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‘So why did they go into hiding?’ Anne Frank in her historical and social context
Primary History article
All too often Anne Frank becomes a symbol, used to show ‘the triumph of hope over evil’, even though she was killed during the Holocaust. Sometimes she is quoted utterly out of context to provide uplifting sentiments, or short phrases with redemptive messages.
What this lesson sets out to do...
‘So why did they go into hiding?’ Anne Frank in her historical and social context
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What can you tell about the Maya from a Spanish soldier?
Primary History article
This article focuses on the links between the Maya and Europe in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, exploring the impact of the Spanish on the life and times of the Maya, as seen through the eyes of one man – Gonzalo Guerrero, who was shipwrecked off the Yucatan peninsula...
What can you tell about the Maya from a Spanish soldier?
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Is There a Place for The Holocaust in the Primary Curriculum?
Article
The Holocaust – the murder of approximately six million Jewish men, women and children by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Second World War – is possibly the most difficult event that any history teacher will ever have to teach. Most obviously, it can be deeply upsetting, for educators...
Is There a Place for The Holocaust in the Primary Curriculum?
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Curriculum Planning: which non-European society might we offer at school?
Primary History article
A non-European society that provides contrasts with British history - one study. chosen from:
early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900;
Mayan civilization c. AD 900;
Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.
That's quite clear then - there's a choice between early Islam, Central America or...
Curriculum Planning: which non-European society might we offer at school?
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‘It’s a great big ship!’: Teaching the Titanic at Key Stage 1
Article
Edith Haisman, a 15-year-old passenger on the Titanic, exclaimed, ‘It’s a great big ship!’ when she first caught sight of it. Similar excitement could be generated among your pupils by incorporating a study of the Titanic into your curriculum. If you are tired of teaching about the Great Fire of...
‘It’s a great big ship!’: Teaching the Titanic at Key Stage 1
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The impact of World War II on British children's gendered perceptions of contemporary Germany
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references may be outdated.
This article reports some surprising gender-based trends indicated by a small scale piece of classroom research looking into incidental responses of Year 6 pupils to the teaching of Study Unit 11b (Britain Since...
The impact of World War II on British children's gendered perceptions of contemporary Germany
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Using the back cover image: Sandbach Crosses - an Anglo-Saxon market cross
Primary History feature
This image is a reconstruction, or interpretation, by Peter Dunn, an artist, of what Sandbach Crosses might have looked like in the ninth century. They are one of the few remaining Anglo-Saxon stone crosses in the country. They stand in the market place in Sandbach, Cheshire. You can find a...
Using the back cover image: Sandbach Crosses - an Anglo-Saxon market cross
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The 2014 History National Curriculum: how to get the best from heritage
Primary History article
We all know that site visits are good for children - not least because they give a break from the normal school routine - and there are a plethora of heritage sites both local and national that are able to offer facilities for school visits. But we also know that...
The 2014 History National Curriculum: how to get the best from heritage
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Primary History 45: History in the Foundation and Early Years
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
04 Editorial
05 2006-2007 Historical Association History and ICT project — Alf Wilkinson
08 Citizenship: Citizenship through the English National Curriculum’s The Romans In Britain Study Unit — Hilary Claire
10 In my view: consigning history to the history books — Denis Hayes
11 Introducing history into the KS1 curriculum...
Primary History 45: History in the Foundation and Early Years
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Political literacy: citizenship through the English national curriculum's the Romans in Britain study unit
Primary History article
Hilary Claire raised fundamental issues about the relationship between History and Citizenship for the development of a sense of identity. Her paper stresses the importance of sceptical thinking, perspective, sequence and progression - the essential chronology that underpins pupil's education for citizenship in the timeframe that history provides...
Political literacy: citizenship through the English national curriculum's the Romans in Britain study unit
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From Champion to Hero: Engaging Pupils in a study of significant Olympians
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Allocated the task of researching and presenting ideas for teaching about significant Olympians, I thought: ‘Brilliant, this is the easy one'. How wrong can one be! I expected to be able to access a plethora of...
From Champion to Hero: Engaging Pupils in a study of significant Olympians
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The strange death of King Harold II: Propaganda and the problem of legitimacy in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings
Article
How did King Harold II die at the Battle of Hastings? The question is simple enough and the answer is apparently well known. Harold was killed by an arrow which struck him in the eye. His death is depicted clearly on the Bayeux Tapestry in one of its most famous...
