Teaching History at KS1 - KS1 History Topics - Years 1 & 2

Taking on history leadership: doing the right things – 10 key steps

Taking on subject leadership can be a daunting prospect, especially if it is your first. When there is so much to do, and so many calls on your limited time, it is easy to lose...

Columbus – KQ1 – Why do you think we still remember Christopher Columbus, even though he’s been dead for 500 years!

Pupils are in the role of history detectives. They are given 8 progressively revealing, mainly visual, clues in a controlled predetermined order, to elicit ideas as to why Columbus is famous. After each clue, pupils...

Columbus – KQ2 – How did Columbus become famous?

Pupils listen to an illustrated description of main episodes Columbus life which they then sequence from the jumbled images provided before creating a whole-class talking timeline of Columbus’ life using time connectives to make it...

Columbus – KQ3 – What was Christopher Columbus’s motivation?

Driving at the heart of Columbus ‘ motivation, allows pupils to build on what they have already deduced about his character as well as the political realities of trying to please the monarchs who sponsored...

Columbus – KQ4 – What was life like on board during such a long journey?

This question shifts the focus away from the actions of just one man and adds a colourful dimension to the topic. Pupils have to consider the hazards and privations on such a voyage at the...

Columbus – KQ5 – How have opinions of Columbus changed in the light of new evidence?

In this session the focus is squarely on helping pupils to grasp that people’s opinions of Columbus have changed in the light of new evidence and new perspectives. It brings the debate about diversity right...

Columbus – KQ6 – How and why should we remember him?

Having seen the different ways in which Columbus achievements are still commemorated today, 500 years after his death, pupils have to sift through the arguments to distil what makes him so special in many people’s...

10 key messages about teaching significant people in KS1 history

The most important changes in the way we teach this aspect of the KS1 curriculum are: a. the need to link people through a theme, so that pupils make comparisons over time. For that reason we have...

What would your pupils say about getting better at history, when they leave your school?

Recently two university education departments carried out a broad-sweep survey of primary pupils’ experience of history at KS1 and 2 and asked specifically:

"What does it mean to get better at history?”

The pupils’ answers were, to...

How did Guy Fawkes feel before, during and after the night of the 5th November: pupils do the thinking.

Getting children to think about how Guy Fawkes felt, before, during and after the Gunpowder plot. This simple task, resourced by a short PowerPoint presentation (not provided, but use images from existing ones on our site)...

It’s time to think about the teaching of time at KS1 and 2

Time is probably the concept most fundamental to understanding history. This presents problems, of course, particularly with the youngest children. But just because its a slippery concept doesn’t mean we shouldn’t plan how we are...

Scales of planning in primary history

Making sure you don’t leave out key things and don’t waste your time duplicating

Planning can seem a real chore, but it is key not only to maximising the opportunities for pupils to build up a...

10 top dos and don’ts of using knowledge organisers in primary history

Used well, knowledge organisers are a really powerful resource but it all depends on how they are used. However attractive and packed with facts it might appear, if it just sits inertly with very little...

I’m a new subject leader. How do I know if pupils are making the progress they should in history?

Getting a handle on progression is complicated. There are lots of superficially appealing lists of competencies that link to each age group each produced by commercial companies who have not understanding of the nuances of...

Preparing for the new EYFS framework from September 2021

Teaching about the past in EYFS

Although most schools and settings prefer not to refer to history as a discrete subject on the Early Years curriculum, there is always a lot of talk about the past,...

KS1 Medium Term Planner for Spreading the Word: Caxton to Bell

The ‘significant people’ element of the KS1 history curriculum now requires pupils to compare achievements of individuals within a linked theme - in this case communication in a topic called ‘spreading the word’. We have...

Caxton and Bell – KQ1 – Caxton

Following a mysterious PowerPoint slow reveal in which pupils look for clues to Caxton’s fame, pupils are given a brief illustrated summary of the key moments in his life which are consolidated with a sequencing...

Caxton and Bell – KQ2 – Quick the King and Queen are coming! How Caxton changed the way books were made

Having shown pupils how books were made before Caxton’s time, the main focus of the lesson is on how the new system worked. To prevent this being a dull session on technology, pupils are placed...

