Keystage History Blog – updates from Neil
Latest posts
Remembering VE Day
BookmarkIn these difficult times when schools are not in session it will not be possible to commemorate the ending of…
Read More
Creating your own timelines at KS2: one school’s recent find.
BookmarkCharley Chanter of HertfordHeath primary school has just brought this Timeline making package to my attention He wrote:.I have been…
Read More
At last a way forward with KS2 assessment for history that will work for my school
BookmarkEven though we will have had the National Curriculum for history ( albeit in different guises) for nearly 30 years,…
Read More
We learn by being excited not by being told; abiding principle of Keystage history
BookmarkI get a lot of enquiries about Keystage history, largely from teachers who want to know what to expect from…
Read More
Did you know there were over 1000 Roman sites in England and Wales?
BookmarkThe numerous discoveries of Roman finds, often by private metal detectors, have revealed more than 1,000 Roman sites in England…
Read More
Teaching about Roman villas at KS2- some new finds in Gloucestershire. Should the housing development now go ahead – arguments for and against?
BookmarkThose of you teaching about Roman villas at KS2, maybe even using the outstanding lesson on this website, Is this…
Read More
OFSTED using frighteningly slender evidence to judge history at KS1 and 2
BookmarkAccording to today’s Guradian report an eight-year-old boy was meeting the Ofsted inspector for the first time. “What do you remember…
Read MoreWhat would OFSTED say about history in your school? What needs to improve? A sample recent report gives an insight
BookmarkAfter identifying a number of positive features of the history curriculum and history teaching the OFSTED inspector carrying out a…
Read More
Don’t led OFSTED’s unrealistic expectations of you grind you down until they’ve given you the detailed training guidance help you need and deserve.
BookmarkSo you didn’t study history yourself beyond the age of 14, you have been leading the subject for just two…
Read More
OFSTED and assessment of primary history in the EIF for 2019
BookmarkOFSTED and assessment in primary history One of the features of deep dive subject inspections is that the two hardest…
Read MoreWhat does OFSTED really think about 2 year KS3 history courses?
BookmarkMore than half of schools now run lengthened Key Stage 4 history courses, effectively shortening Key Stage 3 to cater…
Read MoreOFSTED’s report on teaching of Toys-outstanding lesson
BookmarkWhen the inspector entered, the pupils were sitting on the carpet around the teacher. She was gently exploring whether they…
Read MoreWhat does INTENT actually mean for history in the new OFSTED Framework for 2019? Building blocks and the Big Picture
BookmarkNothing could be simpler: intent is everything up to the point at which teaching happens in the classroom. It is…
Read More
Teaching the Iron Age at KS2: are you teaching the right things?
BookmarkIn a recent article in Primary History by Karen Doull of the Historical Association adumbrated a list of the ‘Ten…
Read More5 things primary history subject leaders should be doing next term
BookmarkIt obviously makes no sense to ordain a calendar of must-do tasks that all primary history leaders should be following….
Read MoreTime to drop insanity of a 3 year GCSE history course
BookmarkOf all the phases of history education pupils now go through, KS4 is by far the least appealing. So why…
Read MoreWhat do the new 2019 OFSTED Framework reports say about history in primary schools?
BookmarkEven though we are only a month into term, OFSTED has been busy publishing its reports from the second week…
Read More
80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two
BookmarkOn 3 September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany after Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland. It was the…
Read MoreWhat new OFSTED framework on work scrutiny means for history subject leaders.
BookmarkWhat work scrutiny means for history subject leaders. We all worry about work scrutiny. Will the inspectors take into account…
Read More
Anniversary of the start of the Great Fire.
BookmarkOn this anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Fire, take a look at the outstanding lesson which explores why…
Read More
KS2 update on Saxon conversion to Christianity-the first stone churches
BookmarkExcavations in Kent have just revealed that there were STONE Saxon churches being built in England as early as AD…
Read More
Making the Saxons relevant for BAME pupils
BookmarkIn the corridors of academia there has been much debate about the relevance of the british university and school history…
Read More
How significant was Bannockburn? What do Y7 pupils think?
BookmarkWhen your pupils watch any sporting even that features the Scottish national anthem, remind them of its links to Bannockburn…
Read MoreMaking links in history at KS3: 5 simple questions to ask your pupils
Bookmark5 quick and simple questions to help pupils make links in history at KS3 When else have we come across…
Read MoreIs chocolate bad for your history lessons at KS2? Warnings about OFSTED and SOME cross-curricular approaches
BookmarkWith OFSTED putting the curriculum under even greater scrutiny, it is perhaps timely to re-consider assumption about delivery of history…
Read More
Swapping a Great Fire for a volcanic eruption? Looking for a new famous Event at KS1?
