Keystage history

Black and British – KQ3 – What difference did the slave trade make to the experience of the Black people?

Having understood the nature of the transatlantic slave trade, and Britain’s role within it, pupils work in expert groups to…

Black and British – KQ4 – When so many Black people rushed to fight in the two world wars, why then is it only recently that their sacrifice has been properly recognised?

When so many Black people rushed to fight in the two world wars, why then is it only recently that…

Black and British – KQ5 – How did the arrival of the Empire Windrush change the way Black People were treated in Britain?

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Black and British – KQ6 – How far has life improved for Black people living in Britain in the last 60 years?

This active session asks pupils to create a physical fortunes graph to show the effects that changes in the law…

The Place of Knowledge In Primary History

The place of knowledge shows how substantive and disciplinary knowledge intertwine. They need to be seen together, a continuous interplay….

Seeing The Big Picture

Seeing the Big Picture encapsulates the essence of the subject showing how all the key aspects that make up the…

How Helpful Is The Theory Of Powerful Knowledge?

How helpful is the theory of powerful knowledge? summarises the reasons why knowledge is important: not just finger-tip knowledge that…

10 things OFSTED tend to comment on in primary history reports

I have just finished my analysis of all OFSTED’s primary history monitoring reports for the last 2 years. There has…

Columbus – KQ1 – Why do you think we still remember Christopher Columbus, even though he’s been dead for 500 years!

Pupils are in the role of history detectives. They are given 8 progressively revealing, mainly visual, clues in a controlled…

Columbus – KQ2 – How did Columbus become famous?

Pupils listen to an illustrated description of main episodes Columbus life which they then sequence from the jumbled images provided…

Columbus – KQ3 – What was Christopher Columbus’s motivation?

Driving at the heart of Columbus ‘ motivation, allows pupils to build on what they have already deduced about his…

Columbus – KQ4 – What was life like on board during such a long journey?

This question shifts the focus away from the actions of just one man and adds a colourful dimension to the…

Columbus – KQ5 – How have opinions of Columbus changed in the light of new evidence?

In this session the focus is squarely on helping pupils to grasp that people’s opinions of Columbus have changed in…

Columbus – KQ6 – How and why should we remember him?

Having seen the different ways in which Columbus achievements are still commemorated today, 500 years after his death, pupils have…

10 key messages about teaching significant people in KS1 history

The most important changes in the way we teach this aspect of the KS1 curriculum are: a. the need to link…

Berlin Wall – If relations between the superpowers were improving in the late 50s, why was the Berlin wall built in 1961? A Bone in the throat

This multi-faceted session starts with students having to shape their understanding of the reasons for the building of the Berlin…

Common assessment tasks in history at KS1

It is often difficult knowing how to assess pupils’ historical thinking at KS1. Are we simply testing literacy and /or…

Judging pupils’ work in history at KS 1

This section of the site offers a few words of advice about assessing individual pieces of work and provides commentaries…

Principles of good assessment in history at Key Stage 1

Assessment in Foundation subjects is not well-developed, and is nearly always found wanting in successive OFSTED reports. When assessment in…

Progression in history at Key Stage 1 by Skill / Concept

The problem Trying to secure progression within your Key Stage 1 history curriculum is not always as easy as it…

Migration – If England was the safest place in Europe for Jews to live in Henry II’s reign, why then did Edward I expel them just 100 years later?

By posing this enquiry question in a slightly paradoxical way, students are encouraged to go deeper in the explanation than…

What would your pupils say about getting better at history, when they leave your school?

Recently two university education departments carried out a broad-sweep survey of primary pupils’ experience of history at KS1 and 2…

Excerpt from recent OFSTED report from 2021

As its impossible for you to know what comments OFSTED are making when commenting on history in individual schools, we…

6 signs to look for to show your pupils are becoming historically literate

1. Understanding how it is possible to know about the past Pupils show an understanding of how it is possible…

Teaching KS1 pupils to question the ‘FACTS’ about Great Fire; focus on number of deaths

Take the simple assertion (to found in in most books pupils will come across), that only 6 deaths resulted from…

It’s time to think about the teaching of time at KS1 and 2

Time is probably the concept most fundamental to understanding history. This presents problems, of course, particularly with the youngest children….

