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Local history for children: through the eyes of a B.ED. student
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
My favourite subject in primary school was always history. I loved everything about history, but in particular I liked learning about the history of the local area. I went to school in a small Yorkshire town...
Local history for children: through the eyes of a B.ED. student
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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Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.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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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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What your local Archive Service can offer to schools
Primary History article
Imagine a place where your pupils become detectives working on mysteries from the past such as the tale of Thomas Sargeant, a 15-year-old factory worker who died in a chemical works in 1898. Your local archive is bursting with stories about real people like this which can give children an...
What your local Archive Service can offer to schools
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Key Stage 1 local history through fresh eyes
Primary History article
Upon approaching this article on teaching the local history component of the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 I decided to focus on one school, to look at what they normally deliver, and to put forward suggestions that could be used to enhance their existing unit of study.
I visited Pencoys...
Key Stage 1 local history through fresh eyes
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Local People and Places in the Early Years
Article
Learning in the Early Years through Local People and Places: developing historical concepts in the Early Years Foundation Stage
Using the local environment as a starting point for historical learning in EYFS not only helps young children engage and make learning meaningful and relevant, but also helps them develop a strong sense of identity. Working...
Local People and Places in the Early Years
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Using cemeteries as a local history resource
Primary History article
Why visit a cemetery as part of the history curriculum? Local studies now feature prominently in the primary history curriculum for both key stages. This development challenges teachers to find easilyaccessible, inexpensive and relevant resources on their doorstep. A rich resource which has traditionally been overlooked is the local churchyard...
Using cemeteries as a local history resource
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From Home to the Front: World War I
Primary History article
Events which encapsulate family, community, national and global history provide rich opportunities for engaging children. Some of these draw on positive memories associated with past events: the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, how people responded to the first flight to the moon, the Millennium celebrations. Yet it is perhaps gruelling...
From Home to the Front: World War I
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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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War memorials as a local history resource
Primary History article
War Memorials Trust (WMT) is the charity that works for the protection and conservation of war memorials in the UK. It defines a war memorial as ‘any physical object created, erected or installed to commemorate those involved in or affected by a conflict or war' (WMT 2009, ‘Definition of a...
War memorials as a local history resource
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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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Chronology and local history: Year 6
Primary History case study
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Editorial note: This short paper introduces a highly creative, imaginative and enthralling case-study of a local history project for year 6 pupils. The teaching programme has a chronological spine that provides coherence and focus. Chronology is...
Chronology and local history: Year 6
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Shropshire's Secret Olympic History
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
What has a small Shropshire town got to do with the modern Olympic Games? Why is a country doctor a key figure in the development of the modern games? Why is one of the 2012 mascots...
Shropshire's Secret Olympic History
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The History around us: Local history
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
History is an important aspect of the development of even very young children. They need to begin to develop the foundations of an understanding of the past and how it has developed and affected our present....
The History around us: Local history
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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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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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How can citizenship education contribute to effective local history?
Primary History article
Please note: This article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated.
Citizenship education in primary schools asks children to dig deeply into issues, to gain skills to become advocates and champions for the views of themselves and others and to be confident to take action on...
How can citizenship education contribute to effective local history?
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A Significant Local Event: Carlisle floods
Primary History article
Sue Temple has used her personal experience of flooding around Carlisle as a basis for exploring local history. She suggests strategies for how we can explore events that have occurred in our own environments by making use of photos and oral history to link to the personal and immediate. As extreme...
A Significant Local Event: Carlisle floods
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Trees
Primary History article
This article includes a compilation of a series of articles about significant trees around Britain. It is hoped that this will prompt readers to explore their own environments, helping children to engage with and enjoy nature. Some of the trees in the article are designated as Great Trees. These were significant...
Trees
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Exploring the history of our place with very young children
Primary History article
Karin Doull considers how we can develop historical thinking in the Early Years in this article about locality and place. Karin offers helpful suggestions for developing historical vocabulary and assessing understanding.
How can we seek to encourage Foundation Stage children to engage with historical thinking and processes? What appears to...
Exploring the history of our place with very young children
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Using some more unusual sources in the primary classroom
Primary History article
In this article Tim Lomas illustrates how it is valid and creative to go beyond some of the most popular sources used by primary history teachers. He looks at a number of historical enquiries and questions that might be considered as a theme and some sources that might be used....
Using some more unusual sources in the primary classroom
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Using Local Buildings
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Whilst there are many obvious historical buildings - castles, Roman Villas and Abbeys these often involve transport costs which may be beyond a school budget. Turner-Bisset suggests:
There is also history in ordinary, everyday sites,...
Using Local Buildings
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History in the Urban Environment
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
A study of the local environment can make a vital contribution to children's sense of identity, their sense of place and the community in which they live. More importantly, a local study can enable children...
History in the Urban Environment
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Teaching black British history through local archives
Primary History article
The huge benefits that local archives can bring to primary history are explored by Steven Kenyon. He illustrates this with a case study of Lancashire Archives. The central focus is on ways in which local history can support diversity in the curriculum by providing three examples – one for Key Stage...
Teaching black British history through local archives
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Teaching about Remembrance Day in EYFS
Primary History article
Remembrance Day (11 November) is an important time for children to learn about how we choose to both represent and remember significant events in the past. Within EYFS, learning about remembrance most obviously lends itself to Understanding the World – with a focus on children making connections between past and present,...
Teaching about Remembrance Day in EYFS
