our museum visit. The children loved comparing the tools used during these different time periods and gained a greater understanding of how tools were adapted over time.
Final Thoughts
The children had a wonderful day out! Upon our return to school, they requested to learn more about Stone Age ruins, following their excitement about Stonehenge.
We began researching, and the children were delighted to discover Skara Brae. They are now extremely hopeful that they will have the opportunity to visit one day!
“It was so interesting. We saw so many tools, it was great.” Leo