Keystage history

Keeping healthy – KQ6 – When was the best time to live in terms of keeping heathy? What would the dates of your preferred lifespan of 80 years be?

In this brief concluding session, pupils look back over 300 years of history and make a judgement about the best time to have lived, applying what they have picked up…

The Roman legacy and the Saxon Dark Ages? – In the news – September 2025

Almost inevitably you will ask with your class the time-honoured question: What have the Romans ever done for us? Alongside the aqueducts, straight roads, sanitation, and baths, (not forgetting wine…

Wright Brothers end of unit quiz – KS1

You have learned all about the Wright brothers, who built the first successful flying machine. They were curious, inventive, and never gave up, even when things went wrong. Their hard…

Scott of the Antarctic end of unit quiz – KS1

You have now learned all about the brave explorer Captain Scott and his incredible journey to the coldest place on Earth – Antarctica! He and his team set out to…

10 things you need to show OFSTED that you are doing your best to give children a high quality history education

1. You will need to show OFSTED that you have a clearly thought through rationale for which topics you are teaching, in which order and why? You should be able…

Fitness for purpose versus novelty

Visiting over 300 primary schools in my career, several of them many times over, during many years as a primary history adviser, I have come across a vast range of…

Seeing the BIG PICTURE of the past

“Big picture” history teaching emphasizes the connecting of specific historical events and links topics to broader themes and contexts. It involves placing local, national, and global events within a larger…

Mary Seacole end of unit quiz – KS1

Let’s see what you remember about Mary Seacole! This quiz will help you review what you’ve learned about her amazing life, from her early years to her brave work during…

Mary Anning end of unit quiz – KS1

We’ve been learning all about Mary Anning, the amazing fossil hunter who found prehistoric marine reptiles, including ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs by the seaside. Now it’s time to see what you…

Going to the seaside end of unit quiz – KS1

We’ve had lots of fun learning about the seaside — from what it was like in the past to how people enjoy it today! Now it’s time to see what…

Florence Nightingale end of unit quiz – KS1

You’ve been learning all about Florence Nightingale — a very special nurse who helped lots of people. Now it’s time to see what you can remember! This quiz will ask…

Grace Darling end of unit quiz – KS1

Grace Darling is remembered for doing something very brave a long time ago. She helped others in a time of danger and became a well-known figure in history. In this…

Britain during World War Two (WW2) end of unit quiz – KS2

You’ve spent some time diving into one of the most important events in modern history – World War Two. You’ve learned about brave evacuees, life on the home front, rationing,…

Sinking of the Titanic – end of unit quiz – KS1

This amazing ship set sail over 100 years ago but ended in a terrible disaster. You’ve learned all about it’s journey, passengers, and what went wrong. Now it’s time to…

Policy Exchange report on state of secondary history education in 2025 – comment

I don’t know how many of you have caught sight of this week’s latest contribution to the on-going debate about history teaching in our schools but it makes interesting, if…

Thinking skills in history at Key Stage 2; encouraging metacognition

To encourage metacognition – some initial ideas of activities that promote thinking skills. You will find examples of these in a range of Outstanding Lessons. See also 100 Great Teaching…

20 effective enquiries in Key Stage 3 history

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How to carry out an effective work sample in Key Stage 3 history

It is assumed that you will already have a few hunches about what you will find based on your informal visits to lessons, assessment data, formal lesson observations etc. How…

How to interview pupils – The pupil voice: let the children speak

This article draws on the wisdom, insight and practical experience of my friend and colleague Ken Wilby who was the English inspector who sat at a desk opposite mine for…

What to look for in outstanding history lessons: Your starter for 12

Lists such as these are only useful up to a point. They do highlight what is characteristically present in lessons judged as outstanding, but much depends on how these different…

Observing history lessons at KS3

Why bother? Aside from Performance Management, you will want to see your colleagues at work and for them to see each other in order to disseminate good practice and to…

Feeding back after a lesson observation at KS3

Teaching in front of colleagues who are sitting at the back of your own classroom is nerve-wracking enough. To know that they will be passing judgement as well can be…

Interviewing pupils

Much has been written in recent years about the value of listening to the pupils’ voice, not least in terms of the new OFSTED arrangements for self-evaluation. High on the…

Your Key Stage 2 history portfolio – What should it contain?

