Those following the Crusades option for GCSE might be interested to learn that a new lesson is shortly to be launched which helps students to write relevant answers to 2 distinct GCSE questions without including irrelevant material that really answers a different question. This is...
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KS2 Roman Empire KQ1 part 1 now ready for subscribers on request
Those of you following the Roman Empire planning will be pleased to know that we have now been able to plug the gap with part 1 of Key question 1 by finding an alternative image from the one that was now unavailable. Expect it to...
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Is this another find to help us understand Stonehenge?
Yesterday's more interesting news centred on a newly-published report on the finds at Durrington Wells on Salisbury Plain. As the place where the builders of Stonehenge lived and feasted, Durrington Walls is key to unlocking the story of the wider Stonehenge landscape, and this astonishing...
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Thinking about evidence at KS2. How do we know what happened in Saxons times?
Where does our knowledge of the Anglo-Saxons come from?
It is important that we ask the recurring question How do we know? at least once in each topic, if pupils are to grasp that history is not THE story of the past but different constructions of...
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The importance of getting your key questions right in your KS2 history planning
Scanning through a number of KS2 history websites recently, I realised just how narrow a view of history was being presented. Although the material was attractively presented, the opportunities for pupils to learn history in a genuinely enquiry-driven way were extremely limited. Often the problem...
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How much do you need to talk about chronology when studying Ancient Egypt?
This is a question that has concerned many primary teachers for a long time. I have sat in the back of classrooms where the first activity was a meaningless and mind-numbing drawing of a timeline with key moments from Ancient Egypt carefully but pretty pointlessly...
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Interesting resources on Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole
Great resource on Mary Seacole
https://www.mylearning.org/stories/mary-seacole/199?
There are three games and an interactive glossary, each one narrated by Mary Seacole.
The games are:
Meet Mary Seacole: an introduction to Mary Seacole
Herbal Remedy Matching Game: pupils select picture cards so that illustrations relating to Mary Seacole and herbal remedies are correctly paired...
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Improving diversity in your KS2 history curriculum
Amid the current state of heightened racial tension across Britain and the USA, I thought it might be a good time to think about what we are doing in history to help with diversity.
How is BAME history being represented in your school?
As Ajebo’s report of...
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Getting your enquiry questions right for your history topics at KS1
Getting your enquiry questions right at KS1
On the Historical Association website is a scheme of work on George Stephenson as a famous person , a significant figure who helped to pioneer the growth of the railways. As you can see from how the topic is...
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Pleasing to see subscribers focusing much more on assessment and progression: launch of three new KS2 assessment tasks.
Understanding how pupils get better at history is key to improving the teaching of the subject at any level. In primary schools it is particularly hard so I'm delighted to see so many of you using the detailed advice on progression at KS1 and at...
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What are deep dive OFSTED reports saying about history within the EIF 2019 Framework
I thought I would publish all the OFSTED deep dive reports i can find which illuminate what schools should be doing in primary history
Here are verbatim extracts from a recent deep dive into history in a school judged outstanding . I have added in italics...
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What inspectors report on in deep dive history inspections: a recent example with my commentary from 2020
| What the inspectors said | Commentary |
Pupils in your school thoroughly enjoy learning history.
They like the enquiry-based approach you take to learning in the history curriculum, as they learn to ask and answer questions about history.
Several spoke about the memorable experiences they have had when...
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Meeting OFSTED’s criteria for a good history curriculum at KS1 and 2 during extended transition periodNow that schools have an extra year’s grace from OFSTED to refine their curriculum that is being worked on, it is worth reminding ourselves of the key indicators that inspectors will be exploring.
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Great new lesson on Ancient Egypt coming soonA great new lesson using objects to draw conclusions about life in Ancient Egypt is soon to be available to subscribers who can request an early draft copy from 1.06.20
The lesson takes images of four small objects each of which is slowly revealed on the...
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Thinking historically: ‘learning to’..as well as ‘learning about’While so many of you are locked down, it seems a good time to remind you of the key features of what it means to think historically. Much is encapsulated in the title. What do we ask children to learn to do in history. What...
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What new material would you like to see on the Keystage history websiteUp til now, what goes on the site has largely been driven bu the need to cover the National Curriculum/GCSE syllabi. The time has now come to move to the next phase where we respond to your requests. So, if there are items you would...
