This useful ‘aide memoire’ put together by Ann Moore, allows teachers to engage their pupils in observing a picture or artefact more closely than if they were asked general questions.

Over time, children will begin to ask and answer these questions themselves

Download the Resource

Download the resource [ click here ]

Historical Questions to ask about Pictures and Photographs

• What can you can see in this picture / photograph?

• Can you describe what the people are wearing?

• Do people wear clothes like this nowadays?

• What do you think the people in the picture / photograph are doing?

• Do people do this sort of thing nowadays?

• If not, what do they do instead?

• Some of the objects you can see in the picture are still around today. What are they?

• What objects are there in the picture / photograph that we don’t see nowadays?

• Do you think this picture is old, very old, modern?

• What makes you think this?

• How can we find out when this picture was painted / taken?

• How can we find out who took this picture?

• Why do you think it is important to find these things out?

• Why do you think this picture / photograph was taken/ painted?

• Do you think this picture was posed? Can we trust it?

• What do you think the people were feeling when the picture was painted / taken?

• Would you have wanted to be in this picture?

• Does this picture give us enough evidence and how people lived in those days?

• What other types of evidence do you think we need?

• Where can we find this evidence?

 

Historical Questions to ask about Artefacts

Physical Features

• What colour is it?

• What does it smell like?

• What does it sound like?

• What does it look like?

• What does it feel like?

• What material is it made of?

• Is it natural or ‘man’ made?

• Has it been altered, adapted or mended?

• What makes you think it is old / modern / very old?

• Do you like it?

Construction

• Is it hand-made or machine made?

• How has it been put together

• What type of person might have made this?

Function

• How has the object been used and what clues tell you about its use?

• Has its use changed over time?

• Was the object used for practical or decorative functions?

• What sort of person might have used it?

• Would the owners have been rich, poor, middle class, workers etc?

Value

• How much do you think it is worth?

Category

What sort of category could you put these objects in?

• same material

• same colour

• same place to find it

• similar purpose

• same type of owner

• same value