Local History

Local history helps children make sense of their immediate world.  However, it is not just a case of bombarding them with local facts.  Good local history involves enquiries that allow children to investigate drawing on their previous historical knowledge and understanding.   It allows them to use interesting local sources including pictorial, artefacts and written and to link with national and even international history.

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  • Dealing with the dead: Identity and community - Monuments, memorials and local history

    Article

    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Death is one of the most sensitive and controversial issues that teachers encounter, linked inextricably as it is to identity. I think it sometimes escapes our attention that, as teachers of history, we constantly deal...

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  • 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    Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.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...

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  • Written sources and local history at Key Stage 1

    Article

    Working on written sources is fundamental to historical learning. A document, inscription or sign brings children directly into contact with the past in much the same way as an artefact. It is real and conveys information directly in the words of past peoples. Whether an ancient family Bible with its...

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  • How do we ensure really good local history in primary schools?

    Article

    Primary History regularly contains articles from teachers who have taken some aspect of their locality and turned it into a really good activity. Hundreds of OFSTED reports as well, comment on really good practice in local history and children and their parents (perhaps, even more the grandparents) have got caught...

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