Teaching Mary Anning at KS1 - Lessons and resources
Growing in popularity as a strong alternative to Grace Darling and Florence Nightingale, studying Mary Anning at KS1 offers some clear advantages.
Not only is she a remarkable talent but she also achieved much of her famous work at an age not so far removed from the children who learn about her. She is a great role model for young girls, being so accomplished in a such a heavily male-dominated world.
This topic is highly suitable for Y2 pupils and serves as a great example of a significant young woman achieving an amazing amount in a short time in what was a man’s world. At a time when women rarely ventured into the realms of science this young girl took the world by storm. As an inspiration for young girls to think what might be possible in their lives, this life story has a lot of the ingredients to spark pupils’ interest: dinosaurs, exciting finds, managing to sell her fossils in hard times, and a dog of course!
Pupils have lots of opportunities for hands-on activities, working with fossils, as well as consideration of historical evidence and coming up with compelling reasons why we still remember this young girl’s achievements 200 years later. Recent press coverage of attempts by children to honour her relatively neglected memory gives pupils a connection between past and present and the opportunity to express their admiration in the devising ways to commemorate her remarkable life.
Mary Anning KS1 Scheme of Work, Knowledge Organiser, Assessment & Quiz
| Mary Anning Key Questions | Historical focus |
|---|---|
| KQ1 – Why do we remember Mary Anning? | Significance and historical enquiry |
| KQ2 – What did Mary do in her life that was so special? | Chronology and significance |
| KQ3 – What sort of person was Mary that helped her to succeed in a man’s world? | Character, motivation and historical context |
| KQ4 – Which other people were important in Mary’s life and why? | People, relationships and causation |
| KQ5 – How do we know about Mary’s actions which happened so long ago? | Historical evidence and sources |
| KQ6 – How and why should Mary Anning be remembered? Have your say. | Significance and commemoration |
Mary Anning end of unit quiz – KS1
We’ve been learning all about Mary Anning, the amazing fossil hunter who found prehistoric marine reptiles, including ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs by the seaside. Now it’s time to see what you…
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Mary Anning – assessment task
Focus: Significance This simple-to-administer, uncomplicated task uses a contemporary image to stimulate pupils to think about Mary Anning’s long-term significance. The accompanying markscheme can be used to align pupils’ responses…
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Mary Anning knowledge organiser – KS1
You are learning about Mary Anning because she became very famous at a very young age. She was an expert fossil hunter. At a time when most scientists studying fossils…
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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….
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
Read MoreWritten by Neil Thompson
All content on Keystage history is written and quality assured by Neil Thompson, a former history teacher, county history adviser and Ofsted inspector with more than 30 years’ experience in history education.