Local Study

The importance of local history for developing a sense of place and identity is emphasised by the National Curriculum. The local landscape and buildings can often reveal a great deal about the use of land and the type of people who lived there in the past. Buildings and landscape can reveal how long a heritage the place has had. Monuments and local heritage or parish records can highlight individual local heroes or provide a window into the lives of ordinary local people in times gone by. How similar or different were their lives? Often, the local picture can also help to reveal the national or international picture.

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  • Teaching about Remembrance Day in EYFS

    Article

    Remembrance Day (11 November) is an important time for children to learn about how we choose to both represent and remember significant events in the past. Within EYFS, learning about remembrance most obviously lends itself to Understanding the World – with a focus on children making connections between past and present,...

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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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  • Teaching local history in primary schools: learning about effective practice

    Article

    Rachel Bruce and Susannah Russell were two of the six primary teachers on the recent Local History Teacher Fellowship. Here they outline the activities they were engaged in and how they produced two very different local history enquiries – one based in York and the other in Wrecclesham, Surrey. They...

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  • Teaching local history through a family

    Article

    The aim of this article is to teach local history through the prism of a local family. History is primarily about people. Using a family who lived in the locality over a large number of years, especially if they impacted considerably on that locality, can help develop an understanding of...

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  • Teaching ‘changes within living memory’: making the most of your school

    Article

    The Key Stage 1 curriculum requires an exploration of changes within living memory, and what better way to do this than discovering the history of your own school! In this article, Helen Crawford and Sandra Kirkland provide guidance and suggested activities to explore change and continuity in your own locality. ...

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  • The 2014 History National Curriculum: how to get the best from heritage

    Article

    We all know that site visits are good for children - not least because they give a break from the normal school routine - and there are a plethora of heritage sites both local and national that are able to offer facilities for school visits. But we also know that...

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  • The British Association for Local History (BALH)

    Article

    The British Association for Local History is the national charity which promotes local history and serves local historians. Its purpose is to encourage and assist the study of local history as an academic discipline and as a rewarding leisure pursuit for both individuals and groups. Local history enriches our lives...

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  • The History around us: Local history

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. History is an important aspect of the development of even very young children. They need to begin to develop the foundations of an understanding of the past and how it has developed and affected our present....

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  • The creative history curriculum

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated. Do you give in to bullying, stay loyal to your leader, admit your actions, betray your neighbours, challenge discrimination or just keep quiet? These were the issues faced by Year 4 children at East...

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  • The history teacher's craft: Doing local History through the eyes of W. G. Hoskins

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Editorial comment: When teaching local history we all have an idea of what it is: both as a body of knowledge - information, dates, facts and substantive concepts - and as what that knowledge is based...

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  • Time and Place; Using a Local Historical Site with Key Stage 2 and 3

    Multipage Article

    English Heritage and the Historical Association have teamed up to provide this great new CPD guide to getting the most out of local historical sites with your classes. This easy to follow unit provides the basis for an entire unit of local study using the built heritage around you. Examples...

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  • Trees

    Article

    This article includes a compilation of a series of articles about significant trees around Britain. It is hoped that this will prompt readers to explore their own environments, helping children to engage with and enjoy nature. Some of the trees in the article are designated as Great Trees. These were significant...

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  • Urban spaces: inner-city Leeds

    Article

    Please note: this free resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum. This is an account of a series of six lessons focusing on a local urban square. Teachers can adapt this to suit their own circumstances. The teaching took place in an inner-city Leeds primary school, with pupils from 48 different...

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  • Using Local Buildings

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Whilst there are many obvious historical buildings - castles, Roman Villas and Abbeys these often involve transport costs which may be beyond a school budget. Turner-Bisset suggests: There is also history in ordinary, everyday sites,...

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  • Using a house for your local history study

    Article

    A house can be an extremely effective focus for learning about the past, giving us insights into changes to domestic and social life.  We can explore how different inventions (e.g. electric lighting, washing machines, televisions) have changed the way we live, and we can look at some of the ways...

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  • Using a local historical figure as a stimulus for history in the English National Curriculum

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Editorial comment: Ben Screech indicates how new trainees are being trained to adapt to the opportunities that the Historical, Geographical and Social Studies area of the New National Curriculum offers.

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  • Using cemeteries as a local history resource

    Article

    Why visit a cemetery as part of the history curriculum? Local studies now feature prominently in the primary history curriculum for both key stages. This development challenges teachers to find easilyaccessible, inexpensive and relevant resources on their doorstep. A rich resource which has traditionally been overlooked is the local churchyard...

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  • Using classic fiction to support the study of childhood in Victorian times

    Article

    Please note: This article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references may be outdated. Classic fiction provides useful sources of information for investigating the lives, beliefs and values of people in the past. In this article Ann Cowling describes activities undertaken with student teachers which may also serve as models...

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  • Using museums, libraries and art galleries

    Article

    Lessons for Sustainablility: From the Experiences of Early Primary Student Teachers Student teachers, local museums, libraries and art galleries. This article is based on the experiences of student teachers on a BA (Hons) Early Primary Education Programme, during their placements in local Museums, Libraries and Art Galleries. We asked students...

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  • Using oral history in the classroom

    Multipage Article

    The Oral History Society has kindly agreed to produce two new films aimed at history teachers who are new to carrying out or using oral histories either in their teaching or with students. These two films will equip teachers with the essential tools and knowledge for using and devising effective...

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