Outstanding History Lessons At KS2

ks2 classroom

This section comprises two parts: the main one is the series of outstanding, fully-resourced and described, lessons graded 1 by an OFSTED history inspector when they were grading individual lessons.

You are given the learning objectives and every activity in sequence all with accompanying PowerPoint presentations and PDF files. The other lesson activities, from parts of lessons, are called smart tasks, exemplifying features of outstanding lessons and, again, all fully resourced.

Crime and punishment – KQ4 – Why did punishments become so bloody in the 18th century?

Pupils label their own copy of a motivating Hogarth print showing popular attitudes to public executions before explaining the puzzling conundrum: when the number of death penalties was increased why…

Life in Tudor Times – KQ2 – Why did Henry Break with Rome? Love or religion?

This KS2 history enquiry revolves around Henry VIII’s divorce and the break with Rome, one of the best-known stories in English history. At first, Henry, this larger than life figure,…

WW2 – KQ4 – Curator’s dilemma. Which 8 objects should we show to explain how Britain coped with the effect of war on the Home Front?

In this activity pupils are cast in the role of local museum curators specializing in the commemorating and interpreting of Life on the Home Front during World War Two. A…

Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ5 – What was life like in the Iron Age and how do we know?

Pupils speculate as to what holes in the ground shown in an aerial photograph might be, before annotating an artist’s reconstruction of Danebury Hill Fort. Using the zones of inference…

Crime and punishment – KQ5 – Why did so much change happen in crime and punishment the 19th century?

Great range of activities including: generating enquiry questions about increase in crime from a line graph; explanation builder to work out why; looking at individual punishments on a harshness spectrum…

Life in Tudor Times – KQ2 part 2 – the highs and lows of Catherine of Aragon

The context of this lesson was to explore the highs and lows of Catherine of Aragon as a lead up to the Break with Rome. Pupils had already looked at…

WW2 – KQ4 – Britain during World War Two – Call My Bluff

This activity is designed to promote creative thinking as well as to deepen pupils’ understanding of the objects that are unfamiliar to us but everyday items on the Home Front…

Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ5b – Dragons Den : Which technological development should our Iron Age settlement get next?

Set the scene. A group of the most important members of the Iron Age settlement have gathered to consider their future. They have heard of a lot of new technologies…

Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ6 – Iron Age Hill Fort at Maiden Castle

Iron Age Crimewatch AD 50. Who killed the 52 dead bodies at Maiden Castle? Key Question 6 KS2 pupils work as history detective Time Teams to solve the Iron…

WW2 – KQ4 – Christmas for children on the Home Front during World War Two

This is not an outstanding lesson as such, more a collection of good ideas and support material to stimulate even better ideas of your own. Working as expert design consultants…

Life in Tudor Times – KQ3 – How different was life for people at different levels of society living in Tudor times?

This lesson features the lives of 4 different Tudor people as evidenced from a key document that they each have in common, namely an inventory. By studying the nature, value…

Life in Tudor Times – KQ3 part 2 – Linking history with numeracy; a Tudor enquiry

More glass than wall? Is this a fair description of Hardwick Hall? And how do we find out? This SMART task links history with numeracy asking pupils to apply numeracy…

Crime and Punishment – KQ6 – Enquiry – Has the way we catch and punish criminals improved in the last 100 years?

Having analysed a graph showing the way the prison population has risen so dramatically over the last 75 years, pupils speculate as to why that might be before ranking some…

Elizabeth I portrait. Why was it rejected?

Life in Tudor Times – KQ4 – Elizabeth I portraits – why aren’t things what they seem?

This powerful lesson on Tudor portraits as propaganda gives pupils the chance to appreciate that things aren’t always what they seem. Elizabeth wanted to be shown in a particular light…

WW2 – KQ5 – Britain at war. The Home Front – Why is it so difficult to be sure what life was really like on the Home Front?

Why is it so difficult to be sure what life was really like on the Home Front? Two great tasks which together make up Key Question 5 of the Britain…

Life in Tudor Times – KQ4 part 2 – Get ready – the queen is coming!

This enquiry focuses on helping children to learn about the power and authority of Queen Elizabeth and to appreciate the contrasting lifestyles of rich and poor in late Tudor England….

WW2 – KQ6 – What was VE day really like? Advising the film producer

In this really varied lesson pupils are asked to offer first-rate historical advice to a film producer who is about to make a new movie in which scenes from VE…

Life in Tudor Times – KQ5 – How was the Spanish Armada defeated by the smaller English fleet? Using a technique called Waiting room

This lesson works really well because the tension you build into the waiting room activity gets all the class involved and focused. The more able pupils have a specific, more…

Life in Tudor Times – KQ6 – How did people enjoy themselves in Elizabethan England?

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…

WW2 – KQ6 Background information – What was VE Day really like?

8 May 1945 – VE (Victory in Europe) Day – was one that remained long in the memory of all those who witnessed it. It meant an end to nearly…

Roman Britain – KQ1 part 1 – From Caesar’s invasions to Claudius’ conquest

This first part of the first enquiry links to earlier work on the Iron Age and takes pupils from Julius Caesar’s two short-lived invasions through to anticipating Claudius’ invasion and…

Ancient Egypt – KQ1 – Launching the Enquiry. So you think you know about Ancient Egypt?

What can we quickly add to what we already know about Ancient Egypt? This way of starting should build on what some pupils already know without slowing down the start….

Ancient Egypt – KQ2 – How can we discover what Ancient Egypt was like over 5,000 years ago?

