KS2 History Resources, Lessons and Planning

ks2 classroom Expert-created KS2 history resources for Years 3–6, including complete lesson plans, PowerPoints, medium-term plans, assessment tasks, quizzes and knowledge organisers.

You will be helped to design and plan an exciting primary history curriculum , taking into account the difficult areas of assessment and progression and mindful of the new focus on curriculum within OFSTED’s framework. You will see how our enquiry-led approach, structured around a limited number of expertly-chosen key questions enables you to blend substantive and disciplinary knowledge. The interplay between the two is essential for great history learning. One without the other is of very limited value in building historical thinking.

It has been a decade since the last major curriculum review. In that time we have seen masses of superb practice which we are sharing with you. There are minor changes, principally around local history and diversity, for the 2028 curriculum which will be published in Spring 2027.

You will be shown which skills and concepts are best developed in which contexts along with examples of key questions that have proved most effective in deepening learning. 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 history planning, literacy, thinking skills and creativity.

The site also offers a unique set of detailed lesson plans and resources for about 150 lessons which have been judged as outstanding by OFSTED. These cover all the major topics linked to an outstanding medium-term planner which expertly shows how to combine the most significant content with the development of conceptual understanding.

You will see below that these resources are constantly being added to , thereby ensuring that you have not only the latest and best advise but also the highest quality learning materials for your pupils.

KS2 History Topic	Resources include
Ancient Egypt KS2	Lesson plans, PowerPoints, scheme of work, assessment, quiz and knowledge organiser
Ancient Greece KS2	Ancient Greece lessons, enquiries, planning, assessment and knowledge organiser
Anglo-Saxons KS2	Anglo-Saxon Britain lessons, enquiries, planning, assessment and resources
Benin KS2	Benin Kingdom lessons, key enquiries, planner, assessment and knowledge organiser
Beyond Face Value KS2	Thematic history enquiries exploring evidence, interpretation and history beyond 1066
Black & British History KS2	Black British history lessons, historical enquiries, significant individuals and thematic studies
Crime & Punishment KS2	Thematic Crime and Punishment lessons, chronology, change and continuity and enquiry activities
Early Islamic Civilisation KS2	Baghdad and the Golden Age of Islam lessons, planning, assessment and resources
Keeping Healthy Through Time KS2	Thematic health and medicine enquiries exploring change, continuity and developments over time
Local History KS2	Local history study guidance, enquiries, case studies and curriculum planning ideas
Maya Civilisation KS2	Maya civilisation lessons, planner, enquiries, assessment, quiz and resources
Romans KS2	Roman Britain and Roman Empire lessons, planning, PowerPoints, assessment and resources
Shang Dynasty KS2	Shang Dynasty lessons, historical evidence, enquiries and ancient civilisation resources
Stone Age to Iron Age KS2	Prehistoric Britain lessons, scheme of work, assessment, quiz and knowledge organiser
Tudor Britain KS2	Tudor history lessons, enquiry activities, PowerPoints, planning and assessment resources
Victorian Britain KS2	Victorian Britain lessons, source enquiries, planning, PowerPoints and assessment activities
Vikings KS2	Viking Britain lessons, planner, quiz, assessment and knowledge organiser
World War Two KS2	WW2 lessons, Home Front enquiries, propaganda, assessment, planner and knowledge organiser

Manchester – significant people and events

Historically significant people associated with the city of Manchester and surrounding area. Manchester is one of Britain’s most historically influential cities: a place where new ideas, new machines, and new…

Swindon – significant people and events

Swindon is a town in Wiltshire with a history shaped by industry, transport, and change. For much of the Middle Ages, it was a small market town serving the surrounding…

Anglo-Saxons – KQ1a – Why did the Saxons invade? Push or pull?

A fun thinking skills activity in which pupils infer from visual clues before moving on to analyse a range of influence cards and evaluate a video before coming up with…

Anglo-Saxons – KQ1b – Where did the early Anglo-Saxons live and how do we know? Bells and whistles

This ambitious but engaging lesson asks children to test some simple hypotheses about where the early Anglo-Saxons settled. They start with some very straightforward statements to make sure they know…

Anglo-Saxons – KQ2 – The mystery of the empty Saxon grave: whose grave was this?

This highly engaging lesson places pupils in the role of detectives. After a short briefing they have to work out the significance of the various clues found in the bodiless…

Coventry – significant people and events

Coventry’s history reflects some of the most important changes in British life. In the Middle Ages, Coventry grew rich through cloth and textile production, becoming one of England’s leading cities….

Anglo-Saxons – KQ3 – Coming of Christianity – How did people’s lives change when Christianity came to Britain and how can we be sure?

A series of smart tasks, rather than a full outstanding lesson. The first part of this two part session looks at how it happened, the second at how we know….

Anglo Saxons – KQ4 – Anglo-Saxons struggle against the Vikings – How did the Vikings try to take over the country and how close did they get?

This task encapsulates the struggle between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings in an engaging way that really makes pupils think about the dynamics of the conflict – rather than ‘one…

Anglo Saxons – KQ4b – Alfred and Guthrum: 878 the year things changed

Following a lively, interactive and illustrated story-telling session, reinforced by a sequencing activity, pupils consider the reasons for Alfred’s success in 878, against the odds, before considering the significance of…

Anglo-Saxons – KQ5 – Alfred the Great. How great was he?

In this outstanding lesson, pupils are asked to critique and then improve the BBC children’s website entry for Alfred the Great. But first they need to see how history has…

Anglo-Saxons – KQ6 – How effective was Anglo-Saxon justice?

Pupils work in groups to create a series of short dramatic enactments, each of which illustrates a way of keeping law and order / punishments meted out in Saxon times….

Anglo-Saxons – KQ7 – Were Saxon times really ‘Dark’ Ages?

Pupils design a two-sided paper plate on which they record the arguments used in the debate about the ‘Darkness’ of Saxon Britain. On one side they show the enlightened side…

Victorians – end of unit quiz

Throughout this unit, we’ve explored what life was like in Britain during Queen Victoria’s long reign, from bustling factories and new inventions to strict school routines and life for rich…

Using the Maya topic to look at changing interpretations

One of the hardest ideas to teach young children is that history is a construct and liable to changing interpretations. Many really dislike the fuzziness of not knowing for sure….

Victorian Britian – planner

Although not mandatory I the national Curriculum at the moment there is no reason why you can’t choose to study this highly popular KS2 topic. Planner Subscribers only: You must be…

Looking for a new stimulus to teach arrival of Christianity in Saxon Britain?

Earlier this summer (2025) this very rare coin was found, one of the earliest Anglo-Saxon coins in existence. What makes it fascinating is the iconography used on the coin. You…

Shang Dynasty – planner

The focus of the unit is the fact that the Shang dynasty made astonishing advances in writing, bronze technology, art and warfare. Some bronze work was the best in the…

Roman Britain – planner

Deliberately sequenced to flow directly from the topic on Stone Age to Iron Age this topic develops pupils’ chronological understanding and their ability to see clear contrasts between these contiguous…

Mayan civilzation – planner

There are three key ideas behind this unit’s place on the curriculum. Primarily it is there to show pupils that by comparison with British society in Saxon times the Maya…

Black and British – planner

This long-term thematic study, designed for Y6 pupils, is an ideal way to round off KS2 as it not only consolidates pupils’ chronological grasp of the long arc of 2000…

Benin Medium term planner

The NC’s focus is on 10th C Benin which creates problems for us. Not only are the resources sparse for this period, there is also little by way of written…