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It’s time time to think about the teaching of time at KS1 and 2
Time is probably the concept most fundamental to understanding history. This presents problems, of course, particularly with the youngest children.Just because its a slippery concept doesn’t mean we shouldn’t plan how we are going to...
The state of primary history 25 years on
One of the drawbacks of being a historian is you just can’t help yourself when it comes to looking at historical documents. Yesterday,I came across my copy of HMI’s report on the state of history...
Take a new look at assessment in history in your school.
Now is the perfect time to get your assessment system for history in better shape. If colleagues know the criteria against which pupils’ work in history will be judged (and I don’t mean (effectively) literacy!) ...
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...
Everything you wanted to know about progression in history at KS2 but couldn’t find anywhere!
Progression in history at KS2: part of your preparation for an OFSTED history deep dive
Planning for progression in history is difficult, very difficult. You will be hard pressed to find any advice on any website...
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...
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...
How well did Chamberlain play his cards at Munich? A KS3 smart task
This smart task asks pupils to think a little more deeply about why Chamberlain adopted the policy of appeasement. It is so easy to lampoon him as a naive who was easily duped by Hitler....Top 10 things your KS2 pupils need to know – Early Islamic civilization
Top 10 things your KS2 pupils need to know, and remember, about Early Islamic civilization1. 1000 years of extraordinary activity after AD 700
For approximately 1000 years, after AD 700, there was an extraordinary amount of...Top 10 things your pupils need to know – Roman Britain
Top 10 things your pupils need to know about Roman Britain1. Roman Britain was part of a huge empire ruled from Rome
Roman Britain was part of a huge empire ruled from Rome which lasted hundreds...
I’m a new subject leader. How do I know if pupils are making the progress they should in history?
Getting a handle on progression is complicated. There are lots of superficially appealing lists of competencies that link to each age group each produced by commercial companies who have not understanding of the nuances of...
Knowledge rich: necessary but surely not sufficient? Or 5 good reasons not to listen to Nick Gibb, the schools minister
In a speech delivered last week, July 21,2021, we had to read, or listen to, the same ill-informed clap-trap from a government minister banging on about the knowledge-rich curriculum as if that was the only...
10 vital things primary history subject leaders should draw from OFSTED’s review July 2021
On 14 July 2021 OFSTED published its lengthy review of research findings into school history. You can access it here. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-review-series-history/research-review-series-history I actually think there are good reasons NOT to read its 40-odd pages...History in outstanding primary schools – OFSTED’s view of strengths and weaknesses April 2021
Posted by:Tim Jenner HMI, Subject Lead for History, Tim Jenner HMI, Ofsted’s subject lead for history report April 2021, reports on the findings from our history subject inspections. Between January and March 2020, we inspected the...Recent ‘remote’ OFSTED report Spring 2021; systems for testing pupils’ subject knowledge July 2021
The recent focus on pupils knowing the content of subjects has given rise to some interesting observations from OFSTED. In one of the most recently published reports on a primary school, which was carried out...
Getting your KS3 assessment right in history: 12 step guide
You will know from the activities provided on the site that we are firm believers in a planned series of varied diagnostic tasks taken under test conditions which show how pupils are developing in both...
So how exactly did Becket die: a source-based investigation
Working as historical advisers to a movie director, pupils attempt to reconstruct the scene of Becket’s death by cross-referencing and then evaluating a range of principally visual sources from the British Museum’s recent exhibition so...
Preparing for the new EYFS framework from September 2021
Teaching about the past in EYFS
Although most schools and settings prefer not to refer to history as a discrete subject on the Early Years curriculum, there is always a lot of talk about the past,...7 searching questions for you to ask about your KS2 history curriculum
Every now and then it is worth just ensuring that your KS2 history curriculum is as robust as it should be. There is no more important task for the history subject leader. Always remember, leading...
Vietnam War – Why did Johnson really escalate the war in Vietnam?
If Johnson claimed that he wanted peace when he became president, why did he escalate the war in Vietnam and drop more bombs there than were dropped in the whole of World War Two? Following a...What should my Y6 pupils be able to do in history? The Big 5
By the end of Year 6, it is important that pupils not only build up good chronological knowledge, they also need to be able to make comparisons across time between the various topics they have...
KS2 Example Planner – Vikings Medium Term Planner
Here is a typical example of a medium term plan which exist for all main KS2 topics, in line with the most recent history National Curriculum. You will notice that all topics have their own...
Ancient Egypt : a new Pompeii?
A few weeks ago, Egyptian archaeologists the discovery of a “lost city” of the pharaohs dating back some 3,400 years that they described as the biggest ancient settlement yet uncovered in the Nile valley and...
The place of vocabulary building in your history lessons
I get a lot of phone calls asking why there are no vocabulary lists on the website. Teachers are asking because OFSTED is expecting it of them. They want to see not only pupils’ mastery...
Beyond Face Value – KQ1 – Henry VIII a question of interpretations. Could you spot Henry VIII in a police line-up?
This is a really fun lesson which shows children what is meant by historical interpretations in an engaging and accessible way. It appeals to both visual and kinaesthetic learners by using the police line-up approach. ...
Beyond Face Value – KQ2 – Elizabeth I portraits – Why do Elizabeth I portraits mysteriously start showing her looking younger towards the end of her reign?
This powerful lesson on Tudor portraits as propaganda gives pupils the chance to appreciate that things aren’t always what they seem. Elizabeth wanted to be shown in a particular light as she grew older. Can...
Beyond Face Value – KQ3 – So what were Victorian factory conditions really like? A Y6 study in provenance
In this lesson, pupils are shown 3 images of factory conditions from early/mid Victorian times. Using their knowledge of factory reform they feel confident that they can date the factories. They are asked which factory...