The state of primary history 25 years on

One of the drawbacks of being a historian is you just can’t help yourself when it comes to looking at…

Take a new look at assessment in history in your school.

Now is the perfect time to get your assessment system for history in better shape. If colleagues know the criteria…

Scales of planning in primary history

Making sure you don’t leave out key things and don’t waste your time duplicating Planning can seem a real chore,…

5 key tasks for the history subject leader

Being a history subject leader can often be daunting, especially if you have received very little training and have no…

10 top dos and don’ts of using knowledge organisers in primary history

Used well, knowledge organisers are a really powerful resource but it all depends on how they are used. However attractive…

Teaching the 20th Century World to Key Stage 3

For many pupils this will be their last topic in KS3 history, though some history departments prefer to end with…

How well did Chamberlain play his cards at Munich? A KS3 smart task

This smart task asks pupils to think a little more deeply about why Chamberlain adopted the policy of appeasement. It…

Top 10 things your KS2 pupils need to know – Early Islamic civilization

Top 10 things your KS2 pupils need to know, and remember, about Early Islamic civilization 1. 1000 years of extraordinary…

Top 10 things your pupils need to know – Roman Britain

Top 10 things your pupils need to know about Roman Britain 1. Roman Britain was part of a huge empire…

I’m a new subject leader. How do I know if pupils are making the progress they should in history?

Getting a handle on progression is complicated. There are lots of superficially appealing lists of competencies that link to each…

Teaching KS3 History: Medieval Britain

A wide range of lessons are showcased here for teaching Medieval Britain at KS3 because the medieval period is highly…

Knowledge rich: necessary but surely not sufficient? Or 5 good reasons not to listen to Nick Gibb, the schools minister

In a speech delivered last week, July 21,2021, we had to read, or listen to, the same ill-informed clap-trap from…

10 vital things primary history subject leaders should draw from OFSTED’s review July 2021

On 14 July 2021 OFSTED published its lengthy review of research findings into school history. You can access it here….

History in outstanding primary schools – OFSTED’s view of strengths and weaknesses April 2021

Posted by:Tim Jenner HMI, Subject Lead for History, Tim Jenner HMI, Ofsted’s subject lead for history report April 2021, reports…

Recent ‘remote’ OFSTED report Spring 2021; systems for testing pupils’ subject knowledge July 2021

The recent focus on pupils knowing the content of subjects has given rise to some interesting observations from OFSTED. In…

Getting your KS3 assessment right in history: 12 step guide

You will know from the activities provided on the site that we are firm believers in a planned series of…

So how exactly did Becket die: a source-based investigation

Working as historical advisers to a movie director, pupils attempt to reconstruct the scene of Becket’s death by cross-referencing and…

Preparing for the new EYFS framework from September 2021

Teaching about the past in EYFS Although most schools and settings prefer not to refer to history as a discrete…

7 searching questions for you to ask about your KS2 history curriculum

Every now and then it is worth just ensuring that your KS2 history curriculum is as robust as it should…

Vietnam War – Why did Johnson really escalate the war in Vietnam?

If Johnson claimed that he wanted peace when he became president, why did he escalate the war in Vietnam and…

Important dates in history

What should my Y6 pupils be able to do in history? The Big 5

By the end of Year 6, it is important that pupils not only build up good chronological knowledge, they also…

KS2 Example Planner – Vikings Medium Term Planner

Here is a typical example of a medium term plan which exist for all main KS2 topics, in line with…

Ancient Egypt : a new Pompeii?

A few weeks ago, Egyptian archaeologists the discovery of a “lost city” of the pharaohs dating back some 3,400 years…

Keystage history

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