WW2... should probably start at the beginning

When I first started teaching in a Church of England school in Enfield, I regularly used quizzes as a useful assessment tool to get information quickly. This was so I could plan the topic to the needs of the class and not repeat what they already knew. In this case I was teaching a Year 5 class and we were studying World War 2. A conversation went a little like this.

Mr Madle: So children, when do you think World War Two started? (only one hand went up so they were chosen).

Pupil One: when Jesus was a little boy.

Mr Madle: (trying not to laugh) Oh… no quite but good try. Lets move on, what was Mussolini’s first name?

Pupil Two: Heil.

Mr Madle: (holding back the tears) Why do you think that is the answer?

Pupil Two: Whenever anyone sees him they shout ‘Heil’, so that must be his first name.

With no hesitation, we started the topic from the very start. There were two really interesting parent consultations that followed the quiz. Apparently Pupil One had a Grandfather who would answer every question about time (‘when’ questions) with the answer ‘when Jesus was a little boy.’ I was also told that Pupil Two was a big fan of the TV Series ‘Allo ‘Allo and would watch re-runs of the programme regularly . It is truly astonishing how a child’s mind works.