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HA Blog Watch
Selected history education blogs
We've collated some of the best history education blogs here. The list isn't exhaustive so if there is a great history education blog out there that is not on this list – let us know!
One Big History Department
HA Secondary Committee blog
One Big History Department (OBHD) has been...
HA Blog Watch
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Having fun through time
Article
This article is about planning and teaching about ‘having fun across time’ for use in the later years of Key Stage 2 – investigating questions such as ‘Were people having fun in the same ways in the Middle Ages as in the Roman or Victorian periods?’ ‘What did our parents...
Having fun through time
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Global Learning November 2016
Global Learning Project
Although this project has now ended, the links and resources on this page remain useful.
1. Climate Change and Global Learning - New Key Stage 2 Activity Kit
With the 2015 Paris Agreement, and the recent climate conference in Marrakech, climate action is high on the international agenda. This activity...
Global Learning November 2016
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Promoting talk during history lessons
Article
There are various reasons why pupils should be offered the opportunity to converse together during history. It can definitely be enjoyable for pupils to talk together and it helps to teach children how to share ideas. Pupils talking while working in a group may also use their peers' talk to...
Promoting talk during history lessons
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Learning Outside the Classroom
Article
In recent times, it is easy to recognize that there has been a general move towards promoting outside activities across all manner of organizations and groups. For instance, organisations such as The National Trust and Ordnance Survey are keen to promote outdoor experiences in their literature. An online presence advocates...
Learning Outside the Classroom
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Learning about the past through toys and games
Article
A learning theme centred on toys and games is perfect for younger children as the Early Years curriculum is, of course, all about learning through play. Planned carefully, it can also provide many opportunities for children to develop their understanding of the past.
Adult-directed learning opportunities
Provide the children with...
Learning about the past through toys and games
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Time for a story
Using stories in the Early Years and Foundation Stage
Stories are an important part of a young child’s way of making sense of their world. Hilary Cooper’s excellent article ‘Why Stories?’ explores some of the reasons why stories are important to young children and their growing ‘understanding of the world’. This article is going to explore some recommended stories...
Time for a story
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Podcast Series: Confronting Controversial History
Podcast Series
Controversial History formed the focus of the Historical Association’s report, Teaching Emotive and Controversial History 3-19 (TEACH). Published in 2007, it offered teachers invaluable guidance for teaching historical topics that can stir emotion and controversy. However, the authors noted how the nature of the sensitivity can be affected by ‘time, geography and...
Podcast Series: Confronting Controversial History
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Ideas for Assemblies: The Olympics
Article
A series of whole-school or class assemblies planned for the weeks leading up to the Olympic Games in 2016 provides an excellent opportunity to introduce or reinforce pupils’ understanding of significance. Over the weeks the pupils will be introduced to inspirational stories taken from previous games and through this be...
Ideas for Assemblies: The Olympics
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Story-telling and simulation exemplar: The Great Exeter Fish War of 1309
Exemplar
The lesson was taught to 44 Year 3 children in a first school in Exeter. It describes how a story was used to introduce a local history unit, and how we followed it up. To begin, we sat the children on the carpet and told them John Hooker's story about...
Story-telling and simulation exemplar: The Great Exeter Fish War of 1309
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Doing history in the early years and foundation stage
Article
Please note: This article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references may be outdated.
Introducing the youngest children to the concept of history can be a challenging prospect for some foundation stage practitioners, particularly if they feel their experience of the subject has been limited or their own memories of...
Doing history in the early years and foundation stage
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Why history matters? Round Table discussion podcast
Podcasts
Podcast of the round table discussion available here!The History Matters Annual Conference in May saw the best turnout we've had for some time with a healthy and representative mix of HA members. Our thanks to all those who contributed their time and energy in delivering workshops and lectures. Our afternoon...
Why history matters? Round Table discussion podcast
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GCSE Topic Pack: Medicine through Time
Topic Pack
Medicine Through Time is a Development study. It traces the development of medical practice from prehistoric times to present day. This development is not always continuous and sometime knowledge went backwards or stayed the same for long periods of time. You will need to know the reasons for this. Medical...
