In Part 4 of our series on Social and Political Change in the UK since 1800 we focus on UK LGBTQ+ History. This series of podcasts features Dr Matt Cook and Dr Sean Brady of Birkbeck, University of London, Professor Sally R Munt of the University of Sussex and Dr Emma Vickers...

I am the teaching head of a small village primary school, Hawkshead Esthwaite Primary, in Cumbria. We have, for the last year been one of the first Centres for Excellence for the Global Learning Programme (GLP).The GLP is a Department for International Development (DFID) initiative which began in September 2013...

For many teachers and children alike, Ancient Sumer will be completely new. Although Sumer has always been an option for teaching about Early Civilisations, the fame of Ancient Egypt, as well as being a tried-and-tested topic, has meant that Sumer has perhaps been overlooked. There is little danger of failing...

Events which encapsulate family, community, national and global history provide rich opportunities for engaging children. Some of these draw on positive memories associated with past events: the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, how people responded to the first flight to the moon, the Millennium celebrations. Yet it is perhaps gruelling...

The Primary National Curriculum pinpoints Early Islamic Civilisation as Baghdad c. AD 900 - yet it was so much more. For approximately a thousand years after AD 700 there was an extraordinary amount of activity that radiated out from Baghdad and along a glittering crescent through North Africa and into...

The new (2014) Primary History National Curriculum is finally upon us. The first thing you might notice is that the level descriptions have gone. These were first introduced in 1995 and became the mainstay for assessing pupil progression and attainment in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 across schools in...

Obscured by the fame of the Aztec empire or shrouded by a veil of mystery, the cultural history of the Maya has generally been misunderstood by the British public. Maya civilisation developed in a territory the size of Germany and Denmark together (nearly 400,000 km2). This vast territory shows three...

Chronology: Developing a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain's past and of the wider world First, this article considers the reasons why it is essential for children to develop a chronological framework. Next it considers ways in which this framework is necessary for the development of the time concepts set...

Please note: this article was written before the 2014 National Curriculum and some content and references may no longer be relevant. During the Early Years and Foundation Stage children should listen to stories, ask how and why and talk about the past (DfE 2012). Young children are comfortable with stories. Through...

Editorial note: This paper has two sections: first, a background briefing about Ancient Egypt with a timeline and map that introduces the second section's three teaching activities on: building the Great Pyramid of Giza; Hatshepsut, Egypt's great woman pharaoh; and Akhenaten and his attempt to revolutionise Egyptian religion. ‘Hail to thee, O...

The prospect of teaching Benin as a non-European Study within the time frame 900-1300 AD is challenging! Traditional oral evidence  suggests that the critical event during this period in Benin's past was a transition from the Ogiso to the Eweka Dynasty, named after its first Oba, which resulted in it...

Working in a small rural primary school in North Gloucestershire I was inspired by national news reports from Iraq to change the focus of our Ancient History study from Ancient Egypt to Mesopotamia, ‘the land between the rivers'. A study of this region of the Middle East fulfilled so many...

Editorial note: In this inspiring, teacher-led, crossphase project, pupils and teachers from eight schools in Bradford and Peshawar shared and learned about the histories of Bradford and Pakistan. The British Council’s Connecting Classrooms Scheme funded the project. The article below focuses on the primary dimension. In 2008 three representatives from Bradford...

Since the early days of the National Curriculum, considerable progress has been made to introduce children to an inclusive view of history. The research of the late Hilary Claire (1996) served as a major impetus and now primary teachers strive to ensure that no groups or individuals are marginalised, particularly...

It's very dangerous if you make it seem like history is the province of a certain segment of society. History should belong to and include all of us. The curriculum needs to appeal to as many children as possible or a number of them could become disenchanted with education because they...

Teaching diversity through drama at the Museum of London: Stories of London people From Roman times to the present, London has been shaped by the diversity of its people. London is home to500 different nationalities, 300 different languages,14 major faiths and a host of other religions. The Museum of London...

History education has a key role to play in creating the informed, critical attachment of young people to the nation and in creating the feeling that young people belong and can participate in national life. The Curriculum for Cohesion Team, comprising Muslim and non-Muslim academics and community leaders, believes that...

Built in AD 122 by the order of the Emperor Hadrian, the 73 mile (80 Roman miles) long frontier goes from Bownesson-Solway in Cumbria to Wallsend on the River Tyne. Since 1987, the area has been inscribed as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Site....

"Why are you so angry Grace?" Teaching and learning about Grace O'Malley as a significant woman at Key Stage 1 Grace O'Malley was an Irish queen in the Tudor period and her story provides insights about life in Ireland at the time of the Elizabethan conquests. Grace, also known as...

The draft English NC for history highlights the study of ‘significant individuals and people'. Michelle Dexter provides an insight on how to approach this biographical requirement; it also opens up biography as a major genre for pupils to master - augmenting their development of literacy...