In the corridors of academia there has been much debate about the relevance of the british university and school history curricula  to pupils.The popular author of a book on King Athelstan, Tom Holland claims: “It should not be beyond the wit of competent teachers to render...

When your pupils watch any sporting even that features the Scottish national anthem, remind them of its links to Bannockburn and  1314. So why is it important and doesn't everyone agree? Sean Lang has recently stirred the controversy: “Robert the Bruce’s victory over King Edward II...

5 quick and simple questions to help pupils make links in history at KS3

 

1. When else have we come across a diagram like this to show how society was organised? Example: This occurred in a Y8 lesson on the Origins of the French Revolution....

With OFSTED putting the curriculum under even greater scrutiny, it is perhaps timely to re-consider assumption about delivery of history as a discrete subject or as part of a thematic approach. OFSTED will claim that schools are free to select the best method to achieve...

In a recent Yougov poll a large number of people across the political spectrum and age groups was asked to rank the importance of school subjects. Unsurprisingly the top places went to English , Mathematics Science, Computer science and sex education. History came next. Almost...

If you are unsure of your knowledge of life in Tudor times, you could do a lot worse than to start with the Museum of London's Pocket Histories which contain useful information on all the principal aspects. https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/application/files/5314/5450/2917/life-in-tudor-london-pocket-history.pdf...

How many of these KS2 history concepts do your pupils understand? Afterlife Army Blitz Border Christianity City Civil war Civilization Colony Conflict Conquest Coronation Country Democracy Emperor Empire Enemy Fleet Freedom Frontier King Law Legacy Merchant Migration Military Monarch Monastery Monk Nation Navy Pagan Parliament Peace Peasant Power Prince Rebel Reformation Queen Religion Ruler Settlement Slave Society Tax Trade Tribe Voyage War...

As always some of the best material for teachers comes from Ian Dawson. You can read his wise advice in full here  http://thinkinghistory.co.uk/MedievalArticles/Knowledge.html...

It appears that we need to add anti-earthquake engineering to all the other benefits the Romans gave us: sanitation, medicine, education, public order, irrigation- and let's not forget....wine! Recent studies have shown that it is no accident that buildings such as the Colosseum have survived ...

I absolutely love this website and teach loads of lessons from your fantastic plans and resources in units on world war two, stone age, romans, Benin kingdom and the Tudors. Many thanks, they are by far the best history resources I have found in twenty...

Figures published today show that only 16 per cent of the 305 "outstanding" primary and secondary schools inspected this academic year retained their top Ofsted rating. And almost a third of previously "outstanding" schools were not rated as "good" by inspectors....

What does greater depth mean in history? So, we all know it doesn’t just mean knowing more stuff. We also know its not like mastery in mathematics.  Perhaps these 8 characteristics might help your thinking:  

1. Independence

Expecting pupils to show initiative, not just in their research but...

For years history teachers have been using writing frames. Some are better than others. Some are downright unhelpful . It s not that structure is unnecessary its just that some frames emphasise the wrong things. When answering an explanatory mode, for example we don’t want...

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 in his answer he would include 8 ideas that they might be able to grasp....

Most schools will have come up with a new curriculum for history at a time when the statutory changes took place. But with the new focus that OFSTED is placing on having a clear curriculum rationale, many schools are revisiting this all-important issue. As OFSTED...

Small stories and big pictures As history teachers, we love telling stories. We do this to motivate pupils as we know they are interested in them and find them relatively easy to recall. They help pupils to make their own meaning.. For many pupils History’s appeal...

We all know that less than 10% of questions we traditionally ask in British classrooms actually caused new learning. Most concern rehearsing what pupils already know or are about classroom management. So its probably time to re-consider why we ask questions at all I they...

Some talented teachers have the time and imagination to write scripted dramas as a powerful way into a period issue. Here is an example from Jen Thornton on the reign of Queen Elizabeth I which you can fin don Ian Dawson's brilliant website http://thinkinghistory.co.uk/ActivityBase/ReignofElizabeth.html...

Last month the Historical Association published its annual survey of the state of history in its secondary schools. About 300 completed the survey so it is a reasonable sample. Several key issues emerged which are particularly relevant given OFSTED’s new focus on curriculum . Most schools...

http://thinkinghistory.co.uk/ActivityBase/BigStoryConflicts.html...

There has been a lot of confusing talk recently about progression in history. Schools are still  wrong-headedly trying to build up a bank of 'can do' statements that are content free. This is barking up the wrong tree. Progression is about getting better at history....

Interesting article in History Today (one that is free to read), in which authors compare the outcome of three revolutions: Russian, Chinese and French. Plenty for your budding historians to get their teeth into, especially at GCSE and beyond....

And now it’s official! Marking of GCSE history examinations is prone to greater variation than virtually every other subject- greater even than English Literature. As you can see from the accompanying image produced by OFQUAL on 5 March Read more

7 resources to support the teaching of the Moon Landing at KS1.        ...

Place-name evidence is really important to historians studying the Vikings. Not only is there so much of it, it is also very descriptive and helps us with everyday Norse language when the written sources are so scarce. We already know where to look for Viking place-name:...

Highlighting text is a commonly used technique in history teaching right up to, and including A level. I have spend many a deliriously happy hour on inspection looking through so many psychedelic folders positively glowing with neon yellow highlighter pen. But is this a little...

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 for. It is unlikely that many children will have first-hand experience...

Given Richard' failure to capture Jerusalem, his incarceration and his absence from England how could he still be called Lionheart rather than loser? How can he possibly deserve his statue outside the House of Commons? In this 2-part enquiry pupils look at why...

Chronology is difficult for young children. They generally get batter as they get older, as they can relate one period to the next in context. Of course they can learn the order, much as they can remember a rhyle for sequencing the monarchs,...

Sean Kelsey has recently published his research in a paper from the Institute of Historical Research which you can read in full here

What I offer here are some quick to digest edited highlights of the main thesis of...

Football is a religion. As early as 1000 year ago the ancient Mayan ball game drew huge crowds, not just for its entertainment value, but also for the religious significance of the sport. By looking into this ancient game we can draw startling parallels with many sports...

Kate Smee,Director of Humanities, Fairfield High School, Bristol recently gave a couple of examples of what works for her on the HA site Onebighistorydepartment.As a starting point I would recommend anyone looking at this looks at the EEF Teaching and...

Five per cent of UK adults do not believe the Holocaust took place and one in 12 believes its scale has been exaggerated, a survey has found.

The poll of more than 2,000 people was carried out by Opinion Matters...

OFSTED's 2019 draft Framework for Inspection is full of very welcome comments about the central importance of having a high-quality curriculum. It follows this up with some equally welcome strictures about progression, which you would do well to heed:
"Progress should not be...