Teaching history at Key stage 1>
Wright brothers knowledge organiser – KS1
For centuries, man had dreamed of flying like birds. By the end of the 19th century, men could rise into…
Read MoreMoon landing knowledge organiser – KS1
This event captured the attention of the whole world with hundreds of millions, perhaps 1 in every 5 people, watching…
Read MoreSinking of the Titainic knowledge organiser – KS1
In this topic you are going to find out about the most famous ship, at the time the biggest ever…
Read MoreFlorence Nightingale Knowledge Organiser – KS1
Florence Nightingale Knowledge Organiser – In their study of Florence Nightingale, often compared to the lesser-known Mary Seacole, pupils learn…
Read MoreGreat Fire of London knowledge organiser – KS1
The Great Fire of 1666 is an event that most people know about today not least because it changed the…
Read MoreEYFS and History in OFSTED deep dives
According to OFSTED (January 2023), inspectors will want to know how key stage 1 builds on the knowledge that children…
Read MoreRosa Parks – KQ1 – Can we work as history detectives to work out what Rosa Parks did that made her famous?
Pupils are pitched straight into the role as history detectives using mainly visual clues to piece together the possible reasons…
Read MoreKeeping up-to-date with developments in primary history – February 2023
Every few years, the Primary wing of the Historical Association carry out a survey of primary schools to see what…
Read MoreRosa Parks – KQ2 -What can we learn about what sort of person Rosa was from stories of her early life?
Based on 3 key episodes from Rosa’s life, drawn from a lively story book, pupils act out 3 key episodes…
Read MoreRosa Parks – KQ3 – What was life like for black people living in southern USA in the 1950s?
This session looks at what life was like for Black people living in the southern parts of the United States…
Read MoreRosa Parks – KQ4 – Why do you think Rosa acted as she did on that day that made her famous?
In this session pupils explore what drove Rosa to take her stand in December 1955, going beyond oversimplification of a…
Read MoreRosa Parks – KQ5 – How did Rosa’s action lead to life for black people getting better?
Learning objectives Children can see how Rosa’s action led to other changes, both directly e.g. bus boycott or more indirectly…
Read MoreRosa Parks – KQ6 – How should we remember Rosa Parks today?
Learning objectives Children are able to consider the most appropriate ways of celebrating Rosa’s achievements They can pick out the…
Read MoreRunning timebox – First and foremost
Why Timebox teams? First and foremost, Timebox Teams should be fun. Behind the serious intent of improving pupils’ chronological knowledge…
Read MoreTimebox – KS1 Pack
Mention the teaching of chronology to most infant teachers and their eyes glaze over. Their experience is that it is…
Read MoreTaking 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…
Read MoreExample of School using learning journey format in history at KS1
In response to our launch of the KS2 learning journey in history, Matthew headteacher of Woodlands was inspired to create…
Read MoreColumbus – 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 – 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…
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 – 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…
Read MoreColumbus – 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…
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 MoreCommon assessment tasks in history at KS1
It is often difficult knowing how to assess pupils’ historical thinking at KS1. Are we simply testing literacy and /or…
Read MoreJudging pupils’ work in history at KS 1
This section of the site offers a few words of advice about assessing individual pieces of work and provides commentaries…
Read MorePrinciples of good assessment in history at Key Stage 1
Assessment in Foundation subjects is not well-developed, and is nearly always found wanting in successive OFSTED reports. When assessment in…
Read MoreProgression in history at Key Stage 1 by Skill / Concept
The problem Trying to secure progression within your Key Stage 1 history curriculum is not always as easy as it…
Read MoreWhat 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…
Read MoreIt’s 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….
Read MoreScales 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,…
Read More10 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…
Read MoreI’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…
Read MorePreparing 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…
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 MoreCaxton 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….
Read MoreCaxton 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…
Read MoreTeaching 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…
Read MoreCaxton 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…
Read MoreFun activity on anachronism to help children develop a sense of period when learning about Caxton
Getting young children to develop a sense of period and an awareness of how different the distant past was to…
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 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 activities Step 1 Having recapped the story…
Read MoreMary 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…
Read MoreMary 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…
Read MoreMary 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…
Read MoreThe Great Fire – KQ1 – How can we work out why the Great Fire started?
This innovative session places pupils right from the start of the enquiry in the role of detectives to discover when,…
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