20 questions for you to ponder and answer What should my KS2 history portfolio contain? What sort of work do I include? Should I identify specific pieces, which everyone knows…

Raising the profile of history at KS1

One of the main roles of subject leaders for history is to be a passionate advocate for the subject. The following article offers practical advice as to how to turn…

Motivating colleagues to teach history

1. Give praise Give praise wherever possible e.g. when you see evidence that your colleagues have: • Inspired pupils • Created high quality displays • Produced thoughtful planning • Taken…

Progression in chronology – KS1

Start of KS1 Can describe differences between him or herself as a baby and as he or she is now. Sequences images of themselves as baby, toddler and infant. Can…

Learning principles applied to history at KS1

Effective history teaching at Key Stage 1 is rooted in sound learning principles that support young children’s development. At this age, pupils thrive when learning is active, meaningful, and connected…

Top tips for planning your KS2 history studies – The Anglo-Saxons

Planning the Anglo Saxons topic effectively ensures meaningful, engaging learning that builds pupils’ knowledge and thinking skills. These top tips offer practical guidance to help you design coherent, rich studies…

Top tips for planning your KS2 history studies – Ancient Greece

A study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world With its emphasis squarely on the achievements and legacy of the Greeks, this topic is much…

Top tips for planning your KS2 history studies – Local history

Are you going to do more than one study, one period study in depth and one overview, one in Y3 one in Y5/6? They need not be the same length….

Top tips for planning your KS2 history studies – Thematic post-1066

A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066. Try to make as much use as you can of your existing Tudor,…

Top tips for planning your KS2 history studies – The Vikings in Britain

Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor. There are two key themes here: The struggle with the Anglo-Saxons; and how we…

Top tips for planning your KS2 history studies – Benin / Islam / Maya

Focus on why we are teaching this topic at KS2, often for the first time. Why was this civilization quite so special? Compare with society in Britain at the time,…

Top tips for planning your KS2 history studies – Roman Empire and its impact on Britain

Whilst it might look as if this is a bigger unit than simply the existing Roman Britain unit, in reality it probably means just another key question placing the Roman…

Top tips for planning your KS2 history studies – Ancient civilisations

For most of you, you will continue teaching Ancient Egypt as before, for 80% of this topic. You MUST give pupils a sense of overview of all the named ancient…

Top tips for planning your KS2 history studies – 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. It was only with the…

How well are you intertwining national and global history?

Last year saw the new Labour government abort plans to create a model primary history curriculum which would have offered a clear way of making your history curriculum more inclusive….

Transported for defacing this bridge in the 1820s

Transportation; what questions can we raise and answer from the statistics?

This is the first of two lessons on transportation and owes its genesis to an idea from Richard McFahn when an Advanced Skills Teacher for history in Hampshire. It starts…

What to look for when evaluating the quality of history in your school – KS2

Evaluating the quality of history in your school involves examining curriculum breadth, teaching effectiveness, pupil engagement, and progression in historical thinking. This page outlines key indicators of high-quality history education,…

Anglo-Saxon end of unit quiz

The Anglo-Saxons were people who came from parts of modern-day Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands to settle in Britain after the Romans left. They lived in small villages, built wooden…

Keystage history bulletin – March 2025

Welcome to this special edition of the newsletter devoted to the thorny issue of assessment. You will also find the recently added content to the site including new units, assessment…

Tudor Britain knowledge organiser – KS2

You are learning about the Tudors as it was a period of history that helped to shape the Britain we live in today over 500 years later. Although best known…

Mind friendly learning. What should you be doing in your classroom?

Mind-friendly learning in history focuses on creating rich, engaging experiences that align with how young children’s brains develop and absorb information. By tapping into natural curiosity, using storytelling, sensory activities,…

Latest historian’s wisdom on “Alfred the Great. How great was he?” in 2025

Source: Historical Association (membership required) Francis Leneghan is Professor of Old English at the University of Oxford. In this article for the Spring 2025 edition of the Historical Associations’ journal…

Castles knowledge organiser – KS1

You are learning about castles because they are one of the most fascinating buildings that have been there for hundreds of years. Not only will you learn how castles were…

New guidelines for 21st century history

In a recently-published study by the Council of Europe entitled “Quality history in the 21st century” a number of key aspects were covered which have a significant bearing on how…

Castles – medium term planner

The main focus of this topic is the exploration of the past beyond living memory through a topic that is sure to spark pupils’ interest and curiosity. There are plenty…

Castles – KQ1 – What makes a castle a castle?

Having elicited pupils’ initial knowledge of castles from books film and family visits, pupils are asked to explore a number of images in order to work out what makes a…

Castles – KQ2 – Why did people build castles in the past?

This session is straightforward in that pupils are introduced via a short video to a variety of reasons which not all pupils will fully grasp on first showing. To reinforce…

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Written by Neil Thompson