KS1 Medium Term Planner for Spreading the Word: Caxton to Bell
The ‘significant people’ element of the KS1 history curriculum now requires pupils to compare achievements of individuals within a linked theme - in this case communication in a topic called ‘spreading the word’. We have...
Caxton and Bell – KQ1 – Caxton
Following a mysterious PowerPoint slow reveal in which pupils look for clues to Caxton’s fame, pupils are given a brief illustrated summary of the key moments in his life which are consolidated with a sequencing...
Caxton and Bell – KQ2 – Quick the King and Queen are coming! How Caxton changed the way books were made
Having shown pupils how books were made before Caxton’s time, the main focus of the lesson is on how the new system worked. To prevent this being a dull session on technology, pupils are placed...
Caxton and Bell – KQ3 – How and why should Caxton be remembered?
Having discussed the possible options for ways of commemorating his achievement, pupils have to create a new plaque on his statue, because the old words have worn and faded away. But what shall we write?...
Caxton and Bell – KQ4 – How did Alexander Graham Bell manage to make a telephone work so long ago? and why did he want to?
The focus here is on sequencing of events, looking for turning points in his life and for his personal motivation. How did his life choices end up with him inventing the telephone? What drove him...
Caxton and Bell – KQ5 – Why was Bell’s invention so important, then and now? Bells and whistles!
Pupils write a plaque to go on the side of a new statue that has been built to commemorate Bell’s achievement in response to government’s offering a prize to the school who can come up...
Teaching about the past in EYFS
Preparing for the new EYFS framework in September 2021
Although most schools and settings prefer not to refer to history as a discrete subject on the Early Years curriculum, there is always a lot of talk...
Caxton and Bell – KQ6 – How has the telephone improved since the days of Bell?
This session really helps pupils to get a strong sense of change through time, linking the past of Bell’s time to the present bringing things right up to date. It even hints at the changes...10 Things to do to make your history teaching better at KS2
1. Teach through historical enquiries.
Enquiries are the most effective subject pedagogy in history, not least because when well drafted, they make pupils think. You will notice that all the lessons on the site deliberately have...
Mary Anning – KQ1 – Why do we remember Mary Anning?
This introductory session attempts to place Mary's life in a broader context of time and place and to whet pupils' appetite, without telling much of the story of her life. This follows in the next...
Mary Anning – KQ2 – What did Mary do in her life that was so special?
Pupils move from the sequencing of the major events of Mary’s life to a more sophisticated understanding of which of these events were the most significant. By creating a fortunes or living human graph, pupils...
Mary Anning – KQ3 – What sort of person was Mary that helped her to succeed in a man’s world?
This a much shorter enquiry than the others, and comprises just three short activitiesStep 1
Having recapped the story of Mary’s life, ask pupils to work in small groups to generate adjectives to describe Mary’s character.Step...
Mary Anning – KQ4 – Which other people were important in Mary’s life and why?
This activity is an interesting way of getting pupils to think about Mary’s life but in a non-narrative way. Instead of re-telling the story in sequence they have to look back over her life and...
Mary Anning – KQ5 – How do we know about Mary’s actions which happened so long ago?
The main activity in this session is called Prove it! A number of pieces of evidence from Mary’s time are placed around the room, as if it were an art gallery. Pupils are not given...
Mary Anning – KQ6 – How and why should Mary Anning be remembered? Have your say.
In Lyme Regis they are going to improve their museum dedicated to Mary Anning. It will cost a lot of money and the Council are not sure she deserves all this money being spent on...
The Great Fire – KQ1 – How can we work out why the Great Fire started? New enquiry
This innovative session places pupils right from the start of the enquiry in the role of detectives to discover when, where and why the Great Fire of London broke out. Using a wide range of...
The Great Fire – KQ2 – What happened during the Great Fire and how do we know?
This lesson focuses on the idea of evidence and proof. Can pupils find evidence to back up statements made in books? Can they tell which is the strongest piece of evidence to support a statement?...
Florence Nightingale – KQ1 – Why do we think Florence Nightingale is remembered? (New)
Pupils make deductions from a range of visual clues to see if they can work out what job Florence Nightingale did, before being told the story of her life through an illustrated PowerPoint presentation. Selected...
Florence Nightingale – KQ2 – Why did Florence place herself in such danger by going to the Crimea? (New version 2021)
Who influenced her decision to go? Already introduced to the major events in Florence’s life, children now speculate on why she took the brave decision to go to the Crimea. Thinking creatively, they discuss who might...
The Great Fire – KQ3 – Why did the Great Fire burn down so many houses?
This Great Fire lesson focuses on developing children's powers of explanations. They will already have looked at the sequence of events and will be able to offer a few simple reasons. This lesson aims to...
Florence Nightingale – KQ3a – Fighting Fit. What did Florence do to improve the lives of the soldiers when she arrived in the Crimea? ( New version 2021)
In this lesson children compare the appalling conditions in the hospitals on Florence’s arrival at Scutari. With the help of animated rats!! They list the most significant problems and then compare with a hospital which...
Florence Nightingale – KQ3b – Smart task – What did people really think of Florence Nightingale?
Learning objectives
- children can respond in role showing awareness of differing attitudes to Florence
- they can judge whether each group would approve of giving Florence a medal
Starter
Start by slowly revealing a picture of the medal awarded to...
The Great Fire – KQ4 – Could more have been done to slow the spread of the fire?
This session comprises three distinct phases. The first is mime-based, looking at the firefighting methods used and discussing their disadvantages. The second looks at what action was taken to stop the fire spreading and the...
The Great Fire – KQ5 – How did people manage to live through the Great Fire?
Miraculously for a city that was the third largest in the world, consumed by a fire that lasted for days, very few people died, as far as we know. There is some real doubt as...The Great Fire – KQ5 Additional Resource – Crowdfunding is nothing new
Extra information to support your teaching of Key Question 5 - Crowdfunding is nothing new As we stress in this KQ5 enquiry, it is important that you focus on the human as well as material cost...
