Keystage history

How did Guy Fawkes feel before, during and after the night of the 5th November: pupils do the thinking.

Getting children to think about how Guy Fawkes felt, before, during and after the Gunpowder plot. This simple task, resourced…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Roman Britain – KQ6 – What have the Romans ever done for us? Under the cloth

This activity is a good fun way of concluding a study of the Romans. It is called ‘under the cloth’. …

10 things history leaders need to know about the new OFSTED 2019 Framework

10 things you need to know about leading history 1. Show you are teaching history You will have to show…

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…

How should Germany be treated at the Paris peace conference? KS3 or KS4 task

This short but engaging task precedes any detailed analysis of the terms of the treaty itself. It has four distinct…

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…

Free at Last? How far had the Civil Rights Movement come by 1963?

How far have Afro-Americans come in their struggle for equality over the last 160 years? With many schools operating a…

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:…

‘100’ great teaching ideas for teaching history at KS4

This section offers a veritable treasure trove of imaginative tried-and-tested ideas which will be a source of inspiration for you…

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…

Curriculum models at key stage 3

By now, most of you will have taught your new KS3 curriculum for over four years. It might seem a…

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…

Medium term planning for history at KS2

KS2 History Planning and Plans All compulsory National Curriculum topics now have full medium-term plans rated as outstanding by OFSTED. …

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…

Gunpowder Plot Smart Task: Dear producer

Over the last few sessions, the children have become familiar with the story of the Gunpowder Plot using a range…

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…

‘Fitness for purpose’ teaching and learning strategies in KS1 history

Throughout the site there are lots of examples of imaginative activities, for both teaching and learning. These need to be…

In Living Memory: Key Stage 1

Comparing pupils’ lives with the recent past not only enables pupils to handle more familiar sources and make direct comparisons…

Using role play area when teaching Castles at KS1

There are at least 6 ways you can help young children make sense of the past using your role play…

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…

The reasons why Labour won the General Election of 1945.

If Churchill’s popularity rating rarely dropped below 80% during the Second World War, why then was there a landslide victory…

Keystage history

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