Cross Curricular

There is history in everything and engaging children through cross curricular approaches is an exciting way of developing an immersive experience and transferable knowledge and skills. This section provides ideas and suggestions on how to develop cross curricular approaches to your lesson planning.

Sort by: Date (Newest first) | Title A-Z
Show: All | Articles | Podcasts | Multipage Articles
  • Teaching history and geography together in a meaningful way

    Article

    This article explores some of the  ways history and geography can be taught side by side, so that the sum of the parts adds up to more than the original. How can we teach history with geography and vice  versa, to the benefit of both, while fulfilling the aims of...

    Click to view
  • Teaching possibilities: From Plato to Nato

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. The Olympics historical dimension opens up a plethora of possibilities for history, projects and integrated approaches that draw upon the themes and approaches that underpin the primary school curriculum. Our top ten are: 1. Home and...

    Click to view
  • The Dramas of History

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. The Mantle of the Expert [MoE] dramatic system works quite simply whereby classes are first of all invited to imagine. Within this imagined world - the class view their world through the eyes of other people...

    Click to view
  • The Great Fire of London and the National Curriculum

    Article

    The Great Fire of London is a favourite National Curriculum teaching topic. This paper draws on the latest resources and teaching ideas to suggest how you can meet both the NC history requirements and the wider ones of the National Curriculum, particularly in integrated programmes that include teaching about the Great...

    Click to view
  • The Leeds Community History Project

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. The Nuffield Foundation-funded Leeds Community History Project brought together schools and older community members in the creation of community archives. It focused on articulating, valuing and recording the older generation's memories and knowledge. Its overarching...

    Click to view
  • The strange power of hats: using artefacts and role play in cross-phase, cross-curricular and community partnership work

    Article

    It is a strange phenomenon of history education that the power of hats is little reported and little researched- so here is an article that says hats off to hats in history lessons, as well as hats off to artefacts, sound recordings and dressing up.

    Click to view
  • Thematic or topic based whole school curriculum planning

    Article

    Creative curricular planning With the National Curriculum under review, it seems that more schools are taking a creative approach to planning by delivering the curriculum through a focused theme or topic. This has allowed schools to take more ownership of the curriculum and has helped teachers become more innovative in their...

    Click to view
  • Think Bubble 48: Lighting fires

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. I have a very old photo in my ‘archive' taken in the 1970s of a much-younger me dressed in, what can only be described as, a vague suggestion of 18th Century costume - thread-bare jacket, a...

    Click to view
  • Urban spaces

    Article

    Please note: these free resources pre-date the 2014 National Curriculum. For a more recent resource see Scheme of work: Local history - the story of our high street.  1. Urban spaces near you: cross-curricular work History, Literacy, Art & Design, Science: ideas and activities. Citizenship too. These materials are based on...

    Click to view
  • Urban spaces cross-curricular work: History

    Article

    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...

    Click to view
  • Urban spaces cross-curricular work: Science

    Article

    Please note: this free resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum. This is part of a set of subject areas also covering History, Literacy and Art & Design. Fieldwork in urban public parks, gardens and open spacesPublic spaces offer a range of opportunities for children's learning, and can enable children to investigate, observe, wonder, record and...

    Click to view
  • Urban spaces near you: cross-curricular work

    Article

    This material covers the following areas - see the page on each one: History Literacy Art & Design Science Urban spaces such as parks and gardens offer a range of opportunities for children's learning. There children can investigate, observe, wonder, record and create. Our urban spaces project presents ideas and...

    Click to view
  • Using 'Development Matters' in the Foundation stage

    Article

    Using ‘Development Matters' to plan learning for history in the Foundation stage You won't find the term history in the Early Years curriculum framework at all. That being so, it can be difficult to know how best to support our Nursery and Reception colleagues when developing historical understanding within the...

    Click to view
  • Using cemeteries as a local history resource

    Article

    Why visit a cemetery as part of the history curriculum? Local studies now feature prominently in the primary history curriculum for both key stages. This development challenges teachers to find easilyaccessible, inexpensive and relevant resources on their doorstep. A rich resource which has traditionally been overlooked is the local churchyard...

    Click to view
  • Using history to launch the creative curriculum

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. At its core, the creative curriculum is a carefully planned, thematic approach to teaching and learning, designed to support and stimulate children's natural curiosity and creativity. Children can work in depth, giving them time to reflect,...

    Click to view
  • Using the Olympics as a learning tool: Active Research and Selecting Information

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. The London 2012 Olympics presents a fantastic opportunity for cross-curricular teaching. All children are likely to be engaged on some level, with different countries represented in a variety of sports, huge coverage in the news and...

    Click to view
  • What are the reasons for linking art and 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...

    Click to view
  • Working through drama

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Drama puts the fear of God into some teachers. Some, jolly sensible souls, just don't feel dramatic, fear wearing feathered hats and using funny voices; others know, deep in their hearts, that plays always lead to...

    Click to view
  • ‘We built a museum’: What does your school resource room look like?

    Article

    New Eltham in the Royal Borough of Greenwich had teachers and subject leaders tearing their hair out. Despite their best endeavours to keep it tidy, by the end of each half-term it always ended up in a mess. Those busy teachers that never put things back the way they found...

    Click to view