The Great Fire – KQ6 – How shall we rebuild London after the Great Fire?
This lesson gives full rein to children's creative flair, disciplined by evidence. The City of London is offering a prize for the best design for a rebuilt London after the Great Fire. If the children...
Florence Nightingale – KQ4a – What was Florence Nightingale’s greatest achievement?
Pupils have been drafted in to help with the wording on a statue to Florence Nightingale which had badly worn away over time and is now in danger of being indecipherable. But there is room...
Florence Nightingale – KQ4b – Florence Nightingale’s days are numbered. Brilliant cross-curricular History and Mathematics
Every so often you see an inspiring example of history and numeracy working together seamlessly. Such a lesson was taught by Ros Boulton of South Farnborough Infants. She wanted her children to do far more...
Florence Nightingale – KQ5 – How do we know so much about Florence Nightingale when she lived so long ago?
This differentiated core activity is Prove it! Working in pairs as detectives with their own find the clue sheets and clipboards, pupils are given 10 statements about Florence and have to find the original sources...Florence Nightingale – KQ6 – Should Florence Nightingale rather than Mary Seacole have her statue at St.Thomas’ hospital?
NB This lesson overlaps, as you would expect with a similar lesson on Mary Seacole. It is slightly different in emphasis but if you are studying both women in equal depth you need to use...
Mary Seacole – KQ1 – How can we work out why Mary Seacole is famous?
This session focuses on working out WHY Mary Seacole is commemorated today 200 years after she was born, and looks at the different ways in which she is remembered. The debate about whether she, or...
KS1 Medium Term Planner: Louis Braille
The current history curriculum at KS1 asks schools to provide a little more coherence in their choice of significant people to study, suggesting that they might be linked by theme. I agree with this improvement....
Mary Seacole – KQ2 – What were the most important events in Mary’s life?
Pupils watch a short film to establish the outlines of the story and then have to sequence a differentiated set of images of the key events of her life. They finish by discussing which events...
Louis Braille – KQ1 – Why do you think Louis Braille is remembered today: Smart task
Step 1
Start by showing the image of Louis Braille on slide 1 of the PowerPoint. Explain that he is a very famous man who lived 200 years ago and that what he invented is still...
Mary Seacole – KQ3 – What was Mary’s greatest achievement and how do we know?
The focus here is mainly on the evidence for Mary’s achievement. This is important as she was a more-or-less forgotten figure for 200 years. So how do we know that claims about Mary’s life are...
Louis Braille – KQ2 – What were the most important moments, and who were the most significant people, in Louis Braille’s life?
This session comprises 3 key activities, so it is important to devote sufficient time to it. Please note that activities 2 and 3 are particularly challenging and were taught to a high-attaining group of pupils. You...
Louis Braille – KQ3 – What motivated Louis? Why did he decide to invent a system of writing for the blind? Smart task
In contrast to the multi-faceted KQ2, these two relatively short activities will not take as long. They focus on Louis’ motivation, principally by means of a diamond-4 prioritising activity.Step 1
Ask pupils why they think Louis...
Mary Seacole – KQ4 – How did life change for Mary after the Crimean war?
Pupils create a fortunes graph showing the highs and lows of Mary’s life after the Crimea, identify a key turning point in her fortunes, and then consider ways in which Mary was helped when she...
Louis Braille – KQ4 – What changes to people’s lives did Louis make?
Step 1
This is a short activity in which pupils are asked to think of any uses of Braille they know of in everyday life, perhaps by showing the start of Magic Grandad...
Louis Braille – KQ5 – What makes Braille so special? Smart task
This very short task is preliminary to the major task that follows in KQ6 which explores how we should commemorate Louis’ achievement. It is important that they consider the crucial role his character played. His...
Louis Braille – KQ6 – What should go in our Braille museum? Curator’s dilemma
Set the scene
When Louis died no national papers covered the story. 100 years later in 1952 his body was moved to the building called the Pantheon in Paris where, over the main door are written...
Mary Seacole – KQ5 – What made Mary so special?
A short session aimed at generating adjectives to capture the special qualities that Mary had and to provide examples of where she exhibited those characteristics.Learning objectives
- Pupils can list at least 3 adjectives to describe...
Mary Seacole – KQ6 – Why doesn’t everyone agree that Mary deserves her statue at St.Thomas’ hospital? NEW
This lesson places pupils in the role of Mantle of the Expert. A new monument to Mary Seacole was erected outside St Thomas Hospital in 2016 . But there have been complaints. Surely it was...
Outstanding medium term planner for Ancient Civilizations: Egypt Y3
At one point in recent years, there were real fears that Ancient Egypt would be axed from the KS2 curriculum. Mercifully it was reprieved so we now need to make sure that we do full...
New evidence of Anglo-Saxon mutilations as punishment
Ninth-century England was a bad place to be a criminal, new findings suggest. The skull of an Anglo-Saxon teenager discovered in Hampshire shows that she had her nose and upper lip cut off and may have...
New evidence at Chedworth Roman villa casts new light on Dark Ages
A mosaic at Chedworth Roman villa that was previously believed to date from the fourth century has now been radiocarbon-dated to 100 years later, around 480AD. This suggests, of course, that a sophisticated Roman lifestyle...
March 2020 inspection
The history curriculum is currently being reviewed. You and your subject leader know that current planning in history does not emphasise with enough precision what the school intends pupils to know, remember and be able...
Remembrance Day: Key Stage 1
In this section of the site, a lesson and an interactive presentation are featured. The first Outstanding Lesson looks at the question: "What are memories and which things do we all remember at different times...
