Primary history opinion

New KS2 assessment task: Stone Age to Iron Age

As you know we have been working hard to create a complete set of simple, easy-to-run and easy-to-mark assessment tasks that can be used formatively as well as summatively. Our aim is to ensure that each topic has at least 2 of these tasks, covering...
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New KS2 Tudor smart tasks

Later this week, we will be uploading the remaining three smart tasks that complete the series of five activities which help pupils to answer the question, Why did Henry VIII Break with Rome? along with the new medium term planner. Subscribers wishing to have a...
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Latest research on Stonehenge- a must for KS2 teachers

The results of one of the largest DNA studies yet conducted show that soon after Stonehenge was built, Britain was 'invaded' by new arrivals from the Continent. Until about 4,500 years ago, Britain was inhabited by neolithic farmers who had spread from Spain and Brittany. They...
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Keeping your teaching of the Maya at KS2 up-to-date.

Key point 1 Historical opinion is changing all the time often in light of new evidence, literally. The latest technology using lasers has enabled archaeologists to discover up to 60,000 hidden Mayan buildings in present-day Guatemala. Unfortunately they can't be dated. Most of these are houses,palaces...
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KS2 lessons on Britain at War soon to be uploaded

Great news for those of you who have asked about the remaining lessons linked to the medium term planner we published over the summer. All lessons are now going through the final edit, so are available to be emailed to you on request. They will...
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Brand new Ancient Greece planner for KS2

After months of refining, we will be launching our new Ancient Greece planner tomorrow. All six enquiry questions and home study will tie in all the outstanding lessons as well as adding a dozen new smart tasks. Most of these support KQ5 on the Greek...
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Assessment in history at KS2- What OFSTED is looking for

Mention the words 'assessment in foundation subjects' and you're likely to be met with a frosty response. 'Its hard enough in English and mathematics, how on earth will we find the time to carry out assessment in all those other subjects. And even if there...
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New KS1 medium term planner on Moon Landing

A brand-new outstanding KS1 medium-term planner has now been uploaded on the Moon Landing topic. This contains all the key enquiry questions, well-pitched learning objectives as well as recommended learning activities. Three of the key lessons are now on the site with more to follow...
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New outstanding KS2 planner and lessons on Tudors

Landing soon is a brilliant KS2 medium term planner rated outstanding by OFSTED. You will find 6 enquiry-led key questions each exploring a separate historical concept in depth, and a home-study. All the existing outstanding lessons and smart tasks have now been tied into this...
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New lessons on Wright brothers coming soon

Just putting finishing touches and clearing copyright for 5 great activities for Key questions 3 , 4 and 6 of the Wright brothers planner. These comprise : a prioritising diamond-4 task looking at the reasons why the Wright brothers were so successful; a hot-seating teacher-in...
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Ancient Greeks and memory: another legacy

Many people who try to remember large amounts of information probably don't realise it at the time but they are employing methods that go back over 2,500 years: Ancient Greek methods. I'm thinking, of course, of mnemonics. The word' remember', indeed, comes from the Greek...
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New theory on sinking of the Titanic

Left luggage activity on the Titanic using artefacts provided by a Southampton Museum
Those of you teaching the great KS1 topic on the sinking of the Titanic will be interested to know that the debate still goes. What we term a history mystery in the outstanding lesson, certainly is every bit a mystery. Now, 30 years of further...
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New KS1 lesson on Amy Johnson coming very soon

Those of you who have seen our excellent Amy Johnson planner and are keen to start resourcing all the lessons mentioned in the plans will,be pleased to know that the story-telling relay activity for key question 2 involving mime and props will be appearing on...
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What OFSTED says about primary history: 3 things you need to know

OFSTED's views on primary history are difficult to find. The last Lead Inspector for history offered these three opinions before he left OFSTED, never to be replaced. A. Too often in primary schools, history is submerged within an integrated curriculum structure and, as a result, pupils’...
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Top 5 features of expert history teaching at KS1

Top five features of expert teaching at KS1
  1. The key is challenge. Only by you setting high expectations will you be able to lift pupils’ aspirations so they don’t just settle for the best they think they can do.
Tip: Think about placing pupils in the...
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Iron Age find-internationally important

Almost 2,000 years after being buried, the remarkably well-preserved remains of 150 skeletons and their personal possessions have been discovered in a small Yorkshire market town. The remains of the burial ground that contained skeletons of people from the middle-iron age , known as the Arras...
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Teaching Ancient Civilizations at KS2- Ancient Sumer

keystage 2 history
Sometime around 4000 B.C., ancient Sumerian culture emerged on a sun-scorched floodplain along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now southern Iraq. These clever Mesopotamians are best known for inventing cuneiform script—the world’s oldest extant writing system—but they also forged a vibrant religious...
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