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What should we do with Martha? Exciting new New KS2 lesson on VIctorian workshouses ready for subscribers on requestWe are about to launch an exciting new KS2 lesson on the poor in Victorian Britain. The lesson is called. What should we do with Martha and revolves around life in a Victorian workhouse. Martha is a difficult child, having lost her mother and being...
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Improving history in your primary school: a short cameo of a success storySo what does effective leadership of primary history look like?
A case study
When Lara took over as history subject leader 3 years ago this was her first whole-school role. She volunteered to be leader of history as she had enjoyed her A level studies but...
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New KS2 Viking assessment task and markscheme focusing on interpretations now available to subscribersNearing completion is a KS2 common assessment task on the Vikings aimed at Y4 with the focus on interpretations. Pupils are shown tow markedly contrasting colourful pictures of the Vikings. They have two tasks: to explain HOW the two images differ in their portrayal of...
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Florence Nightingale and her legacy- 200 years since her birth, on 12 May 1820Historians have praised Florence Nightingale on the 200th anniversary of her birth, and said her legacy has “never been more relevant” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Staff at the Florence Nightingale Museum in Westminster said her key nursing values – which focused on maintaining good hygiene, regularly...
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Using quadrants to answers exam questions at GCSE and A levelSometimes the simplest ideas are the best. Faced with an exam question such as
How far do you agree with the view that, in the years 1933–39, the New Deal delivered relief but not recovery?
students have to collect arguments to support 4 sides of this argument...
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Top Tips for teaching….Stone Age to Iron AgeStone 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 introduction of farming about 7,000 years ago that we see radical...
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GCSE history: Answering the question set , not the one they would prefer to answer.Many of you teaching GCSE will be familiar with the issue. Your students answer the question they think the examiner will ask and the one they’ve prepared for., not the one that is set. They get in the exam room and see that the question...
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Historical Association survey of secondary history provision 2019- few surprises and some disappointing statisticsLast week saw the publication of the annual survey into secondary history produced by the Historical Association. Obviously reflecting the views of members of the Association and representing less than 20% of schools, nevertheless the survey contains the most data we have available on the...
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Key ideas in primary historyWhen we are teaching 11 subjects it is often difficult to catch the essence of each. If we're not careful we can simply deliver the scheme of work very professionally but miss passing on the key messages about what makes history distinct. So what are...
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How will you celebrate VE Day at home? Here are some ideashttps://ve-vjday75.gov.uk/get-involved/
...
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Great learning activity: Prove it! See examples for Scott of the Antarctic, Man on the Moon, Tudor theatre, Grace Darling, Louis BrailleOne of the most effective learning activities which you will find in a small number of the outstanding lessons is one called Prove It! Staff and children love it. |Pupils are given 10 statements from a textbook and set the challenge of finding which piece...
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Spreading the word: a new KS1 topic that links famous people on the same theme: Caxton and Bell
Those of you who have shown an interest in this topic will be pleased to know that enough schools have enquired about it so that we have promoted it up our priority list for development.. I’m pleased to say that its taking great...
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Remembering VE DayIn these difficult times when schools are not in session it will not be possible to commemorate the ending of the Second World War with our primary-age children in the way you might have planned. Some of you have used the lesson on VE day...
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Advice for primary history subject leaders during lockdown: have a look at the site reviewsIn the last week I have asked a few recent subscribers to write a review of the website from their perspective on an inexperienced subject leader who at last has time to address the sorts of issues that underlie the OFSTED 2019 Framework for Inspection...
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Creating your own timelines at KS2: one school’s recent find.Charley Chanter of HertfordHeath primary school has just brought this Timeline making package to my attention He wrote:.I have been looking into some resources for our chronology/timebox units and came across this website (https://time.graphics/). It allows teachers and students to create and edit timelines...
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Key question 6 for KS1 topic on toys ( setting up a class toy museum) now available on request to subscribersKey question 6 setting up a class toy museum is now nearing completion and is available to subscribers on request. This just leaves KQ1 and 2 which as less historical which will follow shortly....
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Key question 5 for KS1 topic on toys in now available on request for subscribersSorry for the delay with publishing KQ5. We still need to clear a few copyright niggles but I now have permission to make the PowerPoint available to subscribers. All you need to do is email me and I'll send the core text instructions and the...
