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History, citizenship and controversy
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Y4 question their MP about nuclear waste policy; Y6 survey people in their community and school about a proposed casino in their town, and feed back the information to the local council; children decide to...
History, citizenship and controversy
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Drama and history: a theory for learning
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated.
When I visit primary schools these days it heartens me to see how often drama is used in classroom teaching. Looking back over my own career, drama and role play have always been...
Drama and history: a theory for learning
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Exploring environmental impact alongside early skills development in the EYFS
Primary History article
Mary Potts draws on actual practice at St Patrick’s School in Liverpool to show how a focus on growth using seeds can help EYFS children understand ideas relevant to historical understanding such as change over time. Such potentially complex ideas can be made much more comprehensible to young children through...
Exploring environmental impact alongside early skills development in the EYFS
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The Roaring Twenties: teaching a decade of change across Key Stages 1 and 2
Primary History article
This article explores how one topic can be used in different ways to support historical understanding at Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2. The themes highlighted could link into possible golden threads to enable connections to be made across a school’s curriculum. The ‘Roaring Twenties’ also provide a real...
The Roaring Twenties: teaching a decade of change across Key Stages 1 and 2
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Music in the History Curriculum
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references are outdated.
In a primary school in Devon, there is a teacher who sings to his class every day: traditional songs; love songs; lyrical ballads; sea shanties; tales of mystery and suspense; songs of ritual and ceremony, hunting songs,...
Music in the History Curriculum
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Slavery in Britain
Primary History article
Images reflect the social customs and attitudes of the society in which they are produced, and we may nowdisapprove of these attitudes. Conversely, our own ideas of what is right and wrong may well have been unacceptable in the past. Among these are the rights accorded to children, the disabled,...
Slavery in Britain
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Putting the Story back into History
Primary History article
Children love stories. They like the drama, the excitement, the chance to listen and to wonder. Narrative is a very important part of history and sometimes, by concentrating on facts or on skills, we tend to lose the view of the big picture, especially in the Key Stage 2 curriculum...
Putting the Story back into History
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Opportunities for making use of your local park
Primary History article
Local parks are important local amenities that both enhance our wellbeing and provide an important contribution to the environment, especially in urban areas. This article identifies ways in which you can explore your local park, an amenity that, is familiar to most children, within its historical perspective. It considers resources...
Opportunities for making use of your local park
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History in the Foundation Stage
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
In September 2000, the introduction of a foundation stage for children aged three to the end of the reception year was widely welcomed for the way in which it confirmed a distinct identity for the early years in education. The recent guidance...
History in the Foundation Stage
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A classic case for history?
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
History is now an extremely popular subject with children, parents and teachers says a new research study - especially when children find out about the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
A classic case for history?
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In My View: Children Writing History
Primary History article
Getting ready
Before actually putting children to paper and pencil it is useful to spend some time clarifying the issues relating to the written task through other verbal media, which will help above all the least able pupils. We have found the following activities help children prepare for writing at...
In My View: Children Writing History
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Drama and story telling
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Everyone loves a story - especially a story well told. To encourage learning all primary teachers should consider the creative art of telling a story, as well as developing a variety of ways of interacting through...
Drama and story telling
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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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Pupil voice with SEND pupils in primary history
Primary History article
In this article, Lorna Spencer suggests that pupil voice is particularly important with SEND children. At the same time, this can cause challenges, as the way it is done with mainstream pupils may not be feasible with SEND pupils. She suggests some ways in which challenge might be confronted...
Pupil voice with SEND pupils in primary history
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Planning a history unit of work from scratch
Primary History article
In this article, Rachel wrestles with one of the greatest challenges facing teachers. With the starting point maybe no more than a title or mass of content, how do you begin the process of formulating an exciting and worthwhile teaching programme? It aims to give some tips and ideas to...
Planning a history unit of work from scratch
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Times of transition: supporting pupils with the idea of change in history
Primary History article
This article considers how to help children to understand about the layered process of change by considering transition points between the Iron Age, Roman settlement of Britain, and the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons. It suggests activities that will encourage children to explore the idea of long-term change. These could be...
Times of transition: supporting pupils with the idea of change in history
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Pull-out posters: Primary History 98
Talking History competition
The HA's Primary Oracy Competition: To register interest for 2025, contact Olivia Dent on: olivia.dent@history.org.uk
Find out more here
Pull-out posters: Primary History 98
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Using the back cover image: Windmill Hill
Primary History feature
The back cover image is a reconstruction of prehistoric life based on the English Heritage site Windmill Hill. Such images are of great value to the teacher in bringing the distant past to life, and in deepening pupil understanding of its historical significance. Using these sorts of illustrations can help...
Using the back cover image: Windmill Hill
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) in primary history – take CARE!
Primary History article
Teaching has embraced many revolutionary changes before: the photocopier, the calculator, the internet, even the smartboard! The Assistant Director-General of UNESCO (2023) though feels that these could pale into insignificance when compared to the rise of AI. This article looks at ways in which Generative AI might be used by...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in primary history – take CARE!
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Drama and role play
Primary History article
Drama and Role Play are powerful teaching approaches for language development. The themed edition of Primary History 48, Spring 2008 History, Drama and the Classroom provides a comprehensive introduction and detailed guidance to language development through roleplay and drama. PH 48 contains numerous case-studies illuminating a full range of approaches.
Case-Study...
Drama and role play
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How much has the weather mattered in British history?
Primary History article
Tim Lomas has considered the effect that weather has had on shaping Britain. He explores how weather conditions and human actions have affected these islands and the communities living here. He suggests three potential areas of investigation. First, he looks at how weather changes might affect crop failure and so...
How much has the weather mattered in British history?
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Linking history and science: how climate affected settlement
Primary History article
Karin Doull looks at how previous civilisations were affected by natural climate change, often precipitated by volcanic eruptions. She suggests that any investigation into ancient civilisations should consider how physical geography contributed to the initial settlement and development. She argues that we should also look at what might have contributed to...
Linking history and science: how climate affected settlement
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Archaeology - An approach to teaching history at Key Stage 2. Curriculum history
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
Alongside modern University buildings, at Beckett Park, (part of Leeds Metropolitan University), there is evidence of a monastic grange, a seventeenth century farmhouse, and an eighteenth century mansion which was extended in Victorian Times. The Beckett Park Archaeology Project was established in...
Archaeology - An approach to teaching history at Key Stage 2. Curriculum history
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How local history can bridge the gap...
Primary History article
A year on from the 2021 Development Matters and it is now much clearer how the changes in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, with its emphasis on the role of communities, place, space and histories, has provided greater support for teachers and children to make the transition from the Understanding the...
How local history can bridge the gap...
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Exploring the Great Fire of London and Deaf history
Primary History article
Kate Loveman and James Harrod offer new insights into the Great Fire of London by focussing on the inclusion of Deaf history in this popular topic. They shares the online teaching resources created in their joint partnership between the University of Leicester and the Museum of London.
Each year thousands...
Exploring the Great Fire of London and Deaf history
