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Teaching Robin Hood at Key Stage 1
Primary History article
The stories of Robin Hood, which date from the Middle Ages, are integral to an understanding of British history. Although historians have not been able to identify a single historical figure that can be called Robin Hood, rooted in evidence, the myth or legend of Robin Hood has had a...
Teaching Robin Hood at Key Stage 1
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What’s in your pocket, Peg?
Primary History article
What’s in your pocket, Peg? is a story book about Jersey which experienced German occupation throughout most of World War II. We wanted to create a book that appealed to children across different primary age groups, helping them to imagine the first-hand life experiences of a child alive at that time. The...
What’s in your pocket, Peg?
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Differentiation: Gifted and Talented
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Gifted and talented (G&T) education has a major focus upon differentiation: the identification and support of pupils who have the abilities to perform at the highest levels. The Autumn 2007 edition of Primary History 47 focused upon...
Differentiation: Gifted and Talented
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Pupils as apprentice historians (4)
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
The Historical Association [HA] supports effective, stimulating and rewarding history teaching through its website, publications and in-service programme, particularly Primary History and its HITT [History in Initial Teacher Training Programme]. HITT provides extensive guidance on a...
Pupils as apprentice historians (4)
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Pupils as apprentice historians (3)
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
The Spring 2008 issue of this magazine, Visual Literacy, highlighted the excellent practice in using visual historical sources that exists in many primary schoolsWe should strive to preserve and extend this critical use of visuals, whatever...
Pupils as apprentice historians (3)
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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
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Timelines in teaching history
Primary History article
‘History is about time, it subsists in time, time is the medium by which it happens’ (John Fines, Primary History 59, 2011). Yet the fact that time is fundamental to the study of history does not make it any easier to teach (Hoodless, 2008). The abstract nature of time as a concept is...
Timelines in teaching history
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One of my favourite history places: Luxor, Egypt
Primary History feature
History teacher in Cairo; oh, my word! Living in Cairo for the past four years enabled me to explore the country to a degree not possible as a visitor. Based in Maadi to the south of the old Islamic city, I live about 20 minutes’ walk from the Nile. A...
One of my favourite history places: Luxor, Egypt
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One of my favourite history places: Neuschwanstein Castle
Primary History feature
Visiting Neuschwanstein Castle is a dramatic if seemingly unreal experience and for this reason it is one of my favourite historical sites. The castle is situated on the slopes of the Alps in Bavaria, close to the village of Hohenschwangau, overlooking low-lying plains to the north. The ornate turrets, Romanesque windows...
One of my favourite history places: Neuschwanstein Castle
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Jubilee medals: celebration and creation
Primary History article
The Queen’s jubilee is a great opportunity to explore a huge range of concepts with EYFS children, and what better way to celebrate the experience than by creating your own celebration medals and to wear them in your own celebrations, as a continuation of the celebrations of so many years past....
Jubilee medals: celebration and creation
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Female migration to Australia
Primary History article
The Hyde Park Barracks, in Sydney, has a layered history. Designed by Francis Greenway (a convict architect) it was built between 1817 and 1819 by convict labour. Over the next three decades an estimated 50,000 male convicts passed through – some stayed for years, others days or only hours before...
Female migration to Australia
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Promoting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller heritage in your primary history curriculum
Primary History article
It goes without saying that the events of Black Lives Matter have prompted many leaders and teachers to take a step back and reflect on their curriculum content and how effectively it reflects the diverse story of our islands. However, it is not just Black History that is requiring more prominence...
Promoting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller heritage in your primary history curriculum
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Key Stage 2 – Key Stage 3: Transition
Primary History article
Often, primary schools and secondary schools are seen as separate entities. But why?
At primary, is it our responsibility to nurture our children and to encourage them only until they finish their primary education after the Year 6 SATs? Do we then just wave goodbye as they embark on their...
Key Stage 2 – Key Stage 3: Transition
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One of my favourite history places: Oakham Castle
Primary History feature
Standing by the stocks in the historic Buttercross of the market-town of Oakham, it would be easy to miss the hidden gem of Norman architecture that lies just a few metres away. Oakham Castle may be far removed from the traditional image of knights and castles, but there is something...
