6 signs to look for to show your pupils are becoming historically literate
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Primary history teaching
For most primary teachers, there are many attractions to teaching history. Not only is it one of the most popular subjects with pupils, it is also one which is invariably interesting to teach.
Resources are relatively easily available and, superficially at least, there don’t seem too many complex concepts to master. It is a great vehicle for literacy-based activities and everyone likes a good story: all human life is there. And therein lies the problem. If history is relegated to interesting but uncontested stories about the past then we miss the point about why it is on the curriculum.
We need to see history as a discipline, so that pupils know what to do when faced in their own lives with two versions of the same event or two incompatible interpretations of a famous person. Without some grounding in the study of history, pupils are left without any means of explaining why not all newspapers report events in the same way.
For History is so much more than a record of events; it is the -examination of the past which demands critical use of evidence. So, what are the key features of history as a discipline that can be taught to primary-aged pupils?
Firstly, history is the process of enquiry, the search for evidence, and the examination of this evidence by sorting, evaluating and weighing it. This can be a simple explanation of how we know a toy train is old in Y1, through to an analysis of fragments of pot evidence when studying the role of women in Ancient Greece in Y6.
Secondly, historians use this evidence to imaginatively reconstruct the past – to write their history. The problem is that evidence is nearly always incomplete. So, historians use their skills to fill in the gaps and imagine and infer how it might have been. It is like completing a jigsaw when parts are missing and the picture on the lid is incomplete. In the classroom you might show Y1 pupils six photographs of a Victorian schoolroom and ask them to write a paragraph for a museum display in which they note what they all have in common. At the other end of the primary age range, ask Y6 pupils to work out why some government posters in World War Two were rejected and others accepted as effective propaganda.
Pupils also need to know that when historians describe and explain the past, what we get is their construct, and not a fixed and uncontested view of the past. For this reason we need to offer pupils the opportunity to see how and why different versions of the past differ.
To help turn these basic tenets of good primary history into effective learning we might need some further guidance. Here are some key points with an explanation of why they are important.
Primary history resources, curriculum and outstanding lessons
Scales of planning in primary history
Making sure you don’t leave out key things and don’t waste your time duplicating
Planning can seem a real chore, but it is key not only to maximising the opportunities for pupils to build up a...5 key tasks for the history subject leader
Being a history subject leader can often be daunting, especially if you have received very little training and have no avowed expertise in this area. It can also be overwhelming and difficult to know where...
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10 top dos and don’ts of using knowledge organisers in primary history
Used well, knowledge organisers are a really powerful resources but it all depends on how they are used. However attractive and packed with facts it might appear, if it just sits inertly with very little...
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KS1 History Planning for Going to the Seaside topic
Medium term planning and planner for Going to the Seaside KS1
This history topic has been designed to be taught in Year 1 Term 3 and the literacy links make that assumption but there is plenty...Wright Brothers – KQ2 – How did the Wright brothers manage to be the first to launch a man powered flight?
This enquiry comprises a series of three smart tasks: the first is a sequencing task based on storytelling; the second a ‘living graph the third an optional ‘reconstruction relay drawing task’ . All contribute to...
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Going to the seaside – KQ5a – How have seaside holidays changed over time?
Can you help Grandma sort these seaside holiday photos?
This smart task which forms the first half of this KQ5 enquiry takes a broader look at change in seaside holidays over the past 150 or so...KS1 History Planner for Scott of the Antarctic topic
Medium term planning and planner for Scott of the Antarctic KS1
This topic has been designed for Term 3 of Y1 but would also suit use with older pupils. It lends itself very well to inclusion...Grace Darling – KQ1 – Grace Darling: setting up the enquiry
This is the first lesson on an enquiry into Grace Darling: what she did, and why she was famous. The kernel of the lesson is a slow reveal activity which works really well on...
Scott of the Antarctic – KQ2 – How did Scott get to the South Pole and what happened then?
You can use this task on Scott's journey to the South Pole in a number of ways: as a simple sequencing task, which really challenges across the ability range or as a diagnostic assessment task,...
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Scott of the Antarctic – KQ3 -Why did Scott risk his life going to the South Pole?
The concept of an intrepid explorer may not be completely alien to even the youngest children as the media does focus a lot on individual record breaking, whether it be climbing or sailing, running or...
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Great new activity on Florence Nightingale- Dear Producer
One of the great challenges of teaching KS1 history is to avoid the pitfall of turning history into just stories from the past. Of course we... Teaching Caxton and Bell at Key Stage 1
These two famous people are linked by the theme of communication; spreading the word. Tim Berners-Lee founder of the world wide web could also be mentioned to bring the topic up-to-date, but his life will...
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Comparing different nursery rhymes: Wee Willie Winkie
This fun lesson uses images and very simple text as well as artefacts. It provides an essential grounding in an understanding of the concepts of 'then and now', and a 'long time ago. The use...
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