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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The top 10 things you need to know about chronology at KS2, but were afraid to ask.
The top 10 things you need to know about chronology at KS2, but were afraid to ask. 1.There is more to chronology than sequencing. While sequencing is fundamentally important, you also need to think about a range of other issues too....moreOFSTED and assessment of primary history in the EIF for 2019
OFSTED and assessment in primary history One of the features of deep dive subject inspections is that the two hardest areas of a primary history leader’s role are in danger of being painfully exposed. One is the thorny issue of progression. How...more
Planner for teaching early Islamic civilization at KS2
For many schools this is new topic and one to be taught with particular sensitivity in the 21st century. Try wherever possible to think of the reasons it is on the curriculum i.e. for about half of what is deemed...moreWhat does OFSTED really think about 2 year KS3 history courses?
More than half of schools now run lengthened Key Stage 4 history courses, effectively shortening Key Stage 3 to cater for the new, allegedly tougher GCSEs.
OFSTED’s early EIF (2019) primary history deep dives: what do the first 3 months’ of reports tell us?
OFSTED EIF (2019) reports and primary history. What do the first three months of reports tell us? Although there is even less detail in the new shorter OFSTED reports there are still some clear indicators of what OFSTED is expecting-whether they...moreOFSTED’s report on teaching of Toys-outstanding lesson
When the inspector entered, the pupils were sitting on the carpet around the teacher. She was gently exploring whether they understood the concepts ‘old’ and ‘new’ and the differences between the present and the past. The pupils responded very well...moreBrand new outstanding planner and fully-resourced lessons on Y1 topic TOYS
Coinciding with children returning to school after Christmas , hopefully with a few presents to their name, this brand new planner and full set of fully-resourced lessons will be launched. As already explained on the site there will be 6...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
OFSTED’s report on teaching of Toys-outstanding lesson
When the inspector entered, the pupils were sitting on the carpet around the teacher. She was gently exploring whether they understood the concepts ‘old’ and ‘new’ and the differences between the present and the past. The pupils responded very well...moreBrand new outstanding planner and fully-resourced lessons on Y1 topic TOYS
Coinciding with children returning to school after Christmas , hopefully with a few presents to their name, this brand new planner and full set of fully-resourced lessons will be launched. As already explained on the site there will be 6...more10 things history leaders need to know about the new OFSTED 2019 Framework
10 things you need to know about leading history and the new 2019 OFSTED frameworkmore- You will have to show that you are in fact teaching history (and not just doing literacy disguised as history, or very tenuous cross-curricular links)....
OFSTED’s report on teaching of Toys-outstanding lesson
When the inspector entered, the pupils were sitting on the carpet around the teacher. She was gently exploring whether they understood the concepts ‘old’ and ‘new’ and the differences between the present and the past. The pupils responded very well...moreBrand new outstanding planner and fully-resourced lessons on Y1 topic TOYS
Coinciding with children returning to school after Christmas , hopefully with a few presents to their name, this brand new planner and full set of fully-resourced lessons will be launched. As already explained on the site there will be 6...more10 things history leaders need to know about the new OFSTED 2019 Framework
10 things you need to know about leading history and the new 2019 OFSTED frameworkmore- You will have to show that you are in fact teaching history (and not just doing literacy disguised as history, or very tenuous cross-curricular links)....
The top 10 things you need to know about chronology at KS2, but were afraid to ask.
The top 10 things you need to know about chronology at KS2, but were afraid to ask. 1.There is more to chronology than sequencing. While sequencing is fundamentally important, you also need to think about a range of other issues too....morePlanner for teaching early Islamic civilization at KS2
For many schools this is new topic and one to be taught with particular sensitivity in the 21st century. Try wherever possible to think of the reasons it is on the curriculum i.e. for about half of what is deemed...moreTeaching the Iron Age at KS2: are you teaching the right things?
In a recent article in Primary History by Karen Doull of the Historical Association adumbrated a list of the ‘Ten things your pupils need to know about the Iron Age’. The following were offered, to which I’ve added my comments.more-
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How should Germany be treated at the Paris peace conference? KS3 or KS4 task
This short but engaging task precedes any detailed analysis of the terms of the treaty itself. It has four distinct elements: prediction; analysis of a rarely seen German poster; attaching significance; and refining ideas based on most recent scholarship. Step 1 Firstly,...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...
How should Germany be treated at the Paris peace conference? KS3 or KS4 task
This short but engaging task precedes any detailed analysis of the terms of the treaty itself. It has four distinct elements: prediction; analysis of a rarely seen German poster; attaching significance; and refining ideas based on most recent scholarship. Step 1 Firstly,...more
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...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.
