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 tow 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 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.

KS2 History TopicResources 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
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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ks2 classroom
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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ks2 classroom
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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teaching and learnign ks2
Self-evaluation in history at Key Stage 2

Please view our curriculum health check -> With the emphasis of school improvement and OFSTED inspection now firmly placed on…

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ks2 classroom
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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teaching and learnign ks2
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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teaching and learnign ks2
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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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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teaching and learnign ks2
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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ks2 classroom
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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living timeline
What do we mean by thinking skills in history at Key Stage 2?

Why we need thinking skills Historical narrative, explanation, role-play, TV programmes etc can give children the information, or they can…

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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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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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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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reception in room
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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stoneage
Primary History: Teaching From Stone Age to Iron Age

Although not widely taught before it was introduced into the Ks2 curriculum for 2014, this new area of study has…

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york map
Vikings – KQ5 – What can we learn about Viking settlement from a study of place-name endings?

Viking place name evidence A very active session in which pupils apply their knowledge of Viking place name endings to…

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vikings
Vikings – KQ6 – Raiders or settlers: how should we remember the Vikings?

Differing views of the Vikings Fun concluding lesson in which pupils produce a balanced, illustrated Zig-Zag book to please a…

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benin
Primary History: Teaching Benin

When teaching this unit, you are advised to use the medium-term planner in the planning section which links the learning strategies…

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baghdad map
Primary History: Teaching Early Islam/Baghdad c.900

All the lessons featured below flow from the detailed medium-term planner.  Each has been chosen to help pupils not only…

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Early Islamic civilization – KQ6 – Which of the early Islamic achievements has most effect on our lives today?

Key Question 6 consists of 2 Smart Tasks. Following a brief overview of the impact of early Islamic achievements on…

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Primary History: Teaching the Maya at Key Stage 2

Containing 6 motivating key questions, designed to bring out the central historical skills and concepts related to this topic, as…

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ks2 classroom
History Teaching Smart Tasks for Key Stage 2

This section of the site look at smart tasks: short enquiry-led thinking skills activities. Unlike the outstanding lessons section, they…

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Viking boat
KS2 Quick Quiz on the Vikings

This exit task is a quick way of working out whether the key messages of your teaching about the Vikings…

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portrait of henry viii
History and literacy – Making sense of a letter from Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn

Pupils are given a copy of a letter from Henry to Anne Boleyn. It appears, at first glance to be…

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Boudicca
Assessment of interpretations of Boudicca

Below is an account of an assessment task on Boudicca , with downloadable resources,  just one of many assessed tasks…

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Teaching Life in Britain 1930-1945 at Key Stage 2

Inexplicably axed by Michael Gove from the curriculum, my advice is to carry on teaching this highly successful unit focusing…

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