What's included in The History of Railways History at Home resource and why is it useful?

The History of Railways History at Home is a one-page activity sheet to send home to parents and carers at the start of the topic. It includes what children will be learning, great conversation starters, ideas to try at home, famous figures to explore and places to find out more, covering how railways changed Britain, from George Stephenson's Rocket to the first underground railway.

What's on the sheet?

Learning: the Industrial Revolution and the introduction of railways, how early steam engines worked, famous locomotives such as George Stephenson's 'Rocket', the world's first underground railway in 1863 and how railways changed how people lived and worked.

Conversation starters: questions such as "How do you think people travelled in Britain before trains?" and "What impact did the railways have on the average person in Britain?"

Ideas to try at home: kitchen science watching steam from a kettle, mapping the Liverpool to Manchester line and designing a future train.

Famous figures: George Stephenson, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Queen Victoria and Elijah McCoy, with dates and a line on each.

Books and websites: The Highland Falcon Thief by M. G. Leonard, DK Eyewitness: Trains and the National Railway Museum website.

How do our History at Home resources work?

Our History at Home resources sit alongside our history scheme. Send them home to parents and carers at the start of each topic to promote learning at home without it being a taxing homework-style resource. They also help parents build their own knowledge of the topic, so they can connect with what their child is learning in school.

Teach the full unit with our six History of Railways lessons.