Keystage History Blog – updates from Neil
When outstanding is not outstanding
Ofsted’s director of corporate strategy, Luke Tryl, said yesterday: “What we can’t tell is if the levels of education in those schools judged outstanding 10 years ago are the same…
Read MoreAt last OFSTED is seeing sense with its lesson observations
For 7 of the most miserable years of my professional life, I had to carry out OFSTED inspections. Not because I wanted to but because Hampshire wanted me to. I…
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How to get high quality written answers from your KS2 pupils
As we all know, developing pupils’ extended written answers requires structures preparation. Pupils need to develop their own thinking on the topic. they then need to develop a vocabulary to…
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Gove’s reply to my letter criticising his inane proposals for NC history,sent via my MP
You might be interested in Gove’s response to my criticism of the new NC proposals, sent via my local MP. He says that in recent years ” the national curriculum…
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Gove’s attacks on ‘infantilised’ history teaching: sign of desperate man
Gove ridiculous lampooning of a couple of Russell Tarr and the Historical Associations’s suggested learning activities for history has all the hallmarks of someone far happier on the attack than…
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Top Tips for teaching….Stone Age to Iron Age
Stone Age to Iron Age The British Isles has been populated by humans for 750.000 years but only became an island when the ice sheets melted about 8,000 years ago….
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What have the Anglo-Saxons ever done for us? Some KS2 answers
If you asked Michael Wood what the Anglo-Saxons ever did for us he would give a very full and erudite answer, some of which would be beyond KS2 pupils. But…
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History teachers take lead in helping pupils spot fake news
Learning to identify fake news online requires a set of skills and knowledge that help you evaluate information. You also need the proper mindset, says Stanford Graduate School of Education …
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Fun anachronism-spotting activity set in 1796, for GCSE History of Medicine
Most anachronism activities used in schools are the rather naff ones put before Y7 pupils in an introduction to What is History. You know the sort of thing: Roman soldiers…
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Outstanding new KS2 Tudor Britain planner now available
If any of you have been waiting for the new up-dated Tudor planner, you can now request it via email whilst we put the finishing touches to the last activities…
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2 fun facts for pupils studying Florence Nightingale at KS1 and 2 key learning points
Just thought these two fun facts might interest your pupils, building on infants’ interest in animals rather than death rates from dysentery! So the two facts are: 1. As a…
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6 quick ideas to help you to develop pupils’ genuine historical understanding at KS1 and 2
How can we help pupils at KS1 and KS2 develop genuine historical understanding? These practical ideas encourage children to ask questions, investigate clues and explain their thinking. From creating a…
Read MoreOFSTED and primary history-latest
Sean Harford recently criticised schools that force pupils to repeatedly practice comprehension exercises for KS2 tests and repeats concerns that some ‘outstanding’ primaries are ‘gaming’ the system with an excessive…
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Time for sweeping change in history assessment at KS3, GCSE and A level is NOW.
When so much time has been spent on measuring pupils’ progress in KS3 using spurious data derived from blunt assessment tools, it is now time to place the emphasis where…
Read MoreFamous people at KS1- new resources from BBC
Over the last few weeks I have been approached by several companies bidding for the contract to produce animated films for the BBC Bitesize series aimed at a KS1 audience….
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Keeping up-to-date with your teaching of Victorian Britain at KS2
We often talk to children about the benefits that brought so many people into industrial towns in the first half of the nineteenth century. But we probably need to stress…
Read MoreExpert advice on local history at KS1 and KS2 by OFSTED lead inspector
Ex-subject lead for history at OFSTED has recently written this very helpful booklet for English Heritage. A great place to start if you are looking for inspiration for your local history…
Read MoreGove admits need to U-turn on history proposals
Listening doesn’t come easy to Gove. He’d rather just pontificate about what he thinks is best for us, irrespective of what we believe. So when he has to backtrack he…
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Is this really the end of the Tudors, Victorians and WW2 at Key Stage 2?
Aside from Ancient Egypt, these are the three best taught history topics in KS2 so it is madness to ditch them in favour of Gove’s untested, unresourced and uneducated choices….
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Rationale for teaching Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300 as your non-Western society in the KS2 history National Curriculum for 2014
There are two principal reasons why I think Benin was included as one of only three optional non-Western societies. The first is the period covered. It is, very roughly, covering…
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Great short 5 minute video on Vikings guaranteed fun!
If you’re looking for a clever, funny and informative overview of the Vikings that your Y5s will really enjoy go to History Bombs which you’ll find , for free, on…
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KS1 : Going to the Seaside-the mystery of the pier
One of the more interesting features of the Seaside holidays topic is the fact that it opens up discussion, even for young children, on what these novel features were built…
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New brilliantly differentiated lesson on Tudor theatre for KS2: 5 great differentiation strategies that don’t need masses of prep.
New brilliantly differentiated lesson on Tudor theatre for KS2: 5 great differentiation strategies that don’t need masses of prep. You can see the full details of the lesson on the…
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Really effective strategy : Dear Producer (video critique) features in new KQ6 lesson on Ancient Greeks
Those of you familiar with the technique Dear Producer will know that it asks pupils to evaluate how well a particular video explains a given question. So instead of watching…
Read MoreWhat can the Ancient Greeks tell us about leading history at KS2?
