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Guidelines for Schools Heritage Project

Below are guidelines which we hope will make the whole process more efficient.

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Section 1 is a questionnaire with numbered questions. The questions should be asked and answered in order. “Informant” refers to the person being interviewed.

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Section 2 is a choice of short compositions divided into four categories. We ask that one topic be chosen from each of these categories and developed. The first three categories should be done with either the assistance of the person that was interviewed using the questionnaire, or by using material that may have already been researched by the school as part of another project. The fourth section should be done by the children about themselves

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Work should be completed in the child’s best handwriting in a copybook specifically for the purpose. Children should be encouraged to elaborate on any topic with the use of pictures, drawings, maps, etc., as this would help to enhance the project.

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There is a cover sheet enclosed that should accompany all children’s work. All work should be kept separate for each child. The cover sheet includes headings that will easily facilitate indexing, and photographs would greatly add to the information. Likewise, if a class photograph were available this would be appreciated.

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We have also included a letter for the parents of the children.

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Length of compositions or interviews is not important. What is of importance is the amount of local content. Therefore, a paragraph for each answer is sufficient

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Information should be written in pen.

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Work should be ready for collection by Monday 3rd June.

 

Section 1 - Questionnaire.

Here is a chance for you to do a little investigation into the past. Very often our Grandparents, older relatives or neighbours have information about their younger days which they will only be too delighted to share with you. Try to find out a little more about their past and how life was for them as children by asking them these questions.

Please ask the questions in the order that they are given and simply write down and number the answers as you get them. About a page per answer will do.

Home Life

1.       When and where were you born?

2.       How many brothers and sisters did you have?

3.       What did your father and mother do for a living?

4.       Describe your house.

5.       What sort of food did you eat?

6.      What is your earliest memory?

 

School Life

7.       Where did you attend school and what age did you start at?

8.       How did you get to school?

9.       What did you usually wear to school?

10.   What do you remember most about your schooldays and your teachers?

11.   What was the schoolroom/classroom like?

12.   Can you remember any songs/poems that you learned at school?

13.   What was your favourite subject? What was your least favourite subject? Why?

14.   Did you like or dislike school? Why?

15.   Did you have a nickname when you were growing up? If so, what was it and why did you get it?

16.   What sports and games did you play?

17.   What age did you leave school and why?

 

Working Life 

18.   Did you work at home as a child?

19.   What was your first job after leaving school?

20.   Can you describe your working day?

21.   What wages did you receive?

22.   What was your employer like?

23.   What other jobs have you worked in?

24.   How would you compare the working life of a worker today with your own working life?

25.   How old were you when you retired?

 

General 

26.   What did people do for entertainment locally when you were young?

27.   What do you remember about feast days like Christmas, Halloween, St. Bridget's Day etc.?

28.   How important was the radio when you were young?

29.   Do you remember when electricity was first introduced?

30.   Did you go to dances?

31.   Was there much storytelling?

32.   Are there any famous events that you can remember, either locally or at a national level?

33.   Describe this area when you were growing up - Postoffice, shops, forge, cobbler, tailor etc.

34.   What would you consider to be the most important inventions made during your lifetime?

 

 

Section 2 - Composition

This section offers you the chance to explore some of the things that you have been told about in a little more detail. There are four separate categories and we would ask you to choose one topic from each category. The length of the composition does not matter - a paragraph on each will be sufficient so long as the information is about the local area. The first three sections should be done with the help of the person that you interviewed using the questionnaire. The last section is all about you and your thoughts and opinions. 

 

A.  The Place I live in….

1.      Buried treasures

2.      Local happenings

3.      Local placenames

4.      Fairy Forts

5.      Local poets/writers/musicians

6.      Holy wells

7.      Local forge

8.      Clothes made locally

9.      Local patron saint

10.  Local landlord

11.  Local monuments

12.  Old houses

13.  Local ruins

14.  Local graveyards/churches

15.  Local heroes

 

B.   A story I heard…

1.      An old local story

2.      Old Irish tales

3.      A song/poem

4.      Stories of giants and warriors

5.      Stories about Religion

6.      Stories of leprechauns, mermaids or the Banshee

7.      A collection of prayers

8.      Strange animals

9.      A funny story

10.  Riddles

11.  Famine times

12.  World War 2

13.  Emmigration

14.  Fairs and markets

 

C.   The land and the home

1.      Local cures and home remedies

2.      Herbs and weeds

3.      Weather stories, e.g. red sky at night, shepherds delight…

4.      Severe weather

5.      The potato crop and other crops, tillage etc.

6.      Care of farm animals

7.      Churning and household tasks

8.      Food and drink

9.      Hurling and football

10.  Radio and television

11.  Electricity

12.  Cars/ transport/ tractors etc.

13.  Cinema

14.  Entertainment at home

 

D.   The world today. (Write this about yourself)

1.      Computers and technology

2.      Recent international events

3.      Drugs and alcohol

4.      Ireland's place in the world today

5.      Films and film stars

6.      Games I play, pastimes and hobbies

7.      How I dress

8.      The Euro

9.      Food today

10.  The area I live in

11.  What I would like to do when I grow up

12.  What I would change if I was President of Ireland for a day

 

Thank you for taking the time to do this very important project for us. The information that you have gathered will form a very important source of study for historians both now and in the future. Today very quickly becomes yesterday and that is how history is made.

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 Copyright As Dúchas Dóchas 2002.
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Last updated: Wednesday, 15 May 2002.