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

10 questions to ask yourself about the KS2 history curriculum

Question 1: Have you exploited the reduced amount of prescription in the new curriculum, or are you still teaching some topics because you always have? If you are teaching history…

Ancient Egypt – assessment task – The afterlife

Key Elements: ideas, attitudes and beliefs This assessment tasks focuses on a single picture. Pupils are asked how the image shows that the Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife. The…

Ancient Greece – assessment task – Life for women in Ancient Greece

This is a Year 6 task which focuses on Key Element 2a : characteristic features of life for men women and children and has a challenging supplementary question on interpretations which allows…

Anglo-Saxons – assessment task – What were the main changes that took place in Anglo-Saxon England?

Focus: significance and change Using 3 images to help you, what were the most important changes that took place in Anglo-Saxon Britain? Assessment task Subscribers only: You must be logged in…

Early Islamic Civilisation – assessment task – Why was life in 10th century Baghdad was so significant

Using two contrasting illustrations to help them, pupils have to explain why life in 10th century Baghdad was so significant. Assessment task Subscribers only: You must be logged in to view…

Mayan civilization – assessment task – What can we tell about Mayan society 1,000 years ago?

Focus skill/concept: Understanding characteristic period features and cultural diversity Using 3 images pupils are set the task to explain what they can tell about Mayan society from 1,000 years ago. …

Roman Britain – assessment task – interpretations of Boudicca

Focus: interpretations Another Year 4 task in which pupils have to compare two unseen illustrations from books about Boudicca. Having described the different versions, pupils then have to offer simple…

Roman Britain – assessment task – Why did the Romans invade?

Focus: causation Short written explanation or, for some, the completion of two speech bubbles. What did the Romans / Claudius want from their invasion of Britain? This has been trialed…

Roman Britain – assessment task – Roman legacy

Assessing pupils’ understanding of the legacy of the Roman Empire on life in Britain This task is designed to elicit not just pupils’ knowledge of a range of different aspects…

Stone Age to Iron Age – assessment task – changes from Stone Age to Iron Age

Focus: sequencing This Y3/4 task is highly visual and entails simple sequencing of unseen images followed by reason why changes have occurred over time. Assessment task Subscribers only: You must be…

Tudor Britain – assessment task – What can we learn about the way Elizabeth ruled the country from portraits

Focus: evaluation of sources Children work on an unseen portrait after the teacher has read out the caption which explains the context of the portrait. The mark scheme clearly and…

Victorian Britain – assessment task – How do we know this picture shows Victorian Britain?

Pupils are given artist’s impression of a typical Victorian scene which they have never seen before. They have to identify the most significant characteristics. See task and mark scheme in…

Vikings – assessment task – Depictions of the Vikings

Focus: historical interpretation After looking at similarity and difference between two depictions of the Vikings, pupils then offer reasons why they might be shown differently, representing a major milestone in…

WW2 – Assessment task – How do we know that this picture shows England at the beginning of the Second World War?

Focus: characteristic features of life for men, women and children Once again based on a very detailed and colourful artists’ impression, this extremely popular task has elicited some outstanding answers…

Using story in your history teaching at KS2 – 10 top tips

I’ve just finished watching one of the more powerful of the Historical Association’s podcasts on the subject of story telling in history, delivered really well by Steve Mastin View on…

10 step guide to strengthening your history teaching

1. Ensure all topics are linked and logically sequenced At the planning stage make sure all topics are carefully linked and logically sequenced so teachers know what they can refer…

Vikings – end of unit quiz – KS2

You’ve learned all about the amazing Viking world – from their brave voyages across the seas to their fascinating way of life. Now it’s time to test your knowledge and…

Roman Britain – End of unit quiz – KS2

Congratulations on reaching the end of our Roman Britain unit! You’ve learned so much about how the Romans changed Britain, from their powerful army and impressive roads to the amazing…

Strengths and weaknesses of 10 different approaches to local history at KS1 and 2

1. A general history of the community Advantages Can build a sense of place enhancing pupils’ awareness of how the place they live in as developed over time, thereby adding…

Sequencing your KS2 history topics: are you doing it right?

Is there a right order for sequencing KS2 topics? Let’s start with a reality check. No research exists to show convincingly that one approach is superior to another. But that…

Stone Age to Iron Age end of unit Quiz – KS2

Now that you have completed your study of the Stone Age to Iron Age, it is time to assess your understanding with this end-of-unit quiz. Throughout this unit, you have…

Ancient Egypt – end of unit quiz

Congratulations on completing your unit on Ancient Egypt! Now that you’ve explored this incredible ancient civilization, it’s time to put your knowledge to the test with a fun and exciting…

What should I be doing?

