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‘Miss, did the Romans build pyramids?’
Primary History article
Miss, did the Romans build pyramids? No Johnny, I think you are confusing the Romans with the Egyptians. Actually, Miss, the Romans did build pyramids – well, at least one – and you can still see it in Rome today!
The pyramid, which is 37 metres [or 125 Roman feet]...
‘Miss, did the Romans build pyramids?’
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Using apps in the history curriculum
Primary History article
There are a lot of apps out there on multiple platforms and searching for ‘History’ does not really narrow anything down. Knowing which ones are useful, usable and worth paying for is often a case of trial and error. However, this list will save you trawling through the myriad of...
Using apps in the history curriculum
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Film: Primary History at greater depth
Primary History Workshop Annual Conference 2019
This primary workshop took place at at the Historical Association Annual Conference, Chester, May 2019.
In this session, Stuart explored the principles of how working at greater depth can be applied into history units of work to allow the most able of learners to excel and fully reach their potential in history...
Film: Primary History at greater depth
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Up Pompeii: studying a significant event at Key Stage 1
Primary History article
‘The ashes now began to fall upon us, though in no great quantity. I looked back; a dense dark mist seemed to be following us, spreading itself over the country like a cloud … We had scarcely sat down when night came upon us not such as we have when...
Up Pompeii: studying a significant event at Key Stage 1
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Trade and pilgrimage in the Abbasid Caliphate
Primary History article
The Abbasid Caliphate stretched from North Africa across to Afghanistan and the North West Frontier. Within the caliphate there were movements of people, goods and ideas. The golden period of this early Islamic caliphate was around 900 AD. As the caliphs were building a major trading empire across the Middle...
Trade and pilgrimage in the Abbasid Caliphate
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The Shang Dynasty
Primary History article
The Shang Dynasty of ancient China is a perfect topic to explore history alongside art and design. The only written information that remains from the Shang period is from the inscriptions found on oracle bones or artworks.
Most of what we know about the Shang has been determined from the...
The Shang Dynasty
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Texts for the Classroom: Ma’at’s Feather
Primary History article
Alf Wilkinson discusses a book first published in 2008, and set in Ancient Egypt.
Ma’at’s Feather is the story of Qen, a young boy growing up in ancient Egypt. He is part of a farming family, and we discover how their livelihood is totally dependent on the River Nile...
Texts for the Classroom: Ma’at’s Feather
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Podcast: Ancient Greek Drama
Multipage Article
In this podcast Dr Fiona Hobden of the University of Liverpool discusses what Greek tragedy and comedy tell us about the society of Ancient Greece and what has been the legacy of the great writers of this period.
Podcast: Ancient Greek Drama
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Ordinary Roman life
Primary History article
How do we make connections with past lives through authentic artefacts? My research evidence suggests that pupils do not really like having to imagine they are an evacuee or a Roman (for example), but do like engaging with and thinking about the reality of past lives. It has been surprising...
Ordinary Roman life
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Pull-out Posters: Primary History 78
Investigating the Shang Dynasty and History in the primary curriculum
1. Investigating the Shang Dynasty; 2. History in the primary curriculum - what does it offer?
Pull-out Posters: Primary History 78
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Making the children work for the information!
Primary History article
Your local museum is often a rich but sometimes overlooked resource. Images, documents and maps show a broad range of history but one that also relates to the children’s own local area. This allows children to see the connection with their own past, providing them with examples that they can...
Making the children work for the information!
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The Shang: What can we tell about an ancient civilisation from one tomb?
Primary History article
The Shang Dynasty of China, based around the Yellow River area, is regarded as the first Chinese dynasty that we have written evidence for. It was established in around 1760 BC when Tang set up his capital in the city of Bo. Over the next 600 or 700 years the Shang Empire grew and shrank,...
The Shang: What can we tell about an ancient civilisation from one tomb?
