Chronological Understanding

With very young children this can be as simple as beginning to understand today, tomorrow and yesterday. Days of the week and months of the year will be introduced in other curriculum areas such as numeracy and these can be built on in history activities. Concepts such as older/younger and oldest/youngest will gradually be introduced as the child gains in confidence. These concepts need to be taught in the context of a child’s own experiences. Read more

Sort by: Date (Newest first) | Title A-Z
Show: All | Articles | Podcasts | Multipage Articles
  • Developing pupils' chronological understanding

    Article

    In its latest triennial history survey report, History for all, Ofsted concluded that, ‘history teaching was good or better in most primary schools' and, ‘most pupils reached the  end of Key Stage 2 with detailed knowledge derived from well-taught studies of individual topics'. The report went on to note, though,...

    Click to view
  • Constructivist chronology and Horrible Histories

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. I chose Horrible Histories for this exploration of children's understanding of chronology because I thought it would be fun - and I approve of the Horrible Histories. They use sources, question sources, provide alternative interpretations and...

    Click to view
  • Enhancing temporal cognition: Practical activities for the primary classroom

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Research during the last ninety years has suggested that ‘time' concepts, such as chronology, duration and the usage of dating systems are difficult for children to assimilate. However, my research suggests that temporal concepts can be...

    Click to view
  • How to teach chronology

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum. For more recent resources see: Chronology: Developing a coherent knowledge (2014) Scheme of work (KS2): Chronology: Books through time Scheme of work (KS2): Chronology: Numbers through time  Britain and World timeline 4000-2000BC Britain and World timeline 2000BC to 0BC Britain and World timeline, 0BC...

    Click to view
  • Children's Thinking: Developmental psychology and history education

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Editorial note: Hilary Cooper outlines the main features of historical thinking. These ideas are embedded in the government's current requirements for teaching National Curriculum History [England] Introduction It is important that children develop a coherent, chronological...

    Click to view
  • Doing history in the early years and foundation stage

    Article

    Please note: This article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references may be outdated. Introducing the youngest children to the concept of history can be a challenging prospect for some foundation stage practitioners, particularly if they feel their experience of the subject has been limited or their own memories of...

    Click to view
  • Pride in place: What does historical geographical and social understanding look like?

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. ‘Some primary schools are like the High Street in many of our towns. I can predict what I will see before I go through the door. What I want to see is something that gives me...

    Click to view