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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Using living graphs in history at KS4 and 5: don’t let the activity replace the thinking and long-term recall
I have long been a fan of using living graphs, especially to help students appreciate extent and speed of change as well as identifying turning points. Having said that I have noticed a worrying trend recently which has crept in....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...more2018 A level history results: as you were
A simple glance at the graphic will show you that there have been only tiny fractional changes in performance at A grade in the new A level history exams.more
... Teaching Anglo-Saxons: Alfred and the Danes at KS2
Many of you have kindly written to say how much your pupils have enjoyed the lesson where they have to complete a living graph showing the changing power struggle between Saxons and Vikings. It has really made pupils think but...moreNew resource for teaching evacuation at KS2 using sources critically
If you are teaching about evacuation World War Two, possibly as part of our innovative Thematic unit ‘Beyond Face vale’ you might want to add this resource alongside the incredibly popular outstanding lesson https://www.keystagehistory.co.uk/free-samples/extending-the-bbc-website-on-eric-the-evacuee/ This new short 5-minute video from...moreUseful resource on Peterloo massacre KS3
Really useful short video on Peterloo , ‘Manchester’s Tiananmen square’. Presented as a graphic novel, the visuals are really clear and compelling . The commentary is non-condescending for a KS3 audience. The relaxed presenter is actually writing a graphic novel...moreToo many Cooks? Too pale, stale and male to be worth studying?
Australians are currently deep in debate about the enormous cost involved in yet another celebration of Cook's voyages to Australia. When I first arrived in Hampshire as a cub history adviser in 1988 one of my first jobs was to...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
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 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...moreExcellent resource on Great Fire of London for KS1
The Museum of London has a wonderful selection of teaching resources on its website including an infographic poster, an interactive story and perhaps best of all aMinecraft version of 1666’s tragic tale. Find all of these here,...more
Do we go on seaside holidays for the same reason people went 100 years ago? KQ4
Children discuss the reasons they might have for going on a seaside holiday NOW and then think of the different reasons why people might have gone 100 years ago. Slides 2 and 3 of the PowerPoint provide some clues. Slide...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...moreExcellent resource on Great Fire of London for KS1
The Museum of London has a wonderful selection of teaching resources on its website including an infographic poster, an interactive story and perhaps best of all aMinecraft version of 1666’s tragic tale. Find all of these here,...moreDo we go on seaside holidays for the same reason people went 100 years ago? KQ4
Children discuss the reasons they might have for going on a seaside holiday NOW and then think of the different reasons why people might have gone 100 years ago. Slides 2 and 3 of the PowerPoint provide some clues. Slide...more
KS2 Islam -Today is anniversary of start of Building of Baghdad
If you are teaching Islamic civilization at KS2 you might like to watch a short podcast which looks at the start of the building of Baghdad on 31 July 762....more
Brief 10 question diagnostic assessment task for KS2 Ancient Egypt
Pupils have to answer 10 fairly open ended questions for which answers are provided reflecting the knowledge and understanding outlined in the medium term planner. Q1 How can we know so much about a civilization such as Ancient Egypt that lived...more
Planning for teaching Ancient Greece KS2
Outstanding new medium term planning for Ancient Greece, matched to 2016 history national curriculum The main foci throughout this planner are: Ideas, Beliefs, Attitudes (especially the role of women); Way of life (contrasting Athens with Sparta and grasping that ideas flourished...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...
Great 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...moreBringing GCSE Crime and Punishment right up-to-date
Latest statistics prove invaluable when making comparisons across time. Today, fewer than 5% of street robberies and burglaries are being solved across England and Wales. Unsolved crimes have risen by 20% in the last 3 years There has been an 83% rise in...moreTeaching the Bloody Code at GCSE
Thought you might like to see Mel Jones' lesson on Bloody Code using original archival material from the Old Bailey. You can read the full lesson description here ...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.
