History in the news - important topical issues including Primary curriculum changes

Latest posts

Time to drop insanity of a 3 year GCSE history course

Of all the phases of history education pupils now go through, KS4 is by far the least appealing. So why…

What do the new 2019 OFSTED Framework reports say about history in primary schools?

Even though we are only a month into term, OFSTED has been busy publishing its reports from the second week…

80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two

On 3 September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany after Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland. It was the…

What new OFSTED framework on work scrutiny means for history subject leaders.

What work scrutiny means for history subject leaders. We all worry about work scrutiny. Will the inspectors take into account…

Anniversary of the start of the Great Fire.

On this anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Fire, take a look at the outstanding lesson which explores why…

KS2 update on Saxon conversion to Christianity-the first stone churches

Excavations in Kent have just revealed that there were STONE Saxon churches being built in England as early as AD…

Making the Saxons relevant for BAME pupils

In the corridors of academia there has been much debate about the relevance of the british university and school history…

How significant was Bannockburn? What do Y7 pupils think?

When your pupils watch any sporting even that features the Scottish national anthem, remind them of its links to Bannockburn…

Making links in history at KS3: 5 simple questions to ask your pupils

5 quick and simple questions to help pupils make links in history at KS3 When else have we come across…

Is chocolate bad for your history lessons at KS2? Warnings about OFSTED and SOME cross-curricular approaches

With OFSTED putting the curriculum under even greater scrutiny, it is perhaps timely to re-consider assumption about delivery of history…

Swapping a Great Fire for a volcanic eruption? Looking for a new famous Event at KS1?

In a recent article in the Historical association’s Primary History Sue Townsend makes a very strong case for introducing…

How many of these 50 KS2 history concepts do your pupils understand?

How many of these KS2 history concepts do your pupils understand? Afterlife Army Blitz Border Christianity City Civil war Civilization…

What have the Romans ever done for us? More than we think

It appears that we need to add anti-earthquake engineering to all the other benefits the Romans gave us: sanitation, medicine,…

What does greater depth look like in history at KS2 and 3?

What does greater depth mean in history? So, we all know it doesn’t just mean knowing more stuff. We also…

Writing frames in KS2 and 3 history: Uncomfortable Procrustean bed or essential tool for explanatory writing.

For years history teachers have been using writing frames. Some are better than others. Some are downright unhelpful . It…

How to implement successful curriculum change in history: using the EAST model

Most schools will have come up with a new curriculum for history at a time when the statutory changes took…

Using small stories to reveal big pictures in our history teaching: a practical example

Small stories and big pictures As history teachers, we love telling stories. We do this to motivate pupils as we…

Improving your questioning in history to improve learning

We all know that less than 10% of questions we traditionally ask in British classrooms actually caused new learning. Most…

GCSE history wagging KS3 dog says HA survey

Last month the Historical Association published its annual survey of the state of history in its secondary schools. About 300…

Don’t bark up the wrong tree with progression-its all about the history curriculum not content-free skills

There has been a lot of confusing talk recently about progression in history. Schools are still wrong-headedly trying to build…

Do all revolutions in history end badly? Historians compare Russian, French and Chinese revolutions.

Interesting article in History Today (one that is free to read), in which authors compare the outcome of three revolutions:…

Using place-name evidence to find out about the Vikings at KS2: 3 things you MUST know

Place-name evidence is really important to historians studying the Vikings. Not only is there so much of it, it is…

Using colourful highlighter pens to mark text. Is there a better alternative to promote deeper thinking in history?

Highlighting text is a commonly used technique in history teaching right up to, and including A level. I have spend…

Your KS3 history curriculum and OFSTED’s 2019 Framework

With the OFSTED Framework for 2019 very much in mind the clever people at OneBigHistoryDepartment have come up with a…

Great new outstanding lesson on Richard the Lionheart and 3rd crusade

Given Richard’ failure to capture Jerusalem, his incarceration and his absence from England how could he still be called Lionheart…

How well do your pupils know the periods of history?