GCSE Topic Pack: Medicine through Time
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Confounding expectation at Key Stage 3: flower-songs from an indigenous empire
Teaching History article
In this article Nicolas Kinloch examines aspects of an indigenous empire: that of Aztec Mexico. He attempts to persuade a group of mixed-ability Year 8 students to examine - and question - some of the assumptions they bring to the study of this empire. Their attitudes reflect quite widespread beliefs...
Confounding expectation at Key Stage 3: flower-songs from an indigenous empire
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Virtual Branch Recording: The House of Dudley
Article
The Dudleys thrived at the court of Henry VII, but were sacrificed to the popularity of Henry VIII. Rising to prominence in the reign of Edward VI, the Dudleys lost it all by advancing Jane Grey to the throne over Mary I. That was until the reign of Elizabeth I,...
Virtual Branch Recording: The House of Dudley
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Virtual Branch recording: Empires of the Normans
Virtual Branch Film
How did descendants of Viking marauders come to dominate Western Europe and the Mediterranean, from the British Isles to North Africa, and Lisbon to the Holy Land and the Middle East?
In this Virtual Branch talk Levi Roach, author of Empires of the Normans, tells a tale of ambitious adventures...
Virtual Branch recording: Empires of the Normans
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Register of schools holding the Quality Mark
Multipage Article
See our full register of awarded Quality Mark Schools, updated monthly. Each school holds their QM status for 3 years from the date of award.
Register of schools holding the Quality Mark
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One of my favourite history places: Bournville
Article
One of my favourite places is Bournville Village in the south of Birmingham – every time I go there it feels as if I am entering a different world, away from the noise and bustle of the city. Less than five minutes' walk away from the tourist attraction of Cadbury World is the village...
One of my favourite history places: Bournville
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Ofsted research report into history 2021
14th July 2021
Ofsted writes: The study of history can bring pupils into a rich dialogue with the past and with the traditions of historical enquiry.
In this report, Ofsted have:
outlined the national context in relation to history
considered curriculum progression in history, pedagogy, assessment and the impact of school leaders’ decisions on provision...
Ofsted research report into history 2021
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Ideas for Assemblies: Battle of the Somme
Article
Commemorating the Battle of the Somme through an assembly is not an easy task and one which needs careful thought and preparation. This battle officially started on 1 July 1916, after a week-long artillery bombardment, though both British and French commanders had prepared for the offensive for several months. To highlight...
Ideas for Assemblies: Battle of the Somme
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An Outline History of Benin for KS2
Pamphlet
This outline history of Benin gives a chronological picture of the history and society of Benin. The period covered commences in the first millennium AD, or possibly earlier, and ends in the 1990s. However, this document was written in response to the inclusion of Benin within the National Curriculum for...
An Outline History of Benin for KS2
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Podcast Series: The History of Science
Multipage Article
In this series of podcasts we take a look at the history of the Royal Society and the influence it has had on the history and development of science.
This series features: Keith Moore, Head of Libraries and Archives at the Royal Society, Dr Jordan Goodman, Dr Patricia Fara of...
Podcast Series: The History of Science
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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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Virtual Branch Recording: The Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949
Diaries and Personal Experiences
In this talk Professor Henrietta Harrison uses diary records to think about the experience of living through the revolution in China in 1949, focussing on what it meant to Chinese people, how they learned about its practices and ideology, and how this changed their lives - whether they were radical intellectuals returning...
Virtual Branch Recording: The Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949
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Recorded Webinar: Robespierre and Danton: Heroes of the French Revolution?
Article
One of the oldest myths of the French Revolution is the lethal rivalry between Robespierre and Danton: Robespierre the cold, bloodthirsty dictator who ruled France through Terror, versus Danton, the warm, humane, inspirational orator who wanted to stop Terror. Throughout the 19th century Robespierre was mostly depicted as a villain,...
Recorded Webinar: Robespierre and Danton: Heroes of the French Revolution?