Pupils are invited to join an archaeological excavation, using slide 2-5 to set the scene. Before they can begin their preparations, they need to know where they are going (both…

Beyond Face Value – KQ4 – Why did Ford Madox Brown paint this detailed picture of a scene that never existed?

This lesson revolves around a single painting entitled Work, painted by Ford Madox Brown between 1852 and 1865. Using Fastest Finger First pupils are encouraged to explore the full detail…

Ancient Egypt – KQ3 part 1 – The opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb

The opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb: a brilliant reconstruction relay The activity that forms the basis of this lesson is called reconstruction relay. It is GUARANTEED to enthuse even the most…

Roman Britain – KQ1 part 2 – Why did the Romans invade Britain?

This lesson uses a variety of approaches including role play, decision-making, card sorts, hot seating and completing speech bubbles. The focus is clearly on causation. It follows on from lessons…

Ancient Egypt – KQ3 Part 2 – So who did build the pyramids? Did the Prince of Egypt film get it right?

This active lesson for Year 4 has been adapted from the one featured in the QCA Teacher Assessment Activities for history at Key Stage 2. It involves pupils seeking out…

Ancient Egypt – KQ4 Part 1 – What can an old clay model and a pair of old sandals tell us about life in Ancient Egypt 5,000 years ago?

What does the evidence tell us about the everyday life for men women and children? Here the focus is on two pieces of evidence which reveal a picture of the…

Ancient Egypt – KQ4 Part 2 – Using evidence of Life in Ancient Egypt KS2 – Pupils love playing history detectives

Crimewatch Ancient Egypt: Tomb Robbers This fun activity is a brilliant way of developing pupils’ deductive thinking skills in a realistic context. Pupils are cast in the role of police…

Ancient Egypt – KQ4 – Additional Smart Task

(NB This is not included on the planner) How can we learn so much about Ancient Egypt from just these 6 objects? After an initial stimulus ‘slow reveal’, pupils working…

upils use this website to actually assist Anubis in carrying out a mummification

Ancient Egypt – KQ5 Part 1 – Embalming the dead in Ancient Egypt : Great history and great literacy too

Helping the Hopeless Embalmer This really fun lesson, in the style of ‘mantle of expert’, asks the children to help the Hopeless Embalmer whose boss has left him in charge…

Ancient Egypt – KQ5 Part 2 – After-life lesson KS2

Understanding the Book of the Dead: from page to stage Using simple drama techniques to make a very old document come alive, this lesson involves pupils becoming the characters in…

Scene from the Book of the Dead. Pupils take on the role of characters in the image and act out the journey of Ani to Osiris and the afterlife

Ancient Egypt – KQ5 – After-life lesson additional information – Dealing with sensitive issues

This supports the teaching of KQ5. As you know, pupils get very excited by whole topic of mummification. Whilst we rejoice in this enthusiasm, there is a danger that important…

Ancient Egypt – KQ6 – What did Ancient Egypt have in common with other civilizations at the time?

The main activity here is called gallery. Pupils are shown images (printed from the KQ6 PowerPoint) which are displayed around the room, as if an art gallery. Pupils have to…

Roman Britain – KQ1 part 3 – The Roman invasion: have the books got it right?

This lesson follows on from the decision-making role play ‘Why did Claudius invade?’ Pupils are now asked to create a written explanation good enough to beat a textbook. To do…

Roman Britain – Supporting KQ1 – Julius Caesar and the invasions of Britain. Why did he come?

Julius Caesar and the invasions of Britain. Why did he come? Exploring human motivation. When Julius Caesar invaded in successive years 55BCE and 54BCE what was on his mind? We…

Roman Britain – KQ2 part 1 – Should the Celts take on the Romans? A reconstruction relay.

The Roman Army This highly active, boy friendly activity has proved extremely popular in schools and has led to some high quality learning because the children are fully engaged. The…

Beyond Face Value – KQ5 – Were the evacuees as happy as they were shown?

Two great tasks which together make up Key Question 5 of the Britain at War medium term plan, Why is it so difficult to be sure what life was really…

Victorian Britain – KQ1 – What were the main changes that took place during this time?

Motivating introductory lessons which, from the outset, challenges pupils to compare two images of the same place from the start and end of Victoria’s reign, before moving on to look…

Victorian Britain – KQ2 – Children working in Victorian factories: was it as bad as they tell us?

This lesson is designed for Y5/6 pupils who already have a little knowledge of industrial change but have not yet studied cotton mills. Although the main part of the lesson…

Victorian Britain – KQ3 – If life was so hard for families in the towns why did so many leave the countryside and move to the towns in Victorian times? – a history mystery

Starting a lesson with an apparent contradiction is a good way of engaging pupils interest. This ‘history mystery’ makes excellent use of pupils’ thinking skills, enabling them to make their…

Victorian Britain – KQ3a – What the Dickens was life like in the Victorian cities?

This lesson makes extremely good use of a technique called creative tension. Pupils listen, with their eyes closed, to a spoken description which they then have to visualise in their…

How did people feel about the coming of the railway?

Victorian Britain – KQ4 – Victorian railways: winners and losers. A thinking skills activity leading to a role play

This active thinking skills lesson asks pupils to consider the likely effect of the coming of the railways on different groups in society before going on to take part in…

Victorian Britain – KQ5a – Going to school in Victorian times: can pupils write a paragraph for a KS1 textbook using photographs alone? SMART TASK Y3-5

This activity puts pupils in the role as researchers for a new book on Victorian schools. They have been commissioned to write a book for key Stage 1 pupils. Therefore,…

Outstanding History Lessons and smart tasks at KS2

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Written by Neil Thompson