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A pupil response to KS2 assessment task on women in Ancient Greece
Karl is in Y5 and has been taught in a school where standards are high but progress is slightly below national expectations for the cohort....
10 places to go to find out about your local area
1. Go to your library
Your local library will nearly always have a local history section that can tell you about the area in which you...
MATs v Council-maintained? What does the evidence tell us about relative performance? May 2022
Council-maintained schools in England outperform academies in Ofsted rankings, according to analysis published on the day the government’s ambitions for all schools to join multi-academy...
KS4 – Migration; Expulsion of the Jews 800 years ago : now a topical issue – May 2022
Those of you teaching about medieval England or the new thematic study on migration may for GCSE might like to share this topic with your...
Here’s one i made earlier – The DFE’s plans for a new model primary history curriculum – May 2022
The DfE have been trailing the idea of a model curriculum for history for a while now. They seem to miss the irony of the...Taking on history leadership: doing the right things – 10 key steps
Taking on subject leadership can be a daunting prospect, especially if it is your first. When there is so much to do, and so many...OFSTED’s judgements about historical concepts needs challenging
Most of us will question OFSTED’s judgment from time to time, not least because it is highly subjective. Maybe that is better than having a...
Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee – KQ1 – Why are we celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee this year?
This unit of work has been designed to be used as a one-off study to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. It covers her life...
Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee – KQ2 – How do we know when and how Princess Elizabeth became Queen?
This unit of work has been designed to be used as a one-off study to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. It covers her life...
Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee – KQ3 – How has life changed for the queen since her coronation?
This unit of work has been designed to be used as a one-off study to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. It covers her life...
Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee – KQ4 – What important events have happened during the queen’s long reign? More suitable for older pupils
This unit of work has been designed to be used as a one-off study to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. It covers her life...
Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee – KQ5 – What were other jubilees like in the past? Most suitable for older pupils
This unit of work has been designed to be used as a one-off study to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. It covers her life...
Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee – KQ6 – How do we see the importance of Queen Elizabeth all around us in our lives today?
This is something pupils might undertake at home. This unit of work has been designed to be used as a one-off study to celebrate Queen Elizabeth...Inclusive history curriculum – March 2022
So you will have a new "model history curriculum" by 2024 to equip you with the skills to lead lessons that cover "migration and cultural...
KS2 – Sharing the history learning journey with your pupils
An important part of planning your KS2 curriculum is being able to share the rationale with pupils and parents. So often the order in which...
Example of School using KS2 learning journey format in history
In response to our launch of the KS2 learning journey in history, Matthew headteacher of Woodlands was inspired to create a similar one for his...
8 ways of improving the BAME dimension of your primary history curriculum
Bound as we all are,and not just as teachers, by the Equality Act, (not to mention our public sector duty), we need to do all...
Key points from OFSTED’s briefing on 2nd February 2022
Do leaders of a subject need to be specialists?
In primary schools, particularly small ones, we know that staff wear lots of hats. In small schools,...
Black and British – KQ1 – How shall we tell the story of the first Black Britons in Britain?
Pupils watch a brief introductory video for just 70 seconds, the point at which the film stops short of identifying all the evidence for existence...
Black and British – KQ2 – What part did Black people play in British life when they started to settle 500 years ago?
Focusing on four key documents, pupils have to work out what we can say about the role of Black people in Tudor society. They make...
Black and British – KQ3 – What difference did the slave trade make to the experience of the Black people?
Having understood the nature of the transatlantic slave trade, and Britain’s role within it, pupils work in expert groups to interpret 18th century portraits and...Black and British – KQ4 – When so many Black people rushed to fight in the two world wars, why then is it only recently that their sacrifice has been properly recognised?
When so many Black people rushed to fight in the two world wars, why then is it only recently that their sacrifice has been properly...
Black and British – KQ5 – How did the arrival of the Empire Windrush change the way Black People were treated in Britain?
Learning objectives
- Pupils understand why people emigrated to Britain from the Caribbean;
- they grasp the range of differing reactions immigrants experienced;
- they can make generalisations based on...
Black and British – KQ6 – How far has life improved for Black people living in Britain in the last 60 years?
This active session asks pupils to create a physical fortunes graph to show the effects that changes in the law and people’s reactions had on...
Top 20 most visited pages of 2021
We thought you might be interested in the most visited pages of the website over the last year. As you would expect, most relate to...
The Place of Knowledge In Primary History
The place of knowledge shows how substantive and disciplinary knowledge intertwine. They need to be seen together, a continuous interplay. The wording of the enquiry...
Seeing The Big Picture
Seeing the Big Picture encapsulates the essence of the subject showing how all the key aspects that make up the discipline of school history come...
How Helpful Is The Theory Of Powerful Knowledge?
