Overview:

The course consists of three modules which provide a bridge from the current Junior Certificate to the Leaving Certificate course. Pupils will examine three aspects of history which serve as an introduction to key skills such as independent and self-directed research, source-analysis, essay-writing, the nature of historical interpretation and field work. Pupils will be encouraged to use I.T. to develop and deliver individual presentations. Excursions will be arranged to places of historical interest. Past trips include the combined History/Science trip to London and the History trip to Krakow.

Course Content:

We have great flexibility in the courses we study in TY. Michaelmas focuses on Britain and WWI. Pupils will examine the causes of the conflict, the major battles of the war and how it developed on land, sea and air, the art and literature of the period, the technological innovations of the war, the causes and events of the Russian Revolutions, the defeat of Germany and the peace treaties. The history of the USA between 1919 and 1941 is studied during Hilary. Topics include the federal system of government, immigration to the USA, prohibition, the booming economy of the 1920s and the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Ku Klux Klan and other manifestations of intolerance during the inter-war period and the changing and contrasting status of women. Finally, the local history of Dublin is the theme for Trinity, incorporating the Viking and Medieval history of the city, as well as later periods, like Georgian Dublin and Dublin during the struggle for independence between 1916 and 1921.

Teaching & Learning:

Classroom debate and discussion will be a central feature, as will inquiry-based learning, group/pair work and project work. Analysis of primary source material - documents and other written and pictorial and other visual sources - will also feature prominently. Where possible, field visits to places of relevant historical interest will take place, especially in the Trinity term. Pupils, on more than one occasion, will be expected to present to the class on a topic of their own choosing - e.g. the invention of the tank during WWI. Pupils are encouraged to read widely and independently, around the topics covered.

Assessment:

Pupils will be assessed by a combination of essays, short-answer work, project, presentation and extended essays, as well as end-of-term exams in the first two terms.

Additional Information: 

TY pupils have a dedicated TY History Prize but are also encouraged to enter the Senior History Prize and to participate in the annual historical/cultural trip to the UK or the continent. Notes, links and other resources can be found on firefly at: http://stcolumbas.fireflycloud.net/history/form-iv