Enquiries

A key cornerstone of history is historical enquiry. Quality history provision has historical enquiry at its heart. Through historical enquiry children can be shown how to ask questions, select and evaluate evidence and to make judgments about the past. It can also be a vital way of showing them that there is often more than one side to a story and that history is multi-perspective. Historical enquiry is all about asking questions or hypothesising  about the past that we hope the evidence will help us to answer, but getting the enquiry question right is not always easy. In this section you will find resources and guidance that will help you to plan challenging enquiries for your children that will help them to develop as historians.

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  • Curriculum plan: Ancient Greece

    Multipage Article

    Welcome to our new look curriculum plans. Log in below to access the unit. Before you delve into our plan on Ancient Greece with author Andrew Wrenn, take a look at this short film from Steve Mastin, outlining our approach to curriculum plans and what to look for in a...

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  • HA Enquiry Toolkit

    Article

    An enquiry approach is becoming more popular for teaching many primary curriculum subjects. However, enquiry has always been the backbone of good history teaching. Knowing what constitutes a good historical enquiry and how to build one that will enable your pupils to get better at history is not as easy...

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  • Teaching black British history through local archives

    Article

    The huge benefits that local archives can bring to primary history are explored by Steven Kenyon. He illustrates this with a case study of Lancashire Archives. The central focus is on ways in which local history can support diversity in the curriculum by providing three examples – one for Key Stage...

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  • Benin: exploring an African empire at Key Stage 2

    Article

    Karin Doull reminds us of the value in studying Benin as a non-European study area and suggests how it might be approached, stressing the importance of placing it in context through comparison. The article addresses worthwhile aspects, key concepts and questions as well as furnishing some key information including extracts...

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  • The Coronation of King Charles III

    Article

    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...

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  • Scheme of work: The history of the ancient Olympic Games

    Article

    This unit produced by Sporting Heritage is designed flexibly as either a chronological or a thematic study. As such, its editable core PowerPoint resources can be used as a depth or extended overview topic in relation to:   Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and the Greeks’...

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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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  • Film: What's the wisdom on... Enquiry questions Part 2 (Primary)

    Article

    Please note: the 'What's the Wisdom On' film series has been produced principally for secondary school history teachers, however some of the content is transferrable to a primary setting. Secondary members can view the film here We know how difficult life is for teachers in the current circumstances. We also understand your need...

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  • Film: What's the wisdom on... Enquiry questions Part 1 (Primary)

    Article

    Please note: the 'What's the Wisdom On' film series has been produced principally for secondary school history teachers, however some of the content is transferrable to a primary setting. Secondary members can view the film here We know how difficult life is for teachers in the current circumstances. We also understand your need...

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  • Teaching the Romans in Britain: a study focusing on Hadrian’s Wall

    Article

    The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain is a unit of work in the Key Stage 2 history curriculum – and focusing on Hadrian’s Wall is one of the optional aspects suggested for study; although I would argue that the ‘successful invasion and conquest by Claudius’ aspect should be...

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  • Making the most of a census

    Article

    This article looks at how children can utilise and manipulate mathematical data to make sense of a historic past. The focus is on helping children see the numbers as a resource for understanding the experiences of those that lived in this place. Aim: Understand historical concepts such as continuity and...

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  • Scheme of Work: Comparing Ancient Civilisations

    Article

    What do all the Ancient Civilisations have in common? This enquiry provides an overview of the Ancient Civilisations of Egypt, Sumer, Indus Valley and Shang, showing where and when they developed, the similarities between them and how they relate to a broadly based chronological understanding of the past. It provides a...

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  • The history of medicine – warts and all – for Key Stage 2

    Article

    The story of the history of medicine is HUGE! In fact, it’s a story within story within a story… You only have to note the substantial amounts that have been written on the subject in the past, to realise that this is a story that could baffle and perplex even...

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  • Women in parliament since 1918

    Article

    At the 1918 election just one woman, Constance Markievicz, won a seat, in Dublin, for Sinn Fein. She was in prison at the time. At the time, of course, the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. All 73 Sinn Fein MPs refused to take up their seats, and...

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  • To boldly go: exploring the explorers

    Article

    Exploration and a curiosity about the world are key human characteristics that have shaped and continue to shape our behaviour. Nowhere is this more true than with younger children who relish the opportunity to investigate their environment and all it contains. Promoting this natural curiosity and introducing stimulating challenge should...

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  • Strange goings-on: exploring the benefits of learning history through outdoor pedagogy

    Article

    Learning history outside the classroom has tremendous benefits. This article looks at one such example where children can get an immersive, residential historical experience. This not only provides a memorable learning experience, but the combination of an evocative setting, together with carefully crafted activities taught using an outdoor pedagogy, allows...

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  • Scheme of Work: The Blitz: all we need to know about World War II?

    Article

    This unit provides children with the opportunity to look at the Second World War as an aspect of British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066. This 8-part enquiry is useable in full or to use sections of as stand alone shorter enquiries. Pupils will be encouraged to examine different...

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  • For whose God, King and country? Seeing the First World War through South Asian eyes

    Article

    In October 1914 France faced defeat on what would later become the Western Front. If the Germans captured the channel ports then the small British Expeditionary Force (BEF) supporting the French would be cut off from Britain, and the channel ports themselves might be used to launch a German invasion of...

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  • Scheme of Work: Waterloo and the Age of Revolutions

    Article

    This scheme of work explores the 'Age of Revolutions' period across the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It was written for the Historical Association by Karin Doull to supplement the Age of Revolutions Teacher Fellowship Programme, which is funded by Waterloo 200. The Napoleonic wars shaped their age: children...

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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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