Cops and robbers - What do you know about the British Empire?

The "Cops and Robbers" activity is an engaging and interactive group exercise designed to facilitate the sharing and acquisition of knowledge among pupils about the British Empire. In this activity, pupils are arranged into small groups, typically consisting of four members. Each pupil starts by spending two minutes writing down everything they can recall about the British Empire on the left side of a chart. This initial phase encourages individual reflection and recall of previously learned information.

Following the individual recall phase, pupils have the opportunity to 'steal' knowledge from their peers. They do this by taking turns, with each pupil given 60 seconds to review the notes of the other three group members. The goal is to identify any information that they did not originally recall on their own. Pupils then add this 'stolen knowledge' to a separate section on their chart, thus consolidating their understanding of the topic. The activity is made competitive by awarding 2 points for each new piece of information recorded. Overall, the "Cops and Robbers" activity not only promotes collaborative learning but also reinforces the historical subject matter in a fun and interactive manner, all within an approximately 15-minute timeframe.