Just thought these two fun facts might interest your pupils, building on infants' interest in animals rather than death rates from dysentery!
So the two facts are:
1. As a child, Florence already showed an interest in nursing by mending broken dolls and fitting splints to injured...
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Teaching history at Key stage 1
Welcome to the Key Stage 1 section of Keystage history where you will find masses of advice on how to make KS1 history lessons fun and how to help pupils to take their first steps into the fascinating world that is the past. You will be helped to design and plan an exciting primary history curriculum in line with the requirements of the 2014 National Curriculum taking into account the difficult areas of assessment and progression in history.You also will be helped to make the most of history’s contribution to the whole curriculum by being shown cutting edge practice in the areas of cross-curricular planning, literacy, thinking skills and creativity.
If it is imaginative ideas for KS1 history lessons you are looking for, then you will definitely want to spend time in the teaching section with its hundred great primary history teaching strategies and in the learning section with its wide range of imaginative approaches and brilliant ideas for products that children will love.
If it is imaginative ideas for KS1 history lessons you are looking for, then you will definitely want to spend time in the teaching section with its hundred great primary history teaching strategies and in the learning section with its wide range of imaginative approaches and brilliant ideas for products that children will love.
As a subject leader, you will find easily accessible advice that is ‘right on the money’. Years of helping hundreds of infant teachers with their history planning, resourcing, and monitoring in history, has enabled me to know exactly what is needed, and which support strategies really work.
Remembering the sinking of the Titanic- a famous event for KS1
To mark the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic on this day in 1912, we are getting ready to launch three brand new fully resourced outstanding lessons. To add to the existing ones explaining why the unthinkable happened and helping the film director show...
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KS1 |Great Fire interactive resource
Just thought I'd bring to the attention of those who haven't yet seen it the interesting resource put together by the Museum of London and other agencies a year or so ago.
You can find it here
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Are you teaching your KS1 the truth about Guy Fawkes?
In many schools I hear teachers tell the same story about Guido Fawkes. Guy Fawkes was angry at the King and the government for the way it treated Catholics. He then brought together a team of plotters intent on killing the king and his cronies...
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The Wright Brothers first flight. KS1 Prove it! task KQ4
How can we possibly know about the Wright Brothers first flight when there’s nobody alive now who saw it?
This is a question about evidence, one which makes pupils consider how we know for sure about the past. Their thinking needs to be developed beyond ‘it...
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Has man ever been to the moon and how can we know for sure? KQ1
Varied introduction to the Moon Landing topic with pupils actively involved in sequencing, speculating and then the killer activity called Prove it in which they have to use a gallery of visual clues to find evidence to prove that man really did go to the...
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What do you think the Wright brothers did to make them famous? KQ1
At the very start of the topic, on the assumption that you haven’t told them what the topic is about!! pupils are shown slide 2 in the form of a slow reveal. 4 coloured boxes obscure a picture of the Wright Brothers’ Flyer. But can...
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How did people react to Amy Johnson’s famous flight? KS1 activity
How did people react to Amy at the time, and how do we know? KQ4
Children generate adjectives to describe Amy’s arrival in Australia using a photograph and short newspaper extracts and then are given 10 statements which they have to prove using a gallery of...How did flight change as a result of the Wright Brothers’ work? KQ5
This activity goes beyond simple sequencing of images, which pupils first attempted at the start of the topic, to explaining the nature of the changes that have taken places in aviation since the Wright brothers. They finish by attaching significance to each change. Which do...
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Why do you think Amy Johnson was famous? Smart Task KQ1
In this session on Amy Johnson (KQ1 on the planner) children learn to:
predict from small clues
link together disparate pieces of evidence
and draw conclusions based on the clues they are given.
With the help of the slow reveal of the clues in carefully arranged order, pupils build...
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Amy Johnson story-telling relay KS1
How did Amy the secretary end up being the first woman to fly to Australia? Smart Task KQ2
This short, fun activity using mime and props, tells the story of Amy Johnson's first flight to Australia in a way that children will never forget. Each of...Why was flying to Australia so difficult for Amy Johnson? Smart task KQ3
Having heard the story of Amy Johnson's life, pupils are now asked to focus their attention on explaining why it was such a difficult feat for Amy to achieve at that time. Can they think of any ideas themselves before working out from clues on...
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How did things change for Amy Johnson after her famous flight? Smart Task KQ5
Was Amy really successful for the rest of her life? A Living graph Smart Task KQ5
The focus here is on the ups and downs of Amy’s life, in the ten years after her famous flight to Australia. Step 1 Give pupils an envelope containing a set of...KS1 History Mystery. Whatever happened to Amy?
