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Investigating children's awareness of changing values and attitudes through stories written in the past
Primary History article
Talking about historical stories written at different times in the past can reveal much about the more sophisticated understandings that young children have of the past. Primary school children often work with artefacts, historic architecture and sites to enable them to visualise and reconstruct the past. However, these sources do...
Investigating children's awareness of changing values and attitudes through stories written in the past
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Report on the Bristol Branch's A-level Russian History Conference
16th May 2024
The Bristol Branch of the HA’s A-level Russian History Conference27 March 2024
‘Such a great event – both for students and teachers. Many thanks…for organising it, and for sharing excellent resources’ (Mark Kauntze, Head of History Redland Green School, Bristol)
‘Brilliant, thank you… our students really enjoyed the experience.’ (Phill...
Report on the Bristol Branch's A-level Russian History Conference
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Evidenced based history teaching - teacher as researcher
Article
Introduction
Systematic, sustained provision of in-service courses has virtually disappeared. Increasingly, teachers' main source of professional development is the Internet. There is, however, a huge difference between reading about new approaches and skills and transforming that information, that understanding, into new ways of thinking, planning and teaching.
This is where...
Evidenced based history teaching - teacher as researcher
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British National Curricula For History 1989-2011
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
The national history curricula for Northern Ireland, England and Wales have passed through various stages since working groups were set up in England and Wales in 1989. Developments have been distinct, with Northern Ireland having quite...
British National Curricula For History 1989-2011
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On-demand webinar: Responding to historical questions and engaging in extended writing at A-level
Webinar series: Developing students’ historical thinking at A-level
Webinar series: Developing students’ historical thinking at A-level
Session 2: Responding to historical questions and engaging in extended writing
This second session will consider how teachers have helped their students to develop coherent explanations of historical processes and to form judgments in response to historical questions. The session will then engage with...
On-demand webinar: Responding to historical questions and engaging in extended writing at A-level
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Case Study: Teaching World War 1 and professional development
Primary History case study
Please note: This article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references may be outdated.
During the autumn term 2008 I covered World War I as an example of how to attempt a cross curricular project at KS 2 [7-11 age range] with Newly Qualified Teacher Status [QTS] students. During my...
Case Study: Teaching World War 1 and professional development
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Who are we?
Information
There are many ways you can support our work to bring history to all:
Become a Member
Give HA membership as a gift
Make a donation
Contribute an article
Other ways to support us
We are a registered charity incorporated by Royal Charter (charity no. 1120261). We support the teaching, learning...
Who are we?
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Write Your Own Historical Fiction Competition 2026
The Historical Association Historical Fiction Prize
Please note: entries for this year’s competition have now closed. Winners will be announced by the end of October 2026.
Each year we are so impressed by the ever-increasing number and standard of entries we receive around such a wide range of historical periods and settings. You can take a look at...
Write Your Own Historical Fiction Competition 2026
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Integration and cross-curricularity: History, Humanities And Social Studies
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
From the late 1960s until 1989 history was almost universally taught in primary schools as an element in integrated crosscurricular programmes, normally social studies or humanities.
The 1989/1990 National Curriculum: History radically changed this. It introduced...
Integration and cross-curricularity: History, Humanities And Social Studies
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Develop your whole school history provision
New and improved features
Corporate membership offers a comprehensive package of support. It delivers all the benefits of individual membership plus an enhanced tier of resources and CPD access to boost the development of your teaching staff and delivery of your whole school history provision.
Enhanced benefits include:
Exclusive access to guides in the...
Develop your whole school history provision
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Apology: Move Me On, TH185
17th January 2022
The Historical Association would like to offer an unreserved apology for serious errors of judgement in relation to the Move Me On problem presented within Teaching History 185.
We recognise that the content of this feature has caused offence, that it contained negative stereotypical biases which we failed to recognise and act...
Apology: Move Me On, TH185
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The Historian 140: Out now
Journal news
It sometimes seems to those of us living in Scotland, Ireland and Wales that our histories have no importance to anyone beyond our borders and when Americans, and others around the world, say ‘England’ when they actually mean the ‘United Kingdom’, it is hard not to bristle. Contributors to this...
The Historian 140: Out now
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Urban spaces cross-curricular work: History
Lesson Plan
Please note: these free resources pre-date the 2014 National Curriculum.
This is part of a set of subject areas also covering Science, Literacy and Art & Design.
This section covers Citizenship too - see the 'Upstairs downstairs' material.
See Cross-curricular learning
Public spaces offer a range of opportunities for children's learning, and can...
Urban spaces cross-curricular work: History
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As a primary school teacher have you taught about the Holocaust?
