Teaching history at Key stage 2 (KS2) Archives

keystage 2 students in a lesson Welcome to the section for teaching history at KS2 where you will find masses of advice on how to make history both fun and satisfyingly challenging. You will be helped to design and plan an exciting primary history curriculum and taking into account the difficult areas of assessment and progression and mindful of the new focus on curriculum within OFSTED’s framework.

This is a tricky process at Key Stage 2. It is easy to lose continuity if you are not careful. 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 hows 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.

Early Islamic civilization – KQ2 – How was the Islamic civilization able to spread so far, so quickly?

In this demanding but important overview session pupils have to work out from clues the key reasons for Islam’s growth…

Early Islamic civilization – KQ3 – What can we learn about early Islamic civilization from the way they set up the capital at Baghdad?

Pupils are first asked to design a picture showing what Baghdad would have looked like 1,000 years ago. It is…

Early Islamic civilization – KQ4 – What was so special about Baghdad in its Golden Age?

In it’s Golden Age, ten times more people lived in Baghdad than in London. So what was so special about…

Early Islamic civilization – KQ5 – Just how amazing was daily life for rich people in Islamic cities such as Baghdad and Cordoba?

Pupils in role as rich Saxon visitors to 10C Islamic cities, have to capture the essence of these amazingly sophisticated…

Mayan civilisation – KQ1 – Why do we study the Maya in history at KS2?

Following a brief introduction to locate the Mayan civilization in time and place, stress that we knew very little about…

Mayan civilisation – KQ2 – Reasons why the Maya empire grew – When so much of the land they lived in was mountain and jungle, how did the Maya manage to become so important?

This is a contentious area and historians cannot be sure so it is a quick overview type lesson. Learning objectives…

Mayan civilisation – KQ3 – What was everyday life in Mayan civilization? How different was it for rich and poor?

Having been introduced to the nature of Mayan society with its clear hierarchy, and having seen various models and artists’…

Mayan civilisation – KQ4 – How can we possibly know what was life like for the Mayan people 1,000 years ago? SMART TASK

Introduction This multi-faceted enquiry ranges from scene-setting story telling, and making deductions (using the strategies Zones of Inference and Prove…

Mayan civilisation – KQ5 – Mayan civilization and human sacrifice

KQ5 If the Maya were so civilized why then did they carry out human sacrifice? SMART TASK Please note that…

Mayan civilisation – KQ5 additional information – Ideas to support your teaching of the Maya religious practices

How will you present cultural practices that differ from our own, such as human sacrifice, as practised by the Maya?…

Mayan civilisation – KQ6 – Why did the Mayan empire decline? How can we solve the riddle of why the Mayan empire ended so quickly?

When there are apparently 88 competing theories about the end of the Mayan civilization where do pupils start? Well, having…

Y6 pupils play film detectives to learn about government propaganda SMART TASK

Using a short Ministry of Information film, which last just 8 minutes and can be accessed online here (please note…

Mayan civilisation – KQ6 – Additional information – Why did 90% of Maya ‘disappear’ around 900AD?

This article comes largely from the Historical Association website https://www.history.org.uk/primary/categories/934/module/8747/resource-sharing-hub-key-stage-2/9839/non-european-society Around 900AD, most of the Maya disappeared from the historical…

KS2 Islam -Today is anniversary of start of Building of Baghdad

If you are teaching Islamic civilization at KS2 you might like to watch a short podcast which looks at the start…

Brief 10 question diagnostic assessment task for KS2 Ancient Egypt

Pupils have to answer 10 fairly open ended questions for which answers are provided reflecting the knowledge and understanding outlined…

Planning for teaching Ancient Greece KS2

The main foci throughout this planner are: Ideas, Beliefs, Attitudes (especially the role of women); Way of life (contrasting Athens…

Ancient Greece – KQ1 Part 1 – How can we possibly know so much about the Ancient Greeks who lived over 2,500 years ago?

Any study of ancient Greek society must begin with an appreciation of the physical features of Greece. Landform and climate…

Ancient Greece – KQ1 Part 2 – Theseus and the Minotaur: Is there any evidence for the legend?

This KS2 smart task places pupils in the role of detectives trying to prove that the legend of Theseus and…

Ancient Greece – KQ1 Part 2 – Background information

This short article provides some background information to support your teaching of Key Question 1 Part 2. Set the lesson…

Ancient Greece – KQ2 Part 1 – What can we work out about everyday life in Ancient Athens?

There are three distinct parts to Key Question 2 but each centrally based around the need for pupils to use…

Ancient Greece – KQ2 Part 2 – Ancient Greek vases: the answer lies on the pot

This KS2 history lesson, in which the decoration of a Greek pot is slowly revealed, features two cracking activities designed…

Ancient Greece – KQ2 Part 3 – What was life like for women in Ancient Greece?

This simple lesson on life for women in Ancient Greece, based around a PowerPoint presentation, makes an excellent contribution to…

Ancient Greece – KQ3 Part 1 – Why was Athens able to be so strong in the 5th and 6th century BC?

As well as recapping Athens’ natural advantages (coastline to trade by sea, expand into colonies and capture slaves) and their…

Ancient Greece – KQ3 Part 2 – The Battle of Marathon. A history mystery

This lesson on the Battle of Marathon makes a major contribution to pupils’ thinking skills. They are presented with a…

Ancient Greece – KQ3 Part 3 – comparing six contrasting interpretations of the original Marathon run

Interesting session comparing six contrasting interpretations of the original Marathon run, followed by analysis of which to believe and understanding…