These free education resources are to inspire children aged 5-11 as they explore the different communication methods of the past and present.

There are so many ways to communicate and we explore a few methods in these downloadable, fun and easy learning activities for parents or teachers to do in class or at home.

Communication and language barriers become a thing of the past as we go on a journey using symbols, drawings, paintings and letters to send messages.

From cave paintings and medieval manuscripts to morse code and semaphore (visual signals) - you can teach a whole range of communication techniques with commonly found items at home.

Download worksheets and step-by-step activity plans here:

Books and illuminated letters 

Cave paintings 

Clay tokens and tablets

Morse code

Naval flags

Printing with moveable type

Scrolls and hieroglyphs

Semaphore flags

Find all our communication resources here.

Please note, these resources and experiments have been specifically designed to be carried out with adult supervision or direction as appropriate, and it is recommended that the instructions are followed in a safe manner. All resources and experiments are carried out at your own risk.

These resources have been created in partnership with Hawthorns Primary School, Worthing, as a series of activities to celebrate 150 years of the IET.