keystage 2 students in a lessonWelcome 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.

teaching
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…

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planning
Long-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…

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planning
Short-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…

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literacy
History 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…

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keystage 2 history
Views 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…

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Creativity KS2
The 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…

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viking boat
Are 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…

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Using 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…

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Teaching 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…

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50
50 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…

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roman road
Why 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,…

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Why 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…

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top 10 history teaching
Top 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…

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top 10 history teaching
Thinking 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…

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Pupils in the field excavating Roman remains
Roles 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,…

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20
20 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…

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Vikings Illustration
Vikings: What were they like?

This lesson gives the topic on the Vikings a really active start. Pupils are placed in role as Saxon spies…

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Replica pot from TTS
Ancient 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…

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Making ostracons from Ancient Greece
Imaginative 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…

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Mary Rose
Why 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…

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If 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…

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The 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…

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ww2 evacuation
Eric the evacuee

Extending the BBC website on Eric the evacuee The BBC children’s history section has been in touch with the school…

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Is this what Dickens' London looked like?
Primary 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….

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Forward 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…

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keystage 2 history
Prioritising 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…

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monitoring
Monitoring 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…

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data
Using 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…

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keystage 2 history
Raising 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…

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keystage 2 history
Self-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…

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keystage 2 history
Personalised 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…

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Victorian cities
Gender 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…

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gifted and talented
Gifted 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…

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Victorian cities
Key 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…

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reception classroom
S.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…

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keystage 2 history
APP 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…

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Ancient Greece
How 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…

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victorian photo
Using 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…

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pound coin explained
Henry 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…

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Is this what Dickens' London looked like?
Victorian Cities

If life was so hard for families in the towns why did so many leave the countryside and move to…

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Creativity KS2
Creativity 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: –…

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thinking skills ks2
What 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…

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Web based resources keystage 2 history
ICT 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…

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Numeracy at Keystage 2
Numeracy 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,…

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citizenship
Opportunities 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…

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literacy
Designing 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…

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literacy
Rationale 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…

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stoneage
How 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…

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keystage 1
History 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…

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leading
Developing 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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