Caxton and Bell – KQ3 – How and why should Caxton be remembered?

Having discussed the possible options for ways of commemorating his achievement, pupils have to create a new plaque on his statue, because the old words have worn and faded away. But what shall we write?...

Caxton and Bell – KQ4 – How did Alexander Graham Bell manage to make a telephone work so long ago? and why did he want to?

The focus here is on sequencing of events, looking for turning points in his life and for his personal motivation. How did his life choices end up with him inventing the telephone? What drove him...

Caxton and Bell – KQ5 – Why was Bell’s invention so important, then and now? Bells and whistles!

Pupils write a plaque to go on the side of a new statue that has been built to commemorate Bell’s achievement in response to government’s offering a prize to the school who can come up...

Teaching about the past in EYFS

Preparing for the new EYFS framework in September 2021

Although most schools and settings prefer not to refer to history as a discrete subject on the Early Years curriculum, there is always a lot of talk...

Caxton and Bell – KQ6 – How has the telephone improved since the days of Bell?

This session really helps pupils to get a strong sense of change through time, linking the past of Bell’s time to the present bringing things right up to date. It even hints at the changes...

Mary Anning – KQ1 – Why do we remember Mary Anning?

This introductory session attempts to place Mary's life in a broader context of time and place and to whet pupils' appetite, without telling much of the story of her life. This follows in the next...

Mary Anning – KQ2 – What did Mary do in her life that was so special?

Pupils move from the sequencing of the major events of Mary’s life to a more sophisticated understanding of which of these events were the most significant. By creating a fortunes or living human graph, pupils...

Mary Anning – KQ3 – What sort of person was Mary that helped her to succeed in a man’s world?

This a much shorter enquiry than the others, and comprises just three short activities

Step 1

Having recapped the story of Mary’s life, ask pupils to work in small groups to generate adjectives to describe Mary’s character.

Step...

Mary Anning – KQ4 – Which other people were important in Mary’s life and why?

This activity is an interesting way of getting pupils to think about Mary’s life but in a non-narrative way. Instead of re-telling the story in sequence they have to look back over her life and...

Mary Anning – KQ5 – How do we know about Mary’s actions which happened so long ago?

The main activity in this session is called Prove it! A number of pieces of evidence from Mary’s time are placed around the room, as if it were an art gallery. Pupils are given 10...

Mary Anning – KQ6 – How and why should Mary Anning be remembered? Have your say.

In Lyme Regis they are going to improve their museum dedicated to Mary Anning. It will cost a lot of money and the Council are not sure she deserves all this money being spent on...

The Great Fire – KQ1 – How can we work out why the Great Fire started? New enquiry

This innovative session places pupils right from the start of the enquiry in the role of detectives to discover when, where and why the Great Fire of London broke out. Using a wide range of...

The Great Fire – KQ2 – What happened during the Great Fire and how do we know?

This lesson focuses on the idea of evidence and proof. Can pupils find evidence to back up statements made in books? Can they tell which is the strongest piece of evidence to support a statement?...

Florence Nightingale – KQ1 – Why do we think Florence Nightingale is remembered?

Pupils make deductions from a range of visual clues to see if they can work out what job Florence Nightingale did, before being told the story of her life through an illustrated PowerPoint presentation. Selected...

Florence Nightingale – KQ2 – Why did Florence place herself in such danger by going to the Crimea?

Who influenced her decision to go? Already introduced to the major events in Florence’s life, children now speculate on why she took the brave decision to go to the Crimea. Thinking creatively, they discuss who might...

The Great Fire – KQ3 – Why did the Great Fire burn down so many houses?

This Great Fire lesson focuses on developing children's powers of explanations. They will already have looked at the sequence of events and will be able to offer a few simple reasons. This lesson aims to...

Florence Nightingale – KQ3a – Fighting Fit. What did Florence do to improve the lives of the soldiers when she arrived in the Crimea?