In these days of accountability and showing that we are doing what is required, there is a temptation for subject leaders to overplan. In a well-meaning attempt to make life…
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How much Irish history do your pupils learn?
Lise Hand the Times columnist recently described a visit to see the film Michael Collins with her well-educated and well-known friend. During the scene where the Black and Tans open…
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Photo of Scott’s disconsolate team at South Pole up for sale
Pupils have often wondered how a photograph could possibly be taken showing all five of Scott’s team in shot, given the fact that there was no-one else in the team…
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French Revolution-what do the 1793 playing cards tell us?
Interesting new lesson on using 12 colourful playing cards to encourage students to work out what mattered most to the revolutionaries in 1793. Having had the analysis of one card…
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Excellent animation of how Stonehenge was built
Great English Heritage showing how Stonehenge was built WATCH: The brilliance of our prehistoric ancestors and the creation of @EH_Stonehenge https://t.co/cfV3EiRJBx #Ingenious pic.twitter.com/uK7ISvigBS — English Heritage (@EnglishHeritage) August 9, 2017
Read MoreAs a history subject leader, do you hold your colleagues to account?
It is a truth universally acknowledged that it not good for one’s health to read OFSTED reports in the summer when schools are on holiday. But sometimes it pays to…
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GCSE History of medicine: What was the most important medical advance in the last 200 years
Recently a sample of 11,000 doctors was asked to name the most important medical advance in the last 200 years.The results make interesting reading. What an cracking activity it would…
Read MoreFlipping the GCSE history question: stopping students answering the questions that wasn’t set! An example from Crime and Punishment using zones of significance
We all know students who have answered the question that hoped would appear on the question, regardless of the actual wording of the one set. I think I have a…
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DfE criticises types of history teaching. Are you their target?
Nick Gibb, Minister for Schools has again sounded off about the virtues of formal didactic teaching of knowledge and has lampooned discovery learning. Hiding behind the views Professor Willingham, he…
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KS1 Wright brothers topic KQ5 explores change using spectrum activity
Those of you teaching a topic on flight, in the sky or ‘up and away’ might be interested to know that Key question 5 on how the Wright brothers innovation…
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10 most significant battles of World War One
Staff from the Imperial War Museums have just published their list of the 10 most significant battles of the First World War. Why not try to predict them in your…
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Why Teach Students to “Think Like Historians?”
Sam Wineburg will be familiar to many of you. If not do try to read his stuff. Sam is at Stanford University, and is the author of Historical Thinking and…
Read MoreUsing simple ‘how plausible’ strategy for high-intensity thinking from KS2 to A level
Sometimes the simplest ideas have the most impact, probably because we don’t over-complicate. Looking for a way of getting students to think for themselves, rather than slavishly follow the ideas…
Read MoreGrades 1-9 flightpath in history; or so you thought
I’m sure you has pretty limited expectations of what exemplication of grade 1-9 flightpath might look like . So its not surprising that the publication from the DfE seems to…
Read MoreWhat OFSTED says about primary history: 3 things you need to know
OFSTED’s views on primary history are difficult to find. The last Lead Inspector for history offered these three opinions before he left OFSTED, never to be replaced. A. Too often…
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Top 5 features of expert history teaching at KS1
Top five features of expert teaching at KS1 The key is challenge. Only by you setting high expectations will you be able to lift pupils’ aspirations so they don’t just…
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Learning in primary and secondary history : The 4 Ps, Gingerbread men and other thoughts on active learning
I have always favoured actively learning in history, not least because it frees the teachers to talk to individuals about the history they are studying. On the other hand, when…
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GCSE history : Medicine and World War One resource
This PowerPoint presentation , linked to clips from the film Battle of the Somme, is a must for those of you following Pearson/Edexcel GCSE history from September 2016. As you…
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New A level resources for teaching Thatcherism
The BBC has recently archived 17 programmes, news items and documents which illustrate Thatcher’s image transformation from suburban housewife to strong leader on the global stage. The collection focuses on…
Read MoreRelevance in A level history
I’m sure many of you have felt exasperated, from time to time, with students who answer questions about the extent to which something was successful by including material which answers…
Read MoreDefenders of the new history curriculum have their say: a dozen dons can’t be wrong?
In this morning’s Times, supported by a front page and leader aticle, a dozen dons have come out of the woodwork to have their say in support of Gove’s lunatic…
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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 use of a pound coin. Pupils do a rubbing and…
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Holocaust teaching and need for training for history teachers
Holocaust teaching at KS3: what we should be doing! In addition to advising that history teachers and colleagues in other disciplines ought to be incentivised to take up Holocaust Education…
Read MoreStop using ‘can-do’ statements to assess KS3 history
It has always concerned me that context-free can-do statements have NO PLACE in HISTORY TEACHING. How can we possibly consider explanations for why the Great Fire started as being on…
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Are you teaching your KS1 the truth about Guy Fawkes?
In many schools I hear teachers tell the same story about Guido Fawkes. Guy Fawkes was angry at the King and the government for the way it treated Catholics. He…
Read MoreLaunch of new website www.keystagehistory.co.uk
Hi, Just a short note to say that a new website is being launched this week for teachers of history at KS3 and 4. I have authored hundreds of pages…
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.