Medium Term Plan

A medium term plan that explores the ideas covered so far in this blog.

Cultural Changes

As a result of immigration and globalisation most places around the world have faced many social and cultural changes. Leicester now has a diverse population and has a wealth of cultures, although hybridity exists and individual aspects of the cultures are mixing together, many people within the city hold onto their heritage and cultural influences creating a diverse and multicultural society.

There have been many cultural influences on Leicester, asian food is very popular; a variety of shops selling asian clothing and jewellry; many different religious buildings; and large festivals of differing cultures are celebrated in Leicester. Leicester has held a Caribbean carnival since 1985 and is renowned for celebrating Diwali its own unique way.

Leicester Caribbean Carnival, 2002. Source BBC Website

Architecture and Technology

The National Space Centre, Leicester. Source: National Space Centre

A place changes over time as a result of human influence and changing styles of architecture will cause changes to the urban landscape. Developments in technology will also change the way a city or rural areas are used. It may also be interesting to explore global factors that have influenced the landscape over time (i.e. religious buildings, airports, shops, transport, imported goods).

The Walkers Stadium, Leicester. Source: Electricity Sports

The BBC website has an audio clip of how leicester has changed since the 1960s. It is an article primarily concerned with physical appearances.

Looking into History to Discover how places have changed:

Great Central Station, Leicester, 1920s © Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland Source: 24 Hour Museum

Photographs are a useful tool for identifying how a place has changed. These two images are taken of Leicester train station, 60 years apart and show change in a specfic locality.

Leicester train station in 2006 Source: Transforming Economies and Civilizations.

Children can discuss and compare old and new photographs, available on the internet or from local record offices. Children could also be encouraged to take their own photographs or interview residents in thier area to discover how the locality in which they live has changed.

Why do places change?

Places are changing constantly due to many external, human factors such as demographic changes (i.e. international migration), tourism, conservation sites, architecture and developments in technology. This results in changes to the social, cultural, economic dynamics of a place and the physical landscape is also open to human influence.


Conservation Areas:

Conservation areas in Leicester (link)

Follow the link above to find a list of the 25 conservation areas in Leicester. One of the areas could be studied, particularly if in close proximity to the school as it could be a good area for fieldwork.

Conservation Area: Stoneygate conservation area in Leicester (link). This site is useful for detailing the aims of Stoneygate Conservation Area Society. The site includes proposals for change and photos buildings in the area. This would be a good starting point for discussions with children on how minor, personal changes to homes affect the character of the area over time.

The National Curriculum

The National Curriculum states that children at key stage 1 should be able to recognise how places have become the way they are and how they are changing. Children at key stage 2 are expected to identify how and why places change and how they may change in the future. This blog hopes to give examples that can be used in the classroom, primarily focussing on the locality of Leicester, England.