Keystage history

Was Hitler totally responsible for the Second World War?

This smart task looks deceptively simple, and should serve as a useful introduction, leading on to some sophisticated analysis exploring…

Why study the Mughal Empire at Key Stage 3?

Reasons for studying this period above the other tempting options are: The Mughal Empire was the greatest of the Muslim…

Teaching Local History at Key Stage 2

So, where do we start if we haven’t a clue about Local History? Unlike all other areas of study Local…

AS/A2 SMART TASK Threats to Henry VII, a living graph

Students create event cards for homework by way of preparation for creating a multi strand living graph showing the degree…

If the Bloody Code made so many offences punishable by death, why were so few criminals hanged? SMART TASK

Fun lesson in which small groups have to predict punishments meted out for specific crimes in 1786 using original documents…

50 imaginative learning activities to use in history at Key Stage 2

Currently these top 50 imaginative ideas are just listed in alphabetical order with a brief description of each, cross-referenced to…

Views of learners on history at Key Stage 1

There has been very little published research on the views of infants on their history work. I think we might…

The Marshall Plan: How should we interpret it? Just how philanthropic was it?

The activities in this very varied lesson ask students to raise questions, place sources on a continuum, add analysis to…

AS/A2 SMART TASK Did the ending of the Second World War make the Cold War inevitable?

In order for students to form their own view on this challenging question they read, discuss, sort and then place…

How much Irish history do your pupils learn?

Lise Hand the Times columnist recently described a visit to see the film Michael Collins with her well-educated and well-known…

Photo of Scott’s disconsolate team at South Pole up for sale

Pupils have often wondered how a photograph could possibly be taken showing all five of Scott’s team in shot, given…

French Revolution-what do the 1793 playing cards tell us?

Interesting new lesson on using 12 colourful playing cards to encourage students to work out what mattered most to the…

Why did the Romans spend so much time building roads? KS2 short task

From Diamond 4 to ‘Roving Mike’ and kids’ wiki. This simple short task gives groups of pupils, 3 per group,…

How will your school commemorate the end of World War One in 2018?

This short advice sheet invites schools to consider how they will commemorate the centenary of armistice day and provides an…

Hitler’s propaganda: the cult of leader. Reading internal clues. KS3 & 4 Smart Task

The aim of this short task is to encourage students to look really closely at images for what is there,…

Excellent animation of how Stonehenge was built

Great English Heritage showing how Stonehenge was built WATCH: The brilliance of our prehistoric ancestors and the creation of @EH_Stonehenge…

As a history subject leader, do you hold your colleagues to account?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that it not good for one’s health to read OFSTED reports in the summer…

Assessment in history at KS2- What OFSTED is looking for

Mention the words ‘assessment in foundation subjects’ and you’re likely to be met with a frosty response. ‘Its hard enough…

Amy Johnson – KQ1 – Why do you think Amy Johnson was famous?

With the help of the slow reveal of the clues in carefully arranged order, pupils build their knowledge of Amy…

Amy Johnson – KQ2 – How did Amy the secretary end up being the first woman to fly to Australia?

This short, fun activity using mime and props, tells the story of Amy Johnson’s first flight to Australia in a…

Amy Johnson – KQ3 – Why was flying to Australia so difficult for Amy Johnson?

Having heard the story of Amy Johnson’s life, pupils are now asked to focus their attention on explaining why it…

Amy Johnson – KQ4 – How did people react to Amy Johnson’s famous flight?

How did people react to Amy at the time, and how do we know? Children generate adjectives to describe Amy’s…

Amy Johnson – KQ5 – How did things change for Amy Johnson after her famous flight?

Was Amy really successful for the rest of her life? A Living graph Smart Task KQ5 The focus here is…

Amy Johnson – KQ6 – How can we solve the mystery of what happened to Amy Johnson?

This enduring mystery has puzzled historians for over 75 years. New evidence has just come to light which makes this…

KS1 Star Lesson on The Great Fire

Why did the Great Fire of 1666 burn down so many more houses than other fires in London at that…

Why did Germany lose the Battle of Britain?

