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Pull-out posters: Primary History 98
Talking History competition
The HA's Primary Oracy Competition: To register interest for 2025, contact Olivia Dent on: olivia.dent@history.org.uk
Find out more here
Pull-out posters: Primary History 98
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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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Help! I am a new co-ordinator: when should I do what?
Primary History article
It would be pleasant to give an easy answer and produce a recommended calendar for all co-ordinators. The problem is that every school is different, the roles and expectations of co-ordinators vary and some years are different to others. Some co-ordinators have time to fulfil roles like observing colleagues. Some...
Help! I am a new co-ordinator: when should I do what?
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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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Don't forget key skills!
Article
With the pressure on curriculum time in primary schools, and the need to concentrate on literacy and numeracy, many teachers have recently felt that visits outside the classroom are a luxury. The introduction of Curriculum 2000, though, puts renewed importance on learning history from other sources, including sites and museums.
Don't forget key skills!
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Ideas for Assemblies: Lest we forget
Primary History feature
Over the next three editions of Primary History our assemblies pages will be linked to the theme of commemorating the First World War. We have found that while many teachers wish to remember these events in school, they are unsure how to approach the subject with primary aged children. It...
Ideas for Assemblies: Lest we forget
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Progression from EYFS to Key Stage 3
Guide
The removal of National Curriculum levels has left many schools and teachers scratching their heads and wondering how to proceed. National Curriculum levels have been used and misused in the past to both define progress in the subject and as a basis for assessment.
In this pamphlet, Jamie Byrom takes us...
Progression from EYFS to Key Stage 3
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Victorians
Primary History article
The Victorians is a much-loved unit of work in many schools and some teachers were disappointed to see it had been removed but there are still ways to continue to teach it under the 2014 National Curriculum. In many localities there will be a huge variety of Victorian buildings - including...
Victorians
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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 Beginner's Guide to using visual image in primary schools
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated.
The employment of the visual image is a fascinating and exciting way to enable children to gain a glimpse into the past. It is problematic, however, in that such imagery is often an...
A Beginner's Guide to using visual image in primary schools
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Local Authority Housing
Classic Pamphlet
Local authority housing has been a distinctive feature of the British housing system throughout the twentieth century. This pamphlet outlines the development of local authority housing in Britain from its origins in the late nineteenth century to the present day, focusing on the ways in which policy changes have affected...
Local Authority Housing
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Churches as a local historical source
Primary History Article
At Key Stage 1 children should learn about significant events, (e.g. the Great Fire of London) and about people and places in their locality. At Key Stage 2 they should learn about British settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots (e.g. Anglo-Saxon art and culture) and do a local history study (e.g....
Churches as a local historical source
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Young Quills 2013/14 - Primary Shortlist
Young Quills
Thank you to all of you who applied to take part in this year's Young Quills Awards. We had far more schools apply than we could accommodate, so some of you are bound to be disappointed. The books have been sent out to participating schools this week, and should be...
Young Quills 2013/14 - Primary Shortlist
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Slavery in Britain
Primary History article
Images reflect the social customs and attitudes of the society in which they are produced, and we may nowdisapprove of these attitudes. Conversely, our own ideas of what is right and wrong may well have been unacceptable in the past. Among these are the rights accorded to children, the disabled,...
Slavery in Britain
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Teaching diversity through drama
Article
Teaching diversity through drama at the Museum of London: Stories of London people
From Roman times to the present, London has been shaped by the diversity of its people. London is home to500 different nationalities, 300 different languages,14 major faiths and a host of other religions. The Museum of London...
Teaching diversity through drama
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World War II evacuees and Kindertransport
Primary History Article
Editorial Note: The impact of war on children's lives and witness testimony is a powerful way to motivate history learning through engaging children with the recent past. The process of developing this unit provides a wonderful example of reflective curriculum development, and a teaching and learning journey.
When I first taught...
World War II evacuees and Kindertransport
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Curriculum Mapping at Key Stage 2
Curriculum Map
The revised National Curriculum for history published on July 8th 2013 contains new content and possibly greater coverage that may find schools needing to map out what they cover and when more closely. The following list defines the topics that must be taught. Following this are some suggestions as to how...
Curriculum Mapping at Key Stage 2
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Researching History - Time travellers and Role Players
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
‘Ok children, time for history.'
Distant moans from the back of the class. Would I be surprised by this reaction? No, not if the teacher was diligently following the QCA guidelines for teaching history. Yes, if...
Researching History - Time travellers and Role Players
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Working through drama
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Drama puts the fear of God into some teachers. Some, jolly sensible souls, just don't feel dramatic, fear wearing feathered hats and using funny voices; others know, deep in their hearts, that plays always lead to...
Working through drama
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Using school logbooks - Bishop Graham Memorial Ragged School, Chester
Article
Logbooks can be described as the diary of the headmaster. The contents can vary in interest depending on how diligent the headmaster was at recording events. Some merely record the delivery of coals, the attendance at the school or the visitors to the school. However some include a good deal...
Using school logbooks - Bishop Graham Memorial Ragged School, Chester
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Case Study: Using Archives Creatively
Primary History article
Editorial note: Further details of this project and others can be found in Using Archives Creatively (Chapter 4) in ‘Teaching History Creatively' edited by Hilary Cooper published by Routledge in December 2012.
Archive Centres support innovative teaching
Using archive documentation
Some teachers, especially those with little training in teaching History,...
Case Study: Using Archives Creatively
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Case Study: Promoting creativity, empathy and historical imagination
Article
Empathy and Imagination
Creativity, imagination and historical empathy are concepts with different meanings although interrelated in the field of historical learning (Lee, 1984; Shemilt, 1984, Ashby & Lee, 1987). According to Lee (1984) concepts such as empathy, understanding and imagination are connected in complex ways in history. Lee discusses the...
Case Study: Promoting creativity, empathy and historical imagination
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Case Study: Creative chronological thinking
Primary History article
Personal biographies
I often ask groups to collect and record their own personal chronologies. They are asked to bring in evidence to tell the stories of their own lives or of the life of a relative, which they will then weave into a ‘photo book' story. The photo books become...
Case Study: Creative chronological thinking
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Museums, schools and creativity: How learning can be enhanced
Article
What do we mean by creativity?In the last few years there has been an emphasis on the ‘creative curriculum', ‘creativity' and ‘creative teaching and learning', but there has not always been a shared understanding of what this means. This article uses the definition from ‘Creativity - find it, promote it'...
Museums, schools and creativity: How learning can be enhanced
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Geosong: a transition project
Primary History article
How do we engage young people with their Heritage, answer curriculum needs and make that big leap of transition from primary to secondary school that bit easier?
English Heritage's Geosong treasure hunt website went some way to providing answers. What does the website do? Using handheld GPS devices, groups must...
Geosong: a transition project
