Lesson video

Hi, everybody and welcome to our brand new unit.

Today, we are starting with the very first lesson of our new unit, which is all about the Windrush, which was an event in Britain's history, which helped shape our culture up to this very day.

Let's get started.

Our learning objective for today is to build knowledge of the historical context of this unit.

This is lesson number one of 10, and it's our very first writing outcome.

In this lesson, you will need your exercise book or lined paper, your pen or pencil, and your very best learning brain.

Pause the video if you need a moment to go and get anything.

So, today's agenda: today we are going to be learning some new key vocabulary, which will be really important for us to understand the historical context of this event.

We are also going to develop our understanding of what life was like in Britain after World War II.

And finally, we are going to use all of that knowledge to place some historical events on a timeline.

So, our first question: Why do we study history? Have some thinking time.

Hmm.

Why do we study history? Hmm, tell me some of your suggestions.

Okay, I'm hearing some really great ideas.

Here are some of my suggestions.

Firstly, we need to learn the lessons of the past.

Sometimes events which took place in history were positive.

Sometimes events which took place in history were negative.

And either way, we've got to look back on things that happened in the past and learn from them, so that if those situations arose again in the future, we would approach those things with a better understanding and do things maybe differently or in a better way.

We also study history to learn about our own identity.

It's important that we know about the identity of the country that we live in, so we can have a better understanding of everybody who lives in that country as well.

Also, it's really interesting to compare different historical events.

Often, history is a bit like a puzzle.

Lots of different pieces fit together and have an impact on each other.

So by learning a little bit about World War II and what life was like in Britain, we can start to understand the historical context of the Windrush.

So on the screen, I've got some images.

I have an image of a boat, and then I've got two images of groups of people.

I would like you to pause the video and write down any questions or observations, so things that you've noticed about these photographs and take as long as you need to do that and I will see you again when you are ready.

Okay everyone, hopefully we've all paused the video, we've recorded some questions that we would like to find out the answers to.

Here are some questions that I wanted to find out the answers to.

So firstly, where has the boat come from? Where has it travelled from? Has it come from another country? The boat is called the Empire Windrush because I can see that written in the corner of the picture.

Then I've got two different images of groups of men.

Why are they all dressed so smartly? They're all wearing suits and hats and they look very, very smart.

Was it an occasion? Had they been travelling on the boats? What were they doing there? Were they at the docks waiting for the boat to arrive? And my next question was: When were these photos taken? Those are all black and white photos, so I'm wondering, have they been taken recently or were they taken a long time ago? Hmm.

Maybe I might have asked some of the same questions as you and maybe you may have asked some different questions to me, but hopefully we'll be able to find out some of the answers to our questions in this lesson.

So our new writing unit is based on the Windrush.

My turn, Windrush.

Your turn.

Fantastic.

The Windrush is the name of the boat that we just saw in that photograph.

Do you already know anything about the Windrush? Hmm.

Pause the video to mind map anything you know about the Windrush.

So I've got a little spider diagram here that you could use to draw on your page.

Now, if you don't know anything about the Windrush, don't worry because that's what we're talking about in this lesson.

So, if you know any facts about the Windrush, then you could jot them down in a mind map now.

If you aren't sure, have some time, try and have a think.

And if you're not sure, then just press play and we will move on to the next part of our lesson.

Okay, so now we're going to learn some key vocabulary, which is important for us to understand so that we can talk freely and clearly about the Windrush and the point in history when the Windrush took place.

My turn, chronology.

Your turn.

Do you know what chronology means? Some thinking time.

Hmm.

We have talked about chronology before in some of our writing units.

We put things in chronological order.

Hmm, let's just check.

Oh, yes, like a timeline.

So whenever we put things into time order or the order in which they happened, we write them chronologically.

So chronology is when we put things into correct order in which they happened.

British Empire.

Your turn.

Excellent.

So I noticed that British and Empire both have capital letters, British Empire.

That means it's a proper noun.

Hmm.

What was the British Empire? Pause the video if you'd like to have some time to think, maybe explain out loud what the British Empire was.

Hmm.

I'm going to show you.

Okay, I can see a map of the world and some of the countries are coloured in.

Hmm.

We're going to come back to that term later.

Commonwealth.

Your turn.

Fantastic.

And here is a Commonwealth flag.

Just like with the word British Empire, we're going to come back and talk a little bit more about what the word commonwealth means.