If Britain was only a few days away from defeat in August 1940 how on earth did she win the…

GCSE History of medicine: What was the most important medical advance in the last 200 years

Recently a sample of 11,000 doctors was asked to name the most important medical advance in the last 200 years.The…

Flipping the GCSE history question: stopping students answering the questions that wasn’t set! An example from Crime and Punishment using zones of significance

We all know students who have answered the question that hoped would appear on the question, regardless of the actual…

DfE criticises types of history teaching. Are you their target?

Nick Gibb, Minister for Schools has again sounded off about the virtues of formal didactic teaching of knowledge and has…

KS1 Wright brothers topic KQ5 explores change using spectrum activity

Those of you teaching a topic on flight, in the sky or ‘up and away’ might be interested to know…

What was the impact of the Californian Gold Rush 1848-9? GCSE SMART TASK

In this series of short tasks GCSE students predict, infer, gather information and then improve existing explanations of the impact…

How well do your pupils know Medieval Britain? A short diagnostic smart task called truth detector

Pupils are given 18 statement cards (provided as RS2) about the Middle Ages on Britain to place on the truth…

Castle design. Would I lie to you? Fun smart task

This enjoyable session has serious intent: to question some careless assumptions about castle building that often creep into Y7 teaching…

How well do you and your pupils know Florence Nightingale?

Here are 10 probing questions. See how you get on. Oh, and the answers are given below, in case you…

The rise of Stalin: 4 smart tasks

Included here are 4 distinct smart tasks which could be used in various combinations at AS and A2 level. They…

Teaching Anglo-Saxons & Vikings for Key Stage 2

The current National Curriculum has afforded separate status for individual units of work on the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. Whilst this…

Just how good is your KS1 history curriculum?

The 12 most crucial questions to ask yourself about your KS1 history curriculum, and some expert answers if you get…

Teaching Famous Events at Key Stage 1 – Outstanding Lessons

There are two types of events that are expected to be taught to KS1 pupils as part of the National…

Top ten ingredients of a good KS2 post-1066 thematic unit.

Teaching Crime and Punishment as a post-1066 thematic unit at KS2 For a while now, a number of schools have…

Migration: Online resources

Great new Migration site www.ourmigrationstory.org.uk Our Migration Story: The Making of Britain is an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded collaboration…

Link between Elizabethan theatre and bear-baiting

Historic England schedulded several of London bear pits so they will not now be built over. The listing of these…

10 most significant battles of World War One

Staff from the Imperial War Museums have just published their list of the 10 most significant battles of the First…

Was there really a Blitz spirit? Killer evidence. Smart Task

Historians to this day still argue as to whether there was a Blitz spirit or not. Much depends on the…

Having lost his parliament, then his throne, why did Charles I have to lose his head?

This diamond-9 prioritising causes activity concludes pupils’ investigation of the reasons for the trial and execution of Charles I. Pupils…

The end of the Cold War for new GCSE history: taking a fresh look

In a recent article in Teaching History David Reynolds offers some clear insights into this period which might help to…

Elizabeth and the Catholic threat: Elizabethans GCSE Smart Task

Asking questions in history. Elizabeth’s policy towards the Catholics: students use a graph to raise their own enquiry questions which…

Historic Environment GCSE: Castles

Castles: 2 Smart Tasks Those of you who are studying the castles topic, maybe as part of the OCR specification,…

Why Teach Students to “Think Like Historians?”

Sam Wineburg will be familiar to many of you. If not do try to read his stuff. Sam is at…

Market place: Why I didn’t oppose Hitler.

To help pupils to understand why so few people opposed Hitler in the 1930s the use of this market place…

Using simple ‘how plausible’ strategy for high-intensity thinking from KS2 to A level

Sometimes the simplest ideas have the most impact, probably because we don’t over-complicate. Looking for a way of getting students…

Keystage history

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