Webinar series: Weaving historical scholarship into primary history

Primary teachers are expected to be experts in everything. If you feel that your history subject knowledge could do with a brush up, then this series is for you. The Historical Association has teamed up with some leading historians and experienced teachers to bring you up to speed on the latest perspectives on various periods in the primary history curriculum, as well as considering how these historians can shape our practice in the classroom.

Benin

Part A: Subject knowledge

In the first of this three-part session, researcher Alan Kunna will unpack a range of sources focusing on the recording and writing of Benin history, including, African, colonial, and post-colonial perspectives. He will cover key elements of Benin history including the Oba and the structure of the state, Benin’s geographical position, trade and the development of the empire, the impact of contact with Europeans, the capture and destruction of the Benin state, and art and the Benin Bronzes.

Part B: Museums

Museums and their collections play a unique role in understanding the history of Benin. In this second session, hear from the British Museum, the Horniman Museum and National Museums Liverpool about their approaches to interpreting and sharing this history, and explore what implications these differing approaches may have for your knowledge and planning of this unit.

Part C: Curriculum thinking and pedagogy

In this final session, experienced teacher, teacher educator and consultant Andrew Wrenn will focus directly upon the subject knowledge updates and insights provided in the first two sessions and explore the implications this has for our curriculum planning and teaching of Benin at Key Stage 2. Participants will leave the session with a secure understanding of how they can ensure that their teaching of the period reflects the latest scholarship as well as feeling confident in their subject knowledge.