Outstanding Scheme of Work for Stone Age to Iron Age
This scheme of work, judged outstanding by an OFSTED history inspector now links to all the fully-resourced outstanding lessons and activities making the teaching of this topic completely self-contained. Not only does it ensure that...
Teaching the Gunpowder Plot to Key Stage 1
Ever since the Gunpowder Plot was included in the Programme of Study for Key Stage 1, there have been howls of protest from infant teachers who protest that it is futile trying to teach KS1...
Planner for Britain at War: The Home Front 1939-45
The new detailed downloadable planner below has key questions, suggested activities, resources and assessments for teaching The Home Front in World War Two at KS2 and links with the lessons on the site. It...
Gunpowder Plot – Key Stage 1
If you are teaching about Bonfire night, Guy Fawkes or the Gunpowder Plot you will find the planning advice and fully resourced Outstanding Lessons provided here of particular value. The first lesson is called A...
Teaching Germany 1919-45
Hodder produce some of the best GCSE books on Germany whether for the Modern World and for the SHP Depth Module. They have now added an innovative digital dimension with great web links and activities. Resource...
Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ1 – Outstanding Lesson on the Old Stone Age
Is it true to say that Stone Age man was just a simple hunter gatherer only interested in food and shelter? Key Question 1
This KS2 outstanding history lesson on the Stone Age revolves around the...Ideas for teaching the post-1066 thematic unit at Key Stage 2
Whatever you choose to study for your post-1066 thematic unit here are some pointers to help.
1. Try to make as much use as you can of your existing Tudor, Victorian and...
Guidance for teaching Amy Johnson as a Famous Person in Key Stage 1
This study of a significant individual has been designed to form part of a broader topic on a similar theme which is one of the key new requirements of the current National Curriculum for history....
WW2 – KQ1 – Why did Britain have to go to war in 1939?
Pupils learn the sequence of events leading to the Second World war before a lively role-play debate in which they exchange well-rehearsed arguments verbally in the House of Commons and then write tight summaries of...
Teaching the British Empire KS3
In a recent article for the Telegraph, journalist and writer Jeremy Paxman made the following case for teaching the history of the British Empire: [It] explains so much about who we are now… Imperial history explains...
Planning for teaching 1000 years of Crime and Punishment (KS2 Thematic Unit)
This post-1066 thematic unit has been produced to meet demand from KS2 teachers for a topic that is genuinely relevant and up-to-date for top juniors: something for them to get their teeth into and to...
Teaching Industrial Britain to Key Stage 3
We all know that this is a vast topic and one that some colleagues have difficulty with in motivating some students. You will find very little on the Four Field crop rotation here, or mules...
Planning for teaching Life in Tudor times at KS2
As you know, the requirement to study Life in Tudor Britain was mysteriously and inexplicably removed from the Key Stage 2 curriculum in 2014. As one of the best-taught and popular of all the history...
Teaching the 20th Century World to Key Stage 3
For many pupils this will be their last topic in KS3 history, though some history departments prefer to end with a retrospective long term study. Most pupils enjoy the 20th century, though we need to...
Teaching KS3 History: Black Peoples of the Americas and slavery
The title of this section reflects the fact that the new curriculum should not any longer be boxed up into just six discrete silos called study units. Instead there should be fluidity between and across...
Outstanding Scheme of Work for teaching the Anglo Saxons
You’ll probably be thinking that there is an awful lot of pre-1066 British history in the KS2 curriculum with the Anglo-Saxons being particularly prominent. The way round this, I think, is to skilfully link your...
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...
Teaching the Wright Brothers as a Famous Person in Key Stage 1
The Wright brothers offers an exciting opportunity for pupils to explore a topic that should engage their interest, provide plenty of opportunities for drama and creative thinking and should fit well into a cross-curricular topic...
Anglo-Saxons – KQ1a – Why did the Saxons invade? Push or pull?
A fun thinking skills activity in which pupils infer from visual clues before moving on to analyse a range of influence cards and evaluate a video before coming up with their own explanation for the...
Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ2 – How much did life change when man learned how to farm?
This session focuses on the concept of change and continuity. Pupils learn of the major changes that came in the Neolithic period with the arrival of farming from the Near East. After a brief introduction,...
Wright Brothers – KQ1 – What do you think the Wright brothers did to make them famous?
At the very start of the topic, on the assumption that you haven’t told them what the topic is about!! pupils are shown slide 2 in the form of a slow reveal. 4 coloured boxes...
Crime and punishment – KQ1 – How do we know what punishment was like 800 years ago.
How were criminals punished 800 years ago, and how do we know? The story of the fox and the goose
Before you launch into the first key question you might like an introductory lesson in which...
Planning for a cross-curricular topic on Going to the Seaside
This advice with associated downloadable resource below is for KS1 teachers planning a cross-curricular topic and focuses on how to integrate history, geography, literacy and ICT. Start the topic with a brief discussion with...
WW2 – KQ2a – Why was it necessary for children to be evacuated? Introductory task
Why was it necessary for children to be evacuated throughout the war, and what was the experience of evacuation really like?
This question has two significant outstanding lessons to cover most of the content and to...
WW2 – KQ2b – Evacuation enquiry – links with numeracy
This lesson comes towards the beginning of the topic after pupils have explored the nature and reasons for evacuation. I am grateful to Julie Tzivanidou of Cove Junior School, near Farnborough , for providing the...
Teaching Life in Tudor Times for KS2
The world has gone mad! Gove has axed the Tudors from Key Stage 2 history. My advice. Carry on regardless. It is too good a learning experience for pupils for them to miss out on....
Crime and punishment – KQ2 – What does the legend of Robin Hood tell us about medieval justice?
In the following activities, KS2 pupils learn: a. that medieval justice was loaded in favour of the rich and powerful; b. that if you ran away from justice you would be declared an outlaw and could be...
