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Visual Literacy: Learning through pictures and images
Primary History Article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references are outdated.
What questions does the portrait raise in your mind?
What messages does the artist intend to convey?
How does the artist convey those messages to the intended audience? What might have been the circumstances under which the...
Visual Literacy: Learning through pictures and images
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Working with Boudicca texts - contemporary, juvenile and scholarly
Teaching History article
Please note: this article was written before the the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may now be outdated.
Robert Guyver describes a model for teaching Boudicca’s rebellion to pupils aged 7 to 13. Drawing on the tradition of critical source evaluation, he nonetheless shuns aspects of that tradition in favour of...
Working with Boudicca texts - contemporary, juvenile and scholarly
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Integration and cross-curricularity: History, Humanities And Social Studies
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
From the late 1960s until 1989 history was almost universally taught in primary schools as an element in integrated crosscurricular programmes, normally social studies or humanities.
The 1989/1990 National Curriculum: History radically changed this. It introduced...
Integration and cross-curricularity: History, Humanities And Social Studies
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Sumerian history through story-telling and expressive movement
Lesson Plan
The Sumerian mystery lesson is based on a story about what people found in one of the royal tombs of Ur dating from about 4000 years ago. (This was in ancient Mesopotamia, near what we now call the Persian Gulf.)
(These resources are attached below)
The story is full of...
Sumerian history through story-telling and expressive movement
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As a primary school teacher have you taught about the Holocaust?
Primary History article
Teaching the Holocaust at primary level can be incredibly rewarding and result in pupils broadening their historical understanding as well as encouraging them to consider other issues. The importance of challenging prejudice, ignorance and racism, the importance of not being a bystander and valuing life are just a few of...
As a primary school teacher have you taught about the Holocaust?
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Getting Year 7 to set their own questions about the Islamic Empire, 600-1600
Teaching History article
Sometimes particular problems can lead to unexpected solutions. In this case, Sally Burnham decided to solve a problem that she had identified among her Year 12 students by changing the way in which she teaches Year 7. Her Year 12s were finding it difficult to set appropriate questions for their...
Getting Year 7 to set their own questions about the Islamic Empire, 600-1600
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Objects and objections: getting critical about using artefacts in primary history
Primary History article
Jenny uses her experience and expertise from a school committed to using museum education to outline ways in which artefacts can be used effectively in primary settings. This article is based on practice at Langley Heritage Primary Academy. She outlines some of the challenges and how practice was refined, including actual...
Objects and objections: getting critical about using artefacts in primary history
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Have we become better at organising and running primary history visits?
Primary History article
Visits have been a mainstream of primary history for decades. In this article Tim Lomas looks at the way schools have approached history visits and how these have changed in recent years. There are examples of possible activities through the primary years and a summary of what seems to represent...
Have we become better at organising and running primary history visits?
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How could an ITaP help you teach more history?
Primary History article
Sharing our classrooms with a student teacher has changed over recent years, as the DfE has become increasingly interested in the ITT curriculum seamlessly integrating into school placement experiences. Part of this relates to ITaPs. This article outlines an ITaP designed by the University of Reading. Not only does it...
How could an ITaP help you teach more history?
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Using learning outside the classroom at historic sites to explore British history units
Primary History article
British history in the National Curriculum (2014) provides extensive opportunities for learning outside the classroom, from the earliest times to the present day. Visiting historic sites is one experience of learning outside the classroom that provides a meaningful and stimulating focus for understanding Britain’s past. This said, any site and...
Using learning outside the classroom at historic sites to explore British history units
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The Interactive Whiteboard or Smart Board
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
The interactive whiteboard [smartboard] has opened a pathway to explore sources and develop historical interest for children of all ages. It can be used in varied ways that allow a teacher to customise activities to match their intended outcomes. Support for this...
The Interactive Whiteboard or Smart Board
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A history of the world - 100 objects that tell a story
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Editorial comment: A History of the World is the most creative, imaginative and dynamic development in primary History Education for thirty years. It ties in perfectly with and supports the government's re-vitalisation of primary education that...
