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Local Archaeology in the Classroom: Ebbsfleet Case Study
Local Archaeology Case Study
The Ebbsfleet Valley in Kent, home of Ebbsfleet International station and the high speed rail link between London and Kent has a long history. The site is close to the old Roman road between Dover and London of Watling Street. It is close to the river mouth and once benefitted...
Local Archaeology in the Classroom: Ebbsfleet Case Study
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Podcast Series: From the Stone Age to the Romans
Multipage Article
In this podcast Professor Richard Bradley of the University of Reading looks at Britain and Ireland from their prehistoric beginnings to the arrival of the Romans.
Podcast Series: From the Stone Age to the Romans
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Year 7 explore the story of a London street
Teaching History article
One street, twenty children and the experience of a changing town: Year 7 explore the story of a London street
Michael Wood and others have recently drawn attention to the ways in which big stories can be told through local histories. Hughes and De Silva report a teaching unit through...
Year 7 explore the story of a London street
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Podcast Series: The Rise of an Islamic Civilisation
Early Islam
An HA Podcasted History of the Rise of an Islamic Civilisation featuring Dr Caroline Goodson of Birkbeck, University of London.
Podcast Series: The Rise of an Islamic Civilisation
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Communicating about the past: Resource H
Article
Key stage 2-3 History Transition Project: sample scheme of work on Alexander the Great
This resource was created as part of the above project whose activities are described in the introduction to Resource D. Three teachers, Geraint Brown (an AST) and Matt Stanford, both of Cottenham Village College, and Dave...
Communicating about the past: Resource H
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Case study: Creative approaches to learning about the Bristol blitz
Primary History article
The University of the West of England, Bristol has strong partnerships with many local schools and is developing innovative ways in working with trainees, teachers and children. The approach taken to learning about the Bristol Blitz provides an example of this partnership.
The Bristol Blitz day
The day was planned to...
Case study: Creative approaches to learning about the Bristol blitz
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Thematic or topic based whole school curriculum planning
Primary History article
Creative curricular planning With the National Curriculum under review, it seems that more schools are taking a creative approach to planning by delivering the curriculum through a focused theme or topic. This has allowed schools to take more ownership of the curriculum and has helped teachers become more innovative in their...
Thematic or topic based whole school curriculum planning
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Visual Literacy: Learning through pictures and images
Primary History Article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references are outdated.
What questions does the portrait raise in your mind?
What messages does the artist intend to convey?
How does the artist convey those messages to the intended audience? What might have been the circumstances under which the...
Visual Literacy: Learning through pictures and images
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The Bloody Code - Early Modern Crime and Punishment
Podcast
Between circa 1690 and 1820 the number of crimes punishable by the death penalty grew from 50 to over 200. This short podcast will help to explain why this trend developed.
The Bloody Code - Early Modern Crime and Punishment
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Investigating the ancient Olympic games: A Case Study
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
In a 10-week unit on Ancient Greece, we gave the fourth lesson over to the ancient Olympic Games. The class was a delight: 32 enthusiastic Year 6 children in an urban county primary school.
We knew...
Investigating the ancient Olympic games: A Case Study
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Story, myth and legend: The Story of Atalanta
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Time and change in stories
Everyone loves a story and stories have always been at the heart of early years education. Children can relate their own experiences of time to stories in picture books about other...
Story, myth and legend: The Story of Atalanta
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Ancient Greeks: The Olympics' War Games - Teaching through Drama
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
When I was a boy the Greek Olympics was one of the perennials of the primary history curriculum, alongside the Battle of Hastings and the execution of Charles I.
I have memories of an old text...
Ancient Greeks: The Olympics' War Games - Teaching through Drama
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Ancient Greece: Birthplace of the Olympics - Teacher Briefing
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Editorial note: Below is a one-page outline of a wonderful briefing replete with visual and textual sources and teaching ideas from The Cambridge Schools Classics Project (CSC P). The outline below consists of the full introduction...
Ancient Greece: Birthplace of the Olympics - Teacher Briefing
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She sells seashells by the seashore: teaching Mary Anning at Key Stage 1
Primary History article
Mary Anning was a fascinating individual who would be a purposeful addition to a history curriculum. This article outlines the rationale behind including her as a significant individual but also offers ideas for developing young children’s understanding of historical interpretations.
She sells seashells by the seashore: teaching Mary Anning at Key Stage 1
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Working effectively with your local history societies: the benefits and challenges
Primary History article
Local history provides rich opportunities to engage children in their immediate local area and understand their own history and how history contributes to a greater overall understanding and bigger picture. In this article, Nick Harman shares his school’s experience of participating in an exciting joint project with the local heritage...
Working effectively with your local history societies: the benefits and challenges
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An approach to teaching the British Civil Wars in the primary classroom
Primary History article
Denise Greany and Andrew Hopper show how to make the British Civil Wars of the mid-seventeenth century readily accessible to primary-aged children by focusing on the experiences of people who lived through these tumultuous times.
An approach to teaching the British Civil Wars in the primary classroom
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‘Nothing was easy’: Viewing war, empire and racism through the eyes of a local Windrush migrant
Primary History article
This article is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject leaders, join the Historical Association today
Andrew Wrenn shares examples from a fascinating project with which...
‘Nothing was easy’: Viewing war, empire and racism through the eyes of a local Windrush migrant
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Samuel Pepys and the Great Fire of London (KS1)
Lesson Plan
This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject leaders, join the Historical Association today
Please note: this resource was created prior to the 2014 National...
Samuel Pepys and the Great Fire of London (KS1)
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Long ago or far away: the Global perspective
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Even an inclusive national history curriculum can make Britain (and Europe) appear as the lynchpin of world history. Without a coherent structure for global history, young people remain unaware that continents beyond Europe have histories of...
Long ago or far away: the Global perspective
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The Olympics - politics, impact and legacy - its not just about the sport
Article
2024 is an Olympic Games year. Held every four years (with the exception of during the World Wars and Covid-19 restrictions), the modern Olympics is the largest international sporting event in the world. However, historically it has not always been just the sports that are played and the athletes’ performances...
The Olympics - politics, impact and legacy - its not just about the sport
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Sumerian history through story-telling and expressive movement
Lesson Plan
The Sumerian mystery lesson is based on a story about what people found in one of the royal tombs of Ur dating from about 4000 years ago. (This was in ancient Mesopotamia, near what we now call the Persian Gulf.)
(These resources are attached below)
The story is full of...
Sumerian history through story-telling and expressive movement
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Why we need to teach about the history of trees and woodland...
Primary History article
Michael Riley highlights the importance of educating children about the history of trees and woodland. He explores the potential of primary history to develop an understanding of our changing relationship with trees. The article shows how a focus on trees and woodland could enhance an existing history study, and suggests...
Why we need to teach about the history of trees and woodland...
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Story-telling and discussion: KS1 exemplar: Columbus the explorer
Short Lesson Exemplar
Please note: this resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
Setting the scene: what is an explorer?
This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject...
Story-telling and discussion: KS1 exemplar: Columbus the explorer
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Learning to engage with documents through role play
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
First let me say that I did not research the materials used or plan this lesson. For this I must acknowledge, with thanks, that this is the work of my colleague, Mike Huggins, and the senior...
Learning to engage with documents through role play
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Detectives: what were schools like in the past?
Lesson Plan
In this lesson we asked what clues (objects and pictures) can tell us about the past. How were schools in the past different from ours? (Resources attached below.)
The objectives were:
To introduce the children to the idea of history as detective work.
To help the children to make comparisons...
Detectives: what were schools like in the past?
