History and social studies
Evacuated, 1939: historical perspective writing frame
Imagine one child’s evacuation journey through a storyboard, then write a diary entry using historically grounded details and sensory language. The two-page A4 frame includes a word bank, six moments to consider and prompts for the journey, arrival and first night.
Follow the illustrated day of a fictional evacuee, then write the diary in role.
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Imagine one child’s evacuation journey through a storyboard, then write a diary entry using historically grounded details and sensory language. The two-page A4 frame includes a word bank, six moments to consider and prompts for the journey, arrival and first night.
Activity. Use the preview for diagrams and layout.
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NAME CLASS DATE LEARNING GOAL Write in role as a 1939 evacuee, using real history and feelings, not modern ideas. 1 Storyboard the day Answer each caption’s question in the thought bubble as the child. Start with “I”. SENSES AND FEELINGS BANK I see a crowded platform luggage labels billowing steam green fields I hear a whistle hissing steam clattering wheels strange voices Touch, smell soot and smoke my scratchy coat my gas mask box starched sheets I feel anxious homesick bewildered brave lonely curious Empathy and historical perspective Your diary HISTORY AGES 11 TO 14 EVACUATION, 1939 Evacuated, 1939 Step into an evacuee’s shoes, then write their diary. 1 September 1939. You leave home. What do you say? At the station. What can you see and hear? The train pulls out of the city. What are you thinking? Arriving in the countryside. What is different from home? Your host family opens the door. What do you say? The first night in a strange bed. What do you miss? NEXT 1 2 3 CHUFF, CHUFF! 4 5 6 Page 1 of 2
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2 Write the diary entry Write as the child (I, me, my). Use your storyboard, the word bank and the three prompts. SUCCESS CRITERIA: CHECK YOUR DIARY I can describe the day in order, with accurate details. I can show feelings through at least three senses. I can write as the child, using I, me and my. I can keep it in 1939: no hindsight, no phones. Empathy and historical perspective Teacher notes HISTORY DIARY ENTRY My evacuee diary DATE Use Sunday 3 September 1939: two days after you left home, the day Britain declared war on Germany. 1 The journey: leaving home and travelling. Try: “When I said goodbye, I…” 2 The arrival: the countryside and your host family. Try: “Everything here is…” 3 Tonight: your feelings, what you miss and hope. Try: “Lying here, I wonder…” NEXT Page 2 of 2
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Evacuated, 1939: historical perspective writing frame Teacher companion History | Pupils aged 11 to 14 Use with the exact 2-page original file. Keep pupil or staff activity pages separate from this teacher companion. When to use it Use the frame after pupils have studied evacuation and can draw on reliable historical sources. The diary is an imagined perspective; distinguish it from testimony by an actual evacuee. Purpose Write an imagined first-person diary using accurate historical context, sequence, senses and feelings. Start here Read the date and historical context, then gather source-supported details before imagining the storyboard. A teaching sequence 1. Fill the six storyboard moments in sequence, using historically supported details for the station, train and arrival. 2. Choose sensory words and feelings for the imagined child, distinguishing what is known from what is being imagined. 3. Write the diary entry in first person using the journey, arrival and first-night prompts. 4. Check the date and context, then remove modern hindsight or details that cannot be supported. Ask, “Which detail is sourced, and which feeling is imagined?” Label both before revising the diary. Checking guidance Look for an ordered account with historical detail and clear first-person imagined perspective. Ask: “Which part is supported by a source and which feeling are you imagining?” Do not treat the diary as evidence of a real evacuee’s experience. Ask the pupil to mark a sourced detail and an imagined feeling in different ways before revising. A convincing fictional diary still needs historical context and must not be described as testimony. Support Provide a short timeline, a map or selected testimony and sentence starters. Pupils can storyboard with drawings or dictated notes before writing; mark clearly which details come from sources. Take it further Compare the imagined diary with a verified first-person account and identify where experiences differ. Pupils can revise one sentence to distinguish common context from an individual person’s story. Things to keep in mind The diary is an imagined task, not testimony from an evacuee. Experiences varied, so use reliable sources and avoid presenting one imagined account as universal. Evacuated, 1939: historical perspective writing frame Teacher companion | Page 1
A teaching sequence
Write an imagined first-person diary using accurate historical context, sequence, senses and feelings.
Follow the illustrated day of a fictional evacuee, then write the diary in role.
Read the complete materialMap the journey
Fill the six storyboard moments in sequence, using historically supported details for the station, train and arrival.
Which detail supports the station, train or arrival scene?
Choose senses and feelings
Choose sensory words and feelings for the imagined child, distinguishing what is known from what is being imagined.
Which detail is sourced, and which feeling is imagined?
Write in the child's voice
Write the diary entry in first person using the journey, arrival and first-night prompts.
Does the entry move from the journey to arrival and the first night?
Check the time and place
Check the date and context. Ask pupils to label which details come from historical evidence and which feelings they have imagined, then remove modern hindsight or unsupported factual claims.
- Historically supported detail
- Imagined feeling
Could the imagined child have known this in September 1939?
Before you teach
Look for the thinking behind an answer, choose the support your class needs and leave room for an independent response.
What to look for
Look for an ordered account with historical detail and clear first-person imagined perspective. Ask: “Which part is supported by a source and which feeling are you imagining?” Do not treat the diary as evidence of a real evacuee’s experience. Ask the pupil to mark a sourced detail and an imagined feeling in different ways before revising. A convincing fictional diary still needs historical context and must not be described as testimony.
Give a little support
Provide a short timeline, a map or selected testimony and sentence starters. Pupils can storyboard with drawings or dictated notes before writing; mark clearly which details come from sources.
Take the idea further
Compare the imagined diary with a verified first-person account and identify where experiences differ. Pupils can revise one sentence to distinguish common context from an individual person’s story.
Things to keep in mind
The diary is an imagined task, not testimony from an evacuee. Experiences varied, so use reliable sources and avoid presenting one imagined account as universal.
Keep the idea. Make it yours.
Bring your topic, learning goal and class context to PLAI™, then review what you create.
Ideas to try with your class
Sample teaching perspectives on what to try, what to adapt and what to watch for.
Meet The Creators
Meet a creator whose teaching interests connect with this template.
Coffee Before Copies
The two-page diary frame sequences six moments from leaving home on 1 September 1939 to the first night with a host family. Its word bank supplies period-relevant details and the success criteria ask for sequence, senses and first person.
Step by Step
The frame asks pupils to write from the child’s perspective two days after leaving home, using Sunday 3 September 1939. The explicit “no hindsight, no phones” boundary makes historical setting part of the writing task.
Spare Pencil
The six storyboard captions let pupils collect one thought or sensory detail per moment before drafting the diary. The feelings and senses bank offers vocabulary, while the first-person instruction keeps the perspective consistent.
Good Question
An imagined diary cannot stand in for testimony from an evacuee or establish that all children experienced evacuation alike. Check dates and contextual details against taught history, and label the writing as fictional historical perspective.