‘I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves’ – Mary Wollstonecraft The National Curriculum gives the freedom to select any significant individual and many schools have already chosen those outside the commonly-used ones such as Florence Nightingale, Christopher Columbus and Queen Victoria. There is also...

Nina Sprigge reveals two interesting sources that can supplement teaching the Fire of London.   Fire of London: fundraising for refugees The receipt on the back cover provides evidence of national fundraising in 1666. It is touching that people from Cowfold, a little village outside London, cared enough to want to...

Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references are outdated. For children history is a story, and a story mainly about people.(Schools Council, 1969, p12) It is interesting that Grant Bage (1999) used this quote to begin his chapter on Making Meaning of Story and History in,...

Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. If you were asked to select just one story which you thought all children should know about British history, what would it be? Would it be Guy Fawkes or Florence Nightingale? The battle of Hastings...

This article will demonstrate how to engage children through storytelling and how it can be used to develop their critical understanding of the past. Why story? Despite their common derivation, the words ‘history’ and ‘story’ suggest very different kinds of knowledge, the former carrying overtones of detached understanding of the...

Local history units of study provide teachers with valuable opportunities, but these can also seem daunting. Potential challenges for teachers include the perceived overwhelming scope of the topic, difficulties in developing subject knowledge and knowing where to find resources. However, none of these is insurmountable, if teachers identify a clear learning...

Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated Studying famous people at Key Stage One has obviously been an issue for many years and no matter how long you have been teaching the name Florence Nightingale seems to appear as the only famous...

Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Our school has no uniform. You can’t predict what most children or teachers will wear from one day to the next. So the children were rather surprised one day in July 1996 when most of...

The Kindertransport, literally ‘children’s transport’, was the rescue operation of almost 10,000 unaccompanied Jewish child refugees to Britain between December 1938 and the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939.  Many of the Kinder (children) regularly share their experiences in primary schools, where their visit is regarded as...

The events of the last few days appear to have come out of nowhere to many people, especially children. While tensions have existed in the region for some time Russia’s decision to attack Ukraine was without provocation. To have war return in such a way to the edges of Europe...

"Why are you so angry Grace?" Teaching and learning about Grace O'Malley as a significant woman at Key Stage 1 Grace O'Malley was an Irish queen in the Tudor period and her story provides insights about life in Ireland at the time of the Elizabethan conquests. Grace, also known as...

The draft English NC for history highlights the study of ‘significant individuals and people'. Michelle Dexter provides an insight on how to approach this biographical requirement; it also opens up biography as a major genre for pupils to master - augmenting their development of literacy...

See also: Teaching Slavery - HA guide Slavery in Britain Sarah Forbes Bonetta - scheme of work Teaching Emotive and Controversial History Diversity guidance for primary teachers and subject leaders Slavery is a part of our history, and its impact can be seen in the statues of influential men, the...

With the Platinum Jubilee approaching later this year and celebrations planned for June 2022, here is a round-up of ten fiction and non-fiction books which will help you plan and find resources for your school celebrations...

For many years London South Bank University [LSBU] trainee teachers have been engaged in a wide range of mini history-led, cross-curricular projects in local primary schools, culminating in the students teaching lessons to groups of children. Some of these projects have been on different aspects of community history, including in-depth...

On 6 May 2023 King Charles III, together with Camilla, the Queen Consort, will be crowned in Westminster Abbey. The Coronation provides rich opportunities for history lessons at both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. At Key Stage 1 it naturally lends itself to Key Stage 1 ‘changes within living...

2023 will see the first coronation of a British monarch for 70 years. Only those now in their 70s or above will remember the last one. The UK is the only country in Europe still to carry out a coronation, a ceremony that has its roots in traditions over a...

In 1660 Samuel Pepys, an increasingly-important 26 year-old civil servant in London, began writing his diary. He stopped a decade later. This site contains the full text of his diary, along with several letters sent or received by Pepys, plus thousands of pages of further information about the people, places...

The Great Fire of London is a favourite National Curriculum teaching topic. This paper draws on the latest resources and teaching ideas to suggest how you can meet both the NC history requirements and the wider ones of the National Curriculum, particularly in integrated programmes that include teaching about the Great...

Today’s children in reception and nursery were probably not born at the last jubilee and it is possible that they will not remember this one, nevertheless they will have the chance to be part of this historic occasion. If we help prepare them to understand what is going to happen...