These free resources are all designed to support your learning topics at school or at home. They tie in with the National Curriculum and can be used to support a school trip to Portland Basin Museum.

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Common Strands: Tameside's Cotton Industry

Explore how the transatlantic slave trade shaped Tameside’s cotton industry, and learn about legacies, with this Key Stage 3 history toolkit from Portland Basin Museum. Tameside teachers and pupils have helped shape how the resource can support teaching and learning around the transatlantic slave trade, and decolonising the curriculum.

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Complement your planners with relevant local history information and source materials from Portland Basin Museum and Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre. There are four sections, designed for flexible use:

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Before We Begin > Exploring Language, Identity and Support

Historian Agnes Fough shares her journey from Ghana to Tameside, reflecting on the oral storytelling traditions that shaped her understanding of history. This introduction explores language, identity and belonging while providing helpful guidance and signposting to further support and resources.

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Changing Landscapes > The Growth of Tameside's Cotton Industry

Explore how Tameside was transformed during the Industrial Revolution. Historian Agnes Fough examines the growth of the cotton industry through trade, transport, migration and the people whose lives and communities were shaped by these developments.

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Mill Workers' Lives > From Child Labour to the Cotton Queen

Discover what life was like for those who worked in Tameside's cotton mills. Through local stories, historical evidence and public art, Agnes Fough explores working conditions, child labour and the changing experiences of mill workers over time.

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Exploitation and Solidarity > Enslavement, the American Civil War and the Cotton Famine

Investigate the global connections behind Britain's cotton industry. Historian Agnes Fough explores the impact of enslavement, the transatlantic trade in cotton, the experiences of enslaved African people, and how communities in Tameside responded during the American Civil War and Cotton Famine through acts of solidarity and activism.

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Further Learning

Download the accompanying resource pack for additional historical context, classroom activities, discussion questions and source material to support deeper exploration of the themes covered in these films. Access the resource pack using the link below.

6acca84ff50d04eab31f9d39_CommonStrandsResourceFINAL-compressed.pdf

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First World War

Support your learning about the First World War with our short film following Manchester Regiment solider 'Tommy Atkins'. Follow Tommy as he talks about signing up for war, life in the trenches and the hardships he faces. This film has been created for us by 2 Boards and Passion theatre company and funded by Army Museums Ogilby Trust. It provides the ideal introduction to the topic for schools and pupils. The film is just over 11 minutes long.

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Toys

Inspired by our museum and archive collections, we have created lots of resources around the topic of Toys, ideal for Key Stage 1. Click here for the resources. These would perfectly support a visit to Portland Basin Museum for our Toys Through Time workshop. This short film is a perfect introduction to the topic for your class. It is just over 6 minutes long.

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Victorian Children at Work

If you are studying Victorians then take a look at these activity ideas, lesson plans and film inspired by our museum and archive collections. Discover what life was like for children living in Victorian England and some of the gruesome jobs they had to undertake. These resources are perfect for Key Stage 1 or 2 and would support a visit to Portland Basin Museum for our Put to Work workshop. Click here for the resources.

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Conflict and Consequence

We created a series of films, scripts, accompanying booklets and lesson plans to support a study of the First World War for Key Stage 2 and beyond. Inspired by the Manchester Regiment collection, these resources can act as a stimulus to recreate dramatic scenes and to prompt creative writing.  
Click here for the Conflict and Consequence resources

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