Outstanding History Lessons At KS2

This section comprises two parts: the main one is the series of outstanding, fully-resourced and described, lessons graded 1 by an OFSTED history inspector when they were grading individual lessons. You are given the learning objectives and every activity in sequence all with accompanying PowerPoint presentations and PDF files. The other lesson activities, from parts of lessons, are called smart tasks, exemplifying features of outstanding lessons and, again, all fully resourced.

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…

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…

Elizabeth I portrait. Why was it rejected?

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…

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?

Why is it so difficult to be sure what life was really like on the Home Front? Two great tasks…

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…

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…

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:…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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? This way of starting should build on…

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…

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…

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…

Roman Britain – KQ1 part 2 – Why did the Romans invade Britain?

This lesson uses a variety of approaches including role play, decision-making, card sorts, hot seating and completing speech bubbles. The…

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…

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…

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…

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…

upils use this website to actually assist Anubis in carrying out a mummification

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…

Scene from the Book of the Dead. Pupils take on the role of characters in the image and act out the journey of Ani to Osiris and the afterlife

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…

Ancient Egypt – KQ5 – After-life lesson additional information – Dealing with sensitive issues

This supports the teaching of KQ5. As you know, pupils get very excited by whole topic of mummification. Whilst we…

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…

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:…

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…

Roman Britain – Supporting KQ1 – Julius Caesar and the invasions of Britain. Why did he come?

Julius Caesar and the invasions of Britain. Why did he come? Exploring human motivation. When Julius Caesar invaded in successive…

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…

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…

Victorian Britain – KQ1 – What were the main changes that took place during this time?

Motivating introductory lessons which , from the outset, challenges pupils to compare two images of the same place from the…

Victorian Britain – KQ2 – Children working in Victorian factories: was it as bad as they tell us?

This lesson is designed for Y5/6 pupils who already have a little knowledge of industrial change but have not yet…

Victorian Britain – KQ3 – If life was so hard for families in the towns why did so many leave the countryside and move to the towns in Victorian times? – a history mystery

Starting a lesson with an apparent contradiction is a good way of engaging pupils interest. This ‘history mystery’ makes excellent…

Is this what Dickens' London looked like?

Victorian Britain – KQ3a – What the Dickens was life like in the Victorian cities?

This lesson makes extremely good use of a technique called creative tension. Pupils listen, with their eyes closed, to a…

How did people feel about the coming of the railway?

Victorian Britain – KQ4 – Victorian railways: winners and losers. A thinking skills activity leading to a role play

This active thinking skills lesson asks pupils to consider the likely effect of the coming of the railways on different…

Victorian Britian – KQ5a – Going to school in Victorian times: can pupils write a paragraph for a KS1 textbook using photographs alone? SMART TASK Y3-5

This activity puts pupils in the role as researchers for a new book on Victorian schools. They have been commissioned…

Outstanding Lessons and smart tasks

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