In this lesson children compare the appalling conditions in the hospitals on Florence’s arrival at Scutari. With the help of animated rats! They list the most significant problems and then compare with a hospital which...

Florence Nightingale – KQ3b – Smart task – What did people really think of Florence Nightingale?

Learning objectives

children can respond in role showing awareness of differing attitudes to Florence
they can judge whether each group would approve of giving Florence a medal

Starter

Start by slowly revealing a picture of the medal awarded to...

The Great Fire – KQ4 – Could more have been done to slow the spread of the fire?

This session comprises three distinct phases. The first is mime-based, looking at the firefighting methods used and discussing their disadvantages. The second looks at what action was taken to stop the fire spreading and the...

The Great Fire – KQ5 – How did people manage to live through the Great Fire?

Miraculously for a city that was the third largest in the world, consumed by a fire that lasted for days, very few people died, as far as we know. There is some real doubt as...

The Great Fire – KQ5 Additional Resource – Crowdfunding is nothing new

Extra information to support your teaching of Key Question 5 - Crowdfunding is nothing new As we stress in this KQ5 enquiry, it is important that you focus on the human as well as material cost...

The Great Fire – KQ6 – How shall we rebuild London after the Great Fire?

This lesson gives full rein to children's creative flair, disciplined by evidence. The City of London is offering a prize for the best design for a rebuilt London after the Great Fire. If the children...

Florence Nightingale – KQ4a – What was Florence Nightingale’s greatest achievement?

Pupils have been drafted in to help with the wording on a statue to Florence Nightingale which had badly worn away over time and is now in danger of being indecipherable. But there is room...

Florence Nightingale – KQ4b – Florence Nightingale’s days are numbered. Brilliant cross-curricular History and Mathematics

Every so often you see an inspiring example of history and numeracy working together seamlessly. Such a lesson was taught by Ros Boulton of South Farnborough Infants. She wanted her children to do far more...

Florence Nightingale – KQ5 – How do we know so much about Florence Nightingale when she lived so long ago?

This differentiated core activity is Prove it! Working in pairs as detectives with their own find the clue sheets and clipboards, pupils are given 10 statements about Florence and have to find the original sources...

Florence Nightingale – KQ6 – Should Florence Nightingale rather than Mary Seacole have her statue at St.Thomas’ hospital?

NB This lesson overlaps, as you would expect, with a similar lesson on Mary Seacole. It is slightly different in emphasis but if you are studying both women in equal depth you need to use...

Mary Seacole – KQ1 – How can we work out why Mary Seacole is famous?

This session focuses on working out WHY Mary Seacole is commemorated today 200 years after she was born, and looks at the different ways in which she is remembered. The debate about whether she, or...

KS1 Medium Term Planner: Louis Braille

The current history curriculum at KS1 asks schools to provide a little more coherence in their choice of significant people to study, suggesting that they might be linked by theme. I agree with this improvement....

Mary Seacole – KQ2 – What were the most important events in Mary’s life?

Pupils watch a short film to establish the outlines of the story and then have to sequence a differentiated set of images of the key events of her life. They finish by discussing which events...

Louis Braille – KQ1 – Why do you think Louis Braille is remembered today: Smart task

Step 1

Start by showing the image of Louis Braille on slide 1 of the PowerPoint. Explain that he is a very famous man who lived 200 years ago and that what he invented is still...

Mary Seacole – KQ3 – What was Mary’s greatest achievement and how do we know?

The focus here is mainly on the evidence for Mary’s achievement. This is important as she was a more-or-less forgotten figure for 200 years. So how do we know that claims about Mary’s life are...

Louis Braille – KQ2 – What were the most important moments, and who were the most significant people, in Louis Braille’s life?

This session comprises 3 key activities, so it is important to devote sufficient time to it. Please note that activities 2 and 3 are particularly challenging and were taught to a high-attaining group of pupils. You...

Teaching history at Key stage 1

"What does it mean to get better at history?”

Making sure you don’t leave out key things and don’t waste your time duplicating

Teaching about the past in EYFS

Preparing for the new EYFS framework in September 2021

Step 1

Step...

Learning objectives

Starter

Step 1