OFSTED’s recent report ( 2023) highlighted the following 5 key messages about assessment in primary history. Over the next few months we will be further developing our assessment material in…

Getting your priorities right at the start of the year – KS2

September is always a good time to think through what you should be doing as history leader now that you’ve got your own class settled in. The whole compass of…

Early Islamic civilisation knowledge organiser – KS2

You are studying this topic so that you realise that a thousand years ago Baghdad was the largest city in the whole world. Famous not only for it’s size, the…

Keeping your teaching of Stonehenge up-to-date

Just when you thought you knew all there was to teach about Stonehenge suddenly a major discovery turns much of what we had blithely assumed on its head. We now…

9 highly effective retrieval activities that really help history to stick ..and show real historical understanding too!

To prevent retrieval activities simply resembling a random fact pub quiz consider using the following , which I’m sure many of you are, in some form or other. You’ll notice…

8 retrieval tasks that really work in history

This list is by no means exhaustive nor is it linked to just one key stage. You can think of even more, I’m sure. For that reason I have kept…

Ideas for assemblies on the Olympics: Dorando’s story

At both KS1 and KS2 it would be good to focus on one individual and see the extent to which they embodied the principles of the Olympic movement-in this case…

Assessment in history at Key Stage 2 – your questions answered

Do we need to bother with any assessment of history, then? Yes, because it helps you to diagnose what the children can do and understand and helps you to take…

Ancient Egypt – SMART task – Puzzle corner: Mystery of the pyramids in the desert

This thinking skills task has been designed to encourage pupils to work out plausible answers to the puzzling question, one which has until recently found no consensus of convincing explanation…

The mystery of why the pyramids were built in the desert is finally solved

Many of you teaching Ancient Egypt in depth as part of a broader topic on ancient civilizations will , no doubt, have spent some time exploring Egypt’s iconic pyramids. You…

Using Tudor artefacts

Idea 1: Writing an expert caption: e.g. wooden trencher Present an object such as a wooden trencher as a mystery item – assuming the children haven’t seen one before! Ask…

Leading history: a year in the life of a primary history leader

September Ensure that relevant records about attainment in history have been passed to next year’s teacher. Re-issue long term skills overview to ensure that each year team are focusing on…

Teaching Olympic games in 2024

Are you planning to teach about the Olympic games which are coming to Paris in July 2024? If so you might like to look at the following materials and lessons…

Closing the circle: making sure you have an exciting, ‘fit for purpose’ learning product in your KS1 and 2 history topics

I have often thought that we don’t always invest as much time in considering the final product of a unit’s work as we should. Rightly focussing on the key enquiry…

Britain during the Second World War knowledge organiser – KS2

In this topic you will learn why Britain went to war and was threatened with invasion by Hitler’s Germany during the Second World War from 1939-45, just over 20 years…

Shang dynasty knowledge organiser – KS2

You are studying the Shang dynasty because it was the first Chinese civilization in ancient times and one for which we now have detailed evidence. This topic not only shows…

History as problem solving

Pupils solve problems when they study mathematics. They solve problems in science lessons. So why not in history? Perhaps it’s because we don’t see it as a problem-solving subject. But…

Shang dynasty – KQ1 – Why do YOU think the Shang dynasty MIGHT be important?

Lively introductory session which creatively gets pupils to find things out for themselves and check their understanding using bells and whistles! before consolidating using short video. As this is a…

Shang dynasty – KQ2 – How different was the Shang society to other civilizations at the time?

Using the expert/envoy technique to research and disseminate information from dossiers on a range of different aspects of Shang society, pupils have to show how good a teacher they are…

Shang dynasty – KQ3 – What can we tell about the Shang dynasty from the objects that have survived?

Here the focus is on developing enquiry-led learning which is as much about asking valid historical questions as it is about finding answers . From trying to generate 12 killer…

Shang dynasty – KQ4 – Why has our understanding of the Shang dynasty changed so much in the last 100 years?

Opening up the tricky concept of interpretations of the past, this session enables pupils to grasp that history is always having to be rewritten in the light of new evidence….

Shang dynasty – KQ5 – What was distinctive about the Shang people’s beliefs?

Having used a fast-paced Information Run activity to acquire the key points about Shang religion pupils are set the task of evaluating a made-for-schools TV program showing their real understanding…

Shang dynasty – KQ6 – If the Shang dynasty was so well organised why did come to an end after just 600 years and what makes it so special for people today?

Pupils compare 5 different simple textbook explanations, which they colour code, before building their own explanation, based on what seems most plausible to them, which they then write up. Most…

KS2 History Resources, Lessons and Planning

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Written by Neil Thompson