Rewilding the History Period (40 minutes)

From memorising the past to sensing its roots, here's how you can rewild the history period!

00:00 to 05:00 Arrive in the Present

Start with the place around you. Ask:

“What was this land a hundred years ago?” Let students imagine. A forest? A village? A field? Then say: “Let’s find out what this place remembers.”

This opens the door; history begins here, not in a textbook.

05:00 to 15:00 Sense the Story of Change

Step outside or look through a window. Ask students to list what in their surroundings feels old, new, changed, or constant.

• A road where a stream might have been.

• A temple or an old well still in use.

• A colony named after a British officer. These observations turn them into witnesses, not readers.

Link back: “When cities like Delhi changed under colonial rule, people also had to learn to live differently, just like we do today.”

15:00 to 25:00  Pattern Thinking and Kinship Mind

Show old and current maps or photos of a nearby city or town. Ask students to trace the patterns  What grew? What disappeared? What stayed central? Encourage them to notice not just buildings, but relationships, markets, rivers, trees, people.

“Cities remember what we forget.”

This is history as ecology, a web of interactions, not just events.

25:00 to 35:00  Dreaming and Story Mind

Invite students to imagine they are someone who lived through the transformation  a gardener, an artisan, a horse cart driver, a child. Let them write a short paragraph or draw a scene:

• What did the land feel like?

• What changed when the city expanded?

• What got lost, what survived?

This is not fiction. It’s empathy — the bridge between the past and our present choices.

35:00 to 40:00  Reflection and Renewal

Gather in a circle. Ask:

“What is our relationship with the land we live on today?” “What might people in the future remember about our time?”

Let silence, stories, and imagination mingle. End with one collective act  a small promise: to notice, to care, to remember.

What Changed?

• The source of learning: from textbook to terrain.

• The method: from recall to relationship.

• The outcome: from knowledge about the past to awareness within the present.

Rewilded Thought

When history reconnects with place,students stop learning datesand start remembering worlds.