Teaching Famous People at KS1

Scott of the Antarctic – assessment task Y2

Focus concept: Causation The first task serves as a more gentle introduction to the idea of cause by looking at Scott’s personal motivation. By using the speech bubble device we…

Mary Seacole – Assessment task – Assessing pupils’ understanding of the work of Mary Seacole

Target concepts: characteristic features of the period and significance This task is designed to elicit pupils’ understanding of the contribution of Mary Seacole to the development of nursing. When it…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Caxton and Bell – KQ1 – What did Caxton do that was so important to us today?

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…

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…

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….

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….

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…

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…

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….

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…

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

This session comprises two activities. Activity 1 – Pupils try to work out why Braille might be famous from visual clues. Discuss how blind people can read today. They handle…

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…

Mary Seacole – KQ4 – How did life change for Mary after the Crimean war?

What happened to Mary Seacole when the Crimean War was over? In this engaging KS1 history lesson, pupils discover that Mary’s return to Britain was far from straightforward. By sequencing…

Louis Braille – KQ4 – What changes to people’s lives did Louis make?

Step 1 This is a short activity in which pupils are asked to think of any uses of Braille they know of in everyday life, perhaps by showing the start…

Louis Braille – KQ5 – What makes Braille so special? Smart task

This very short task is preliminary to the major task that follows in KQ6 which explores how we should commemorate Louis’ achievement. It is important that they consider the crucial…

Mary Seacole – KQ5 – What made Mary so special?

A short session aimed at generating adjectives to capture the special qualities that Mary had and to provide examples of where she exhibited those characteristics. Learning objectives – Pupils can…

Mary Seacole – KQ6 – Why doesn’t everyone agree that Mary deserves her statue at St. Thomas’ hospital?

This lesson places pupils in the role of Mantle of the Expert. A new monument to Mary Seacole was erected outside St Thomas Hospital in 2016 . But there have…

Guidance for teaching Amy Johnson as a Famous Person in Key Stage 1

This study of a significant individual has been designed to form part of a broader topic on a similar theme which is one of the key requirements of the current…

Teaching the Wright Brothers as a Famous Person in Key Stage 1

The Wright brothers offers an exciting opportunity for pupils to explore a topic that should engage their interest, provide plenty of opportunities for drama and creative thinking and should fit…

Wright Brothers – KQ1 – What do you think the Wright brothers did to make them famous?

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…

Wright Brothers – KQ2 – How did the Wright brothers manage to be the first to launch a man powered flight?

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…

Wright Brothers – KQ3 activity 1 – Why did the Wright brothers succeed where others had failed?

Sarah Duck describes how her class tackled this key question. The task involves children reading small diamond-shaped text cards, to decide which statements are true or false. They then put…

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