Chronology is difficult for young children. They generally get batter as they get older, as they can relate one period…

Are you up-to-date with your teaching of the trial and execution of Charles I?

Sean Kelsey has recently published his research in a paper from the Institute of Historical Research which you can read…

How to engage your KS2 boys with the Maya using football

Football is a religion. As early as 1000 year ago the ancient Mayan ball game drew huge crowds, not just…

How to close the attainment gap in history at KS3 and 4

Kate Smee,Director of Humanities, Fairfield High School, Bristol recently gave a couple of examples of what works for her on…

Widespread ignorance of the Holocaust still shocks

Five per cent of UK adults do not believe the Holocaust took place and one in 12 believes its scale…

OFSTED’s sensible approach to progression

OFSTED’s 2019 draft Framework for Inspection is full of very welcome comments about the central importance of having a high-quality…

So when did the Russian Revolution really end?

This article from Miriam Dobson’s at Sheffield University give us a variety of answers. Rex Wade writes: ‘The dispersal of…

Don’t over-complicate your teaching

OFSTED recently published this exemplification of successful history teaching in one school using the new EIF 2019 Framework criteria. Teachers…

Elizabeth I: awful weather

As reported in The Times, yesterday marked the Coronation of Elizabeth I, 460 years ago. It was cold and wet…

Dos and Don’t of concluding your history lesson

When the National Strategies were all the rage over a decade ago now, a lot of attention was paid in…

What does good leadership of history look like at KS 1 and 2?

A recent report from a history HMI to a primary school reveals what they are looking for : One of…

Keeping up-to-date with your teaching of the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings at KS2- dealing with fake news

Subject knowledge is vital for any KS2 teacher. You can rely on this website to provide not only the background…

GCSE Medicine and World War One. How did a weapon of war ( mustard gas) lead to a blood cancer treatment?

Fascinating short article looking at war as a factor in medical advances. Those who suffered most from mustard gas attacks…

In many schools primary history curriculum found wanting by OFSTED

Seven of the 33 primaries schools visited by the inspectorate under phase 3 of its curriculum study, published today, had…

OFSTED rails against gimmicks rather than getting basics right

The chief inspector of schools at OFSTED has warned against resting hopes on the latest educational gimmicks and urged us…

Top 10 Command words when your primary history activities

As well as listing and describing, what other forms of command words can we use to make sure that pupils’…

New find reveals Roman relationship with the Celts

Yesterday the BBC ran this interesting article on an important find at Vindolanda Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall which challenges…

How can I raise standards in learning in history in my primary school? Doing the right things.

One of the hardest jobs for a history subject leader in primary schools is to build up a clear idea…

7 ways to ensure that your history curriculm is 2019-ready

There has been a lot of coverage recently of OFSTED’s intention to focus more on the quality , range and…

So, are we getting the emphasis right in our teaching of the Peterloo massacre at KS3?

The Peterloo massacre is one of the best-documented events in British history and now the subject of Mike Leigh’s recent…

Moon Landing story book to use with Year 2

Those of you teaching Man’s First Moonlanding at KS1 but like to know that there is a cute fiction title…

Getting the level of difficulty of your history work just right.

We all know that pupils’ minds wander. Some brave researchers claim that this happens, on average, as much as 50%…

Making your Y9 key questions harder than those for Y7

With OFSTED’s renewed focus on the curriculum many schools are re-examining the quality of their Ks3 curriculum, mostly written without…

Great class story to use with Ancient Egypt at KS2

A few years ago when I was working closely with the staff at Belleville school in South London, we discussed…

9 ways to ensure that your local history topic is successful at KS1 and 2

9 ways to ensure that your local history topic is successful Don’t even begin your chosen local topic unless…

Keystage History Blog – updates from Neil

Latest posts

Login

Search

Recent added

Recent searches