How can we solve the mystery of what happened to Amy Johnson? Smart Task KQ6
This enduring mystery has puzzled historians for over 75 years. New evidence has just come to light which makes this an ideal opportunity for pupils to explore reasons for themselves. Clearly...KS1 Star Lesson on The Great Fire
Why did the Great Fire of 1666 burn down so many more houses than other fires in London at that time?
In this exceptional lesson, pupils adopt the role of providers of a new plaque for a monument explaining why the Great Fire of 1666 burnt...How did the Wright brothers manage to be the first to launch a man powered flight? KQ 2
This enquiry comprises a series of three smart tasks: the first is a sequencing task based on storytelling; the second a ‘living graph the third an optional ‘reconstruction relay drawing task’ . All contribute to helping pupils gain a firm grasp of the key events...
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Spying on the Wright Brothers. KS1 Drawing task
This reconstruction relay - part of KQ3, Why did the Wright Brothers succeed where others had failed - is fantastic fun as well as helping pupils to look carefully at the features of The Flyer, the Wright Brothers 1903 plane.
Basically pupils are cast in the...
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Wright brothers: prove to me that it really happened.KQ4
This lesson was taught by Sarah Duck, Leading Teacher for History, Hampshire LA. She kindly describes for us how the lesson went. "Work had already begun on the Wright Brothers' topic and the children were familiar with the sequence of events leading up to, including...
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Commemorating the Moon Landing. KS1 task KQ6
How do you think we should remember the first man on the moon on July 21st 1969? What symbol could we use?
Coming at the end of the topic this smart task encourages pupils to show their understanding of why this was such a significant event....KS1 MEDIUM TERM PLANNER Man’s First Moon Landing Y2
The 2014 history curriculum at KS1 asks schools to provide a little more coherence in their choice of famous people to study, suggesting that they might be linked by theme. Here we have a possible theme of flight which links earlier work on the Wright...
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Why did the astronauts risk their lives going to the moon? KQ2
This session for KS1 children comprises three distinct activities.
Activity 1
This activity is a simple story telling one using Mark Haddon’s book, The Sea of Tranquillity. The story is great; the author narrates his recollection (as a kid) of Apollo 11. The picture on the cover...
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How should the Wright brothers be remembered? Smart task KQ6
Commemorating the Wright brother's achievements with words young children can understand
Pupils have to create a plaque to commemorate the Wright brothers’ achievements to replace the incomprehensible one on the monument at Kitty Hawk. But they can use only 50 words so they need to be...The Sinking of the Titanic: Key Stage 1
Lessons and activities
- How could the unsinkable Titanic sink? This history mystery asks pupils to speculate as to the possible reasons before comparing different explanations. When people have so many opinions on this question, it is appropriate that pupils feel that they are making their...
How well do you and your pupils know Florence Nightingale?
Here are 10 probing questions.
See how you get on. Oh, and the answers are given below, in case you need them. As if!
Q1. How was Florence Nightingale received by the doctors when she first arrived at the hospital in Scutari?
Q2. Why was Florence known as...
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Just how good is your KS1 history curriculum?
The 12 most crucial questions to ask yourself about your KS1 history curriculum, and some expert answers if you get stuck!
What you should be doing, and what to do if you’re not!
Let’s start with the statutory then move on to the questions and then the...
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Teaching Famous Events at Key Stage 1 – Outstanding Lessons
There are two types of events that are expected to be taught to KS1 pupils as part of the National Curriculum. One is commemorative events and anniversaries, the other significant events in the history of this country and the wider world. Increasingly these events are...
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6 top history ideas to cover in your Great Fire topic
Many of you will be starting your Great Fire topic this term. Naturally you will want this to be exciting as well as challenging and you will want to focus on the main historical concepts: in this case, cause and consequence and change.
But you might...
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Keeping up-to-date with your teaching of the Great Fire at KS1
If you get the chance, between the end of term and April, to visit the Museum of London’s exhibition Fire! Fire! don’t hesitate. There are some extraordinary exhibits and it offers a really interesting opportunity to bring your teaching of this popular topic...
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What’s in the bag and who does it belong to? Great Fire Smart Task
An object-based problem-solving approach to learning about life during the Great Fire
This Smart Task is just part of a lesson and uses the power of concealed objects to fire children’s curiosity. Pupils work to help archaeologists establish the likely owner of the mystery...
Teaching Grace Darling to Key Stage 1
Long before Grace Darling appeared in one of the additional QCA schemes of work, Grace Darling was being taught as a famous person. She was particularly popular with teachers of Year 1 in term 2. Not only was the story of her life focused on...
