Keystage history

Assessment for learning in history at Key Stages 1and 2 (some key ideas from the Primary Strategy)

Elements of AfL Ethos Attitudes Learning environment Routines and behaviours More focus should be placed on: Use of curricular targets…

10 questions to ask yourself about the KS2 history curriculum

Question 1: Have you exploited the reduced amount of prescription in the new curriculum, or are you still teaching some…

History curriculum review – December 2024 update

If any of you were still waiting for the promised new model history curriculum which was due to appear by…

Sinking of the Titanic – assessment task – looking at consequences and change

This task asks pupils to consider consequences of the disaster and changes over time arising from it Assessment task and…

Florence Nightingale – assessment task

Focus: Change and significance This task offers pupils 3 carefully chose images to support their understanding of the achievements of…

Ancient Egypt – assessment task – The afterlife

Key Elements: ideas, attitudes and beliefs This assessment tasks focuses on a single picture. Pupils are asked how the image…

Ancient Greece – assessment task – Life for women in Ancient Greece

This is a Year 6 task which focuses on Key Element 2a : characteristic features of life for men women…

Anglo-Saxons – assessment task – What were the main changes that took place in Anglo-Saxon England?

Focus: significance and change Using 3 images to help you, what were the most important changes that took place in…

Early Islamic Civilisation – assessment task – Why was life in 10th century Baghdad was so significant

Using two contrasting illustrations to help them, pupils have to explain why life in 10th century Baghdad was so significant….

Mayan civilisation – assessment task – What can we tell about Mayan society 1,000 years ago?

Focus skill/concept: Understanding characteristic period features and cultural diversity Using 3 images pupils are set the task to explain what…

Roman Britain – assessment task – interpretations of Boudicca

Focus: interpretations Another Year 4 task in which pupils have to compare two unseen illustrations from books about Boudicca. Having…

Roman Britain – assessment task – Why did the Romans invade?

Focus: causation Short written explanation or, for some, the completion of two speech bubbles. What did the Romans / Claudius…

Roman Britain – assessment task – Roman legacy

Assessing pupils’ understanding of the legacy of the Roman Empire on life in Britain This task is designed to elicit…

Stone Age to Iron Age – assessment task – changes from Stone Age to Iron Age

Focus: sequencing This Y3/4 task is highly visual and entails simple sequencing of unseen images followed by reason why changes…

Tudor Britain – assessment task – What can we learn about the way Elizabeth ruled the country from portraits

Focus: evaluation of sources Children work on an unseen portrait after the teacher has read out the caption which explains…

Victorian Britain – assessment task – How do we know this picture shows Victorian Britain?

Pupils are given artist’s impression of a typical Victorian scene which they have never seen before. They have to identify…

Vikings – assessment task – Depictions of the Vikings

Focus: historical interpretation After looking at similarity and difference between two depictions of the Vikings, pupils then offer reasons why…

WW2 – Assessment task – How do we know that this picture shows England at the beginning of the Second World War?

Focus: characteristic features of life for men, women and children Once again based on a very detailed and colourful artists’…

Amy Johnson – assessment task – Can you explain why Amy Johnson was so important?

The children are given the task sheet containing three pictures and the question. Each has been included for a particular…

Toys; old and new – assessment task

Focus concept: Making deductions/ similarity and difference This task is designed to be non-threatening and to be carried out in…

Scott of the Antarctic – assessment task Y2

Focus concept: Causation The first task serves as a more gentle introduction to the idea of cause by looking at…

Mary Seacole – Assessment task – Assessing pupils’ understanding of the work of Mary Seacole

Target concepts: characteristic features of the period and significance This task is designed to elicit pupils’ understanding of the contribution…

Using story in your history teaching at KS2 – 10 top tips

I’ve just finished watching one of the more powerful of the Historical Association’s podcasts on the subject of story telling…

Good practice, according to OFSTED

In a lesson on developments in farming and technology in the Iron Age, the teacher used a series of short…

10 step guide to strengthening your history teaching

1. Ensure all topics are linked and logically sequenced At the planning stage make sure all topics are carefully linked…

Amy Johnson knowledge organiser – KS1

You are learning about Amy Johnson because she was a very famous British pilot who flew her plane, called Jason,…

Toys old and new knowledge organiser – KS1

You are learning about old toys to help you to understand the difference between toys people played with in the…

Vikings – end of unit quiz – KS2

You’ve learned all about the amazing Viking world – from their brave voyages across the seas to their fascinating way…

Roman Britain – End of unit quiz – KS2

Congratulations on reaching the end of our Roman Britain unit! You’ve learned so much about how the Romans changed Britain,…

Strengths and weaknesses of 10 different approaches to local history at KS1 and 2

1. A general history of the community Advantages Can build a sense of place enhancing pupils’ awareness of how the…

Sequencing your KS2 history topics: are you doing it right?

Is there a right order for sequencing KS2 topics? Let’s start with a reality check. No research exists to show…

Stone Age to Iron Age end of unit Quiz – KS2

Now that you have completed your study of the Stone Age to Iron Age, it is time to assess your…

Moon landing – end of unit quiz – KS1

Welcome to the end of unit Moon landing quiz for KS1. You’ve learned so much about how astronauts traveled all…

Ancient Egypt – end of unit quiz

Congratulations on completing your unit on Ancient Egypt! Now that you’ve explored this incredible ancient civilization, it’s time to put…

What should I be doing?

OFSTED’s recent report ( 2023) highlighted the following 5 key messages about assessment in primary history. Over the next few…

Getting your priorities right at the start of the year – KS2

September is always a good time to think through what you should be doing as history leader now that you’ve…

Keystage history bulletin – September 2024

Welcome back to a new term, a new government and new academic year of exciting developments here at Keystage history….

Early Islamic civilisation knowledge organiser – KS2

You are studying this topic so that you realise that a thousand years ago Baghdad was the largest city in…

What are OFSTED saying about history in their 2024 reports?

It is not always easy to find detailed references to history in recent school reports despite the fact that history…

Keeping your teaching of Stonehenge up-to-date

Just when you thought you knew all there was to teach about Stonehenge suddenly a major discovery turns much of…

9 highly effective retrieval activities that really help history to stick ..and show real historical understanding too!

To prevent retrieval activities simply resembling a random fact pub quiz consider using the following , which I’m sure many…

8 retrieval tasks that really work in history

This list is by no means exhaustive nor is it linked to just one key stage. You can think of…

10 most important things a secondary history subject leader should always be doing…yes, always

No contrived acronym here or implied order of priority just making sure you do the right things as well as…

OFSTED’s focus on history deep dives 2024

From time to time, its worth reminding ourselves of what OFSTED chooses to comment on when reporting its findings from…

Ideas for assemblies on the Olympics: Dorando’s story

At both KS1 and KS2 it would be good to focus on one individual and see the extent to which…

Assessment in history at Key Stage 2 – your questions answered

What are the statutory requirements to assess history at KS2? There are no statutory requirements for end of Key Stage…

Ancient Egypt – SMART task – Puzzle corner: Mystery of the pyramids in the desert

This thinking skills task has been designed to encourage pupils to work out plausible answers to the puzzling question, one…

The mystery of why the pyramids were built in the desert is finally solved

Many of you teaching Ancient Egypt in depth as part of a broader topic on ancient civilizations will , no…

Using Tudor artefacts

Idea 1: Writing an expert caption: e.g. wooden trencher Present an object such as a wooden trencher as a mystery…

Using story books at KS1 to develop a sense of time

I have written on this topic before, but there are always new and fresh titles appearing that necessitate an update….

Keystage history

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