As part of the topic, ‘How Precious Life is..’ the Year 6 children have been learning about the history of coal and how important it was to the local area.
To begin with, the children learnt about the significance of the coal mines in the North East. They considered what coal was used for as well as how coal was used in other industries that were important in the local community. With this information, the children produced a ‘Horrible Histories’ page about the importance of coal mines in the North East.
After learning how beneficial coal was, the learning moved on to thinking about the negative sides of the industry. The children looked at a list of pit disasters in the North East and talked about the number of deaths and why this was such an issue at the time. A fact that surprised the children was the age children worked in the mines: as young as four. They then produced a diary entry written by a wife of a worker who has been injured/killed in a pit disaster. The results were impressive and showed empathy. Great discussions were had about life being more precious than coal.
