Keystage history - Imaginative History Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools
About Keystage History
Keystage history is the home of best practice in primary and secondary history teaching and learning. You can totally trust the authoritative, cutting edge, expert advice and you will be inspired by all the creative planning and teaching ideas. Subscribers love the wide range of fully resourced history lessons, all judged outstanding by a vastly experienced LA history adviser who has observed over 2,000 primary and secondary lessons and has carried out 60 national inspections for OFSTED. Every aspect of leading history 5-19 is covered in detail, from assessment and progression through to curriculum planning, raising standards and inspiring colleagues. This site is a must for any forward-looking subject leader.
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Improving your questioning in history to improve learning
We all know that less than 10% of questions we traditionally ask in British classrooms actually caused new learning. Most concern rehearsing what pupils already know or are about classroom management. So its probably time to re-consider why we ask...moreUsing scripted dramas in history: reign of Elizabeth I for GCSE
Some talented teachers have the time and imagination to write scripted dramas as a powerful way into a period issue. Here is an example from Jen Thornton on the reign of Queen Elizabeth I which you can fin don...moreGCSE history wagging KS3 dog says HA survey
Last month the Historical Association published its annual survey of the state of history in its secondary schools. About 300 completed the survey so it is a reasonable sample. Several key issues emerged which are particularly relevant given OFSTED’s new...moreIan Dawson’s great activity on changing warfare over time
http://thinkinghistory.co.uk/ActivityBase/BigStoryConflicts.html...moreDon’t bark up the wrong tree with progression-its all about the history curriculum not content-free skills
There has been a lot of confusing talk recently about progression in history. Schools are still wrong-headedly trying to build up a bank of 'can do' statements that are content free. This is barking up the wrong tree. Progression is...moreDo all revolutions in history end badly? Historians compare Russian, French and Chinese revolutions.
Interesting article in History Today (one that is free to read), in which authors compare the outcome of three revolutions: Russian, Chinese and French. Plenty for your budding historians to get their teeth into, especially at GCSE and beyond....moreGreater variation in GCSE history marking than nearly every other subject, says OFQUAL
And now it’s official! Marking of GCSE history examinations is prone to greater variation than virtually every other subject- greater even than English Literature. As you can see from the accompanying image produced by OFQUAL on 5 Marchmore
moreHow to get KS1 pupils into history-13 ideas
If you haven't already come across this School Run website offers 13 different ideas for making history come alive with your pupils, including games, story books, visits, history re-enactments etc. What i like about the list is that they...more
Common assessment tasks in history at KS1
It is often difficult knowing how to assess pupils’ historical thinking at KS1. Are we simply testing literacy and /or recall? But what about historical understanding? Faced with this problem, I have been working with two large London primary schools....more
Medium-term planning for history at Key Stage 1
This part of the site contains a dozen detailed fully-developed enquiry-led, key question-driven medium term plans for all the major KS1 history -led topics. They have all been judged to be outstanding by an experienced OFSTED history inspector. All the...more
How should Scott be remembered today? KQ6
Exciting finale to the topic sees pupils analysing different ways in which Scott has been commemorated in the past, coming up with their own 21st century ideas and then completing a diamond-4 prioritising activity before acting as historical advisers to...more
How will your school commemorate the end of World War One in 2018?
This short advice sheet invites schools to consider how they will commemorate the centenary of armistice day and provides an illustrated PowerPoint presentation offering 8 attractive ideas to set you thinking. This supports two outstanding lessons that feature on the website:more How to get KS1 pupils into history-13 ideas
If you haven't already come across this School Run website offers 13 different ideas for making history come alive with your pupils, including games, story books, visits, history re-enactments etc. What i like about the list is that they...more
How should Scott be remembered today? KQ6
Exciting finale to the topic sees pupils analysing different ways in which Scott has been commemorated in the past, coming up with their own 21st century ideas and then completing a diamond-4 prioritising activity before acting as historical advisers to...moreHow will your school commemorate the end of World War One in 2018?
This short advice sheet invites schools to consider how they will commemorate the centenary of armistice day and provides an illustrated PowerPoint presentation offering 8 attractive ideas to set you thinking. This supports two outstanding lessons that feature on the website:more How to get KS1 pupils into history-13 ideas
If you haven't already come across this School Run website offers 13 different ideas for making history come alive with your pupils, including games, story books, visits, history re-enactments etc. What i like about the list is that they...more
Planning for teaching Life in Tudor times at KS2
moreAs you know, the requirement to study Life in Tudor Britain was mysteriously and inexplicably removed from the Key Stage 2 curriculum in 2014. As one of the best-taught and popular of all the history topics that...
KS2 Why did Henry Break with Rome? Love or religion? Key Question 2
moreThis KS2 history enquiry revolves around Henry VIII’s divorce and the break with Rome, one of the best-known stories in English history. At first, Henry, this larger than life figure, seems almost to be a perfect guest on...
Top 10 tasks for effective history subject leaders
We all need reminding of what our core purposes are from time to time as we get caught up in the daily round of frantic activity that is school life today. So i just thought i'd provide a simple list...more
So you think your pupils know about Witchcraft in early modern Britain.
1. Were witches burned in English-speaking countries? A. No, they were hanged not burned, because witchcraft was a felony. This was also true in North America. 2. Were millions of witches put to death? A. No, the real number was nearer 50,000 across...more
What can we tell about the Ancient Greeks from a study of their Olympics? KQ5 part 1
moreWe thought we would offer you a range of different cameos showing how the history of the Olympics could be imaginatively integrated into your current teaching.
The teaching activities below have all be tried and tested in schools and...
Teaching the British Empire KS3
In a recent article for the Telegraph, journalist and writer Jeremy Paxman made the following case for teaching the history of the British Empire:more[It] explains so much about who we are now… Imperial history explains both why Britain has a...
Which cartoon best explains the paradox of the Nazi Soviet pact?
moreThe Unholy Alliance: why on earth did Hitler and Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact when they clearly hated each other?
Starting with the historical puzzle of why Stalin and Hitler signed the Non-Aggression pact on August 1939 which so shocked the...GCSE History: Guide to planning and teaching Edexcel 9-1 GCSE
E Lots of thinking has taken place to decide the best way to structure the new Edexcel 9-1 GCSE history course. The rationale behind this plan comes straight from successful classroom practice.. One of my former Advanced Skills Teachers has written this about...moreGreat new KS4 resource on migration : Why were the Jews expelled from England in 1290?
Really helpful resources provided for KS4 teachers of GCSE Migration topic written by University of Oxford academics. This is just the sort of collaboration we need to see. Allows teachers to go beyond the textbook without expecting them to...more
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About Me
Neil acts as an educational consultant for history for schools throughout the country. After teaching for 12 years, during which time he ran two departments and was a member of the Senior Leadership, Neil moved into advisory work,
For 18 years, he supported 70 secondary and 450 primary and special schools in Hampshire during which time he carried out over 60 national OFSTED inspections. More recently he has been heavily involved in running about 40 highly acclaimed national training courses a year for primary and secondary history teachers, as well as bespoke whole staff INSET days in primary schools.
