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It worked for me: Knights and castles
Primary History case study
For their 2016 summer term topic, Class 2 at Thrumpton Primary Academy learnt about medieval knights and castles. Their teacher was particularly excited when she found out about the choice of topic for the term, as she has a degree in history with a specialism in medieval history!
We started...
It worked for me: Knights and castles
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Beyond compare a study of Beatrix Potter and Benjamin Zephaniah
Primary History article
The Key Stage 1 National Curriculum encourages teachers to teach their pupils about ‘the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements.’ (DfE, 2014, p. 205). Some teachers have begun to move away from the old favourite subject of Florence Nightingale and as...
Beyond compare a study of Beatrix Potter and Benjamin Zephaniah
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Primary History 89: Out now
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
Read Primary History 89
Welcome to Primary History 89! It is always a joy to work with people who share a love of history, and who engage with history learning and teaching in so many different ways. One of the things I love is everyone’s willingness to share their knowledge,...
Primary History 89: Out now
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The Charles Dickens Primary School Project
Historian article
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...
The Charles Dickens Primary School Project
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The potential of primary history
Primary History article
In this article Alison Kitson and Michael Riley consider the potential of the primary history curriculum to educate children about climate change and sustainability. They suggest some important principles, and a range of strategies, that could be used to develop a stronger emphasis on environmental history in primary history.
The potential of primary history
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Primary History 95
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
This edition of HA's Primary History magazine is free to download via the link at the bottom of the page (individual article links within the page are not free access unless otherwise stated). You can access another free edition here (PH 78, April 2018).
For a subscription to Primary History...
Primary History 95
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Helping pupils to view historical film critically
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
Introduction: The teaching potential of film
Films about historical events seem like the nearest thing we can give our pupils to a time machine. In commercial film, the physical appearance of the past has often been carefully researched, thus a snippet from...
Helping pupils to view historical film critically
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French chivalry in twelfth-century Britain?
Historian article
The year 1066 - the one universally remembered date in English history, so well-known that banks advise customers not to choose it as their PIN number - opened the country up to French influence in spectacular fashion. During the ‘long twelfth century' (up to King John's death in 1216) that...
French chivalry in twelfth-century Britain?
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Thematic or topic based whole school curriculum planning
Primary History article
Creative curricular planning With the National Curriculum under review, it seems that more schools are taking a creative approach to planning by delivering the curriculum through a focused theme or topic. This has allowed schools to take more ownership of the curriculum and has helped teachers become more innovative in their...
Thematic or topic based whole school curriculum planning
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Is primary history thriving?
Article
The 2022 Historical Association survey of primary schools drew a good response. The results have been evaluated. The full report has been published on the website but this article summarises the main findings and suggested strategies to take the subject further. Its findings help direct the resources of the HA....
Is primary history thriving?
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Primary History 93
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
04 Editorial (Read article - open access)
06 The wheels (and horses…) on the bus – Emily Rotchell (Read article)
10 The Coronation – Karin Doull (Read article)
18 Teaching Robin Hood at Key Stage 1 – Matthew Sossick (Read article)
22 How local history can bridge the gap from teaching Understanding...
Primary History 93
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Shaping what matters: Year 9 decide why we should care about the Windrush scandal
Teaching History article
Mark Fowle began work on an enquiry to contextualise the Windrush scandal for his pupils in south London, in response to the first national Stephen Lawrence Day, in 2018. He went on to work with his colleagues in a new school to broaden pupils’ historical perspective through stories of migration...
Shaping what matters: Year 9 decide why we should care about the Windrush scandal
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The Historian 164: Ancient Worlds
The magazine of the Historical Association
4 Ask The Historian
5 Editorial (Read article)
6 Archaeology on the edge: exploring a precariously-placed Iron Age site in north Wales – Kathy Laws (Read article)
11 A splash of the Mediterranean in the Arabian Desert: the Ancient Kingdom of Nabataea – Tom Dunstan (Read article)
16 Five stones in St Albans: what...
The Historian 164: Ancient Worlds
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Primary History 89
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
04 Editorial (Read article for free)
06 HA Update
08 How have schools interpreted the new EYFS Framework – including the introduction of the ‘Past and Present’ ELG? – Simon Ellis and Mackay Howe (Read article)
12 Teaching ‘these islands’ from prehistoric times to 1066 – Paul Bracey (Read article)
20...