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Using the back cover image: Mummified cat
Primary History feature
For hundreds of years, travellers to Egypt have marvelled at the amazing monuments evident throughout the country. The treasures of Ancient Egypt became more fascinating after the discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1799, which led to the deciphering of the hieroglyphic language. Many Victorian explorers returned to their European...
Using the back cover image: Mummified cat
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What made Cleopatra so special?
Article
Ancient Egyptian civilisation is rich and mysterious with distinctive visual imagery and strange animal-headed gods. The exotic differences of the society have always intrigued the western imagination and so they continue to ensure that this is a popular unit with both teachers and children. There are plentiful resources with new...
What made Cleopatra so special?
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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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Podcast Series: Women in Ancient Greece & Rome
Multipage Article
In this series of podcasts Dr Richard Hawley of Royal Holloway, University of London looks at the history of women in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Podcast Series: Women in Ancient Greece & Rome
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Podcast: Ancient Greece & Rome - Similarities and Differences
Ancient Greece & Rome
In this podcast Dr Ursula Rothe & Dr Colin Andrews of the Open University discuss how social, moral and religious life in Rome differed from that of ancient Greece.
Podcast: Ancient Greece & Rome - Similarities and Differences
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Podcast Series: Ancient Greek Myths and Legends
Multipage Article
In this podcast Dr Fiona Hobden of the University of Liverpool looks at what Greek myths and legends can tell us about how the early ancient Greeks saw their world.
Podcast Series: Ancient Greek Myths and Legends
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Indus Valley KS2 Commonwealth Institute resources
KS2 Indus Resources
When the Indus Valley was first included in the English National Curriculum, the Commonwealth Institute, London, commissioned a teaching & activity pack, published 1995. Its' sections covered key questions and aspects of the topic, offering a choice of activities andapproaches. It was recommended by QCA (QCDA) in the 1998 non-statutory...
Indus Valley KS2 Commonwealth Institute resources
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Primary History 70
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
04 Editorial
05 HA Primary News
06 Learning in the Early Years through Local People and Places: developing historical concepts in the Early Years Foundation Stage - Alison Hales (Read article)
08 Enquiry: developing puzzling, enjoyable, effective historical investigations - Ian Dawson (Read article)
15 Key Stage 1 local history...
Primary History 70
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Teaching the Assyrians for KS2
Pamphlet
Assyria was one of the Great Powers of the Ancient World. (They have been called the 'Romans of the East'.) From the early ninth to the lat seventh century BC they played an important part in history. At the heigh of their power the Assyrians controlled a vast area from...
Teaching the Assyrians for KS2
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HA Podcasted History: Ancient Persia
Ancient Persia
In this series of podcasts Professor Thomas Harrison of the University of Liverpool examines the Persian Empire, life in ancient Persian society and the Greek-Persian War.
HA Podcasted History: Ancient Persia
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Investigating the Indus Valley (2600-1900 B.C.)
Primary History article
In 1924 The Illustrated London News broke the story of a sensational discovery in the Indian subcontinent. Ruined mounds at Mohenjodaro and Harappa, 600 km apart, were forgotten cities of a lost civilisation. Nearly all we know about the Indus Civilisation comes from archaeology. What survives leaves many unanswered questions,...
Investigating the Indus Valley (2600-1900 B.C.)
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Religion and Beliefs in Ancient Egypt: Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans 1 & 2: Introduction to what Egyptians believed. How do we know?
Polytheistic, gods, goddesses, creation. Wall paintings, gods and preparation for the afterlife. Comparison of Christian creation story to that of Ancient Egypt.
Lesson Plan 3: Myth, Ra, Osiris, Isis, Horus. Beliefs and attitudes of the past. Religious...
Religion and Beliefs in Ancient Egypt: Lesson Plans
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Drama: Ancient Egypt - Akhenaten
Exemplar
This exemplar outlines a lesson John Fines taught to a class of Year 3 children. He was visiting them for the first time to do some drama work. The children already knew a great deal about the Ancient Egyptians and were also used to learning through drama. John writes:After a...
Drama: Ancient Egypt - Akhenaten