WW2 – KQ2c – Extending the BBC website on Eric the evacuee
The BBC children’s history section has been in touch with the school asking for their help in extending their website section on Eric the evacuee. There is nothing wrong with it: indeed, it is very...Life in Tudor Times – KQ1 – Henry VIII a question of interpretations. Could you spot Henry VIII in a police line-up?
This is a really fun lesson which shows children what is meant by historical interpretations in an engaging and accessible way. It appeals to both visual and kinaesthetic learners by using the police line-up approach. ...
Anglo-Saxons – KQ1b – Where did the early Anglo-Saxons live and how do we know? Bells and whistles
This ambitious but engaging lesson asks children to test some simple hypotheses about where the early Anglo-Saxons settled. They start with some very straightforward statements to make sure they know how to use a map...
WW2 – KQ3 – How was Britain able to stand firm against the German threat?
This enquiry revolves around a central contemporary cartoon which encapsulates life on the Home Front and how it was geared towards dealing with the Nazi threat of invasion. Pupils have to identify and then annotate...
Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ3 – What can we learn about life in the Stone Age from a study of Skara Brae?
Start the sessions on Skara Brae with a story and then move onto where it was and when the event occurred. (If you want a little more background yourself then we have added some answers...Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ3 Supporting information – What can we learn about life in the Stone Age from a study of Skara Brae
More than 5,000 years ago, during the New Stone Age, Neolithic farmers and herders reached a group of islands to the north of Scotland-the Orkneys. They found the islands a great place to settle; there...
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...
Life in Tudor Times – KQ1 part 2 – Great starter on interpretations of Henry VIII
Working closely with academic authors, in this case Catherine Fletcher, always gives a fascinating insight into what historians want to write and publishers want to sell. This is fertile ground for exploring the question of...
Crime and punishment – KQ3 – More of the same. How did crimes and punishments change between 1500 and 1750?
All you need for this lesson on Crime and Punishment 1500-1750 is to turn your classroom into an art gallery and to provide a highwayman’s mask while pupils consider the advantages and disadvantages of being...
Going to the seaside – KQ1 – What was going to the seaside like 100 years ago? Writing a quality postcard home, avoiding the martini syndrome?
If you have ever asked children in Y1/2 to write a postcard home as if it were from Victorian times you'll know the problem. After hours of your time teaching the topic and creating...
Anglo-Saxons – KQ2 – The mystery of the empty Saxon grave.
This highly engaging lesson places pupils in the role of detectives. After a short briefing they have to work out the significance of the various clues found in the bodiless ship burial. They then use...
Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ4 – Why did they build Stonehenge?
Starter
Reveal slide 2 which is of the standing stones at Stonehenge. Can pupils recognise it as clues are revealed?Step 1
Discuss the fact that it is Stonehenge and explain where it fits in time, showing slide...
Crime and punishment – KQ4 – Why did punishments become so bloody in the 18th century?
Pupils label their own copy of a motivating Hogarth print showing popular attitudes to public executions before explaining the puzzling conundrum: when the number of death penalties was increased why did the number of executions...
Great new assessment task on women in Ancient Greece now live
Great new assessment task on women in Ancient Greece now live. It targets characteristic features and interpretations and comes along with a detailed mark scheme showing how pupils’ answers align with national...
Wright Brothers – KQ3 activity 1 – Why did the Wright brothers succeed where others had failed?
Sarah Duck describes how her class tackled this key question. The task involves children reading small diamond-shaped text cards, to decide which statements are true or false. They then put aside the false ones and work...
Going to the seaside – KQ2 – What did people do at the seaside 100 years ago?
From mime to movie. SMART TASK
This fun activity is carried out by children working on tables of six. Half the class work on one image, the other half on another interesting image. Each table is...
Life in Tudor Times – KQ2 – Why did Henry Break with Rome? Love or religion?
This KS2 history enquiry revolves around Henry VIII’s divorce and the break with Rome, one of the best-known stories in English history. At first, Henry, this larger than life figure, seems almost to...
WW2 – KQ4 – Curator’s dilemma. Which 8 objects should we show to explain how Britain coped with the effect of war on the Home Front?
In this activity pupils are cast in the role of local museum curators specializing in the commemorating and interpreting of Life on the Home Front during World War Two. A new museum is being built...
Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ5 – What was life like in the Iron Age and how do we know?
Pupils speculate as to what holes in the ground shown in an aerial photograph might be, before annotating an artist’s reconstruction of Danebury Hill Fort. Using the zones of inference technique, pupils work out what...
Anglo-Saxons – KQ3 – Coming of Christianity
A series of smart tasks, rather than a full outstanding lesson. The first part of this two part session looks at how it happened, the second at how we know. The early part asks pupils to...
Wright Brothers – KQ3 activity 2 – Spying on the Wright Brothers.
This reconstruction relay - part of KQ3, Why did the Wright Brothers succeed where others had failed - is fantastic fun as well as helping pupils to look carefully at the features of The Flyer,...
Going to the seaside – KQ3 – How do we know what holidays were like 100 years ago?
Designing an authentic Edwardian Seaside Poster
This KS1 history lesson uses the Mantle of the Expert approach to place pupils in role as historical advisers to a film producer. Their job is to create an...Evaluating websites in history at KS3-5: 3 pieces of top advice
Students are too trusting of what they read on the Internet. Most striking, they implicitly trust Google to verify sources for them--whatever Google lists first must be a good source. As we know, many are...
Crime and punishment – KQ5 – Why did so much change happen in crime and punishment the 19th century?
Great range of activities including: generating enquiry questions about increase in crime from a line graph; explanation builder to work out why; looking at individual punishments on a harshness spectrum and drawing on a range of...
Life in Tudor Times – KQ2 part 2 – the highs and lows of Catherine of Aragon
The context of this lesson was to explore the highs and lows of Catherine of Aragon as a lead up to the Break with Rome. Pupils had already looked at the personality of Henry...
