Keystage history

Outstanding Lessons: Key Stage 1

If you have ever searched the internet for inspiration for your history sessions you will know how frustrating it can…

Using artefacts to help children’s historical understanding at Key Stage 1

Since the early 90s, artefacts have become increasingly available either to purchase or to loan. Many firms offer useful replicas…

New guidelines for 21st century history

In a recently-published study by the Council of Europe entitled “Quality history in the 21st century” a number of key…

Crime and punishment – assessment task

This task is provisional and adopts a different approach to the assessment task on the site you might have tried…

Mary Anning – assessment task

Focus: Significance This simple-to-administer, uncomplicated task uses a contemporary image to stimulate pupils to think about Mary Anning’s long-term significance….

Review of 2025 Historical Association survey

In addition to reading the OFSTED Lead Inspectors’ reports which are available online one of the ways of getting a…

2025 – Important anniversaries

Grace Darling – assessment task

Focus: Interpretations Y1 Pupils compare contrasting images of Graces’ rescue and try to explain how and why they are different….

Seaside – assessment task

Focus: similarity and difference and change Assessing Year 1 children’s understanding of how different going for a swim in the…

Great Fire – assessment task

Focus: Causation Using one large colour image as a stimulus pupils have to draw on their detailed understanding of the…

Caxton and Bell – assessment task

Focus: characteristic features of period & using sources Y2 Using just one image which contains lots of clues, pupils have…

Moon landing – assessment task

Focus : Using sources Pupils have to identify key features from a visual source to answer a question regarding the…

Rosa Parks knowledge organiser – KS1

Rosa Parks was an important black woman who wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself when she was treated unfairly….

Mary Anning knowledge organiser – KS1

You are learning about Mary Anning because she became very famous at a very young age. She was an expert…

Stone Age to Iron Age – assessment task

Very short diagnostic assessment in which pupils are the teachers. They have to correct a pupil’s description of the Bronze…

Wright brothers – assessment task

In this brief diagnostic assessment task , supported by 4 pictorial clues,  pupils are asked to show if they understand…

History curriculum review – December 2024 update

If any of you were still waiting for the promised new model history curriculum which was due to appear by…

Sinking of the Titanic – assessment task – looking at consequences and change

This task asks pupils to consider consequences of the disaster and changes over time arising from it Assessment task and…

Florence Nightingale – assessment task

Focus: Change and significance This task offers pupils 3 carefully chose images to support their understanding of the achievements of…

Ancient Egypt – assessment task – The afterlife

Key Elements: ideas, attitudes and beliefs This assessment tasks focuses on a single picture.   Pupils are asked how the image…

Ancient Greece – assessment task – Life for women in Ancient Greece

This is a Year 6 task which focuses on Key Element 2a : characteristic features of life for men women…

Anglo-Saxons – assessment task – What were the main changes that took place in Anglo-Saxon England?

Focus: significance and change Using 3 images to help you, what were the most important changes that took place in…

Early Islamic Civilisation – assessment task – Why was life in 10th century Baghdad was so significant.

Using two contrasting illustrations to help them, pupils have to explain why life in 10th century Baghdad was so significant….

Mayan civilisation – assessment task – What can we tell about Mayan society 1,000 years ago?

Focus skill/concept: Understanding characteristic period features and cultural diversity Using 3 images pupils are set the task to explain what…

Roman Britain – assessment task – interpretations of Boudicca

Focus: interpretations Another Year 4 task in which pupils have to compare two unseen illustrations from books about Boudicca. Having…

Roman Britain – assessment task – Why did the Romans invade?

Focus: causation Short written explanation or, for some, the completion of two speech bubbles. What did the Romans / Claudius…

Roman Britain – assessment task – Roman legacy

Assessing pupils’ understanding of the legacy of the Roman Empire on life in Britain This task is designed to elicit…

Stone Age to Iron Age – assessment task – changes from Stone Age to Iron Age

Focus: sequencing This Y3/4 task is highly visual and entails simple sequencing of unseen images followed by reason why changes…

Tudor Britain – assessment task – What can we learn about the way Elizabeth ruled the country from portraits

Focus: evaluation of sources Children work on an unseen portrait after the teacher has read out the caption which explains…

Victorian Britain – assessment task – How do we know this picture shows Victorian Britain?

Pupils are given artist’s impression of a typical Victorian scene which they have never seen before. They have to identify…

Vikings – assessment task – Depictions of the Vikings

Focus: historical interpretation After looking at similarity and difference between two depictions of the Vikings, pupils then offer reasons why…

WW2 – Assessment task – How do we know that this picture shows England at the beginning of the Second World War?

Focus: characteristic features of life for men, women and children Once again based on a very detailed and colourful artists’…

Amy Johnson – assessment task – Can you explain why Amy Johnson was so important?

The children are given the task sheet containing three pictures and the question. Each has been included for a particular…

Toys; old and new – assessment task

Focus concept: Making deductions/ similarity and difference This task is designed to be non-threatening and to be carried out in…

Scott of the Antractic – assessment task Y2

Focus concept: Causation The first task serves as a more gentle introduction to the idea of cause by looking at…

Mary Seacole – Assessment task – Assessing pupils’ understanding of the work of Mary Seacole

Target concepts:  characteristic features of the period and significance This task is designed to elicit pupils’ understanding of the contribution…

Using story in your history teaching at KS2 – 10 top tips

I’ve just finished watching one of the more powerful of the Historical Association’s podcasts on the subject of story telling…

10 step guide to strengthening your history teaching

1. Ensure all topics are linked and logically sequenced At the planning stage make sure all topics are carefully linked…

Amy Johnson knowledge organiser – KS1

You are learning about Amy Johnson because she was a very famous British pilot who flew her plane, called Jason,…

Toys old and new knowledge organiser – KS1

You are learning about old toys to help you to understand the difference between toys people played with in the…

Strengths and weaknesses of 10 different approaches to local history at KS1 and 2

1. A general history of the community Advantages Can build a sense of place enhancing pupils’ awareness of how the…

Sequencing your KS2 history topics: are you doing it right?

Is there a right order for sequencing KS2 topics? Let’s start with a reality check. No research exists to show…

Ancient Egypt – end of unit quiz

Congratulations on completing your unit on Ancient Egypt! Now that you’ve explored this incredible ancient civilization, it’s time to put…

What should I be doing?

OFSTED’s recent report ( 2023) highlighted the following 5 key messages about assessment in primary history. Over the next few…

Getting your priorities right at the start of the year – KS2

September is always a good time to think through what you should be doing as history leader now that you’ve…

Keystage history bulletin – September 2024

Welcome back to a new term, a new government and new academic year of exciting developments here at Keystage history….

Early Islamic civilisation knowledge organiser – KS2

You are studying this topic so that you realise that a thousand years ago Baghdad was the largest city in…

What are OFSTED saying about history in their 2024 reports?

It is not always easy to find detailed references to history in recent school reports despite the fact that history…

Keeping your teaching of Stonehenge up-to-date

Just when you thought you knew all there was to teach about Stonehenge suddenly a major discovery turns much of…

9 highly effective retrieval activities that really help history to stick ..and show real historical understanding too!

To prevent retrieval activities simply resembling a random fact pub quiz  consider using the following , which I’m sure many…

8 retrieval tasks that really work in history

This list is by no means exhaustive nor is it linked to just one key stage. You can think of…

10 most important things a secondary history subject leader should always be doing…yes, always

No contrived acronym here or implied order of priority just making sure you do the right things as well as…