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At last a way forward with KS2 assessment for history that will work for my schoolEven though we will have had the National Curriculum for history ( albeit in different guises) for nearly 30 years, there hasn’t been a great deal of attention paid to, let alone progress with, the thorny issue of assessment. Up til now the general feeling...
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Everything you want to know about progression in history at KS2 but can’t find anywhere else.Just to let you know that I have responded to a rush of interest in the issue of progression by writing a detailed and up-to-the minute document , ideal for those subject leaders wrestling with the likely requirements of a deep dive inspection of history....
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Great new KS3/ GCSE lesson on Amritsar massacre looking at Gen. Dyer’s actions in the context of India and the EmpireLoading tomorrow is a great new lesson exploring the motivation of Gen. Dyer at Amritsar 1919. It starts with students analysing Attenborough's treatment in the 7 min excerpt from Gandhi followed by a 2-part thinking skills activity. Students are given one set of influence cards...
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Ending Pay per PostAs of 6 pm this evening we have disabled the pay Per Post facility which enabled non-subscribers to purchase individual items. We originally introduced this facility a few years ago as a response to teachers' call for access to just parts of the site, rather...
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We learn by being excited not by being told; abiding principle of Keystage historyI get a lot of enquiries about Keystage history, largely from teachers who want to know what to expect from the site,prior to purchasing a subscription. Most of the site's content is clearly visible of course: just click on the menu bar at the top...
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Useful KS2 resources on Middle Stone Age and Star Carr from University of YorkYou might find this very detailed resource pack useful, particularly the stories which help bring the period to life
http://www.starcarr.com/schools.html...
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New resource-sharing hub for KS1 and 2 announced by the Historical Association this weekHere at Keystage history we are keen that you have access to the best resources available, wherever they originated and whoever provides them. For that reason we would like to alert you to the fact that the Primary branch of the Historical Association has just...
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More thoughts on primary history OFSTED deep divesRecently Matthew Purves , the Deputy Director for Schools, set out OFSTED latest thinking on deep dives in primary schools. He makes reference a number of times to what that means in history. Here are some of the highlights for you to ponder.
‘A deep dive…...
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Did you know there were over 1000 Roman sites in England and Wales?The numerous discoveries of Roman finds, often by private metal detectors, have revealed more than 1,000 Roman sites in England and Wales, often in places where archaeologists were not looking. While the objects include artworks, inscribed bronze tablets and military equipment, many sites have been...
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Teaching about Roman villas at KS2- some new finds in Gloucestershire. Should the housing development now go ahead – arguments for and against?Those of you teaching about Roman villas at KS2, maybe even using the outstanding lesson on this website, Is this another Roman Villa ( KQ4 part2), will be interested to learn of new archaeological excavations in Cam, Gloucestershire, which have revealed an early conquest villa....
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OFSTED using frighteningly slender evidence to judge history at KS1 and 2New Grace Darling planner and lessons coming this monthThose of you teaching Grace Darling as a famous person at KS1, perhaps as part of a broader sea-based topic, will be delighted to discover that we have now completely revised and updated the Grace Darling planner which is available to subscribers, on request, now....
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What would OFSTED say about history in your school? What needs to improve? A sample recent report gives an insightAfter identifying a number of positive features of the history curriculum and history teaching the OFSTED inspector carrying out a deep dive inspection in December 2019 wrote the following:
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Don’t led OFSTED’s unrealistic expectations of you grind you down until they’ve given you the detailed training guidance help you need and deserve.So you didn’t study history yourself beyond the age of 14, you have been leading the subject for just two terms , you have never taught it at KS1, you had only a few hours training during your degree course, you’ve never attended any INSET...
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The top 10 things you need to know about chronology at KS2, but were afraid to ask.The top 10 things you need to know about chronology at KS2, but were afraid to ask.
1.There is more to chronology than sequencing. While sequencing is fundamentally important, you also need to think about a range of other issues too. These include:
duration,
interval,
overlap and
anachronism
as well as...
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OFSTED and assessment of primary history in the EIF for 2019OFSTED and assessment in primary history
One of the features of deep dive subject inspections is that the two hardest areas of a primary history leader’s role are in danger of being painfully exposed.
One is the thorny issue of progression. How do you plan to make...
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What does OFSTED really think about 2 year KS3 history courses?More than half of schools now run lengthened Key Stage 4 history courses, effectively shortening Key Stage 3 to cater for the new, allegedly tougher GCSEs.  |