It worked for me: key stage 3 cameos

Contents | Citizenship within history: have we always done it, or do we need to do more?

How JFK can help teach year 9 source skills

The enquiry focused on the role of the individual and helped to prepare pupils for the rigours of source-based questions at GCSE whilst capturing their imaginations. All of the sources used are available on-line and are often best presented using a laptop and projector in front of the whole class.

Setting the scene

Rebecca enjoys teaching in character but these lessons also work well presented more conventionally. Wearing a dark suit and sunglasses the teacher (in an American accent) told the class that a terrible murder had taken place. The room was darkened and the footage of JFK’s assassination was shown (www.cdo.co.uk/jfk). Then they listened to the radio announcement of JFK’s death (news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/).

The class, rather stunned by this, were told by the ‘CIA operative’ that they were going to investigate what had happened and why. In groups – using sources and other information provided – they wrote accounts of what happened according to the official version as laid out by the Warren Report. Then they had to report back to the class so that they could compare their findings. To finish – and to set the scene for the rest of the investigation – they were shown the trailer for the Oliver Stone film JFK.

Investigating the murder

The next section of this enquiry took three or four lessons and required the pupils to investigate individually a number of key questions: Who was JFK? Who might want to have him killed? What conspiracy? Pupils answered these questions in an on-line guided investigation produced by Rebecca (www.halesowen.digitalbrain.com – go to ‘shared subjects’ and choose ‘history’). The pupils were able to access a wide range of original source material including police files on Lee Harvey Oswald, original photographs and witness statements. They eventually produced their reports and all of them declared themselves to be conspiracy theorists – especially after being encouraged to watch JFK at home with parental supervision.

With all of year 9 now convinced that Oswald was a ‘patsy’ the enquiry was concluded with another visit from the ‘CIA’. The pupils then argued with the ‘woman in black’ who (using www.thevoiceofreason.com/Conspiracy/ – select ‘Did Lee Harvey Oswald…? and mcadams.posc.mu.edu/jfkmovie ) produced evidence to disprove their theories: Impossible to fire rounds that quickly? Here’s Oswald’s training records that show he did it many times. The magic bullet? Here’s a diagram showing how it was perfectly possible and not ‘magic’ at all.

The final lesson led the pupils to review their evidence and try to reach their own conclusions. Pupils were often desperate to find an answer and Rebecca recalls them begging ‘But you must know what really happened Miss!’ – thus teaching them the importance of uncertainty in history.

The outcomes

This enquiry had many objectives. Firstly it made pupils wary of accepting evidence presented by film and the internet as ‘fact’. It gave them the self-confidence to use the internet selectively as a research tool and not just for entertainment and finally, it kindled their interest (and often that of their parents at home) in history at year 9 options time when all subject departments are courting their affections!

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