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Approaches to the History Curriculum: skills based curriculum
Briefing Pack
In 2010 many schools were adopting thematic or skills based curricula in England. This is one way of organising a curriculum. Some of the pros and cons of this approach are elaborated here.
There are an increasing number of schools now adopting a thematic or skills based curriculum for year...
Approaches to the History Curriculum: skills based curriculum
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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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Primary History 23
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
4 Primary Update – Tim Lomas
6 The Historical Association’s response to the Curriculum 2000 proposals – Tim Lomas (Read article)
7 John Fines, a tribute to our past president – John Nichol
8 Any place for a database in the teaching and learning of history at KS1? – Lez...
Primary History 23
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Primary History 47: Thinking through history
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
This special edition of Primary History is supported by the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth.
04 Editorial: Thinking through history: opportunity for equality
06 In my view: we must support gifted historians from an early age – Lord Adonis
07 In my view: why we need a national...
Primary History 47: Thinking through history
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What is bias?
Article
There is a nice story about how Calvin Coolidge went to hear a clergyman preach on sin. 'What did he say?' he was asked. 'He said he was against it', Coolidge replied. The history teacher or student, well used by know to the normal form of questions at GCSE, might...
What is bias?
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Using different sources to bring a topic to life: The Rebecca Riots
Primary History article
For primary school pupils a key aim of the National Curriculum for history is to understand the method of historical enquiry. Working with original sources is of course central to the whole process and provides a great way to inspire pupils’ experience of the subject. Young pupils, once they have...
Using different sources to bring a topic to life: The Rebecca Riots
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Primary History 46: Citizenship, Controversial Issues & Identity
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
04 Editorial: history, citizenship and the curriculum – a fit purpose (Read article)
05 In My View: citizenship education in primary schools – Lord Adonis
06 In My View: history and identity – Sir Keith Ajegbo
07 Citizenship, identity and culture: Two Poems – Benjamin Zephaniah and an 8th century...
Primary History 46: Citizenship, Controversial Issues & Identity
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Chartism
Classic Pamphlet
It is not surprising that Chartism has attracted a great deal of interest from historians and students, for at no other period in British history, with the possible exception of the second and third decades of the twentieth century, has so much excitement and activity been aroused at the working-class...
Chartism
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Interdisciplinary forays within the history classroom
Teaching History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
How might history and art mutually enrich each other and enhance pupil experience? The short answer, and there is much more to be said as Liz Dawes Duraisingh and Veronica Boix Mansilla show, is by...
Interdisciplinary forays within the history classroom
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Creating Variety in the Classroom
Article
Sometimes, pupils complain that there is a sameness to history lessons. History though offers scope for all kinds of exciting and varied activities targeting the key concepts and processes of the National Curriculum. Over the years, the following list has been gathered showing this variety. It could be used as...
Creating Variety in the Classroom
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Creating Stories For Teaching Primary History
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references are outdated.
With primary history contributing to writing, some research by Sandra Dunsmuir and Peter Blatchford into pupils aged 4-7 has relevance to history teaching. The findings were published in the "British Journal of Educational Psychology", edition...
Creating Stories For Teaching Primary History
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Learning from a pandemic
Teaching History article
In order to contextualise and make sense of the Covid-19 pandemic, Verity Morgan worked with her school’s long-standing partner school in Ghana to devise an innovative project combining history and science, past and present. In this article, Morgan sets out the rationale for the project, her detailed adaptation of a British Council...
Learning from a pandemic
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Opportunities, challenges and questions: continual assessment in Year 9
Teaching History article
Our means of assessment might pose a problem. History teachers regularly set specific targets, with implicit or explicit reference to National Curriculum Levels, which are designed to move our pupils on and make them better historians. How, though, are we to prevent them from achieving their targets in a rather...
Opportunities, challenges and questions: continual assessment in Year 9
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Dr Black Box or How I learned to stop worrying and love assessment
Teaching History article
Drawing upon experimental work in different history departments, Mark Cottingham explores ‘assessment for learning' principles in practice. He raises the problem of a clash between these approaches and the progression model inherent in the National Curriculum Attainment Target, and, crucially, the way in which history departments are expected to use...
Dr Black Box or How I learned to stop worrying and love assessment
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History and the National Primary Strategy
Primary History article
The Historical Association poses a series of questions to the Director of the Primary National Strategy, Kevan Collins.
History and the National Primary Strategy
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Film: Surviving the Stone Age
Primary History Workshop Annual Conference 2019
This primary workshop took place at at the Historical Association Annual Conference, Chester, May 2019. The workshop featured: Chris Trevor – Presenter of HA subject leader courses/Primary Education consultant and Dave Trevor – Co-presenter of Prehistoric workshops and ex teacher.
This workshop dispelled the popular myths and stereotypes of the Old...
Film: Surviving the Stone Age
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Primary History 31: The Industrial Revolution
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
3 Editorial
4 Primary Noticeboard
6 In My View: Teaching for purpose: one dilemma? - Alan McCully
8 History co-ordinators’ dilemmas - Jayne Woodhouse and Alan Hodkinson
10 I have not seen a butterfly around here… - Penelope Harnett
12 Revising the English Reformation - Peter Fleming
15 Celebrating good practice;...
Primary History 31: The Industrial Revolution
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Great Debate FAQs
The Great Debate
Below are some frequently asked questions about the Great Debate and the logistics of the heats.
If you need more information, you can get in touch with us directly at greatdebate@history.org.uk.
How does the debate work?
Each student will have five minutes to deliver their argument in response to the...
Great Debate FAQs
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Historical Association Conference 2025 in Liverpool
Hilton Liverpool City Centre, Friday 9–Saturday 10 May 2025
See the full conference programme
Book your place now
Can you hear the music or see the birds (Liver ones of course)? Then we must be in Liverpool – or at least we will be in May 2025 for the HA conference.
We have brought together lots of specialist CPD...
Historical Association Conference 2025 in Liverpool
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Global learning and development education
Article
Global learning and development education in the secondary school
Development education is an approach to learning about global and development issues through recognising the importance of linking people's lives throughout the world. It encourages critical examination of global issues and awareness of the impact that individuals can have on these. ...
Global learning and development education
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Distant voices, familiar echoes: exploiting the resources to which we all have access
Teaching History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
As an Advanced Skills Teacher, Denise Thompson has often been at the forefront of experimental developments. Five years ago, she reported on trials of an online discussion forum used to sharpen A level students' historical...
Distant voices, familiar echoes: exploiting the resources to which we all have access
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'How our area used to be back then': An oral history project in an east London school
Teaching History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
How can oral history enquiries engage students with the study of history and help them connect their learning about the past to their present lives? How can oral history engage and develop students' understanding of...
'How our area used to be back then': An oral history project in an east London school
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Move Me On 134: Getting enough A-level experience
Teaching History feature
Problem for the history mentor: Tom Clarkson is worried that he will not have enough A level teaching experience to teach Year 12 effectively next year.
Tom Clarkson is well into his second teaching placement and fears that the outline plans on his timetable for working with Year 12 will...
Move Me On 134: Getting enough A-level experience
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What are the reasons for linking art and history?
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated.
Visual images, paintings, sculpture, photographs, cartoons from past times are important historical sources. Accordingly, Simon Schama embeds visual images and imagery in his historical oeuvre, not primarily as illustration but as a crucial...
What are the reasons for linking art and history?
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Art and History: Justifying the Links
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated.
History and Art have been taught as traditional subjects for many years and as cross curricular subjects they compliment each other beautifully. I do not see how we can realistically completely separate them...
Art and History: Justifying the Links
