Keystage history

OFSTED rails against gimmicks rather than getting basics right

The chief inspector of schools at OFSTED has warned against resting hopes on the latest educational gimmicks and urged us…

Top 10 Command words when planning your primary history activities

As well as listing and describing, what other forms of command words can we use to make sure that pupils’…

New find reveals Roman relationship with the Celts

Yesterday the BBC ran this interesting article on an important find at Vindolanda Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall which challenges…

How can I raise standards in learning in history in my primary school? Doing the right things.

One of the hardest jobs for a history subject leader in primary schools is to build up a clear idea…

7 ways to ensure that your history curriculm is 2019-ready

There has been a lot of coverage recently of OFSTED’s intention to focus more on the quality , range and…

So, are we getting the emphasis right in our teaching of the Peterloo massacre at KS3?

The Peterloo massacre is one of the best-documented events in British history and now the subject of Mike Leigh’s recent…

Moon Landing story book to use with Year 2

Those of you teaching Man’s First Moonlanding at KS1 but like to know that there is a cute fiction title…

Scott of the Antarctic – KQ6 – How should Scott be remembered today?

Exciting finale to the topic sees pupils analysing different ways in which Scott has been commemorated in the past, coming…

Getting the level of difficulty of your history work just right.

We all know that pupils’ minds wander. Some brave researchers claim that this happens, on average, as much as 50%…

Making your Y9 key questions harder than those for Y7

With OFSTED’s renewed focus on the curriculum many schools are re-examining the quality of their Ks3 curriculum, mostly written without…

Great class story to use with Ancient Egypt at KS2

A few years ago when I was working closely with the staff at Belleville school in South London, we discussed…

9 ways to ensure that your local history topic is successful at KS1 and 2

9 ways to ensure that your local history topic is successful Don’t even begin your chosen local topic unless…

10 things you must know about King Alfred before you teach about Saxons and Vikings at KS2

1. Was Alfred born to be king? An unlikely ruler for a start. Although he was the son of the…

Assessment in history at KS3 revisited-yet again!

KS3 assessment revisited. Recently Sally Burnham and Geraint Brown revisited their earlier seminal paper on assessment now 10 years old…

Using stories in history at KS3 and 4 as well as primary classes

Daniel Willingham and other have long made the case for the use of story in history teaching at all keystages…

Top 10 tasks for effective history subject leaders

We all need reminding of what our core purposes are from time to time as we get caught up in…

Teaching Early Islam at KS2

A recent article in the Historical Association’s magazine Primary History suggested that subject leaders need to ensure that the following…

Making sure your KS2 pupils know the real reasons for the Mayan collpase: latest research

The Maya’s apparently sudden decline in the 9th century AD has long been a subject for historical debate. Now scientists…

Top 10 Command words for primary history activities

A simple way of ensuring that your pupils are thinking historically is to focus their activities using key command words….

OFSTED looking for clear progression models in history

Central to much of the discussion in OFSTED about focussing more on subjects and the curriculum is the issue of…

Powerful personal memories of Remembrance Day

As we all remembered the fallen yesterday, I had particular reason to think of family loss. In the Great War…

How did the Viking fleets keep afloat on their voyages?

The unsurprising answer is TAR. The Vikings knew how to produce it on an industrial scale, making batches of 200-300…

Which cartoon best explains the paradox of the Nazi Soviet pact?

The Unholy Alliance: why on earth did Hitler and Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact when they clearly hated each other?…

Great blog on narrative v analytical writing at A level

If any of you are feeling that the A level history markschemes don’t make much sense you will draw consideable…

Has Mary Beard got it right about TV history?

Mary Beard has sparked controversy yet again , this time about the way history is portrayed on TV. Too many…

Teaching Mary Anning as a significant person at KS1

Many of you will know that I have been trying to wean schools off teaching JUST Florence Nightingale, and have…

New explanation as to why Mayan civilization collapsed- my KS2 kids can do better

Below is a recent short explanation as to why the Mayan civilization collapsed. I think that KS2 pupils can do…

7 best ways to make sure that your history curriculum is OFSTED 2019-ready

There has been a lot of coverage recently of OFSTED’s intention to focus more on the quality, range and impact…

Commemorating centenary of ending of World War One: Using fiction to teach about remembrance at KS1 and 2

Fiction provides opportunities for children to explore what life might have been like for people living during the war and,…

Why Learn History (When It’s Already on Your Phone)

Why Learn History (When It’s Already on Your Phone). Sam Wineburg’s just-published book in which he makes it clear that the…

Lynching in the US in the 20th century 1919-54

Crammed into this very active lesson are: slow reveal of an arresting image; interesting information about the role of the…

How good is your teaching and learning policy?

So primary schools and secondary history departments are happy to vaunt their teaching and learning policies. I applaud the fact that…

Why did they build so many churches in medieval times?

This simple task starts with pupils exploring and then prioritising a range of accessible ideas in order to arrive at…

Great short video on how Elizabeth I manipulated her image

Great video lasting just 6 mins during which an expert curator decodes the messages behind medals and miniatures. Really interesting….

GCSE History: Guide to planning and teaching Edexcel 9-1 GCSE

Lots of thinking has taken place to decide the best way to structure the new Edexcel 9-1 GCSE history course. The…

Gender issues when selecting your significant person to teach in history at KS1

There has always been a tendency towards gender stereotyping when selecting which ‘famous’ men and women to teach at KS1….

Hitler Youth AS/A2 task

This smart task uses one of the most frequently misunderstood Hitler Youth posters. By taking students through a step-by-step deconstruction…

What were the real reasons why William organised the Domesday survey?

In this active lesson pupils start by speculating possible motives (given a couple of clues) and then work in groups…

Great new read for your incoming Y7 pupils studying Battle of Hastings

You know how keen your Y7 pupils are when they arrive, so why not strike while the iron’s hot and…

AS SMART TASK Vietnam; why was Rolling Thunder ultimately unsuccessful?

When by the end of 1965 US pilots had flown over 24,000 sortie missions and wiped out 355 of North…

Why was Anne Boleyn executed? Which of these seems most plausible?

In this short task students work out for themselves the key inter-related reasons why Anne Boleyn was executed. Using the…

Using living graphs in history at KS4 and 5: don’t let the activity replace the thinking and long-term recall

I have long been a fan of using living graphs, especially to help students appreciate extent and speed of change…

10 commandments for successful source work at A-level

Although it grieves me to say it, these strategies may not have much to do with better teaching or understanding…

Outstanding medium-term planner for Vikings

This KS2 Vikings planner, judged outstanding by an OFSTED history inspector now links to all the fully-resourced outstanding lessons and…

Teaching Anglo-Saxons: Alfred and the Danes at KS2

Many of you have kindly written to say how much your pupils have enjoyed the lesson where they have to…

New resource for teaching evacuation at KS2 using sources critically

If you are teaching about evacuation World War Two, possibly as part of our innovative Thematic unit ‘Beyond Face vale’…

Causes of World War One: problems of evidence. Why is it so difficult to work out who caused the First World War? Smart Task

This is a very short 5 minute warm-up activity to help students get a feel for the partisan sources that…

Keystage history

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