Shropshire Routes to Roots

6. Ideas and resources for teachers

National Curriculum

The 'Murderous Mapp' theme is designed to fit in with both History Key Stage 2 (Victorian Britain) and History Key Stage 3 (Britain 1750 - 1900). Key Stage 3 pupils and above may be able to cope with the original trial version on the 'Evidence' page, which requires them to examine the original sources in order to discover the evidence.

The theme should fulfil requirements for 'Historical Interpretation' and 'Historical Enquiry'. Using the approaches suggested below, the theme can also fulfil criteria under the 'Organisation and Communication' heading.

Worksheets and activities for Key Stage 2 and 3

The theme as it is presented should allow pupils to work through the trial online. However, for classroom use the three links below repackage the information in different ways. The pages contain worksheets and additional information which can be printed out and used in class. In particular, the role-play page offers a fun and interesting way to involve a whole group. The activities are open-ended, so they could be made more or less difficult depending on the ability of the class.

• A role play (Opens in a new window). The classroom is laid out like a real courtroom, and pupils are assigned roles which enable them to re-enact the case. They can use the traditional oaths and speeches as made at the original trial.
• The Broadsheet / Literary approach (Opens in a new window). Pupils create their own 'broadsheet' about the case, using the template provided. They can write in prose and poetry, and also draw imaginary illustrations about the event.
• Victorian Courts / Citizenship issues (Opens in a new window). Pupils learn about the differences between a Victorian Court system and a modern court system. They discover why the fundamental principles of British justice, such as 'presumption of innocence', are so important.

Alternative approaches

Alternatively, you could develop your own lessons or presentations of the material by using:

• A collection of the original sources, and/or a transcription of the sources (Opens in a new window)
• The Format of a Trial page, with oaths, speeches and court procedures (Opens in a new window).
• The glossary of terms (Opens in a new window) as well as the more detailed explanation of 'presumption of innocence' and 'beyond reasonable doubt' (Opens in a new window).
• Other information from this website, such as the source based Longden Murder Tours and Crime and detection in Shropshire. Use the Victorian crime and detection Timeline (Opens in a new window) to provide a background chronology.

Useful websites

As is the case with all external links on Routes to Roots, these links will open in a new browser window.

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