What was it like to be an evacuee during World War Two?

Example of how to include evacuation into your medium term plan and of course this website can be used alongside the activities mentioned here.
Full plan can be viewed here.

 
  • To learn about bombing raids on Britain (Blitz)
  • To understand how people protected themselves.


Introduction – Explain that we will look at today what happened to people in Britain when the war was on and we are starting on bombing. Listen to the sound of the air raid shelter (website)

Activity 1 – What do the children think this sound is? Explain that it was used to alert people that bombers were on their way. What did the people have to do when they heard the sound?  Discuss and show map of the places that were bombed, discuss why they think it was these places in particular. Record on map. Explain that everyone would go to a shelter, show examples of the shelters. Also discuss gas masks.(Woodlands site) As a class, brainstorm some of the feelings that you might have if you had to be in one of those shelters. Explain that you may have to be in there for many hours, and as soon as you leave, the sirens may sound again. Went on for months.

Activity 2 – Using the words that the children have come up with, they are to write either a diary extract or a poem about how they feel when they are in the shelter. SEN – writing frame such as ‘In the____ shelter, I feel _____. All Around me there are______.’ Children to do in rough first and then copy into books and decorate with a picture of one of the shelters or bombing etc.

Plenary – Children who wish to, are to share the work that they have done with their class.

Air raid sound (bbcschools. Radio)

Pictures of shelters

Anderson shelter

Morrison shelter

  • Do the children understand where the shelters were and why they were needed (teacher discussion)
  • Can the children empathise with how people may have felt at those times?           (Written work)
  • to understand the need for evacuation
  • to find out the experiences and feelings of evacuees from a wide range of sources
Introduction – Recap on what we learn about last lesson. Look at the picture from nmpft website, what do they think this is showing? Explain About evacuation and discuss with children why it happened and where children were evacuated to.

Activity 1 – In groups of as a class have a role playing session based on the picture, with someone to be the mum and someone the child. Hot seat a character, could practise in pairs first.

Activity 2 – Brainstorm the feelings that they think an evacuee would have. Show extracts and photos from fiction and non-fiction sources that support and challenge their views. Discuss why they think there may have been a difference in how children felt, important tom realise that even in the same situation, not every bodies feelings are exactly the same.

Activity 3 – Children to write a diary extract/letter home from the point of view of an evacuee. They can decide on how they feel about being an evacuee. Writing frames to be provided for those who want them. SEN – to a picture story board of what day when a child was being evacuated would be like, prompts provided to help. An alternative activity is to give children pictures of evacuees and they have to add in speech bubbles of what they may be thinking of saying.

Plenary – Children to share what work they have done.  Class to reflect on whether they think that diary extract or letter could have been written by an evacuee, are there any reasons why not i.e. writing fro a big city)

 Pictures of evacuees

Extracts from fiction books about evacuation (i.e. Goodnight Mr Tom)

Evacuation Evacuee

Fiction

Non-fiction

Empathise

  • Do the children understand why children were evacuated? (Teacher observation through discussion)
  • Do the children understand the range if emotions that evacuees felt? (hot seating,  paired work and written work)