One of my favourite history places: Oakham Castle
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Back to basics: How might we organise historical knowledge?
Primary History article
There has been much emphasis on pupils having a rich knowledge and this has led to many schools devising knowledge lists and knowledge organisers. This article argues that is a valuable element in a good history curriculum in primary schools but that it is important that this is properly thought...
Back to basics: How might we organise historical knowledge?
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Subject leader’s site: assessment and feedback
Primary History article
Very few teachers prefer assessment to teaching yet the latter has little point if there is no way of knowing that what we teach is beneficial to our pupils. The problem is that there is no such thing as perfect assessment and feedback. For example, you cannot assess everything –...
Subject leader’s site: assessment and feedback
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One of my favourite history places: Eyam
Primary History feature
Imagine……… walking down the street and crossing the road to avoid having to talk to a friend……. declining a friend’s invitation to enter her house…... feeling angry and trapped that you cannot travel away from your home….
Are such feelings familiar to you during the coronavirus crisis? Maybe they are – but I am...
One of my favourite history places: Eyam
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Back to basics: what does a good history lesson look like?
Primary History article
The new emphasis from Ofsted on the importance of the foundation subjects has meant a very welcome renewed interest in history and how it is taught. For years the dominance of literacy and numeracy in the curriculum has meant that time for foundation subjects has at best been compressed, and...
Back to basics: what does a good history lesson look like?
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Smooth transitions: Key Stage 2 to 3
Primary History article
Transitions. Pivotal points in a child’s life and a phase in the educational journey that should be celebrated. How do we ensure that transitions are efficiently prepared for, when an ever increasing list of school pressures means that transitions can feel like the poor relation in the list of priorities?...
Smooth transitions: Key Stage 2 to 3
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Historical fiction: it’s all made up, isn’t it?
Primary History article
One of the hardest things for children to develop in history is a sense of period. What was it really like to live in a Stone Age house for example, to get up every morning knowing if you didn’t collect food or hunt something then there would be nothing to...
Historical fiction: it’s all made up, isn’t it?
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Pandemics in history: similarity and difference
Primary History article
I was inspired to put pen to paper to include an article putting Coronavirus in some sort of historical perspective after reading Peter Frankopan’s article in The Times newspaper on 28 March. The article entitled ‘Pandemics are terrifying but they can make the world better’ is written by Peter Frankopan...
Pandemics in history: similarity and difference
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Pupil voice: Democratising history lessons in Key Stage 1
Primary History article
Why is pupil voice important? Children are at the centre of everything we do and safeguarding their well-being and ensuring their progress across the curriculum is a key emphasis for schools. Recognising the importance of pupil voice in this is key.
Robin Alexander’s Towards Dialogic Teaching: Rethinking Classroom Talk (2017)...
Pupil voice: Democratising history lessons in Key Stage 1
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Embedding progress in historical vocabulary teaching
Primary History article
The current focus on a knowledge-rich curriculum, in which the intent and impact should be clearly identified, has seen many subject leaders scrutinising and reworking the history curriculum within their contexts.
As part of this, specific vocabulary, be it conceptual or otherwise, has been highlighted, and word lists are appearing...
Embedding progress in historical vocabulary teaching
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Turning technology: making life better in Iron Age Britain
Primary History article
So who were the people living in Britain in the Iron Age?
The Iron Age describes the period in Britain when the use of iron became widespread. It ranged from 800 BC to AD 43 and the invasion by the Roman Empire. The people of Iron Age Britain were part of...
Turning technology: making life better in Iron Age Britain
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One of my favourite history places: Meldon Viaduct
Primary History feature
'One of my favourite history places' is a regular feature in Primary History – see all favourite history places here. In this edition, Tim Lomas explores Meldon Viaduct and its surroundings:
Visiting places you have read about or seen pictures of can sometimes prove an anticlimax. Others far exceed expectations. One such is...
One of my favourite history places: Meldon Viaduct
