Key stage 2 history Archives

keystage 2 students in a lesson Welcome to the section for teaching history at KS2 where you will find masses of advice on how to make history both fun and satisfyingly challenging. You will be helped to design and plan an exciting primary history curriculum and taking into account the difficult areas of assessment and progression and mindful of the new focus on curriculum within OFSTED’s framework.

This is a tricky process at Key Stage 2. It is easy to lose continuity if you are not careful. You will be shown which skills and concepts are best developed in which contexts along with examples of key questions that have proved most effective in deepening learning. You also will be helped to make the most of history’s contribution to the whole curriculum by being shown cutting edge practice in the areas of cross-curricular history planning, literacy, thinking skills and creativity.

The site also offers a unique set of detailed lesson plans and resources for about 150 lessons which have been judged as outstanding by OFSTED. These cover all the major topics linked to an outstanding medium-term planner which expertly hows how to combine the most significant content with the development of conceptual understanding.

You will see below that these resources are constantly being added to , thereby ensuring that you have not only the latest and best advise but also the highest quality learning materials for your pupils.

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…

Victorian Britain – KQ5b – 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…

Victorian Britain – KQ5c – Climbing boys enquiry – SMART TASK

This enquiry falls into five parts: A selection of four related enquiry tasks which encourage pupils to explore and then…

Victorian Britain – KQ6 – The Victorian Era: Dark Age or Golden Age?

This is the concluding lesson on the Victorians. It starts with a plate and a poster commemorating the achievements of…

12 things you need to know about the Mayan civilization before you teach it at KS2

1. The Mayan settlements were among the largest anywhere in the world in year 1000 In the year 1000 settlements…

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…

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…

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…

Benin – KQ1 – Why do YOU think we should study Benin in KS2 history? SMART TASK

After setting Benin in its context of place and time, pupils tour a gallery of images which give them hints…

Benin – KQ2 – What sort of place was Benin 500 to 1,000 years ago? SMART TASK

Here pupils are introduced to the idea of a society from a distant time about which very little evidence remains….

Benin – KQ3 – What can we tell about Benin society at this time from the images and artefacts that have survived?

Using evidence to study Benin This lesson revolves round four principal activities: Fastest Finger First; Mining for meaning, using an…

Benin – KQ4 – What changes took place when the European settlers started trading? Case study of one of the Benin bronzes

The first part of this session revolves around the encounter between indigenous Benin people and the European traders. It then…

Benin – KQ5 – Why did the Victorians get involved in Benin and what were the effects on the Benin people? SMART TASK

Following an intriguing slow reveal of an interesting Victorian photograph showing the capture of the Oda’s palace in Benin, pupils…

Benin – KQ6 – Should the Benin Bronzes be returned? SMART TASK

This lesson is guaranteed to provoke a lively debate. Armed with all the contextual knowledge they need, and stimulated by…

A six step approach to history lessons

Step 1: Teacher motivates pupils to want to learn and scopes the enquiry Hooking them in: eg. with a slow…

10 questions which we should ask when planning historical enquiries at KS2

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Progression in historical interpretations at Key Stage 2 – How the past is represented and interpreted in different ways, and to give reasons for this

Beginning of Key Stage Children can identify differences between versions of the same event e.g. the video gives a different…

Using timelines in history at Key Stage 2

Timelines in school may be individual timelines or made collaboratively with different groups working on separate theme within a study…

Key ideas in primary history

When we are teaching 11 subjects it is often difficult to catch the essence of each. If we’re not careful…

How to assess pupils’ progress in KS2 history. At last the answer that not only works but will work for you too.

Even though we will have had the National Curriculum for history ( albeit in different guises) for nearly 30 years,…

What is history? – Key stage 2

In the classrooms of some non-specialist Key Stage 2 teachers, history is still presented as the story of the past….

The top 10 things you need to know about chronology at KS2, but were afraid to ask.

The top 10 things you need to know about chronology at KS2, but were afraid to ask. 1. There is…

Planner for teaching early Islamic civilization at KS2

For many schools this is new topic and one to be taught with particular sensitivity in the 21st century. Try…

Roman Britain – KQ2 part 2 – Boudicca’s rebellion: from sequencing to living graph

This KS2 lesson on Roman Britain uses the idea of a living graph to see the ups and downs of…

Making a human living graph in the playground to show the highs and lows of Boudicca's revolt

Roman Britain – KQ2 part 2 additional information – Boudica’s rebellion: from sequencing to living graph

The focus on the dramatic story of Boudica is a good opportunity to help pupils to understand why things happen…

Roman Britain – KQ2 part 2 additional information – Making sure you are teaching Boudica in the right way.

Let’s start with the name. Boudica is the correct spelling, not Boudicea. Boudica means ‘victory’. Her chariots were light, springy,…

Roman Britain – KQ2 part 3 – What image do we have of Boudica today?

Key Stage 2 pupils find Boudica fascinating so this is a good context for exploring the tricky ideas of historical…

Roman Britain – KQ3 – How were the Romans able to keep control over such a vast empire?

This lesson offers considerable variety in terms of learning approaches. Pupils work in tug-of-war teams to represent the differently weighted…

Roman Britain – KQ4 part 1 – Picture this. Creating a group drawing of a Roman town with all key buildings included in the right place

After re-capping the main features of Iron Age settlements, pupils work collaboratively in role as spies trying to find which…

Roman Britain – KQ4 part 2 – Is this another Roman villa?

NB Feb 28 2020. It has been brought to our attention this morning that the link to the video doesn’t work…

Roman Britain – KQ5 – How can we solve the mystery of why this great 400 year empire suddenly came to an end? Can you make the links?

As this is a brief overview question, without time for much independent research, pupils are introduced to a series of…

Key stage 2 history

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