Guides for teachers
Our Guides for teachers are full of tips and strategies for using our Revolutionary collection of museum objects with students of all ages.
From finding out about the past, to ideas for creative projects and digital challenges inspired by the Age of Revolution, use our Revolutionary Collection to enrich activity across the curriculum.
If you prefer something more specific, try our Enquiries, Activities and Creative and digital making challenges, for students of all ages.
All of our learning resources are authored by education specialists and historians.
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Introducing the Age of Revolution
A simple guide to introducing the Age of Revolution to your students and linking some of the extraordinary people, ideas and events to their own lives today
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Using museum collections as creative starters
Artists, writers, dramatists, film-makers, musicians – they all get their inspiration from somewhere. Ideas for using our Revolutionary collection and Themes as a creative stimulus.
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Using objects, artworks and other sources to find out about the past
Great ideas, prompts and questions for interrogating and unpacking historical sources in the classroom and developing even the youngest students’ enquiry and critical thinking skills.
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Making the most of a museum or gallery visit
Visits can ignite imaginations, stimulate curiosity and deepen understanding in ways that are meaningful, relevant and often remembered for a lifetime. And they’re great fun! Get the most from your visit with our top tips.
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Carrying out historical enquiries
What are the five steps to carrying out a successful enquiry? Tips and ideas for students of all ages, from asking useful and relevant historical questions - that students will really want to know the answers to, to using historical sources to evidence their own conclusions.
A Revolutionary Collection
Our Revolutionary collection brings together objects, artworks, literature, archive materials and songs from museums and galleries across the UK. Each one is supported by information and fascinating facts to help you explore the different themes, people, events and ideas of the Age of Revolution.
Political revolution
From Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Paine and American Independence, to revolutionary France and Marx and Engels, enduring ideas about equality, rights and freedoms during the Age of Revolution, and some of their key proponents.
Social and cultural revolution
The movements for better working conditions, rights and representation for ordinary people, the campaign against transatlantic slavery, the migration of people within and beyond Britain, and the wave of artists, musicians and authors who reflected the period’s upheavals in works that still resonate and delight today.
Economic and technological revolution
Life-changing discoveries and innovations in scientific thinking, technology and medicine in the Age of Revolution, their impacts on work and society, and relationships with trade and the economy.
War and the international order
The wars precipitated by the struggles for independence and attempts at empire building that characterise the Age of Revolution, and their impact on the changing world map.