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William Brookes and the Olympic Games
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
History flows like a river, sometimes quiet and unobtrusive, sometimes a raging torrent with wide-ranging effects on the world around us. It is punctuated by momentous events and significant individuals, who impact on its direction and...
William Brookes and the Olympic Games
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Arthur Wharton: the world’s first professional black footballer
Primary History article
Schools are now looking to extend their study of significant individuals away from many of the conventional ones. This article looks at a lesser known individual, Arthur Wharton, which could make a good choice for teachers wanting to tap into pupils’ interest. Arthur Wharton was the world’s first black professional...
Arthur Wharton: the world’s first professional black footballer
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Using classic fiction to support the study of childhood in Victorian times
Primary History 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Please note: This article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references may be outdated.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...
Using classic fiction to support the study of childhood in Victorian times
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Recorded webinar: What is diversity within the primary history curriculum?
Webinar recording
In 2021 we ran a series of webinars aimed at teachers working in primary schools: Diversity in the primary history curriculum. This series considered the following questions: What is diversity? Why has it proved to be controversial? How can we respond to this? Why is it so important in developing children's...
Recorded webinar: What is diversity within the primary history curriculum?
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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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Film: What's the wisdom on... Historical Significance (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 this film here
'What’s the wisdom on…' is a popular feature in our secondary journal Teaching History and provides the perfect stimulus for...
Film: What's the wisdom on... Historical Significance (Primary)
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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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Using diaries to stimulate children's understanding of the past
Primary History article
Children develop their understanding of the past through a range of historical sources of evidence. Written sources may provide different types of information for children to work from. Records such as census returns or street directories provide information about families and tradespeople living in a particular communities and old maps...
Using diaries to stimulate children's understanding of the past
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Planning for history - the coordinator's perspective
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Editorial note: Cathie's paper can be used as a checklist of action points for the planning of Programmes of Study incorporating history.
Starting points
If you are responsible for leading teaching and learning in history, there...
Planning for history - the coordinator's perspective
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The History around us: Local history
Primary 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....
The History around us: Local history
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Film: What's the wisdom on... Change and continuity (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
We know how difficult life is for teachers in the current circumstances. We also understand your need...
Film: What's the wisdom on... Change and continuity (Primary)
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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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Film: What's the wisdom on... Historical Interpretations (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
We know how difficult life is for teachers in the current circumstances. We also understand your need...
Film: What's the wisdom on... Historical Interpretations (Primary)
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Film: What's the wisdom on... Evidence and sources (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
We know how difficult life is for teachers in the current circumstances. We also understand your need...
Film: What's the wisdom on... Evidence and sources (Primary)
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A history of the world - 100 objects that tell a story
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Editorial comment: A History of the World is the most creative, imaginative and dynamic development in primary History Education for thirty years. It ties in perfectly with and supports the government's re-vitalisation of primary education that...
A history of the world - 100 objects that tell a story
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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’?
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Teaching crime and punishment as a post-1066 theme
Primary History article
The most recent HA survey suggests that crime and punishment is a popular theme as a Key Stage 2 development study covering the period after 1066.
It is easy to see why. Crime, criminals and punishment have a fascination for many and herein lies its appeal as well as a...
Teaching crime and punishment as a post-1066 theme
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Reading the Past: Written and printed sources
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Introduction
Be positive, ambitious and bold
Many teachers, when they realise how deep the literary requirements are which history makes on the young learner, will hastily declare that their own class is either too young or...
Reading the Past: Written and printed sources
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Teaching sensitive subjects: slavery and Britain’s role in the trade
Primary History article
See also:
Teaching Slavery - HA guide
Slavery in Britain
Sarah Forbes Bonetta - scheme of work
Teaching Emotive and Controversial History
Diversity guidance for primary teachers and subject leaders
Slavery is a part of our history, and its impact can be seen in the statues of influential men, the...
Teaching sensitive subjects: slavery and Britain’s role in the trade
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Exploring the use of historical fiction to support historical learning
Article
How many of us became interested in history through reading a good historical story? When starting this article we came up with a seemingly endless list of historically based stories and films which have inspired us. Clearly, we are surrounded by references to the past in popular culture and our...
Exploring the use of historical fiction to support historical learning
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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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Introducing local history: the Fusehill Workhouse Project
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Master and Mistress of the Workhouse refused to talk to any of us as she was adamant that nothing she could remember would be very interesting!
Of course disappointments like this have to be accepted and...
Introducing local history: the Fusehill Workhouse Project
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How can old advertisements be used in the primary classroom?
Primary History article
Advertising is a central part of our everyday lives. There are few ways to escape it and it has a long pedigree. It has long been recognised that it can help sell products through the power of the punch line or the visual image. Trade cards appeared as early as...
How can old advertisements be used in the primary classroom?
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World War I: widening relevance in the modern world
Article
Hayyan Bhabha introduces a project that is using newly-discovered documents to show the contribution of Allied Muslim soldiers in the First World War, with the aim of developing empathy, mutual respect and religious understanding in young children of all ages.
At a time of rising nationalism across the world, where Muslims are...
World War I: widening relevance in the modern world
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Food – a theme for learning about the past
Primary History article
Food is a theme that can provide many opportunities for children to develop their understanding of the past. This is a popular theme in many Early Years settings and Reception classes. It can be planned at any time of year and can be adapted in many ways.
Food – a theme for learning about the past