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Using nursery rhymes to develop thinking skills in YR: Jack and Jill and the Queen of Hearts
This lesson was kindly provided by David Cowie and his team at Ringwood Infants C of E School. Their theme for a three week block was Nursery Rhymes. Particular sessions were used to trial specific thinking skills approaches. In this case they looked at Jack...
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Toys old and new: Sorting and setting
This lesson draws on some excellent resources you may not have come across, produced by museums in Bedfordshire and Warwickshire. Not only do they look at old and new and then and now they also offer Venn diagrams which provide that extra challenge. You will...
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Outstanding Lessons: Key Stage 1
If you have ever searched the internet for inspiration for your history sessions you will know how frustrating it can be. Luckily the answer is at hand. Built up from twenty years' experience of working with infant schools, the site brings into one place some...
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What was going to the seaside like 100 years ago? KQ1 writing a quality postcard home, avoiding the martini syndrome?
If you have ever asked children in Y1/2 to write a postcard home as if it were from Victorian times you'll know the problem. After hours of your time teaching the topic and creating the beautifully authentic postcards, all you get in return is:...
Expert Advice: Key Stage 1 – Planning for a cross-curricular topic on Going to the Seaside
This advice is for KS1 teachers planning a cross-curricular topic and focuses on how to integrate history, geography, literacy and ICT.
Start the topic with a brief discussion with the children about where they are going on their summer holidays this year or...Past beyond Living Memory: Key Stage 1
Lessons and shorter activities. Please note that these lessons and smart tasks have accompanying resources to download and that most of the PowerPoint presentations on the site have been kept deliberately simple, anticipating that you will want to personalise them.
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Castles
Raising attainment in history at Key Stage 1
Experience of working with highly effective subject leaders over eighteen years has enabled me to distil SEVEN key factors that collectively contribute most to raising attainment.
Factor 1: The school focuses its attention on the central concerns of each history-led topic in terms of skills and...
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Self-evaluation for history at Key Stage 1 and 2
For Primary history subject leaders it is very important to get a clear sense of perspective on self-evaluation. I f you are not careful you will spend your very restricted non-contact time measuring and not growing the subject. Naturally you need to take stock of...
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Policy and vision for history at Key Stage 1
There is much debate about the value of a history policy, not least how long it should be!! A couple of examples are provided here to give you a feel for contrasting ways of doing it. An OFSTED inspector would be happy with either. What...
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The Ups and Downs of Mary Anning’s life
This lesson focuses on helping pupils to move beyond simple story telling and sequencing to thinking about the effect that each event in her life had on Mary. By encouraging pupils to think in terms of happy and sad events, you will help them build...
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Leadership in history
When looking at leadership in history a careful balance has to be created between offering generic advice (which you could get elsewhere) and very subject-specific advice, which in its attempt to be unique to history leaves out key generic issues. On the whole I have...
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APP in history: where are we now? Some key questions answered
APP in history: where are we now? Life after levels
After much promising spadework in the foundation subjects, APP has been abandoned and will not be implemented. I have , however, retained by original article on the subject as, in lieu of levels, schools are being...
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Assessment for learning in Primary history
Assessment for Learning is much vaunted and many faceted. If we break down what it means in its constituent parts, many of you will feel that you do most of that already, and you probably do. What the Primary Strategy is pushing is a more...
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Target setting in history at Key Stage 1
With the emphasis that the Primary Strategy places on Assessment for Learning and the sharing of objectives, it would seem that target setting might be the natural next step. Whilst this might be true of the core subjects, I think that with Foundation subjects there...
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Judging pupils’ work in history at KS 1
NEW RESOURCE: Assessing Year 1 children’s understanding of how different going for a swim in the sea was 100 years ago. Downloadable PowerPoint with task, mark scheme and examples.
This section of the site offers a few words of advice about assessing individual pieces of work...
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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. We have developed a number...
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Principles of good assessment in history at Key Stage 1
Assessment in Foundation subjects is not well-developed, and is nearly always found wanting in successive OFSTED reports. When assessment in the Core dominates is it really that surprising that teachers don't have the time or expertise to assess in history? This section of the site...
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Progression in history at Key Stage 1
The problem
Trying to secure progression within your Key Stage 1 history curriculum is not always as easy as it might seem. Sometimes it feels like trying to pick up mercury with a fork. The level descriptors seem too vague to be used as precise learning...
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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 recent ones have the added...
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Short-term planning in history at Key Stage 1
This site does not favour the publication of short-term planning, preferring instead to focus on very detailed medium-term planning and allowing teachers the space to create their own short term lesson plans. You'll find all the advice you need about medium-term planning in that section,...
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