How helpful is the theory of powerful knowledge? summarises the reasons why knowledge is important: not just finger-tip knowledge that enables pupils to carry out...10 things OFSTED tend to comment on in primary history reports
I have just finished my analysis of all OFSTED’s primary history monitoring reports for the last 2 years. There has been a perceptible shift in...
Columbus – KQ1 – Why do you think we still remember Christopher Columbus, even though he’s been dead for 500 years!
Pupils are in the role of history detectives. They are given 8 progressively revealing, mainly visual, clues in a controlled predetermined order, to elicit ideas...
Columbus – KQ2 – How did Columbus become famous?
Pupils listen to an illustrated description of main episodes Columbus life which they then sequence from the jumbled images provided before creating a whole-class talking...
Columbus – KQ3 – What was Christopher Columbus’s motivation?
Driving at the heart of Columbus ‘ motivation, allows pupils to build on what they have already deduced about his character as well as the...
Columbus – KQ4 – What was life like on board during such a long journey?
This question shifts the focus away from the actions of just one man and adds a colourful dimension to the topic. Pupils have to consider...
Columbus – KQ5 – How have opinions of Columbus changed in the light of new evidence?
In this session the focus is squarely on helping pupils to grasp that people’s opinions of Columbus have changed in the light of new evidence...
Columbus – KQ6 – How and why should we remember him?
Having seen the different ways in which Columbus achievements are still commemorated today, 500 years after his death, pupils have to sift through the arguments...10 key messages about teaching significant people in KS1 history
The most important changes in the way we teach this aspect of the KS1 curriculum are: a. the need to link people through a theme, so that...
Berlin Wall – If relations between the superpowers were improving in the late 50s, why was the Berlin wall built in 1961? A Bone in the throat
This multi-faceted session starts with students having to shape their understanding of the reasons for the building of the Berlin wall in 5 optional ways:-
...
Migration – If England was the safest place in Europe for Jews to live in Henry II’s reign, why then did Edward I expel them just 100 years later?
By posing this enquiry question in a slightly paradoxical way, students are encouraged to go deeper in the explanation than simple anti-semitism. Having steered them...
What would your pupils say about getting better at history, when they leave your school?
Recently two university education departments carried out a broad-sweep survey of primary pupils’ experience of history at KS1 and 2 and asked specifically:"What does it...
Excerpt from recent OFSTED report from 2021
As its impossible for you to know what comments OFSTED are making when commenting on history in individual schools, we undertake a systematic trawl from...
6 signs to look for to show your pupils are becoming historically literate
1. Understanding how it is possible to know about the past
Pupils show an understanding of how it is possible to know about the past, even...
How did Guy Fawkes feel before, during and after the night of the 5th November: pupils do the thinking.
Getting children to think about how Guy Fawkes felt, before, during and after the Gunpowder plot. This simple task, resourced by a short PowerPoint presentation (not...
Teaching KS1 pupils to question the ‘FACTS’ about Great Fire; focus on number of deaths
Take the simple assertion (to found in in most books pupils will come across), that only 6 deaths resulted from the blaze.- Do the pupils...
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...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...
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...
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...
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...
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....10 top dos and don’ts of using knowledge organisers in primary history
Used well, knowledge organisers are a really powerful resource but it all depends on how they are used. However attractive and packed with facts it...
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...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...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...
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...
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...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...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...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...
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...
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...
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,...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...
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...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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Florence Nightingale – KQ1 – Why do we think Florence Nightingale is remembered?
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...
Florence Nightingale – KQ2 – Why did Florence place herself in such danger by going to the Crimea?
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...
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...
Florence Nightingale – KQ3a – Fighting Fit. What did Florence do to improve the lives of the soldiers when she arrived in the Crimea?
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...
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...
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...
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...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...
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...
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...
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...
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...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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Mary Seacole – KQ6 – Why doesn’t everyone agree that Mary deserves her statue at St. Thomas’ hospital?
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...What the latest biography of Mary Seacole tells us
In Helen Rappaport’s latest book “In Search of Mary Seacole: Making of a cultural icon", we are told how Mary’s significance has only truly come...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ1 – Is it true to say that Stone Age man was just a simple hunter gatherer only interested in food and shelter?
This KS2 outstanding history lesson on the Stone Age revolves around the reveal of an object found at Star Carr in Yorkshire which dates from...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...
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...
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...
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...
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:...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ2 additional information – Comparing life of hunter gathers with farmers
A simple idea to make the key differences as clear as possible, using just two central questions: how did they spend their time and what...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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. ...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...
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...
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...
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...WW2 – KQ3 additional information – Rationing
In order to prevent serious shortages, as early as 1936 the British Ministry of Food had begun to make plans for the supply, control and...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....
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...
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...
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...
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. ...
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...
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...
Stone Age to Iron Age – KQ4b – How should we remember the Bronze Age?
Pupils study finds from three separate Bronze sites, including them most recent excavations, to enable them to discover the main features of bronze age life...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
