Children urged to ring grandparents for history lessons during coronavirus lockdown

Pupils who are not at school due to coronavirus lockdown should call their grandparents for history lessons, academics have said.

Dr Sam Willis and Professor James Daybell said interviewing elders would not only educate young minds but help older people combat loneliness during self isolation.

They have set the over the phone project as part of a series of homeschooling podcasts called Histories of the Unexpected.

Through 30 to 40 minute episodes, children of all ages can lean about topics such as the Romans, Tudors, Great Fire of London and the Second World War.

Schools across the UK and Ireland have been closed to all pupils apart from children of key workers to curb the spread of Covid-19 and will remain shut for the foreseeable future.

“We are encouraging kids to be historians by interviewing their grandparents,” Prof Daybell, of the University of Plymouth, said.

“We’re getting kids to ask questions about their past to trigger memories.

“They can interview grandparents about their childhoods, or particular events such as the Second World War or the moon landing if they were around at that time.

“At a time when grandparents are locked in and not allowed to go out, they are a vulnerable category that experiences loneliness and solitude, so it is an opportunity to connect the younger population with the older population.”

He added that it was a way of getting young people to look at life “though the eyes of their grandparents” and see the 20th century in a “different light”.

As part of the project, children are given a list of questions for their grandparents and should take notes of the answers.

They can record it on to a mobile phone as a podcast, or write a report of their findings.

Dr Willis added: “We’re hoping to engage our young historians in oral history.

“We’re encouraging kids to create their own history by interviewing their grandparents about their lives, memories and reflections on the past.

“Not only is this a great way to capture the imagination of youngsters, but at a time when elderly people, such as grandparents, are self-isolating, this is the perfect way to encourage social contact online with groups of people who may be alone.”

Histories of the Unexpected was launched in September 2016 and has since been downloaded in more than 150 countries.