Primary History 89
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Significance and interpretation in primary history
Primary History article
The terms ‘significance’ and ‘interpretation’ often go hand in hand with one another, but what do each of them mean and why is it that they fit together? Understanding both terms separately and how historians use interpretation to identify what is significant in history, and why historians cast their interpretations as to what...
Significance and interpretation in primary history
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Primary History topic grid
Article
See at a glance which recent issues of Primary History cover which topics (see key below).All editions of Primary History magazine can be accessed here (requires Primary Membership).
Topic
PH66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
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86...
Primary History topic grid
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Ofsted and primary history
Primary History article
Firstly, I would like to introduce myself as Ofsted’s new Subject Lead for history.
Despite the many challenges of the past year, it is an exciting time for history education. I am very pleased that the number of primary history teachers who are now part of the HA community has...
Ofsted and primary history
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Primary History 101: Out now
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
Read Primary History 101
When we were discussing editing issue 101, our minds immediately went to Dalmatians – the book and the film! As a result, there may be more references to animals than usual in this edition. Kate Rigby’s article draws out the ways in which animals have helped us, in...
Primary History 101: Out now
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Inventing race? Using primary sources to investigate the origins of racial thinking in the past
Teaching History article
Having been given some additional curriculum time, Kerry Apps and her department made decisions about what had been missing in the previous curriculum diet. Building on an existing enquiry (in TH 176), Apps decided to focus on how and when the idea of race in its modern sense developed in early modern...
Inventing race? Using primary sources to investigate the origins of racial thinking in the past
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Teaching History 147: Curriculum Architecture
The HA's journal for secondary history teachers
02 Editorial
03 HA Secondary News
04 HA Update
08 Beth Baker and Steven Mastin - Did Alexander really ask, ‘Do I appear to you to be a bastard?' Using ancient texts to improve pupils' critical thinking (Read article)
14 Cunning Plan: Getting students to use classical texts - Beth Baker...
Teaching History 147: Curriculum Architecture
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Teaching History 112: Empire
The HA's journal for secondary history teachers
Special 64 page themed edition of Teaching History including: A case study in planning the teaching of the British Empire at key Stage 3, Using this map and all of your knowledge become Bismark, National Archives and the british Empire, Imperialism and the Roman Empire, History's challenge: facing the future,...
Teaching History 112: Empire
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Primary History 100: Out now
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
Read Primary History 100
We are proud to present you with the hundredth edition of Primary History journal. It is a publication that has developed and changed over the intervening years, adjusting and amending as the curriculum and teaching approaches have varied. At its heart, however, has always been the...
Primary History 100: Out now
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Cunning Plan 143: enquiries about the British empire
Teaching History journal feature
I wanted to give my Year 8 students ownership of their work on the British Empire by allowing them to suggest our ‘enquiry question'. In order to introduce the Empire, I brought in sugar, spices, bananas, chilli peppers and cotton. I then showed maps demonstrating the Empire at its height....
Cunning Plan 143: enquiries about the British empire
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Primary History 99: Out now
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
Read Primary History 99
Welcome to Primary History 99! As the countdown to our 100th edition begins, it is pleasing to read the findings of the 2024 Primary History Survey, which shows that children (and teachers) continue to love learning about the past. We know that history is a diverse and inclusive subject,...
Primary History 99: Out now
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Primary History 58: The Olympics
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
THE OLYMPICS: TEACHING HISTORY TODAY
04 Editorial: Nelson Mandela, Apartheid and the Olympics
05 Think Bubble: What ever happened to the Standing Long Jump? - Peter Vass
06 Public celebration of the 1864 Olympian Festival - Dominic Wallis
PLANNING FOR THE OLYMPICS
08 Primary History and planning for teaching the...
Primary History 58: The Olympics
