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Teaching pre-history outside the classroom
Primary History article
From a visit to a local museum or heritage site, to using bushcraft skills to give pupils first-hand experience of what it might have been like to live in ancient times, teaching prehistory outside the classroom can really give this area of the curriculum the wow factor. The inclusion of...
Teaching pre-history outside the classroom
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How We Used to Sleep
School Resources
Want to take a fresh look at medicine through time with your students?
If so, you might be interested in teaching them about sleep’s history in the Renaissance. By focusing on sleep – something that we all do and have an opinion on – students can be introduced to changing...
How We Used to Sleep
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Ideas for Assemblies: Refugee stories
Primary History feature
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...
Ideas for Assemblies: Refugee stories
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Coherence in primary history
Primary History article
This article looks at what coherence is, how it can be mapped and ways in which classroom activities can enhance pupils’ awareness of the past in a more coherent way.
What is it?
The term ‘coherence’ has been around a fair time now. Most reincarnations of the National Curriculum have referred to the need for...
Coherence in primary history
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So was everyone an ancient Egyptian?
Developing an understanding of the world in ancient times
I will be honest – no child has actually asked me if the world was ever full of Ancient Egyptians! Having said that, by focusing on one part of the world, children are left with either this impression or the idea that nothing was happening elsewhere in the world. Clearly,...
So was everyone an ancient Egyptian?
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Pull-out posters: Primary History 90
Timeline of Queen Elizabeth II; Queen and Commonwealth
Timeline of Queen Elizabeth II
Queen and Commonwealth
Pull-out posters: Primary History 90
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Jubilee medals: celebration and creation
Primary History article
The Queen’s jubilee is a great opportunity to explore a huge range of concepts with EYFS children, and what better way to celebrate the experience than by creating your own celebration medals and to wear them in your own celebrations, as a continuation of the celebrations of so many years past....
Jubilee medals: celebration and creation
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Women and space: reaching for the stars
Primary History article
The exploration of the heavens has drawn mankind since the dawn of time. Vast monuments reached to the stars marked with astrological key points. Astronomers sought to understand the movement of the universe. Since the twentieth century however this investigation has moved into space itself, pioneered by restless and inquisitive souls...
Women and space: reaching for the stars
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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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How can we make effective use of the census in the primary history classroom?
Primary History article
If there is a list of sources that teachers are likely to be familiar with, it is almost certain that the census will be included. In part this is because this is something that we all participate directly in anyway so it has a personal resonance. It can hold a...
How can we make effective use of the census in the primary history classroom?
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Female migration to Australia
Primary History article
The Hyde Park Barracks, in Sydney, has a layered history. Designed by Francis Greenway (a convict architect) it was built between 1817 and 1819 by convict labour. Over the next three decades an estimated 50,000 male convicts passed through – some stayed for years, others days or only hours before...
Female migration to Australia
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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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One of my favourite history places: Oakham Castle
Primary History feature
Standing by the stocks in the historic Buttercross of the market-town of Oakham, it would be easy to miss the hidden gem of Norman architecture that lies just a few metres away. Oakham Castle may be far removed from the traditional image of knights and castles, but there is something...
One of my favourite history places: Oakham Castle
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Teaching ‘these islands’ from prehistoric times to 1066
Primary History article
The first aim in the National Curriculum indicates that children should:
Know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider...
Teaching ‘these islands’ from prehistoric times to 1066
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Did all Ancient Greek women stay at home and weave?
Primary History article
We tend to focus on the bigger picture in teaching on the Ancient Greeks – democracy; Olympic Games; architecture; theatre; myths and legends – but children love the minutiae of everyday life. And half of the population of Ancient Greece was female. So just what part in life did women play? And how different was it to that of men?...
Did all Ancient Greek women stay at home and weave?
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Significant Individuals: Charles Darwin
Primary History article
Charles Darwin: exploring the man behind the beard – studying the lives of significant individuals in the past
Studying the life of Charles Darwin is an exciting way to meet the requirement in Key Stage 1 to teach significant individuals. But what do we actually know about him, beyond the...
Significant Individuals: Charles Darwin
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Promoting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller heritage in your primary history curriculum
Primary History article
It goes without saying that the events of Black Lives Matter have prompted many leaders and teachers to take a step back and reflect on their curriculum content and how effectively it reflects the diverse story of our islands. However, it is not just Black History that is requiring more prominence...
Promoting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller heritage in your primary history curriculum
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Key Stage 2 – Key Stage 3: Transition
Primary History article
Often, primary schools and secondary schools are seen as separate entities. But why?
At primary, is it our responsibility to nurture our children and to encourage them only until they finish their primary education after the Year 6 SATs? Do we then just wave goodbye as they embark on their...
Key Stage 2 – Key Stage 3: Transition
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Representations of Empire: Learning through Objects
Key Stages 2 and 3
Produced by the Northamptonshire Black History Association and originally published in 2008, this is one of a set of resources for schools offering a more inclusive map of the past that includes an appreciation of Black History within the local, national and global context. The resources provide a range of opportunities to promote diversity within the curriculum.
Contents of...
Representations of Empire: Learning through Objects
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Recorded webinar: The Great Fire of London
Boosting subject knowledge at Key Stage 1 webinar series
Capture the sights and sounds of the insanitary and overcrowded capital city of Stuart England in 1666 with Andrew Wrenn. Compare how city fires were fought in London then and today, learn why the Great Fire spread so quickly from Pudding Lane, hear how Samuel Pepys the diarist witnessed events...
Recorded webinar: The Great Fire of London
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Recorded webinar: Exploring representations and attitudes to disability across history
Webinar
This webinar was presented by Richard Rieser, who is a campaigner and champion for disability rights and the coordinator of UK Disability History Month.
His presentation is part of our ongoing work to explore disability history and the arguments and representations of it and ensure that people from disability groups...
Recorded webinar: Exploring representations and attitudes to disability across history
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History through connecting classrooms in Bradford and Peshawar, Pakistan
Primary History article
Editorial note: In this inspiring, teacher-led, crossphase project, pupils and teachers from eight schools in Bradford and Peshawar shared and learned about the histories of Bradford and Pakistan. The British Council’s Connecting Classrooms Scheme funded the project. The article below focuses on the primary dimension.
In 2008 three representatives from Bradford...
History through connecting classrooms in Bradford and Peshawar, Pakistan
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Film: What's the wisdom on... Similarity and Difference (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
'What’s the wisdom on…' is a popular feature in our secondary journal Teaching History and provides the perfect stimulus for a department meeting....
Film: What's the wisdom on... Similarity and Difference (Primary)
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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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Recorded webinar: How has warfare changed over time?
Webinar series: Teaching British history that extends chronological knowledge beyond 1066
Webinar series: Teaching British history that extends chronological knowledge beyond 1066
How and why has warfare changed from the Battle of Hastings in 1066, fought with armed with swords and shields, to the weapons of mass destruction of today? This webinar with Andrew Wrenn considers significant turning points such as...
Recorded webinar: How has warfare changed over time?
