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How do pupils understand historical time?
Some evidence from England and the Netherlands
One of the key aims of the English history National Curriculum is to ensure that pupils ‘know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative’. Teaching chronology is also important in the Netherlands. In this article we cover some aspects of teaching and recent research from...
How do pupils understand historical time?
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Time for a story
Using stories in the Early Years and Foundation Stage
Stories are an important part of a young child’s way of making sense of their world. Hilary Cooper’s excellent article ‘Why Stories?’ explores some of the reasons why stories are important to young children and their growing ‘understanding of the world’. This article is going to explore some recommended stories...
Time for a story
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Teaching the Ancient Greeks
Primary History article
Ancient Greece has been part of the primary national curriculum since its inception in 1991 so you may already have a viable scheme of work and classroom resources in place. However, this is not a reason for eschewing the opportunity to review what you are doing, especially to explore how...
Teaching the Ancient Greeks
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Using original sources
Primary History article
Why would I want those old books in my classroom?
It has always been recognised that good primary history is able to connect the past with the world the children currently inhabit. That is why focusing on schools can be so useful. If there is one experience the children have...
Using original sources
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What confuses primary children in history...
... and what can we do about it?
Young children who automatically see shiny things as new no matter what their age, those who mix up technology from one age with another, those who dismiss people in the past as stupid because they did not have the possessions we have today, those who equate the age of a...
What confuses primary children in history...
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Primary History 73
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
04 Editorial
05 HA Primary News
06 How do pupils understand historical time? Some evidence from England and the Netherlands - Marjan De Groot-Reuvekamp and Penelope Harnett (Read article)
10 Time for a story: using stories in the Early Years and Foundation Stage - Sue Temple (Read article)
12 So was...
Primary History 73
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Using artefacts to develop young children’s understanding of the past
Primary History article
In the children’s picture book Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, Wilfrid is a small boy who meets Miss Nancy, an old lady who has lost her memory. Wilfrid wants to help, and so he carefully fills a basket with special objects and takes them to her. He places a medal in...
Using artefacts to develop young children’s understanding of the past
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Primary History Articles for the School History Subject Leader
Multipage Article
The Historical Association has been producing its specialist primary journal Primary History since 1992. In that time there have been three editions per year and since 2017 an additional annual digital summer resource.
In 1992 a National Curriculum for history had recently emerged as had the Ofsted inspection process. Since...
Primary History Articles for the School History Subject Leader
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Resourcing primary history: How to avoid going for any old thing
Primary History article
The recent survey of history teaching in primary schools conducted by the Historical Association revealed that the majority of respondents felt that they were short of resources to teach the revised National Curriculum. Not surprisingly most schools look to find resources that do the job cheaply. It is a truism...
Resourcing primary history: How to avoid going for any old thing
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Role play and the past
Primary History article
The role-play area is often the most popular feature of a foundation stage classroom. For children, it's a source of great fun; for Early Years teachers, it is a wonderful way to develop pupils' language, communication and social development skills. An effective role-play area can also be instrumental in helping...
Role play and the past
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An Introduction to Primary History
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
Primary History is the UK’s leading magazine for primary history educators, offering expert insights, practical teaching ideas, and curriculum support from EYFS to Key Stage 2. Published termly, it’s an essential resource for subject leaders, teachers and trainees passionate about inspiring young learners through engaging and inclusive historical education.
Become...
An Introduction to Primary History
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What can you do with a Victorian Trade Directory…?
Primary History article
What is a trade directory?
Trade directories are the equivalent of the telephone directory and the Yellow Pages. They were published on a county or city basis every year and contain detailed descriptions of every village and town in the county. They also contain pages and pages of advertisements, for...
What can you do with a Victorian Trade Directory…?
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Celebrating Success: Quality Mark
London Fields Primary School achieves Gold Award Quality Mark
London Fields is a larger than average primary school situated in Hackney, east London. The school was rated Outstanding by Ofsted in 2011 and again in 2015. The school has a challenging context with free school meals, minority ethnic groups and English as an Additional Language all far in excess...