WW2 – KQ4 – Britain during World War Two – Call My Bluff
This activity is designed to promote creative thinking as well as to deepen pupils’ understanding of the objects that are unfamiliar to us but everyday items on the Home Front during World War Two. It comes...
Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ5b – Dragons Den : Which technological development should our Iron Age settlement get next?
Set the scene. A group of the most important members of the Iron Age settlement have gathered to consider their future. They have heard of a lot of new technologies that other local tribes have...
Life in Tudor Times – KQ2 part 3 – History and literacy – Making sense of a letter from Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn
OR 14 ways of telling this is a love letterPupils are given a copy of a letter from Henry to Anne Boleyn. It appears, at first glance to be impossibly hard to read -...
Wright Brothers – KQ4 – The Wright Brothers first flight. KS1 Prove it!
How can we possibly know about the Wright Brothers first flight when there’s nobody alive now who saw it?
This is a question about evidence, one which makes pupils consider how we know for sure about...
Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ6 – Iron Age Hill Fort at Maiden Castle
Iron Age Crimewatch AD 50. Who killed the 52 dead bodies at Maiden Castle? Key Question 6
KS2 pupils work as history detective Time Teams to solve the Iron Age murder mystery. They are given...
Going to the seaside – KQ4 – Do we go on seaside holidays for the same reason people went 100 years ago?
Children discuss the reasons they might have for going on a seaside holiday NOW and then think of the different reasons why people might have gone 100 years ago. Slides 2 and 3 of the...
WW2 – KQ4 – Christmas for children on the Home Front during World War Two
This is not an outstanding lesson as such, more a collection of good ideas and support material to stimulate even better ideas of your own. Working as expert design consultants for a local museum pupils have...
Life in Tudor Times – KQ3 – Through the Keyhole
This lesson features the lives of 4 different Tudor people as evidenced from a key document that they each have in common, namely an inventory. By studying the nature, value and amount of possessions...
Anglo Saxons – KQ4 – Anglo-Saxons struggle against the Vikings
How did the Vikings try to take over the country and how close did they get? (Vikings KQ3 & Anglo-Saxons KQ4)
This task encapsulates the struggle between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings in an engaging way...Wright Brothers – KQ4 – one teacher’s alternative approach – Wright brothers: prove to me that it really happened
This lesson was taught by Sarah Duck, Leading Teacher for History, Hampshire LA. She kindly describes for us how the lesson went. "Work had already begun on the Wright Brothers' topic and the children were...
Life in Tudor Times – KQ3 part 2 – Linking history with numeracy; a Tudor enquiry
More glass than wall? Is this a fair description of Hardwick Hall? And how do we find out?
This SMART task links history with numeracy asking pupils to apply numeracy techniques to a famous historical building. ...
Anglo-Saxons – KQ5 – Alfred the Great. How great was he?
In this outstanding lesson, pupils are asked to critique and then improve the BBC children’s website entry for Alfred the Great. But first they need to see how history has commemorated Alfred and then carry...
Crime and Punishment – KQ6 – Enquiry – Has the way we catch and punish criminals improved in the last 100 years?
Having analysed a graph showing the way the prison population has risen so dramatically over the last 75 years, pupils speculate as to why that might be before ranking some possible reasons. They then learn...
Keeping up to date with your teaching of Alfred the Great
The outstanding lesson on Alfred addresses the key question as to his greatness. Has it been exaggerated? You might like to know what the most recent scholarship is saying. Marc Morris has recently published...
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...
Anglo-Saxons – KQ6 – How effective was Anglo-Saxon justice?
Pupils work in groups to create a series of short dramatic enactments, each of which illustrates a way of keeping law and order / punishments meted out in Saxon times. These are then summarised before...
Wright Brothers – KQ5 – How did flight change as a result of the Wright Brothers’ work?
This activity goes beyond simple sequencing of images, which pupils first attempted at the start of the topic, to explaining the nature of the changes that have taken places in aviation since the Wright brothers....
Going to the seaside – KQ5b – How have seaside holidays changed? What our grandparents tell us
This lesson finds children producing a questionnaire, collecting data from grandparents, feeding data into a database and then drawing conclusions. When they then compare their findings with those of another parallel class they become...
Life in Tudor Times – KQ4 – Elizabeth I portraits – things aren’t what they seem
This powerful lesson on Tudor portraits as propaganda gives pupils the chance to appreciate that things aren’t always what they seem. Elizabeth wanted to be shown in a particular light as she grew older. Can...
WW2 – KQ5 – Britain at war. The Home Front
Why is it so difficult to be sure what life was really like on the Home Front?
Two great tasks which together make up Key Question 5 of the Britain at War medium term plan, Why...
Anglo-Saxons – KQ7 – Were Saxon times really ‘Dark’ Ages?
Pupils design a two-sided paper plate on which they record the arguments used in the debate about the 'Darkness' of Saxon Britain. On one side they show the enlightened side of Saxon society. On the...
Wright Brothers – KQ6 – How should the Wright brothers be remembered?
Commemorating the Wright brother's achievements with words young children can understand
Pupils have to create a plaque to commemorate the Wright brothers’ achievements to replace the incomprehensible one on the monument at Kitty Hawk. But they...
Life in Tudor Times – KQ4 part 2 – Get ready – the queen is coming!
This enquiry focuses on helping children to learn about the power and authority of Queen Elizabeth and to appreciate the contrasting lifestyles of rich and poor in late Tudor England. The vehicle for doing this...
How well do you and your pupils understand the Anglo-Saxons? Diagnostic Smart Task
This short activity contains a number of statements about the Anglo-Saxons (RS1) which can be used diagnostically. Some are correct: some partially accurate; others downright wrong. But what will your pupils think? To make this...
