Teaching Famous People at KS1>
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…
Read MoreColumbus – 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…
Read MoreColumbus – 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…
Read More10 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…
Read MoreKS1 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…
Read MoreCaxton and Bell – KQ1 – What did Caxton do that was so important to us today?
Following a mysterious PowerPoint slow reveal in which pupils look for clues to Caxton’s fame, pupils are given a brief…
Read MoreCaxton 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…
Read MoreCaxton 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…
Read MoreMary 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’…
Read MoreMary 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…
Read MoreMary 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…
Read MoreKS1 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…
Read MoreMary 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…
Read MoreLouis Braille – KQ1 – Why do you think Louis Braille is remembered today: Smart task
This session comprises two activities. Activity 1 – Pupils try to work out why Braille might be famous from visual…
Read MoreMary 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…
Read MoreMary 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…
Read MoreLouis 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…
Read MoreLouis 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…
Read MoreMary 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…
Read MoreMary 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…
Read MoreGuidance 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…
Read MoreTeaching 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…
Read MoreWright 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!!…
Read MoreWright 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…
Read MoreWright 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…
Read MoreWright 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…
Read MoreWright 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…
Read MoreWright 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…
Read MoreWright 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…
Read MoreAre you teaching the right things about Mary Seacole to your children? 10 things to be sure to teach
Are you teaching the right things about Mary Seacole to your children? 10 things to be sure to teach: 1….
Read MoreTeaching Scott of the Antarctic to Key Stage 1
Those of you who are thinking that this choice of famous person seems to presage a return to an Our Island…
Read MoreGrace Darling – KQ4 – How do we know about Grace Darling’s actions which happened so long ago?
There are two distinct elements to this session. Firstly, pupils develop a sense of period and of evidence by thinking…
Read MoreGrace Darling – KQ5 – How did sea rescue improve as a result of Grace Darling’s story?
This session comprises 2 principal activities: matching descriptions of lifeboats to time periods to deepen pupils’ sense of change, continuity…
Read MoreFighting 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…
Read MoreAmy Johnson – KQ1 – Why do you think Amy Johnson was famous?
With the help of the slow reveal of the clues in carefully arranged order, pupils build their knowledge of Amy…
Read MoreAmy Johnson – KQ2 – How did Amy the secretary end up being the first woman to fly to Australia?
This short, fun activity using mime and props, tells the story of Amy Johnson’s first flight to Australia in a…
Read MoreAmy Johnson – KQ4 – How did people react to Amy Johnson’s famous flight?
How did people react to Amy at the time, and how do we know? Children generate adjectives to describe Amy’s…
Read MoreAmy Johnson – KQ5 – How did things change for Amy Johnson after her famous flight?
Was Amy really successful for the rest of her life? A Living graph Smart Task KQ5 The focus here is…
Read MoreAmy Johnson – KQ6 – How can we solve the mystery of what happened to Amy Johnson?
This enduring mystery has puzzled historians for over 75 years. New evidence has just come to light which makes this…
Read MoreLouis Braille – evaluating the video
This lesson comes at the end of the sequence of lessons which explore Louis Braille’s life and achievements. Rather than…
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