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Questions you have always wanted to ask about... History and written sources
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Pat Hoodless answers questions about history and written sources.
Questions you have always wanted to ask about... History and written sources
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Questions you have always wanted to ask about... Accessing Archive Sources
Primary History article
Mary Mills answers questions about accessing archive sources.
Please note: this article dates from 2003 and some of the sources and services referenced may no longer be available.
Questions you have always wanted to ask about... Accessing Archive Sources
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Using the back cover image: Oxford Street in the 1960s
Primary History feature
Photographs are very useful and productive documents when teaching history. They provide a snapshot of the past such as this one from just outside Selfridges on Oxford Street in London c.1962-64. Combined with further images from Heritage Explorer, clips from Pathé News, extracts from the 1911 Census, locally gathered images...
Using the back cover image: Oxford Street in the 1960s
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What makes good local history?
Primary History article
Everywhere has a past and learning how to capitalise on that for primary history can be both rewarding and challenging. Not only are aspects of the local area's history a requirement in their own right at both key stages, but these aspects can also help to tell the national story,...
What makes good local history?
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Whole-school planning for progression
Primary History article
The challenge for subject leaders and school leadership teams continues to be managing the tension between what history has to offer your vision for learning and your children's entitlement to a high-quality history education. The new national curriculum has ensured that this year you have had a close look at...
Whole-school planning for progression
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Using the back cover image: Reconstructing the Romans
Primary History feature
Reconstruction drawings, diagrams and models are vital examples of interpretation that we can use to help pupils understand the past. On one level they help to fire imagination, while on another they offer a way of presenting important historical facts.
The image overleaf is a reconstruction drawing of Chester's Roman...
Using the back cover image: Reconstructing the Romans
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TREE-mendous history!
Primary History article
Since the nineteenth century there has been a rich heritage of outdoor learning pedagogy in Europe, and today in Scandinavia the open air culture (frulitsliv) permeates Early Years education. In 1993 Bridgewater College nursery nurses returned from a visit to Denmark enthused by the outdoor educational settings and started their own ‘Forest School'. From 1995 the college...
TREE-mendous history!
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What your local Archive Service can offer to schools
Primary History article
Imagine a place where your pupils become detectives working on mysteries from the past such as the tale of Thomas Sargeant, a 15-year-old factory worker who died in a chemical works in 1898. Your local archive is bursting with stories about real people like this which can give children an...
What your local Archive Service can offer to schools
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The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain
Primary History article
Before the Romans arrived the islands which now make up Britain were populated with a variety of relatively large and small fortified or defended settlements. The people living here were usually part of tribes or clans and they probably raided each other's territory for cattle and other animals. The majority of people farmed in some way,...
The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain
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Key Stage 1 local history through fresh eyes
Primary History article
Upon approaching this article on teaching the local history component of the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 I decided to focus on one school, to look at what they normally deliver, and to put forward suggestions that could be used to enhance their existing unit of study.
I visited Pencoys...
Key Stage 1 local history through fresh eyes
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Local People and Places in the Early Years
Article
Learning in the Early Years through Local People and Places: developing historical concepts in the Early Years Foundation Stage
Using the local environment as a starting point for historical learning in EYFS not only helps young children engage and make learning meaningful and relevant, but also helps them develop a strong sense of identity. Working...
Local People and Places in the Early Years
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Ancient Sumer
Primary History article
For many teachers and children alike, Ancient Sumer will be completely new. Although Sumer has always been an option for teaching about Early Civilisations, the fame of Ancient Egypt, as well as being a tried-and-tested topic, has meant that Sumer has perhaps been overlooked. There is little danger of failing...
Ancient Sumer
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From Home to the Front: World War I
Primary History article
Events which encapsulate family, community, national and global history provide rich opportunities for engaging children. Some of these draw on positive memories associated with past events: the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, how people responded to the first flight to the moon, the Millennium celebrations. Yet it is perhaps gruelling...
From Home to the Front: World War I
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Assessment and Progression without levels
Primary History article
The new (2014) Primary History National Curriculum is finally upon us. The first thing you might notice is that the level descriptions have gone. These were first introduced in 1995 and became the mainstay for assessing pupil progression and attainment in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 across schools in...
Assessment and Progression without levels
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Ideas for Assemblies: the role of the international community in the First World War
Article
As part of our First World War centenary-themed assemblies, in the last issue of Primary History we focused on the importance of the local dimension. Here we have chosen to look at the role of the international community in the First World War. This approach reflects and celebrates our multi-cultural...
Ideas for Assemblies: the role of the international community in the First World War
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Teaching Ancient Egypt
Article
Editorial note: This paper has two sections: first, a background briefing about Ancient Egypt with a timeline and map that introduces the second section's three teaching activities on: building the Great Pyramid of Giza; Hatshepsut, Egypt's great woman pharaoh; and Akhenaten and his attempt to revolutionise Egyptian religion.
‘Hail to thee, O...
Teaching Ancient Egypt
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The Maya: a 4,000-year-old civilisation in the Americas
Primary History article
Obscured by the fame of the Aztec empire or shrouded by a veil of mystery, the cultural history of the Maya has generally been misunderstood by the British public. Maya civilisation developed in a territory the size of Germany and Denmark together (nearly 400,000 km2). This vast territory shows three...
The Maya: a 4,000-year-old civilisation in the Americas
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Investigating the Indus Valley (2600-1900 B.C.)
Primary History article
In 1924 The Illustrated London News broke the story of a sensational discovery in the Indian subcontinent. Ruined mounds at Mohenjodaro and Harappa, 600 km apart, were forgotten cities of a lost civilisation. Nearly all we know about the Indus Civilisation comes from archaeology. What survives leaves many unanswered questions,...
Investigating the Indus Valley (2600-1900 B.C.)
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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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The 2014 History National Curriculum: how to get the best from heritage
Primary History 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...
The 2014 History National Curriculum: how to get the best from heritage
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War memorials as a local history resource
Primary History article
War Memorials Trust (WMT) is the charity that works for the protection and conservation of war memorials in the UK. It defines a war memorial as ‘any physical object created, erected or installed to commemorate those involved in or affected by a conflict or war' (WMT 2009, ‘Definition of a...
War memorials as a local history resource
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Eweka's story: Benin and Big Picture History
Article
The prospect of teaching Benin as a non-European Study within the time frame 900-1300 AD is challenging! Traditional oral evidence suggests that the critical event during this period in Benin's past was a transition from the Ogiso to the Eweka Dynasty, named after its first Oba, which resulted in it...
Eweka's story: Benin and Big Picture History
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Questions you have always wanted to ask about...Citizenship and History
Article
Please note: This article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references may be outdated.
Hilary Claire answers questions about Citizenship and History.
Questions you have always wanted to ask about...Citizenship and History
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The Great Fire of London and the National Curriculum
Primary History article including Scheme of Work for Key Stage 1 (unresourced)
The Great Fire of London is a favourite National Curriculum teaching topic. This paper draws on the latest resources and teaching ideas to suggest how you can meet both the NC history requirements and the wider ones of the National Curriculum, particularly in integrated programmes that include teaching about the Great...
The Great Fire of London and the National Curriculum
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Curriculum planning: How to write a new scheme of work for history
Primary History article
Please note: this article was originally written in early 2014 for schools needing to prepare schemes of work for the new National Curriculum coming into effect that September.
The implementation from September 2014 of the new national curriculum programme of study for history gives you a time-scale for reviewing, refreshing and resourcing your new scheme...
Curriculum planning: How to write a new scheme of work for history
