Controversial issues

History is not an easy subject as it is full of contradictions and challenging situations. It requires children to look at how people responded to complicated dilemmas. It also requires them to consider motivation. Looking at what people did in the past children to make links with present events. It requires children to evaluate the history of their own country and how it has interacted with other people. Read more

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  • 'I could change the world if I put my mind to it!' Teaching Controversial Issues and Citizenship Through a Project on heroes and heroines

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Rye Oak School is in its second year of ‘Fresh Start’ status and there are many issues in the school, including poorly motivated children and behavioural problems. Many of the children in the school were...

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  • As a primary school teacher have you taught about the Holocaust?

    Article

    Teaching the Holocaust at primary level can be incredibly rewarding and result in pupils broadening their historical understanding as well as encouraging them to consider other issues. The importance of challenging prejudice, ignorance and racism, the importance of not being a bystander and valuing life are just a few of...

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  • Assessment and Progression without levels

    Article

    The new (2014) Primary History National Curriculum is finally upon us. The first thing you might notice is that the level descriptions have gone. These were first introduced in 1995 and became the mainstay for assessing pupil progression and attainment in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 across schools in...

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  • Campaign: Make an impact and history

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. What is the role of history in the curriculum? Is it to give a traditional education or because history is a powerful teacher that we all can learn from? In my view well-taught history doesn't leave...

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  • Early Islamic civilisation

    Article

    The Primary National Curriculum pinpoints Early Islamic Civilisation as Baghdad c. AD 900 - yet it was so much more. For approximately a thousand years after AD 700 there was an extraordinary amount of activity that radiated out from Baghdad and along a glittering crescent through North Africa and into...

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  • Engaging with controversial issues through drama

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. The idea of children actively participating in their own education continues to be central to drama education. This same idea is also fundamental to the underlying ethos of citizenship education.There is a side to drama...

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  • Eweka's story: Benin and Big Picture History

    Article

    The prospect of teaching Benin as a non-European Study within the time frame 900-1300 AD is challenging! Traditional oral evidence  suggests that the critical event during this period in Benin's past was a transition from the Ogiso to the Eweka Dynasty, named after its first Oba, which resulted in it...

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  • Exploring empire, artefacts and local history

    Article

    This article introduces us to the Colonial Countryside Project. Many of the sites we visit, especially the great country houses and stately homes, have long been visited by children. They are often fascinated by both the buildings and the history associated with them. However, there is a growing recognition that...

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  • From Home to the Front: World War I

    Article

    Events which encapsulate family, community, national and global history provide rich opportunities for engaging children. Some of these draw on positive memories associated with past events: the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, how people responded to the first flight to the moon, the Millennium celebrations. Yet it is perhaps gruelling...

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  • History in the news: George Floyd protest in Bristol – Colston statue toppled

    Article

    The killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 25 May 2020 sparked off protests against the way in which black people are treated both in America and many countries across the world. Thousands of people attended an anti-racist demonstration in Bristol. A group of the...

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  • History, citizenship and controversy

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Y4 question their MP about nuclear waste policy; Y6 survey people in their community and school about a proposed casino in their town, and feed back the information to the local council; children decide to...

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  • Ideas for Assemblies: Lest we forget

    Article

    Over the next three editions of Primary History our assemblies pages will be linked to the theme of commemorating the First World War. We have found that while many teachers wish to remember these events in school, they are unsure how to approach the subject with primary aged children. It...

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  • Ideas for Assemblies: Refugee stories

    Article

    Please note: this piece was written before Sir Mo Farah’s 2022 disclosure that he was trafficked to the UK as a child, so some of its content is no longer accurate. An assembly could focus on the achievements of their lives, experiences as child refugees and migrants, and how they overcame...

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  • In My View: Migration - the search for a better life

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated. Migration is not new. The movement of people has been part of defining cultures throughout history. Asylum seekers could be seen as the thin (contemporary) end of this historical wedge. But is the...

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  • Is There a Place for The Holocaust in the Primary Curriculum?

    Article

    The Holocaust – the murder of approximately six million Jewish men, women and children by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Second World War – is possibly the most difficult event that any history teacher will ever have to teach. Most obviously, it can be deeply upsetting, for educators...

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  • Is teaching about the Holocaust suitable for primary aged children?

    Article

    Editorial note: While this is a valuable paper, we must point out that the normal ethical procedures concerning such a sensitive, emotional subject must be followed in relation to pupils, their parents/carers and the wider community, i.e. the protocols for permission and clearance to teach such topics must be followed....

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  • KS1: Teaching about significant individuals

    Article

    Teaching about significant individuals at Key Stage 1. Workshop by Professor Penelope Hartnett, University of the West of England The history programme of study for Key Stage 1 requires pupils to be taught about: The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements, some...

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  • Migration to Britain through time

    Article

    Migration is rarely absent from the news and arouses political, social cultural and emotional responses which range from compassion to hostility, racism and anti-racism. By exploring migration in the past, it is possible for children to go beyond current issues and appreciate that, rather than being a recent characteristic of...

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  • One of my favourite history places: the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum

    Article

    This certainly represents one of the more unusual in the ‘My favourite place’ series: a hospital for the mentally ill for the poorer sections of society. Buildings such as this, however, were often imposing structures with fine architecture and an important history. With a growing recognition of the importance of...

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  • Podcast Series: Confronting Controversial History

    Multipage Article

    Controversial History formed the focus of the Historical Association’s report, Teaching Emotive and Controversial History 3-19 (TEACH). Published in 2007, it offered teachers invaluable guidance for teaching historical topics that can stir emotion and controversy. However, the authors noted how the nature of the sensitivity can be affected by ‘time, geography and...

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