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Local History Investigation

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Local History Investigation

Read the story and study the evidence. Then answer the questions. You do not need to know the history of a particular town to complete this worksheet.

Read the local history story

Cooper is helping investigate the history of Gumtree Bay, an imaginary Australian town. She finds an old photograph of a one-room school beside a dirt road. A note on the back says, “The school opened in 1935. Children walked or rode horses to class.” Cooper also talks with Mr Lee, who remembers attending the school as a child. He says the town later built a larger school and turned the old school building into a community hall. Today, people meet there for craft days and celebrations. Cooper compares the photograph, the note and Mr Lee’s memories. Each clue helps her learn how the town has changed.

Investigate the clues

Use the story above to solve each question.

1.What does history help us learn about?

Things that happened in the past
Only things that will happen tomorrow
How to choose a lunchbox

2.What year did the note say the old school opened?

3.How did some children travel to the school long ago?

They walked or rode horses
They took a space rocket
They caught a city tram

4.True or false? The old school building is now used as a community hall.

TrueFalse

5.Complete the sentence: An old photograph, a written note and a person’s memory can all be clues about the .

6.Match each clue to what Cooper learned from it.

The old photograph
The note
Mr Lee’s memory

Gave the opening year and how children travelled
Showed a one-room school beside a dirt road
Explained what happened to the building later

7.Why did Cooper use more than one clue to investigate the school’s history?

8.Choose one detail from the story that shows how Gumtree Bay has changed.

9.Imagine you are investigating a place near where you live. Name one clue you could look for, such as an old photograph, a building or a story from an older person. Explain what it might help you discover.

Draw a local place as it might have looked long ago. Add one clue that could help someone investigate its history. It could be an old photograph, a sign, an object or a written note.