BookmarkIn a recent article in the Historical association’s Primary History Sue Townsend makes a very strong case for introducing the…
Read More
How many of these 50 KS2 history concepts do your pupils understand?
BookmarkHow many of these KS2 history concepts do your pupils understand? Afterlife Army Blitz Border Christianity City Civil war Civilization…
Read More
What have the Romans ever done for us? More than we think
BookmarkIt appears that we need to add anti-earthquake engineering to all the other benefits the Romans gave us: sanitation, medicine,…
Read MoreWhat does greater depth look like in history at KS2 and 3?
BookmarkWhat does greater depth mean in history? So, we all know it doesn’t just mean knowing more stuff. We also…
Read MoreWriting frames in KS2 and 3 history: Uncomfortable Procrustean bed or essential tool for explanatory writing.
BookmarkFor years history teachers have been using writing frames. Some are better than others. Some are downright unhelpful . It…
Read More
How to implement successful curriculum change in history: using the EAST model
BookmarkMost schools will have come up with a new curriculum for history at a time when the statutory changes took…
Read More
Using small stories to reveal big pictures in our history teaching: a practical example
BookmarkSmall stories and big pictures As history teachers, we love telling stories. We do this to motivate pupils as we…
Read More
Improving your questioning in history to improve learning
BookmarkWe all know that less than 10% of questions we traditionally ask in British classrooms actually caused new learning. Most…
Read More
GCSE history wagging KS3 dog says HA survey
BookmarkLast month the Historical Association published its annual survey of the state of history in its secondary schools. About 300…
Read MoreDon’t bark up the wrong tree with progression-its all about the history curriculum not content-free skills
BookmarkThere has been a lot of confusing talk recently about progression in history. Schools are still wrong-headedly trying to build…
Read More
Do all revolutions in history end badly? Historians compare Russian, French and Chinese revolutions.
BookmarkInteresting article in History Today (one that is free to read), in which authors compare the outcome of three revolutions:…
Read More
Using place-name evidence to find out about the Vikings at KS2: 3 things you MUST know
BookmarkPlace-name evidence is really important to historians studying the Vikings. Not only is there so much of it, it is…
Read More
Using colourful highlighter pens to mark text. Is there a better alternative to promote deeper thinking in history?
BookmarkHighlighting text is a commonly used technique in history teaching right up to, and including A level. I have spend…
Read MoreYour KS3 history curriculum and OFSTED’s 2019 Framework
BookmarkWith the OFSTED Framework for 2019 very much in mind the clever people at OneBigHistoryDepartment have come up with a…
Read More
Great new outstanding lesson on Richard the Lionheart and 3rd crusade
BookmarkGiven Richard’ failure to capture Jerusalem, his incarceration and his absence from England how could he still be called Lionheart…
Read More
How well do your pupils know the periods of history?
BookmarkChronology is difficult for young children. They generally get batter as they get older, as they can relate one period…
Read More
Are you up-to-date with your teaching of the trial and execution of Charles I?
BookmarkSean Kelsey has recently published his research in a paper from the Institute of Historical Research which you can read…
Read More
How to engage your KS2 boys with the Maya using football
BookmarkFootball is a religion. As early as 1000 year ago the ancient Mayan ball game drew huge crowds, not just…
Read MoreHow to close the attainment gap in history at KS3 and 4
BookmarkKate Smee,Director of Humanities, Fairfield High School, Bristol recently gave a couple of examples of what works for her on…
Read More
Widespread ignorance of the Holocaust still shocks
BookmarkFive per cent of UK adults do not believe the Holocaust took place and one in 12 believes its scale…
Read MoreOFSTED’s sensible approach to progression
BookmarkOFSTED’s 2019 draft Framework for Inspection is full of very welcome comments about the central importance of having a high-quality…
Read More
So when did the Russian Revolution really end?
BookmarkThis article from Miriam Dobson’s at Sheffield University give us a variety of answers. Rex Wade writes: ‘The dispersal of…
Read MoreDon’t over-complicate your teaching
BookmarkOFSTED recently published this exemplification of successful history teaching in one school using the new EIF 2019 Framework criteria. Teachers…
Read More
Elizabeth I: awful weather
BookmarkAs reported in The Times, yesterday marked the Coronation of Elizabeth I, 460 years ago. It was cold and wet…
Read MoreDos and Don’t of concluding your history lesson
BookmarkWhen the National Strategies were all the rage over a decade ago now, a lot of attention was paid in…
Read MoreWritten by Neil Thompson
All content on Keystage history is written and quality assured by Neil Thompson, a former history teacher, county history adviser and Ofsted inspector with more than 30 years’ experience in history education.