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‘Golden threads’ in primary history
Primary History article
The term ‘golden threads’ has become increasingly part of primary history planning. It is often recommended as a means of avoiding curriculum atomisation and aiding retrieval. In this article Tim Lomas attempts to unpack what is meant by the term, what are some of the most popular ‘golden threads’ and...
‘Golden threads’ in primary history
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Primary Scheme of Work: Local History
Scheme of Work
Unit for Key Stage 1: Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality (the school and its community)
Children can be introduced to the idea that schools have been in the locality for some time but they have not always been the same. They can look at similarities...
Primary Scheme of Work: Local History
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What confuses primary children in history...
... and what can we do about it?
Young children who automatically see shiny things as new no matter what their age, those who mix up technology from one age with another, those who dismiss people in the past as stupid because they did not have the possessions we have today, those who equate the age of a...
What confuses primary children in history...
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Belmont’s evacuee children: a local history project
Primary History article
Teaching about World War II, particularly the home front, continues to be popular in primary schools, despite the government deciding not to include it as a compulsory subject in the new National Curriculum introduced in 2014. Many primary schools still choose to organise an evacuee experience of some kind for pupils...
Belmont’s evacuee children: a local history project
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Different ways of teaching local history through significant individuals
Primary History article
It is commonplace to include significant people when looking at the history of a given locality. The Historical Association has a series of case studies of significant local individuals organised by counties or regions. In this article Tim Lomas builds on that resource by looking at the way such individuals...
Different ways of teaching local history through significant individuals
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Tudor Society
Topic Pack
Please note: this resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum
The Topic Pack gives you a brief summary on Tudor Society.
Tudor Society
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Tudor Monarchy
Topic Pack
Please note: this resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
The Topic Pack gives you a brief summary on the Tudor Monarchy.
Tudor Monarchy
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Britain Since 1930
Topic Pack
This Topic Pack gives you a brief summary on Britain since 1930.
Britain Since 1930
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How diverse is your history curriculum?
Article
The past was full of diverse people and our students are entitled to learn about this diverse past. History lessons should enable students to see their connection to the past and to understand the world today. Here are a list of questions for history teachers to use to support a...
How diverse is your history curriculum?
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The Victorians
Topic Pack
The Topic Pack gives you a brief summary of the Victorians.
The Victorians
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Disability in primary history teaching
Primary History article
This article is based on a session by Bev Forrest and Mel Jones at the HA Conference in May 2024. The central concern is to support teachers to weave the experiences and lives of disabled people in the past into the primary curriculum. It looks at possible opportunities in EYFS, Key Stage 1...
Disability in primary history teaching
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Primary History Articles for the School History Subject Leader
Multipage Article
The Historical Association has been producing its specialist primary journal Primary History since 1992. In that time there have been three editions per year and since 2017 an additional annual digital summer resource.
In 1992 a National Curriculum for history had recently emerged as had the Ofsted inspection process. Since...
Primary History Articles for the School History Subject Leader
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The potential of primary history
Primary History article
In this article Alison Kitson and Michael Riley consider the potential of the primary history curriculum to educate children about climate change and sustainability. They suggest some important principles, and a range of strategies, that could be used to develop a stronger emphasis on environmental history in primary history.
The potential of primary history
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Creating effective history displays
Primary History article
Having been an history co-ordinator for over 15 years, I was fortunate enough to be able to plan a wide range of history displays which covered multiple periods. I enjoyed it because, for me, it provided the opportunity to inspire, inform and provoke a response. When preparing a display, I would...
Creating effective history displays
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Timelines in teaching history
Primary History article
‘History is about time, it subsists in time, time is the medium by which it happens’ (John Fines, Primary History 59, 2011). Yet the fact that time is fundamental to the study of history does not make it any easier to teach (Hoodless, 2008). The abstract nature of time as a concept is...
Timelines in teaching history
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Film: Unpicking the Ofsted subject report for history
Rich Encounters With the Past
In this webinar, history teachers and consultants Stuart Tiffany and Kerry Somers and Senior lecturer in primary education at Liverpool John Moore's University, Ailsa Fidler discuss the July 2023 history subject report with Ofsted National Lead for history, Tim Jenner.
In the course of the webinar discussion, the key messages...
Film: Unpicking the Ofsted subject report for history
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Historical fiction: it’s all made up, isn’t it?
Primary History article
One of the hardest things for children to develop in history is a sense of period. What was it really like to live in a Stone Age house for example, to get up every morning knowing if you didn’t collect food or hunt something then there would be nothing to...
Historical fiction: it’s all made up, isn’t it?
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Case Study: The history club
Primary History article
Editorial note: this is an introductory article on the History Club concept: Primary History 64, summer 2013, on History and the new 2014+ National Curriculum for History will provide a vade mecum for schools to develop their own History Clubs.
.... sometimes we use the past and today, modern times,...
Case Study: The history club
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Back to basics: How might we organise historical knowledge?
Primary History article
There has been much emphasis on pupils having a rich knowledge and this has led to many schools devising knowledge lists and knowledge organisers. This article argues that is a valuable element in a good history curriculum in primary schools but that it is important that this is properly thought...
Back to basics: How might we organise historical knowledge?
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Ancient Egypt: topic pack
Topic Pack
The Topic Pack gives you a brief summary on Ancient Egypt. It includes sections on Ancient Egyptian society, trade and the River Nile, and key people.
Ancient Egypt: topic pack
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Film series: History and SEND
Multipage Article
Do you struggle to engage your lower attaining or EAL pupils in their history lessons? Are you finding it difficult to ensure and demonstrate progression in history with these pupils?
In this series of five short films Sue Temple, assistant programme lead (BA hons and early years) at the university...
Film series: History and SEND
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What confuses primary pupils in history? Part 2
Primary History article
Part 1 of this article looked at some of the main areas of confusion that often characterise primary pupils’ historical thinking. Part 2 continues this theme by looking at three more key areas of misunderstanding and possible strategies to help improve their understanding:
Confusion 4: Not really grasping how sources can be...
What confuses primary pupils in history? Part 2
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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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Writing the history of nineteenth-century Europe
Annual Conference 2013 Podcast
Keynote Speech from the Historical Association 2013 Annual Conference - Podcast
Sir Richard Evans FBA - Regius Professor of History and President of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge
‘Study problems, not periods', Lord Acton famously advised in his Inaugural Lecture at Cambridge. Centuries in themselves have no historical meaning; the...
Writing the history of nineteenth-century Europe
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Sporting legacy: the history of endeavour
Primary History article
One of the highlights of 2021 for many people was getting up early over the summer and avidly watching events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics unfold: feats of bravery and endurance, heartbreak and celebration. It will, of course, enter the history books and the pub quiz questions, not least because...
Sporting legacy: the history of endeavour