You might have heard it before, which is fantastic.

And if you haven't, don't worry because we're going to discuss the meaning of these words in a moment.

So a migrant.

My turn, migrant.

Your turn.

Excellent.

A person who moves from one place to another, especially in order to find work or better living conditions.

So we're going to be using the term migrant to refer to some people who travelled to the United Kingdom, to Britain on the Windrush ship from another country.

Immigration.

Your turn.

Immigration refers to when people or groups of people travel around the world and go to live permanently in another country.

So it's not the same thing as going on a holiday to another country, but immigration means to move permanently to another country and set up your home there.

Okay, so now we're going to learn a little bit about the historical context of the Windrush.

Basically, we're going to learn a bit more about what life was like in Britain, just after World War II.

So that word British Empire, the British Empire consisted of the countries ruled or controlled by Britain.

We talk about Britain or the crown ruling over other countries in the world, outside Britain itself.

At its peak in 1913, so just over a hundred years ago, Britain ruled over 412 million people.

At the time, that was 23% of the population.

So almost a quarter of the world's population was ruled by Britain.

So, there's that image again of the map of the world.

So, we can see the United Kingdom.

If you can see my cursor here, there's the United Kingdom.

I'm circling it right now.

But, Britain controlled or ruled over all of the other countries on that world map, which are coloured in red.

So for such a tiny, tiny country, it had a huge amount of power.

After World War I, many countries regained their independence, so the British Empire began to decline, meaning going down, but they formed a Commonwealth of Nations.

So, lots of the countries which were once controlled by Britain, may not still be controlled by Britain today, but they've all joined together to form something called the Commonwealth or the Commonwealth of Nations.

And here's the Commonwealth flag.

So, we're going to go back a little bit further now.

In 1655, many Caribbean islands came under the rule of the British Empire, so that's around 350 years ago.

When the British Empire was becoming more and more powerful, some Caribbean islands came under the rule of the British Empire.

And you can see on our maps that we're pointing to a little cluster of islands.

This is also referred to as the West Indies.

So here are some images of people who lived in other countries in the Commonwealth.

So these people did not live in Britain, but they lived in countries ruled by Britain.

I can see in this photograph on the left of the lady, she has got the name of a country on her shoulder of her uniform.

Can you see it? Can you read it out loud? Well done.

So, she is from Jamaica.

And we've also on the right, we've got an image of some men who are also from Jamaica.

Now, these people didn't live in Britain, but because they formed part of the Commonwealth, they helped to fight for Britain in the Royal Air Force during World War II.

We can see them there in their RAF or Royal Air Force uniforms. So following World War II, a new act or law was passed by the British government to change the definition of British nationality, meaning all people who were from a Commonwealth country had the right to work and settle or live in the UK and to bring their families with them.

The aim of this new law was to encourage residents from across the Commonwealth to come to Britain to help with post-war reconstruction.

Now, the word reconstruction just means to rebuild or fix something as if it's been broken.

Hmm.

Why do you think the government wanted people from all over the world, so people who lived in other Commonwealth countries, to come to Britain and help with post-war reconstruction? Hmm, what needed to be rebuilt after the war? Some thinking time.

Hmm, pause the video if you need a little bit more time to think.

I'm going to show you some images, which explain why Britain needed to be rebuilt or reconstructed after the war.

So here are some images of London after World War II.

We can see that there's rubble everywhere.

This city had been bombed relentlessly over and over and over again, so it meant that lots of the buildings had been destroyed.

Here's an image of a library in London, which had been bombed and destroyed.

And so, lots of areas in London were, in fact a complete wreckage after World War II.

And so now ,maybe it's a little bit clearer to understand why the British government wanted people from all over the world who lived in other Commonwealth countries to come to Britain and help to boost its workforce, which means have more people who'd be willing and able to help rebuild Britain again, so it to be back to where it was before the war.

Hmm.

So we're going to learn a little bit more about what happened when those people arrived in the United Kingdom a bit later on in this unit.

Okay, everyone.

So now I would like you to pause the video while you have a really good think about what cultural influences people from the Caribbean brought with them to the UK? How did the Windrush generation, as in the people who travelled from the Caribbean over to Britain, how did they impact our lives in Britain and our culture in Britain? Have some time to think and pause the video while you mind map some different things.

Okay, everyone, hopefully you've all paused the video.