WW2 – KQ6 – What was VE day really like? Advising the film producer
In this really varied lesson pupils are asked to offer first-rate historical advice to a film producer who is about to make a new movie in which scenes from VE day, May 1945 are played...
Life in Tudor Times – KQ5 – How was the Spanish Armada defeated by the smaller English fleet? Using a technique called Waiting room
This lesson works really well because the tension you build into the waiting room activity gets all the class involved and focused. The more able pupils have a specific, more challenging role to play,...
Teaching KS3 History: The French Revolution
Regarded by many as simply too complex to be taught to Y7 or Y8, the French revolution divides opinion. Personally I think it is a great topic, as long as you don't feel that you...
Life in Tudor Times – KQ6 – How did people enjoy themselves in Elizabethan England?
This KS2 enquiry comprises three outstanding activities: 6a. Advising the film director to imaginatively reconstruct the scene using a variety of evidence 6b. Prove it! Using a gallery of images to test the evidence 6c. Marketplace - an...10 things your pupils MUST know about the Anglo-Saxons
For many of you teaching the Anglo-Saxons will be something you are doing forte very first time. It is easy to get bogged down in a series of dates and events. The 6-enquiry question planner...
WW2 – KQ6 Background information – What was VE Day really like?
8 May 1945 – VE (Victory in Europe) Day – was one that remained long in the memory of all those who witnessed it. It meant an end to nearly six years of a grizzly...
The Blitz 80 years on
On the night of 14 November 1940, 80 years ago, one of the most infamous aerial attacks of all time occurred when a Luftwaffe air raid devastated the city of Coventry. The operation, called 'Moonlight Sonata'...
Roman Britain – KQ1 part 1 – From Caesar’s invasions to Claudius’ conquest
This first part of the first enquiry links to earlier work on the Iron Age and takes pupils from Julius Caesar’s two short-lived invasions through to anticipating Claudius’ invasion and conquest just under 100 years...
Ancient Egypt – KQ1 – Launching the Enquiry. So you think you know about Ancient Egypt
What can we quickly add to what we already know about Ancient Egypt?Step 1
Start the topic with a bang. Pupils are going to plan an expedition to Ancient Egypt to continue recent excavations which have...
Ancient Egypt – KQ2- How can we discover what Ancient Egypt was like over 5,000 years ago?
Pupils are invited to join an archaeological excavation, using slide 2-5 to set the scene. Before they can begin their preparations, they need to know where they are going (both the country and the location...
Beyond Face Value – KQ4 – Why did Ford Madox Brown paint this detailed picture of a scene that never existed?
This lesson revolves around a single painting entitled Work, painted by Ford Madox Brown between 1852 and 1865. Using Fastest Finger First pupils are encouraged to explore the full detail of this fascinating painting before...
Ancient Egypt – KQ3 part 1 – The opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb
The opening of Tutankhamun's tomb: a brilliant reconstruction relay
The activity that forms the basis of this lesson is called reconstruction relay. It is GUARANTEED to enthuse even the most recalcitrant Y4 boy! Pupils have to...
Roman Britain – KQ1 part 2 – Why did the Roman Emperor Claudius leave hot sunny Italy to invade cold wet Britain?
This lesson uses a variety of approaches including role play, decision-making, card sorts, hot seating and completing speech bubbles. The focus is clearly on causation. It follows on from lessons in which pupils have...
Ancient Egypt – KQ3 Part 2 – So who did build the pyramids? Did the Prince of Egypt film get it right?
This active lesson for Year 4 has been adapted from the one featured in the QCA Teacher Assessment Activities for history at Key Stage 2 (2006). It involves pupils seeking out clues as in a...
Ancient Egypt – KQ4 Part 1 – What can an old clay model and a pair of old sandals tell us about life in Ancient Egypt 5,000 years ago?
What does the evidence tell us about the everyday life for men women and children?
Here the focus is on two pieces of evidence which reveal a picture of the structure of ancient Egyptian society as...
Ancient Egypt – KQ4 Part 2 – Using evidence of Life in Ancient Egypt KS2 – Pupils love playing history detectives
Crimewatch Ancient Egypt: Tomb Robbers
This fun activity is a brilliant way of developing pupils’ deductive thinking skills in a realistic context. Pupils are cast in the role of police detectives trying to solve...
Ancient Egypt – KQ4 – Additional Smart Task
(NB This is not included on the planner)How can we learn so much about Ancient Egypt from just these 6 objects?
After an initial stimulus ‘slow reveal’, pupils working groups to work out how historians manage...
Ancient Egypt – KQ5 Part 1 – Embalming the dead in Ancient Egypt : Great history and great literacy too
Helping the Hopeless Embalmer
This really fun lesson, in the style of 'mantle of expert', asks the children to help the Hopeless Embalmer whose boss has left him in charge of preparing the bodies for the...
Ancient Egypt – KQ5 Part 2 – After-life lesson KS2
Understanding the Book of the Dead: from page to stage
Using simple drama techniques to make a very old document come alive, this lesson involves pupils becoming the characters in the pictures of the...
Ancient Egypt – KQ6 – What did Ancient Egypt have in common with other civilizations at the time?
The main activity here is called gallery. Pupils are shown images (printed from the KQ6 PowerPoint) which are displayed around the room, as if an art gallery. Pupils have to tour the gallery to find...
Ten things your KS2 pupils should know about language and communication in the ancient world.
This article should inform your teaching of the Ancient Civilizations topic Imagine a world without writing-without any writing at all: no literature; no news stories; no history even. No tax returns! Well that was the world...
Roman Britain – KQ1 part 3 – The Roman invasion: have the books got it right?
This lesson follows on from the decision-making role play 'Why did Claudius invade?' Pupils are now asked to create a written explanation good enough to beat a textbook. To do this, they get involved...