The strange death of King Harold II: Propaganda and the problem of legitimacy in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings
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'Be bloody, bold and resolute': Two possible interpretations of 'local history'
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
As a pre-Plowden primary teacher who queued to get my copy of that report in 1967 and as a contributory author to the Cambridge Primary Review (Alexander, 2009) forty-two years later I can claim, not an...
'Be bloody, bold and resolute': Two possible interpretations of 'local history'
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History in the Early Years: Bringing the Romans to life
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references are outdated.
Children arrive at school or nursery with their personal, unique mental ‘models’ of the world. the challenge for us is to expand these so that increasingly the pupils will be able rationally to make sense of the...
History in the Early Years: Bringing the Romans to life
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Primary History and planning for teaching the Olympics - four curricular models
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Three curricular editions of Primary History, PH 50, Autumn 2008 , PH 53, Autumn 2009 and PH 57, Spring 2011 are directly relevant to teaching the Olympics.
PH 50, Autumn 2008 History Education in the 21st...
Primary History and planning for teaching the Olympics - four curricular models
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Olympic Games
Lesson Plan
This was the fourth lesson in a ten-week unit about the ancient Greeks. We had already looked at Homer's Iliad, examining Greek ideas about heroes and roles; investigated the evidence for the Trojan War; and used topic books to identify and classify the main features of ancient Greek life. Throughout...
Olympic Games
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Podcast Series: An Introduction to Magna Carta
An Introduction to Magna Carta
What precedents were there to Magna Carta? Why was the charter originally drawn up and signed in 1215? Why was it reissued during the thirteenth century? Would “ordinary” people have been aware of Magna Carta? How effective was Magna Carta as means to controlling medieval kings? Why was it resurrected...
Podcast Series: An Introduction to Magna Carta
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Using a local historical figure as a stimulus for history in the English National Curriculum
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Editorial comment: Ben Screech indicates how new trainees are being trained to adapt to the opportunities that the Historical, Geographical and Social Studies area of the New National Curriculum offers.
Using a local historical figure as a stimulus for history in the English National Curriculum
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A view from the classroom: Teachers TV, The Staffordshire Hoard And 'Doing History'
Primary History article
When the Historical Association was approached by Teachers' TV to produce ‘Great Ideas for Teaching History' at Key Stage 2, it was inevitable that I, as a full time teacher on the Primary Committee, would have no escape. My school agreed I could take part, with the involvement of two...
A view from the classroom: Teachers TV, The Staffordshire Hoard And 'Doing History'
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Teaching history and geography together in a meaningful way
WHEN 2 + 2 = 5!
This article explores some of the ways history and geography can be taught side by side, so that the sum of the parts adds up to more than the original. How can we teach history with geography and vice versa, to the benefit of both, while fulfilling the aims of...
Teaching history and geography together in a meaningful way
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The coming of the railways - Fire-breathing monster or benefit to mankind?
Article
Today children regard trains as just another not very exciting means of travel, but to many early Victorian people the thought of riding on a train was as alarming and exciting as the idea of space travel is today. To be whisked along at the incredible speed of 30 miles...
The coming of the railways - Fire-breathing monster or benefit to mankind?
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Stories to extend and support the study of life in Victorian Times
Article
The study of life in Victorian Times with Key Stage 2 pupils, or aspects of life beyond living memory (now ‘the more distant past’) with children in Key Stage 1 is surely one of the richest and most popular historical themes. Some books come immediately to mind. Charles Dickens’ Oliver...
Stories to extend and support the study of life in Victorian Times
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Fun with hieroglyphs
Review
Synopsis: Fun with Hieroglyphs contains 24 rubber stamps, an ink pad and full colour book. It is recommended for children aged 8 upwards and will enable them to discover the secrets of the hieroglyphic language of the ancient Egyptians. The stamps can be used to write messages and create designs...
Fun with hieroglyphs
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Case Study: Prehistory in the primary curriculum: A stonehenge to remember
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
An article in the Sunday Times newspaper on 7 December reported that Britain is to stop making nominations to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) for heritage sites to be granted World Heritage...
Case Study: Prehistory in the primary curriculum: A stonehenge to remember
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Dealing with the dead: Identity and community - Monuments, memorials and local history
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Death is one of the most sensitive and controversial issues that teachers encounter, linked inextricably as it is to identity. I think it sometimes escapes our attention that, as teachers of history, we constantly deal...
Dealing with the dead: Identity and community - Monuments, memorials and local history
