Hands-on History course

Earlier this month we welcomed 14 teachers to join us for a five day Department of Education and EPV-approved summer course to explore our projects and programmes and the ways they can be used to teach history, including at 14 Henrietta Street, Richmond Barracks, and across the city with our Historian in Residence for Children,

On the course, the teachers went on guided tours, took part in many interactive history workshops and games, and also had a chance to do their own local history research. They left with lots of new ideas for places to visit with classes, resources they can use in the classroom, new ideas for activity-based learning, and experience of undertaking history research. They also had lots of fun meeting likeminded teachers and sharing really interesting ideas for ways to teach history. It was a fantastic week for everyone who attended as we explored the history of Dublin and the ways we can make history a fun and engaging subject.

Here’s what some of the teachers on the course had to say:

“It was one of the best courses I have done, very knowledgeable and enthusiastic teachers, fascinating tours, venues and ideas”

“An excellent, well thought out and well delivered course. The information was really useful and relevant. I liked that there was time for us to try things out - research, crafts, games etc. It was very well paced and had great variety.”

“I really enjoyed the mix of activities - it was enjoyable and useful as someone who has an interest in history as well as being useful in my role as a teacher. The facilitators were knowledgeable, approachable and good fun! Thank you for a fantastic week!”

Schools resources

We will offer the teacher training again in the future - but in the meantime, we have significant teacher resources available for all schools on our website here.

Teachers can avail of lots of different resources across the buildings and programmes of Dublin City Council Culture Company. This includes 14 Henrietta Street’s school tours and online teacher resources. It also now includes our new primary school tours of Goldenbridge Cemetery, Inchicore. As well as this, Dublin-based schools can avail of free history workshops and projects with the Historian in Residence for Children, and projects with the other Historians in Residence.

Our 14 Henrietta Street teacher resources are designed to be used in the classroom either before or after a class visit to the house. Through an exploration of photos, video clips, oral history excerpts, and other historical sources, teachers and students can explore the 300 year history of the house and its many curriculum links.

The resources are divided into primary school, junior cycle, transition year, and leaving cert. They are available in English and as Gaeilge. They can be viewed online, printed as pdf documents, or collected as printed packs during a visit to 14 Henrietta Street. You can access our resources here. If you’d like to request a printed resource pack or to share feedback on using the resources, contact us at info@14henriettastreet.ie or by calling 01-5240383.