Celebrating Success: Quality Mark
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Transition Key Stage 2 and 3
Primary History article
It can sometimes seem that the primary and secondary phases of education live in isolation from each other. After all, most primary teachers are generalists (despite sometimes having specialist experience of a particular curriculum area), having to turn their hands to all subjects on the curriculum whatever they feel about...
Transition Key Stage 2 and 3
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Poverty in Britain: A development study for Key Stage 2
Primary History article
One of the requirements for Key Stage 2 history is for some history that extends beyond 1066. Various suggestions have been made including an examination of change within a social theme. The example given is Crime and Punishment but the opportunities for something interesting are vast. This article focuses on...
Poverty in Britain: A development study for Key Stage 2
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History supporting global learning
Primary History article
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...
History supporting global learning
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Using the back cover image: Oxford Street in the 1960s
Primary History feature
Photographs are very useful and productive documents when teaching history. They provide a snapshot of the past such as this one from just outside Selfridges on Oxford Street in London c.1962-64. Combined with further images from Heritage Explorer, clips from Pathé News, extracts from the 1911 Census, locally gathered images...
Using the back cover image: Oxford Street in the 1960s
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Who's afraid of the Big Bad Bronze Age?
Primary History article
It’s September 1992 and in Dover archaeologists from the Canterbury Archaeological Trust are working alongside construction workers when six metres below ground they find some waterlogged planks. Thankfully, an expert in maritime archaeology is on site and he recognises that this could be a lot more than abandoned timber. Uncovering...
Who's afraid of the Big Bad Bronze Age?
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Primary History 72
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
04 Editorial
05 HA Primary News
06 Using artefacts to develop young children's understanding of the past - Helen Crawford (Read article)
08 History supporting global learning - Joyce Hallam (Read article)
14 Beyond compare: a study of Beatrix Potter and Benjamin Zephaniah - Sue Temple (Read article)
20 A...
Primary History 72
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Ideas for Assemblies: Anniversaries
Article
For this issue I have selected an eclectic range of anniversaries. Some are to do with travel and exploration, showing the human spirit of endeavour and wanting to find out more, like Christopher Columbus' epic voyage across the Atlantic, even if, as we now know, the Vikings went before him...
Ideas for Assemblies: Anniversaries
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What makes good local history?
Primary History article
Everywhere has a past and learning how to capitalise on that for primary history can be both rewarding and challenging. Not only are aspects of the local area's history a requirement in their own right at both key stages, but these aspects can also help to tell the national story,...
What makes good local history?
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Planning for 'Changes within Living Memory'
Primary History article
While changes to the Key Stage 1 subject content are not as extensive as Key Stage 2 it is necessary to be aware of the changing emphasis within the different themes. ‘Changes within Living Memory' has a couple of key issues to be aware of. First, ‘living memory' refers to...
Planning for 'Changes within Living Memory'
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Primary History 71
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
04 Editorial
05 HA Primary News
06 Using role-play to develop young children's understanding of the past - Helen Crawford (Read article)
08 Whole-school planning for progression: How do we do the best for our children and for history? - Hilary Pegum and Nicola Davies (Read article)
14 Planning for...
Primary History 71
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Whole-school planning for progression
Primary History article
The challenge for subject leaders and school leadership teams continues to be managing the tension between what history has to offer your vision for learning and your children's entitlement to a high-quality history education. The new national curriculum has ensured that this year you have had a close look at...
Whole-school planning for progression
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The importance of history vocabulary
Primary History article
Teachers and schools should surely be forgiven for quickly turning to the pages containing the ‘subject content' - within the new 2014 history curriculum - and finding out ‘what' they should be teaching. This is especially true for Key Stage 2 where children must now learn British history from the...
The importance of history vocabulary