A history of the world - 100 objects that tell a story
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Using the back cover image: Reconstructing the Romans
Primary History feature
Reconstruction drawings, diagrams and models are vital examples of interpretation that we can use to help pupils understand the past. On one level they help to fire imagination, while on another they offer a way of presenting important historical facts.
The image overleaf is a reconstruction drawing of Chester's Roman...
Using the back cover image: Reconstructing the Romans
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Why we need to teach about the history of trees and woodland...
Primary History article
Michael Riley highlights the importance of educating children about the history of trees and woodland. He explores the potential of primary history to develop an understanding of our changing relationship with trees. The article shows how a focus on trees and woodland could enhance an existing history study, and suggests...
Why we need to teach about the history of trees and woodland...
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Using picture books to explore ideas around history with very young children
Primary History article
This article looks at the relevance of picture books in the Early Years Foundation Stage as a resource for introducing children to the idea of the past. Firstly examining its relevance to the Framework, Karin identifies some appropriate resources and how they can be used. In particular, she links them...
Using picture books to explore ideas around history with very young children
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Two women linked across three thousand years of history
Primary History article
16 May 1976 – a warm sunny day as Zheng was to recall – began as a typical day on site and ended with a remarkable discovery. Zheng Zhenxiang was leading an archaeological team at Yinxu, Anyang in China looking for evidence of tombs from the Shang Dynasty period. This...
Two women linked across three thousand years of history
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Extending Primary Children's thinking through artefacts
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
A research project was carried out with Maltese primary school children at San Andrea Infant and Middle school to see if learning strategies could accelerate pupils' cognitive development. The research involved a range of historical sources:...
Extending Primary Children's thinking through artefacts
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Cleopatra Podcast
Branch Lecture Podcast
This pod-cast was recorded at the Central London Branch of the Historical Association on Saturday 20th February 2010, at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, University of London. We were pleased to welcome cultural historian Lucy Hughes-Hallet to the branch to speak on ‘Cleopatra'. Lucy Hughes-Hallet detailed how fact and legend about Cleopatra had been intertwined through history in...
Cleopatra Podcast
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The Berlin Olympics 1936
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Nazi Germany was the backdrop of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The Nazi party used the games for propaganda whilst hiding its racist and militaristic campaign. The following activities seek to encourage historical inquiry and interpretation, through...
The Berlin Olympics 1936
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Promoting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller heritage in your primary history curriculum
Primary History article
It goes without saying that the events of Black Lives Matter have prompted many leaders and teachers to take a step back and reflect on their curriculum content and how effectively it reflects the diverse story of our islands. However, it is not just Black History that is requiring more prominence...
Promoting Gypsy, Roma and Traveller heritage in your primary history curriculum
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Investigating the ancient Olympic games: A Case Study
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
In a 10-week unit on Ancient Greece, we gave the fourth lesson over to the ancient Olympic Games. The class was a delight: 32 enthusiastic Year 6 children in an urban county primary school.
We knew...
Investigating the ancient Olympic games: A Case Study
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Making links: Myths, legends and problem-solving with the Greeks
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Introduction: Meaningful links
"Teachers will be able to make links within and across areas of learning to help children understand how each distinctive area links to and is supported by others."
(Rose Chapter 2, 2.23)
‘Meaningful...
Making links: Myths, legends and problem-solving with the Greeks
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One of my favourite history places: the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Primary History feature
This certainly represents one of the more unusual in the ‘My favourite place’ series: a hospital for the mentally ill for the poorer sections of society. Buildings such as this, however, were often imposing structures with fine architecture and an important history. With a growing recognition of the importance of...
One of my favourite history places: the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum
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Changes in an aspect of social history from 1945 to 2000: youth culture
Primary History article
A history-themed topic based around music is a popular choice among many teachers and children. Music is after all a thread which runs through all of history, and one through which we can explore many other aspects of life in different times. It can be an exciting avenue into exploring...
Changes in an aspect of social history from 1945 to 2000: youth culture
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History teaching and learning when you can’t have the children in the classroom
Primary History article
The past year has been difficult, with children across the country sent home in March 2020. Teachers were in the unenviable position of attempting to provide an education for classes we were unable to have adequate contact with. There were children who had very little or no access to a...
History teaching and learning when you can’t have the children in the classroom
