Helping students to develop their chronological understanding

Using students wearing paper tabards as a human timeline to demonstrate sequencing and change over time. By being a human timeline the teacher can test students understanding of key historical terms. The students can more easily understand sequencing. They can also see change and continuity over time. By making these things visible and physical, students understand abstract concepts more easily.

A specific example

You can find an example of this strategy being used as part of a learning activity on historiana.eu called: ‘Sequencing causes on a human timeline How can becoming the timeline help us to understand the change from peace to war in 1914?’ (search: ‘timeline’ on labs.historiana.eu).

With thanks to Year 10 historians from The Mount School, York, UK and to Ian Dawson for the human timelines idea.