Now, I'm going to show you some of the ideas I had on my mind map.

Firstly, music.

So Caribbean music, which we refer to as Calypso music, it's music which comes from the Caribbean.

And things like steel pan drums and the types of instruments used and the beats which were used, have really influenced music in the United Kingdom and Britain.

We're going to listen to a bit of Calypso music in this lesson as well.

So I'm really looking forward to that.

Also, Caribbean food.

If you have ever been to a street market or a Caribbean restaurant, you may have got to sample or taste some of the food from the Caribbean and it is absolutely delicious.

Next, clothing.

So thinking about some patterns and colours and materials which are used, they've also been brought over from the Caribbean and are influential in the way we dress in Britain today.

And finally, carnivals.

So, one of the most famous carnivals in Britain is the Notting Hill Carnival, which celebrates Caribbean culture and lifestyle.

We are going to learn a lot more about Notting Hill Carnival throughout this unit and how it came about.

♪ London is the place for me ♪ ♪ London this lovely city ♪ ♪ You can go to France or America ♪ ♪ India, Asia or Australia ♪ ♪ But you must come back to London City ♪ ♪ Well believe me I am speaking broadmindedly ♪ ♪ I am glad to know my Mother Country ♪ ♪ I have been travelling to countries years ago ♪ ♪ But this is the place I wanted to know ♪ ♪ London that is the place for me ♪ Okay, everyone.

I hope you enjoyed listening to that song called, "London is the Place For Me" by an artist called Aldwyn Roberts, whose stage name was Lord Kitchener.

And we're going to actually discuss Lord Kitchener's lyrics a little bit later.

And there's also a reading unit, which is all about Lord Kitchener and his music and his lyrics, which if you would like to is such a fun reading unit, which I know you'll really enjoy.

So, let's go through just this one verse from one of Lord Kitchener songs, the one that we just listened to.

Well believe me I'm speaking broadmindedly.

Your turn.

I am glad to know my Mother Country.

Your turn.

I have been travelling to countries years ago.

Your turn.

But this is the place I wanted to know.

Your turn.

London that is the place for me.

Your turn.

Fantastic.

So, what does that word Mother Country referred to? Hmm.

Which country do you think is the Mother Country? If we think back to what we know about the Commonwealth and the British Empire, hmm.

Which country do you think is the Mother Country that Lord Kitchener is glad to know? Some thinking time.

Tell me if you think you know.

Oh, fantastic! I'm hearing some people sharing their answers.

The Mother Country is England.

Because air travel and travelling by boat was not very popular because lots of people could not afford to travel on ships or aeroplanes , so this was such an exciting opportunity.

Okay, everyone.

So we're going to finish off with a short task.

I would like you to try putting these events in chronological order on the timeline.

So we know that word chronology means time order, so we're going to place these events in chronological order.

I would like you to pause the video while you.

Or you draw yourself a little timeline and then you can put the events on the timeline based on which order you think they came in.

Off you go and I'll see you when you are ready.

Okay, everybody.

So hopefully, we've all paused the video and we've all had a go at putting these historical events in order on the timeline.

Now, we're going to do this together.

So in 1655, if we can think back to earlier in the lesson, it was almost 300.

It was around 350 years ago.

Hmm.

What happened? Think back.

Share with me which one you think it is.

You're right.

Some Caribbean islands were brought under British rule.

So they joined the British Empire and they were controlled by Britain.

Up next.

After that, from 1939 until 1945, what took place? Hmm, point to the one you think it is.

Oh, well done.

World War II.

Fantastic.

Okay.

Now, we've got the choice between the first Notting Hill Carnival or the Empire Windrush sailed migrants from Jamaica to Britain.

Which one would have needed to come first? Which one brought the cultural influences before we could have the second event? Well done, you've spotted it.

In 1948, the Empire Windrush sailed migrants from Jamaica to Britain.

And finally, we had the very first Notting Hill Carnival as a result of that amazing Caribbean influence on British life in 1966.

And that brings us to the end of our first lesson.

I really hope you've enjoyed learning a little bit more and hopefully developing your historical knowledge of what life is like in Britain and why the Caribbean migrants or the West Indian migrants travelled all the way from Jamaica to England.

And we're going to continue developing our understanding of this historical event over the course of this unit.

And I'm really looking forward to us working together on that.

Well done for all of your hard work, everybody.