Primary History article
Teaching the Holocaust at primary level can be incredibly rewarding and result in pupils broadening their historical understanding as well as encouraging them to consider other issues. The importance of challenging prejudice, ignorance and racism, the importance of not being a bystander and valuing life are just a few of...
As a primary school teacher have you taught about the Holocaust?
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Protestantism and art in early modern England
Article
“I am greatly honoured to receive the Medlicott medal and I thank the President for his much-too-kind remarks. It is fifty years since I attended my first meeting of the Historical Association and heard a lecture by Professor Medlicott himself, no less. The Association does a wonderful job in encouraging...
Protestantism and art in early modern England
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The Historian 95: An American showman
The magazine of the Historical Association
Featured articles:
The 2007 Medlicott Medal Lecture: What kind of history should school history be? Chris Culpin (Read article)
P. T. Barnum - Promoter of 'freak shows' for the family - John Springhall (Read Article)
Roald Dahl and the Lost Campaign - Trevor Fisher (Read Article)
Presenting Naseby: Documents, terrain, findings and...
The Historian 95: An American showman
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Sumerian history through story-telling and expressive movement
Lesson Plan
The Sumerian mystery lesson is based on a story about what people found in one of the royal tombs of Ur dating from about 4000 years ago. (This was in ancient Mesopotamia, near what we now call the Persian Gulf.)
(These resources are attached below)
The story is full of...
Sumerian history through story-telling and expressive movement
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Celebrating success and recognising achievements – the Quality Mark evening!
The Historical Association's Quality Mark for History
On Friday 8 November 2024 there was a glittering event for those schools who have achieved the Quality Mark (QM) for History. We wanted to celebrate those who have put in the hard work and dedication to raise the standard of education, awareness, knowledge and enjoyment of history teaching in their...
Celebrating success and recognising achievements – the Quality Mark evening!
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Counterfactual Reasoning: Comparing British and French History
Teaching History article
Year 8 use counterfactual reasoning to explore place and social upheaval in eighteenth-century France and Britain
Two linked motivations inspired Ellen Buxton's research study: she wanted pupils to make connections between British and French history and she wanted to explore the potential of counter-factual reasoning within a causation enquiry. It...
Counterfactual Reasoning: Comparing British and French History
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Getting Year 7 to set their own questions about the Islamic Empire, 600-1600
Teaching History article
Sometimes particular problems can lead to unexpected solutions. In this case, Sally Burnham decided to solve a problem that she had identified among her Year 12 students by changing the way in which she teaches Year 7. Her Year 12s were finding it difficult to set appropriate questions for their...
Getting Year 7 to set their own questions about the Islamic Empire, 600-1600
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Seeing, hearing and doing the renaissance (Part 2)
Teaching History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
In the last edition of Teaching History, Maria Osowiecki described in detail the fourth lesson in a five-lesson enquiry entitled: What was remarkable about the Renaissance? She also shared her resources for two lively, interactive...
Seeing, hearing and doing the renaissance (Part 2)
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Cartooning King Cotton
Historian article
While cartoons have been widely used by historians of ‘High Politics’ or diplomacy, they have been used less often by social historians. Alan Fowler and Terry Wyke examine a source for the social history of the Lancashire cotton industry. Cartoons have long held a fascination for historians, though when using...
Cartooning King Cotton
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Gloucestershire Branch Programme
Article
Image credit: The cloister of Gloucester Cathedral. Photograph by David Iliff, via Wikimedia Commons; license: CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported
Branch contact: Robert Sutton, 01242 574889, histassocglos@gmail.com
Venue: venues vary. Please see details in individual events below.
Members and students: Free
Visitor fee: £4,
Branch website: www.haglos.co.uk
Gloucestershire Branch Programme 2026-7...
Gloucestershire Branch Programme
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The Historian 62: Catherine de Medici
The magazine of the Historical Association
Featured articles:
4 Is History Dangerous? - Eric Hobsbawm (Read article)
6 Britain and the formation of NATO - Carl Watts (Read article)
12 Sir William Petty: Scientist, Economist, Inventor 1623-87 - John Adams (Read article)
15 Durham: a personal perspective - G.R. Batho (Read article)
18 Catherine de Medici and the...
The Historian 62: Catherine de Medici
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The Historian 56: Philip II of Spain
The magazine of the Historical Association
Featured articles:
Philip II of Spain, the Prudent King - James Casey (Read article)
Quixotically Generous...Economically Worthless - William Kenefick (Read article)
1497, Cornwall, and the Wars of the Roses - Ian Arthurson (Read article)
Stalin, Propoganda, Soviet Society, and the Great Terror - Sarah Davies (Read article)
The New...
The Historian 56: Philip II of Spain
