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.
Recently Added
80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two
On 3 September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany after Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland. It was the start of the largest and bloodiest war in history - a conflict fought around the world on air, sea and...moreWhat new OFSTED framework on work scrutiny means for history subject leaders.
What work scrutiny means for history subject leaders. We all worry about work scrutiny. Will the inspectors take into account that it is only October and therefore very little of this year’s work, if any? What if there is no history...moreAnniversary of the start of the Great Fire.
On this anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Fire, take a look at the outstanding lesson which explores why the fire began. It has a whole range of exciting activities and the pupils' work that arises from the lesson...moreFinal Tudor KS2 lesson on entertainment and the theatre now loaded
Our blockbuster four-part lesson on The Tudor theatre has now been launched and pupils are loving it already. There are some great activities there and even if you're not teaching it you'll benefit from having a look. Probably the best...more
How did people enjoy themselves in Elizabethan England? KS2 Enquiry KQ6
This KS2 enquiry comprises three outstanding activities: 6a. Advising the film director to imaginatively reconstruct the scene using a variety of evidence 6b. Prove it! Using a gallery of images to test the evidence 6c. Marketplace - an imaginative journey to the theatre...more10 things a primary history subject leader needs to know about the new 2019 OFSTED framework
The debate about the history curriculum often raises a head of steam and then goes quiet. When the 2014 history National Curriculum was established by Gove we all had to revise our long-term plans regardless of how faithfully we ever...moreKS2 update on Saxon conversion to Christianity-the first stone churches
Excavations in Kent have just revealed that there were STONE Saxon churches being built in England as early as AD 633. The one at Lympinge was believed to have been founded by the wife of King Edwin who played a...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
10 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)....
Swopping a Great Fire for a volcanic eruption? Looking for a new famous Event at KS1?
In a recent article in the Historical association’s Primary History Sue Townsend makes a very strong case for introducing the teaching the volcanic eruption at Pompeii at KS1. One had to be careful making suggestions like this. After all, history...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
10 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)....
Swopping a Great Fire for a volcanic eruption? Looking for a new famous Event at KS1?
In a recent article in the Historical association’s Primary History Sue Townsend makes a very strong case for introducing the teaching the volcanic eruption at Pompeii at KS1. One had to be careful making suggestions like this. After all, history...moreHow 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 did people enjoy themselves in Elizabethan England? KS2 Enquiry KQ6
This KS2 enquiry comprises three outstanding activities: 6a. Advising the film director to imaginatively reconstruct the scene using a variety of evidence 6b. Prove it! Using a gallery of images to test the evidence 6c. Marketplace - an imaginative journey to the theatre...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)....
Great PowerPoint on World War Two for KS2
If you are looking for a great 20 slide PowerPoint presentation on the Home Front in World War Two, you would be hard-pressed to find one better than the Imperial War Museum's https://www.iwm.org.uk/learning/resources/second-world-war-posters...more
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.
