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How an atlas and a very old map can help us make sense of the ancient Greeks
Primary History article
The ancient Greeks were a maritime people – they travelled and traded vast distances by sea, but rarely left sight of land. They were also a very divided nation. Separate city states fiercely guarded their independence, only uniting [sometimes!] to fight against a common enemy like the Persians. The Greeks all...
How an atlas and a very old map can help us make sense of the ancient Greeks
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Ten texts for the Platinum Jubilee
Primary History article
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...
Ten texts for the Platinum Jubilee
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50th anniversary of the UK’s first official Pride march: 1 July 2022
Primary History article
2022 is a special year as it marks the 50th anniversary of the first official UK Pride march which was held in London on 1 July 1972. The Pride movement, and events like the London in Pride march, were inspired and influenced by the Stonewall riots. These were protests that took place...
50th anniversary of the UK’s first official Pride march: 1 July 2022
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Ukraine, children and schools
Primary History article
Children of different ages and maturity will have different levels of understanding and capacity for processing the information unfolding in Ukraine. Children under the age of five may have a very limited understanding of the conflict in Ukraine. If your young child asks you a question about what is happening, you...
Ukraine, children and schools
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Implementing the 2014 curriculum in Year 2
Primary History article
The chance to pilot the new National Curriculum presented me with the opportunity I was looking for to revamp a tired Year 2 curriculum. I began teaching in Year 2 two years ago, having previously spent five years working in Key Stage 2. As in many other schools across the...
Implementing the 2014 curriculum in Year 2
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Alan Turing
Article
The man who helped win the war, invented computing and inspired artificial intelligence research
Editorial note: Alan Turing was a major figure in the cracking of the Germans' Enigma code at Bletchley Park which could well have helped shortened World War II by a couple of years. The more general...
Alan Turing
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How have schools interpreted the new EYFS Framework?
Primary History article
The new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework became statutory from this September (2021). Although the seven areas of learning and development remain unchanged (including Understanding the World), the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) have changed within each of these areas. These new ELGs have been written so that they are...
How have schools interpreted the new EYFS Framework?
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‘We built a museum’: What does your school resource room look like?
Primary History article
New Eltham in the Royal Borough of Greenwich had teachers and subject leaders tearing their hair out. Despite their best endeavours to keep it tidy, by the end of each half-term it always ended up in a mess. Those busy teachers that never put things back the way they found...
‘We built a museum’: What does your school resource room look like?
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Dimensions Of Britishness: Cultural Diversity and Ethnicity
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Teaching history is a balancing act between generalities and the particular. This article seeks to explore how Britishness and ethnic diversity relate to a broader understanding of diversity. We do not challenge the teaching of topics...
Dimensions Of Britishness: Cultural Diversity and Ethnicity
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Using the back cover image: Westonzoyland War Memorial
Primary History feature
The image on the back cover is of the war memorial in Westonzoyland, Somerset. It consists of a concrete plinth with a metal shell-case set on top, on the front of which is a plaque which reads:
‘This shell was presented by Westonzoyland Parish Council to commemorate the memory of...
Using the back cover image: Westonzoyland War Memorial
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Anniversary: Festival of Britain 1951
Primary History article
The Festival of Britain was held 70 years ago. For many this provided a boost for the country after the deprivations of World War II and the economic struggles afterwards. It was designed to be educational and was held 100 years after the Great Exhibition. It was designed to show pride...
Anniversary: Festival of Britain 1951
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Sources for the Great Fire of London and its context
Primary History feature
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...
Sources for the Great Fire of London and its context
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The revised EYFS Framework: exploring ‘Past and Present’
Primary History article
A new Early Years Foundation Stage framework will become statutory from September 2021. Around three thousand primary schools in England are already implementing this revised framework – these settings have been deemed early adopter schools.
The actual curriculum for EYFS is not changing. There will still be seven areas of learning...
The revised EYFS Framework: exploring ‘Past and Present’
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How did a volcano affect life in the Bronze Age?