Roman Britain – KQ2 part 1 – Should the Celts take on the Romans? A reconstruction relay.
The Roman Army
This highly active, boy friendly activity has proved extremely popular in schools and has led to some high quality learning because the children are fully engaged. The children in role as Celtic spies...Beyond Face Value – KQ5 – Were the evacuees as happy as they were shown?
Two great tasks which together make up Key Question 5 of the Britain at War medium term plan, Why is it so difficult to be sure what life was really like on the Home Front?...
What can you do at KS3 to make your history curriculum more representative?
In a recent article for the Historical Association ( HA news- Autumn 2020) Jake Subryan Richards offers his advice: " For teachers it is at KS3 where there is most flexibility. Stress the interconnections between Britain...
12 things you need to know about the Mayan civilization before you teach it at KS2
1.In the year 1000 settlements like Chichen Itza were among the largest settlements anywhere in the world. Tikal was thought to have a population as large as 60,000. 2. Chichen Itza is probably the best preserved...Full sample recent primary history report January 2020
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...Beyond Face Value – KQ6 – The Blitz. What was photographer Fred’s clever way of beating the censors?
In this fascinating lesson pupils learn how photographers avoided the censors they saw in KQ5 and how the government used certain images of the Blitz as propaganda, even though they didn’t happen as they appear....Plotting your pupils journey in history learning across the school
Just came across this visual depiction of the history curriculum at Springfield School in Hackney and thought I'd bring it to your attention. It has the great advantage of being able to see the sequence of...
Terror of the Tramp: Why did vagrancy become such an important issue in Elizabethan England?
GCSE lesson in which students work through a range of differentiated clues to work out 8 reasons which help answer the lessons’ enquiry question before evaluating how well a recent textbook explains it. So often I...
How close to World War Three has the world come since 1945. A Year 9 enquiry.
Just as the United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary, so the world peace it was set up to maintain is yet again under threat. The United States and China are at loggerheads over a...OFSTED’s view of deep dives in history
Recently Matthew Purves , the Deputy Director for Schools, set out OFSTED’s latest thinking on deep dives in primary schools. He makes reference a number of times to what that means in history. Here are...Report on leadership of primary history 2020
One of the key features underpinning the high quality of history learning was that history has a high status throughout the school, recognised by the headteacher. The subject leader attended local network meetings and time was made available for feedback...Analysis of OFSTED reports November 2019- February 2020, with my commentary
Analysis of OFSTED reports November 2019-February 2020, with my commentary By trawling through the most recent pre-Covid reports from November 2019 until February 2020, I have started to form a picture of the most commented on...Meeting OFSTED’s criteria for a good history curriculum at KS1 and 2 during extended transition period
Now 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.broadening the...
Deep dive issues: progression 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...OFSTED’s early EIF (2019) primary history deep dives
What do the first 3 months’ of reports tell us?
Although there is even less detail in the new shorter OFSTED reports than in the previous ones, there are still some clear indicators of what OFSTED...What do deep dive OFSTED inspections look like for history?
What does a new deep dive 2019 inspection look like for history? Basically, there are 6 areas that the history subject leader may expect to be involved in- Exploration of medium/long term plans for history
- Meetings...
Intent, Implementation, Impact to be more representative of the BAME in secondary history
Intent
- What do you want your students in your school to know by the end of KS3? Why is this important?
- What are the historical topics that are fundamental for your students to know? Why...
What does INTENT actually mean for primary history in the new OFSTED Framework for 2019? Building blocks and the Big Picture
What does INTENT actually mean for primary history in the new OFSTED Framework for 2019? Building blocks and the Big Picture Nothing could be simpler: intent is everything up to the point at which teaching happens...10 things history leaders need to know about the OFSTED 2019 Framework
10 things you need to know about leading history and the 2019 OFSTED framework- You will have to show that you are in fact teaching history(and not just doing literacy disguised as history, or very tenuous cross-curricular...
Indian Mutiny/rebellion of 1857
This lesson is aimed at Y9/GCSE students. It addresses three principal aspects of history teaching:- How to be thoughtful and discriminating when selecting evidence that is relevant to answering two different questions on the same...
British Empire – How can we infer so much about the empire from a study of just one map and the person who created it?
This session starts by looking at the information to be gleaned from a well-known 1886 map of the empire and ends with them writing an evaluative expert caption to accompany a textbook image which refers...
Richard I: Lionheart or loser should we keep his statue – SMART TASK
This short task puts pupils in the role of spin doctors who have to ‘big up’ the reputation of Richard the Lionheart. There is a lobby of people who feel that his statue outside the...
Changes for the 2021 GCSE History examination announced by AQA today
AQA GCSE History (8145) Students entering for GCSE History exams next summer will have a choice of studies with one compulsory study. This means that in summer 2021, AQA GCSE History students will only have to...Victorian poor and the workhouse; what does Martha’s story tell us?
NB This is an additional lesson that does not appear on the planner.
This topic couldn’t be more relevant to today. We frequently hear it said that the... 
Medium Term Planner for Thematic unit Beyond Face Value Year 6
This end-of-key stage unit fulfils the post-1066 thematic requirement of the National Curriculum, but it does so in a particularly imaginative way. Instead of looking at just one period, here we look at three. Each...What does good leadership of history look like at KS 1 and 2 according to recent OFSTED deep dive reports
My analysis of all the recent 'pre-Covid19 ' reports reveals the following comments about primary history leadership, both positive and negative. None of you have the time to trawl through these reports, but they do...Post-1066 thematic unit for KS2; Beyond Face Value is now complete- full planner ready . Lessons launched soon
Those of you who have patiently waited for us to clear the copyright for the post-1066 thematic unit linking the Tudors, Victorians and World War Two on the them of propaganda and manipulating evidence will...
