Teaching history at Key stage 2 (KS2)>
The teaching process in history at KS2
Key Stage 2 history teaching is often unfairly caricatured as a teacher telling interested pupils lots of interesting stories: fun…
Read MoreLong-term planning at Key Stage 2
The advent of the new curriculum for history marked the most significant change in your school’s history planning for over…
Read MoreShort-term planning in history at KS2
As a rule, this site does not recommend the publication of short-term planning, preferring instead to focus on very detailed…
Read MoreHistory and literacy at Key Stage 2
Although OFSTED still points out that opportunities for exploiting the link between history and literacy are still being overlooked, the…
Read MoreViews of learners in history at Key Stage 2
There has been very little published research on the views of KS2 pupils on their history work, other than lots…
Read MoreThe learning process in history at KS2
Given that this site specialises in giving practical support to busy teachers and subject leaders, you may be surprised to…
Read MoreAre we fair to the Vikings? A question of interpretation. SMART TASK KS2
Pupils are shown a range of stereotypical images of Vikings, using slides 2 and 3. This should be used to…
Read MoreUsing Fiction: teaching Stone Age to Bronze Age in history at KS2
Using Boy with the Bronze Axe by Kathleen Fidler to help you teach Stone Age to Bronze Age and Skara…
Read MoreTeaching Local History at Key Stage 2
So, where do we start if we haven’t a clue about Local History? Unlike all other areas of study Local…
Read More50 imaginative learning activities to use in history at Key Stage 2
Currently these top 50 imaginative ideas are just listed in alphabetical order with a brief description of each, cross-referenced to…
Read MoreWhy did the Romans spend so much time building roads? KS2 short task
From Diamond 4 to ‘Roving Mike’ and kids’ wiki. This simple short task gives groups of pupils, 3 per group,…
Read MoreWhy did Germany lose the Battle of Britain?
If Britain was only a few days away from defeat in August 1940 how on earth did she win the…
Read MoreTop ten ingredients of a good KS2 post-1066 thematic unit.
Teaching Crime and Punishment as a post-1066 thematic unit at KS2 For a while now, a number of schools have…
Read MoreThinking words in primary history: my top 10
Those of you who have used a lot of the lessons on the site will know only too well that…
Read MoreRoles of learners in history at Key Stage 2
One of the best ways of exciting young children in history is to put them in role. Dorothy Heathcote’s approach,…
Read More20 creative products for history Key Stage 2
This section accompanies the ones on teaching and learning approaches. It offers you a few ideas you may not have…
Read MoreVikings: What were they like?
This lesson gives the topic on the Vikings a really active start. Pupils are placed in role as Saxon spies…
Read MoreAncient Greece: Short task on using Greek pots
What can I do with just one Greek pot in the resource cupboard? Collaborative and creative storyboarding At the core…
Read MoreImaginative learning activities at Key Stage 2
This section accompanies the ones on teaching and learning approaches. It offers you a few ideas you may not have…
Read MoreWhy on earth did the Mary Rose, pride of the Tudor fleet, sink so quickly under the nose of Henry VIII himself? Home study option SMART TASK
A tightly structured series of activities on the reasons why the Mary Rose mysteriously sank which incorporates: a. A history…
Read MoreIf life was so hard in Victorian cities, why did Wilf move his family there?
If life was so hard for families in the towns why did so many leave the countryside and move to…
Read MoreThe mystery of the empty Saxon grave
This highly engaging lesson places pupils in the role of detectives. After a short briefing they have to work out…
Read MoreEric the evacuee
Extending the BBC website on Eric the evacuee The BBC children’s history section has been in touch with the school…
Read MorePrimary History: Teaching Victorian Britain Key Stage 2
Astonishingly, at a stroke, Gove removed the Victorians from the KS2 history curriculum where it had reigned supreme for decades….
Read MoreForward planning in history at Key Stage 2
This section ties in with the others on prioritising and monitoring and the message is basically the same. You need…
Read MorePrioritising your work as history leader
When there is so little non-contact time to lead history, it is crucial that you spend your time wisely. This…
Read MoreMonitoring in history at Key Stage 2
You will, at some stage, need to monitor standards and the quality of learning in history. The quality of teaching…
Read MoreUsing data to improve history teaching and learning at Key Stage 2
Given that there is no subject-specific data on history at Key Stage 2 this might seem a strange inclusion on…
Read MoreRaising attainment in history at Key Stage 2
The prospect of raising attainment across the whole key stage is quite daunting, especially when you consider how little non-contact…
Read MoreSelf-evaluation in history at Key Stage 2
With the emphasis of school improvement and OFSTED inspection now firmly placed on self-evaluation this has become one of the…
Read MorePersonalised learning in history at KS 2
This is certainly one of the key areas to be focusing on in the next few years and lies at…
Read MoreGender issues in history at Key Stage 2
It is hard to think of a teaching and learning strategy that one would use with boys. We all know…
Read MoreGifted and talented pupils in history at Key Stage 2
Much has been written in general terms about identifying and then catering for able pupils in history. OFSTED and others…
Read MoreKey motivational factors in history teaching at Key Stage 2
The essence of what appeals to pupils can often be summed up by the words, People, Puzzle and Point. Children…
Read MoreS.E.N. in history at Key Stage 1 and 2
By inclusion we mean three things here: setting suitable learning challenges, responding to pupils’ diverse needs, and overcoming potential barriers…
Read MoreAPP in history: where are we now? Some key questions answered
NB. This section is no longer current, so please don’t base your action on its contents. It has been left…
Read MoreHow to teach Ancient Greece to Key Stage 2
To all intents and purposes, the ancient Greek planning and all the outstanding lessons fit just as perfectly with the…
Read MoreUsing a Victorian census to discover what life was like 100 years ago
There are 4 separate ways of approaching this topic, each becoming increasingly more ambitious. Stage 1 is featured below. Stages…
Read MoreHenry VIII on the money. The strange case of the one pound coin
This is not so much a full lesson as an introduction to the Break with Rome. It revolves around the…
Read MoreVictorian Cities
If life was so hard for families in the towns why did so many leave the countryside and move to…
Read MoreCreativity in History at Key Stages 1 and 2
This best place to start with developing your thinking on creativity in history is to think in terms of: –…
Read MoreWhat do we mean by thinking skills in history at Key Stage 2?
Whenever a new initiative is introduced the natural reaction is to assume that what we have been doing up to…
Read MoreICT in the history curriculum at Key Stage 2
When planning to use ICT in the history curriculum it is of paramount importance that the history is enhanced by…
Read MoreNumeracy and history at Key Stage 2
History is full of opportunities to enhance pupils’ grasp of numeracy. We don’t have to contrive examples. We do, however,…
Read MoreOpportunities for Citizenship Education in Key Stage 2 History
This section covers two main aspects: the ways of thinking that support citizenship education and the knowledge of past situations…
Read MoreDesigning your curriculum for history at Key Stage 2
With the current National Curriculum for history, schools have had to make some major changes to the structure as well…
Read MoreRationale for how you teach your KS2 curriculum history
When planning your history, it is really important that you spend some time establishing a strong rationale for your choice…
Read MoreHow well do you and your KS2 pupils know the Stone Age to Iron Age topic?
A brief set of diagnostic questions to set your Y3 pupils towards the end of the Stone Age to Iron…
Read MoreHistory for pupils with EAL in Key Stages 1 and 2
Most of you will be well-versed in strategies for helping children with EAL access other subjects in the curriculum and…
Read MoreDeveloping your staff
Nearly all teachers enjoy teaching history and will want to improve the quality of their own teaching so that children…
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