Britain since 1930

A popular topic in the past has been Britain since 1930, which usually provides a focus upon World War II. It is possible to retain a study of World War II in Key Stage II provided that the unit of study either links to the locality, or shows how this was a turning point and draws links to knowledge that children have already developed. In this section you will find podcasts, articles and resources to help you plan to teach World War II as a local study or turning point in history.

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  • 50th anniversary of the UK’s first official Pride march: 1 July 2022

    Article

    2022 is a special year as it marks the 50th anniversary of the first official UK Pride march which was held in London on 1 July 1972. The Pride movement, and events like the London in Pride march, were inspired and influenced by the Stonewall riots. These were protests that took place...

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  • A History Curriculum for the 21st Century: From Russia With Love

    Article

    Please note: this 2005 article is likely to be of use to researchers rather than teachers. A post cold war world: The last decade of the 20th century saw a sea change in the political systems of the Soviet Bloc and a corresponding re-orientation of international politics. Following the fall of...

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  • A Significant Local Event: Carlisle floods

    Article

    Sue Temple has used her personal experience of flooding around Carlisle as a basis for exploring local history. She suggests strategies for how we can explore events that have occurred in our own environments by making use of photos and oral history to link to the personal and immediate. As extreme...

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  • Anniversaries: The Coventry Blitz and the Grave of the Unknown Soldier

    Article

    This Autumn we remember two events related to the impact of war and how people have reacted to them.  The first anniversary remembers the Nazi devastation of Coventry 80 years ago on 14 November 1940 and the second event relates to the body of the ‘Unknown warrior’ who was laid...

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  • Anniversary: Festival of Britain 1951

    Article

    The Festival of Britain was held 70 years ago. For many this provided a boost for the country after the deprivations of World War II and the economic struggles afterwards. It was designed to be educational and was held 100 years after the Great Exhibition. It was designed to show pride...

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  • Back to basics: using artefacts in the classroom

    Article

    While most teachers recognise the importance of artefacts in history education, knowing how to use them effectively can often prove more challenging. This article suggests ways to investigate historical objects and provides a framework to support children’s observations. Why use artefacts?  Artefacts are simply any object used by people in...

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  • Belmont’s evacuee children: a local history project

    Article

    Teaching about World War II, particularly the home front, continues to be popular in primary schools, despite the government deciding not to include it as a compulsory subject in the new National Curriculum introduced in 2014. Many primary schools still choose to organise an evacuee experience of some kind for pupils...

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  • Case Study: World War II evacuation project

    Article

    Editorial note: The WOW factor. When we first received and read the World War II Evacuation Project case study we simply went WOW! It was genuinely mind-blowing. Below we publish the main sections of the report. They bring to life an invaluable, ground-breaking case-study of national significance. The case-study involved...

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  • Census 2021: using the census in the history classroom

    Article

    As we approach the next census in March 2021, we are reminded of what a rich historical source the census is. For historians, using the census can shine a light on particular people and places – a snapshot in time. Big stories can be told through a sharp local lens...

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  • Changes in an aspect of social history from 1945 to 2000: youth culture

    Article

    A history-themed topic based around music is a popular choice among many teachers and children. Music is after all a thread which runs through all of history, and one through which we can explore many other aspects of life in different times. It can be an exciting avenue into exploring...

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  • Changes within Living Memory

    Article

    This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject leaders, join the Historical Association today Overview  Post-1930s Britain has been transformed by a technological revolution...

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  • Children in the Second World War

    Article

    This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject leaders, join the Historical Association today These lessons with Year 6 children at a voluntary-aided primary...

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  • Culture, Society and Politics in the 1930s: an excellent focus for history studies in the primary school

    Article

    Please note: the links and website lists in this 2002 article are out of date. Marked by tensions and contradictions, the 1930s were on the cusp of older and newer trends; in the shadow of late Victorian and Edwardian society yet pulled towards a recognisably modern life-style which would develop...

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  • Dates of a Decade: the 1960s

    Article

    Dates of a Decade: the 1960s by Nathaniel Harris. Franklin Watts, pub 2008, ISBN: 978 0 7496 7882 1 Reviewed by Alf Wilkinson This book contains a selection of the key events of the 1960s. Each double-page spread has at least one image, detail of and background to the event, and a...

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  • Detectives: what were schools like in the past?

    Article

    In this lesson we asked what clues (objects and pictures) can tell us about the past. How were schools in the past different from ours? (Resources attached below.) The objectives were: To introduce the children to the idea of history as detective work. To help the children to make comparisons...

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  • Dig for sustainability!

    Article

    Paul Spear uses World War II government advertising strategies such as ‘Make do and Mend’ to consider how to promote modern campaigns related to sustainability. He investigates what the wartime government did to engage with the population as a whole and generate national action. By analysing how images were used...

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  • Earth heroes: Etta Lemon, ‘The Mother of Birds’

    Article

    In this article Ailsa Fidler considers Etta Lemon and her role in halting the plume boom, which saw many bird species driven to the edge of extinction, all in the name of fashion. Linking a study of Etta to the government’s policy on Climate Education, the article shows how Etta’s...

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  • Evacuees: Children during World War II

    Article

    This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject leaders, join the Historical Association today This was a series of three lessons completed in the...

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  • Exploring sustainability in the Early Years

    Article

    Lucy Hawker has thought about how we might begin to explore the idea of sustainability with very young children. She suggests focussing on why we might save or reuse materials and objects. She presents a loose structure that could be used to develop talk. She also considers how we might...

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  • Fifty years ago we lost the need to know our twelve times tables

    Article

    In the first year of junior school, I was in Mrs Phillip’s class. She was one of those teachers who you remember, but, sadly not for good reasons. I was very frightened of Mrs Phillips and the worst part of every week was the tables test… forwards, backwards and questions...

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