Primary History article
Recent discoveries have greatly altered our view of life in the Bronze Age. Must Farm, for example, was built in the Cambridgeshire Fens around 1000 BCE.
Sometime around 1159 BCE (no-one is quite sure when) Hekla, a volcano in Iceland (a country no-one yet knew existed) erupted, throwing millions of...
How did a volcano affect life in the Bronze Age?
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Fifty years ago we lost the need to know our twelve times tables
Primary History article
In the first year of junior school, I was in Mrs Phillip’s class. She was one of those teachers who you remember, but, sadly not for good reasons. I was very frightened of Mrs Phillips and the worst part of every week was the tables test… forwards, backwards and questions...
Fifty years ago we lost the need to know our twelve times tables
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All the fun of the fair! Key Stage 1 – Beyond living memory
Primary History article
Alf Wilkinson outlines three activities looking at fairs past and present.
We all enjoy a visit to the fair, don’t we? There’s always a bit of a buzz when the fair comes to town. In my village it arrives just in time for Feast Weekend, in the summer holidays. The rides...
All the fun of the fair! Key Stage 1 – Beyond living memory
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Language and communication in the ancient world
Primary History article
At the beginning of the year, I really enjoyed accompanying a school trip to see the excellent Tutankhamun exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London. One of the many treasures that was on display was a gilded wooden and ivory case which the young Egyptian king would have used to...
Language and communication in the ancient world
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Anniversaries: The Coventry Blitz and the Grave of the Unknown Soldier
Primary History article
This Autumn we remember two events related to the impact of war and how people have reacted to them. The first anniversary remembers the Nazi devastation of Coventry 80 years ago on 14 November 1940 and the second event relates to the body of the ‘Unknown warrior’ who was laid...
Anniversaries: The Coventry Blitz and the Grave of the Unknown Soldier
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The back cover image: Malachite Urn
Primary History feature
This large green urn was given as a gift to Queen Victoria in 1839 by Emperor Nicholas I, to thank her for the way in which his son Alexander had been welcomed in England the previous year. It was placed in the Grand Reception Room of Windsor Castle, and has...
The back cover image: Malachite Urn
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Why stories?
Primary History article
Please note: this article was written before the 2014 National Curriculum and some content and references may no longer be relevant.
During the Early Years and Foundation Stage children should listen to stories, ask how and why and talk about the past (DfE 2012). Young children are comfortable with stories. Through...
Why stories?
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A cultural legacy: the theatre of ancient Greece
Primary History article
Sometimes it is not easy to understand how the different units of the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum were selected, but this is not true for the Ancient Greek unit. Since the renaissance period, knowledge of ‘the classics’ has been a central element for an educated man or woman. Ancient...
A cultural legacy: the theatre of ancient Greece
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What can you tell about the Vikings from a chess piece?
Primary History article
Alf Wilkinson looks at one artefact, and asks what it tells us about the Viking world, and Viking links with other societies and civilisations.
In 1831, on a lonely beach on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, someone – we are not quite sure who – made an...
What can you tell about the Vikings from a chess piece?
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Migration to Britain through time
Primary History 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...
Migration to Britain through time
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Epistemic insights: bringing subject disciplines together
Primary History article
"Teaching epistemic insight goes hand in hand with teaching a broad and balanced curriculum. It includes building students’ understanding of the ways that different types of disciplinary knowledge can help us to address questions that bridge subjects and disciplines." (Teaching and Learning about Epistemic Insight brochure, https://crc.up.pt/wp-content/uploads/sites/101/2017/09/epistemic-insight-brochure.pdf)
The Epistemic Insight Project...
Epistemic insights: bringing subject disciplines together
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Extending the curriculum: why should we consider ‘value added’?
Primary History article
While the focus provided by the new Ofsted framework has allowed schools to begin to, perhaps, rebalance the curriculum, the time allocated to the foundation subjects is still fairly marginal in many schools. This means that hard decisions have to be taken about what to include and what to leave...
Extending the curriculum: why should we consider ‘value added’?
