My Latvia

Target audience: Grade 1–4, Grade 5–9

This lesson promotes understanding of the circumstances and processes surrounding the formation of the Latvian state and strengthens the idea of its value. The lesson introduces Riga Castle as a location of many historical events. The pupils also explore historical evidence of the creation and defence of the Latvian state (the Lāčplēsis Military Order, the Order of the Three Stars, etc.).

Procedure: younger pupils listen to the museum educator’s narration and get an idea of the circumstances and process of the creation of the Latvian state, learning about such concepts as territory, population, state, language, symbols, army, borders, state honours, etc. During the lesson, participants discuss what they have heard, expressing their own and others’ opinions, developing skills of cooperation and participation, and at the end reflect on what contribution each of them could make to the development of the Latvian state.

Older pupils learn to distinguish between opinion and fact, and to assess which sources are reliable and which are not, by listening to the museum educator’s account of the creation and defence of the Latvian state and by analysing various written and visual sources of history. The participants then create a timeline using the photographs from the slide show. At the end, pupils share their experiences  of celebrating traditions connected to public holidays and suggest new ways of celebrating them.