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Benin: exploring an African empire at Key Stage 2
Primary History article
Karin Doull reminds us of the value in studying Benin as a non-European study area and suggests how it might be approached, stressing the importance of placing it in context through comparison. The article addresses worthwhile aspects, key concepts and questions as well as furnishing some key information including extracts...
Benin: exploring an African empire at Key Stage 2
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My favourite place: Lyme Regis, Dorset
Primary History feature
Claire Bradshaw describes why Lyme Regis is a very special place not just for its stunning scenery but for its educational value. It probably has a history dating back to earlier than any other article in the ‘My Favourite Place’ series – this one running into millions of years. ...
My favourite place: Lyme Regis, Dorset
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Primary History 94: Out now
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
Read Primary History 94
It may be tempting to imagine that a stream of good authors send in a range of articles and all that is needed is to tidy them up a bit and publish. If this were the case there would be no need for an editorial board....
Primary History 94: Out now
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The wheels (and horses…) on the bus
Primary History article
A theme in the Early Years will have many cross-curricular links, encompassing many of the different areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework. The focus for this article is on historical elements of Understanding the World; however there will be some cross-over into other areas of...
The wheels (and horses…) on the bus
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My favourite monument: The Acropolis, Athens, Greece
Primary History feature
About 3,200 years old, the Acropolis of Athens supports the most stunning and complete collection of ancient Greek structures that still exist. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987, it remains a mostly intact classical collection that fascinates those who study and visit it. I have always been intrigued...
My favourite monument: The Acropolis, Athens, Greece
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Teaching about ‘these islands’ since 1066
Primary History article
This article builds on an earlier publication in Primary History Issue 89 which considered the history of ‘these islands’ before 1066 in the primary history curriculum. Both articles address the first aim of the National Curriculum which indicates that children should:
know and understand the history of these islands as...
Teaching about ‘these islands’ since 1066
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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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Where might the Gunpowder Plot sit within the principles of the new model curriculum?
Primary History article
The government has proposed creating a model curriculum for history. This will contain a range of non-statutory and supplementary guidance to focus history teaching. In July 2022, terms of reference to identify principles and approaches underpinning the model history curriculum were published. There will be an advisory panel that will...
Where might the Gunpowder Plot sit within the principles of the new model curriculum?
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Artefacts in the neighbourhood
Primary History article
Alf Wilkinson uses an everyday object found near you – a post box – to develop your children’s history skills.
Look carefully at the picture. It is a familiar object in the neighbourhood. It is a postbox – there will be one (or more) near you. Go out and look...
Artefacts in the neighbourhood
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School war memorials as the subject for enquiry-based learning
Primary History article
A visit to a local war memorial to coincide with Remembrance Day leaves a lasting legacy. Every year, groups of primary school children visit a war memorial in their town and village or local church, and increasingly benefit from educational visits to sites of remembrance such as the National Memorial...
School war memorials as the subject for enquiry-based learning
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Primary History 92: Out now
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
Read Primary History 92
It seems like such a short while ago that we were all joyfully celebrating the platinum jubilee (or platy joobs) and yet this edition contains an article focused on our new monarch, King Charles III, and some of the changes we are having to get used...
Primary History 92: Out now
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Planning for 'Changes within Living Memory'
Primary History article
While changes to the Key Stage 1 subject content are not as extensive as Key Stage 2 it is necessary to be aware of the changing emphasis within the different themes. ‘Changes within Living Memory' has a couple of key issues to be aware of. First, ‘living memory' refers to...
Planning for 'Changes within Living Memory'
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Coherence in primary history: How can we get children to see that their history links up?
Primary History article
No teacher ever wants to claim that their history curriculum is incoherent. All schools want to have a curriculum that is logically ordered and consistent, that has clarity and that holds together. It is easy to assume that how we see this coherence as adults must also translate to the...
Coherence in primary history: How can we get children to see that their history links up?
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The Great Exhibition of 1851: teaching a significant event at Key Stage 1
Primary History article
The Great Exhibition allows pupils to consider the impact of a particular event. The exhibition provides a means to look at Britain’s wider role in the world and social and technical developments such as the impact of the railways. Pupils can explore a variety of sources, consider the substantive concepts...
The Great Exhibition of 1851: teaching a significant event at Key Stage 1
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Think like an archaeologist!
Primary History article
Since the great brick-built cities of Mohenjodaro and Harappa were first excavated in the early twentieth century, other large and thousands of small sites have been discovered. Clay was the raw material (bricks) for Indus architecture and everyday objects. Pottery was produced in industrial quantities on the foot wheel, an...
Think like an archaeologist!
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Mentoring Student Teachers
Primary History article
Up and down the country, providers of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) are involved in applying for reaccreditation so that they can continue to develop and support trainee teachers. This is being done against the backdrop of Ofsted implementing its new inspection framework for ITE, which has seen a number of providers...
Mentoring Student Teachers
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Back to basics: using maps in primary history
Primary History article
Maps tend to be more associated with geography but they have always been vital to history. This article focuses on the way maps have evolved in history, what they provide for the historian and ways in which they can be used when teaching primary history. A chronological account of the...
Back to basics: using maps in primary history
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Primary History 91: Out now
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
Read Primary History 91
The Platinum Jubilee weekend has vanished in a swirl of colour, noise, pomp and silliness although I suspect Her Majesty and Paddington Bear’s tea party will live on for a long time. The second half of the summer term is upon us with sports days, leaving dos and...
Primary History 91: Out now
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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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The Queen in procession
Primary History article
Today’s children in reception and nursery were probably not born at the last jubilee and it is possible that they will not remember this one, nevertheless they will have the chance to be part of this historic occasion. If we help prepare them to understand what is going to happen...
The Queen in procession
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Significance and interpretation in primary history
Primary History article
The terms ‘significance’ and ‘interpretation’ often go hand in hand with one another, but what do each of them mean and why is it that they fit together? Understanding both terms separately and how historians use interpretation to identify what is significant in history, and why historians cast their interpretations as to what...
Significance and interpretation in primary history
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Happy and Glorious: exploring and celebrating the Platinum Jubilee
Primary History article
History is full of significant royals, yet few seem quite so remarkable as Her Majesty the Queen. Since her birth in 1926, she has witnessed the tragedy of a world war, the decline of the British Empire and the birth of the Commonwealth of Nations. Not only is she the...
Happy and Glorious: exploring and celebrating the Platinum Jubilee
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Ten texts for the Platinum Jubilee
Primary History article
With the Platinum Jubilee approaching later this year and celebrations planned for June 2022, here is a round-up of ten fiction and non-fiction books which will help you plan and find resources for your school celebrations...
Ten texts for the Platinum Jubilee
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Back to basics: using artefacts in the classroom
Primary History article
While most teachers recognise the importance of artefacts in history education, knowing how to use them effectively can often prove more challenging. This article suggests ways to investigate historical objects and provides a framework to support children’s observations.
Why use artefacts?
Artefacts are simply any object used by people in...
Back to basics: using artefacts in the classroom
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Using photographic evidence to explore the impact of the Berlin Wall
Primary History article
I remember being struck by the quote from Primo Levi when leaving Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam. He stated that ‘One single Anne Frank moves us more than the countless others who suffered just as she did but whose faces have remained in the shadows’. While not trying to make...
Using photographic evidence to explore the impact of the Berlin Wall
