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A creative Egyptian project
Primary History article
Ideally when teaching history, teachers will look to deliver projects that will engage and motivate, hopefully making the hard work of being creative stimulating and rewarding, based upon questioning, enquiry, investigation of sources and reaching conclusions grounded in the evidence.Ancient Egypt is one of those history topics which, because it...
A creative Egyptian project
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In My View: Creativity & History
Article
Introduction
A great deal has been written recently defining what is meant by creativity in primary education. And much has been written urging us to ‘teach creatively'. Yet there had been no exploration of what teaching creatively means in terms of teaching history until a group of colleagues and I...
In My View: Creativity & History
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Visual literacy: Look, talk, write - Using a picture to extend vocabulary
Primary History article
Editorial note: Primary History's theme edition on Visual Literacy, PH 49, Summer 2008, addressed the role of visual literacy in developing pupil language: spoken, enacted and written.
Introduction - words for pictures
Stimulus - child engagement
Some years ago, a friend's eight year old daughter arrived with a pack of...
Visual literacy: Look, talk, write - Using a picture to extend vocabulary
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Oracy and writing: Speaking, listening, discussion and debate
Primary History article
Editorial note: Writing is an outcome of its preparatory phase. In reviewing over fifty case-studies of writing and history for this edition of Primary History, it became clear that oracy is central to pupil development of written language, ideas and the formulation, planning, creation, drafting and revision of writing.
Introduction...
Oracy and writing: Speaking, listening, discussion and debate
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Reading into writing
Primary History article
Introduction: Interactive Whole Class - Teaching, Textbreaker & EXIT
Demonstration and modelling relies upon pupils being able to read the text that is being modelled, including the most demanding document. Accordingly the Nuffield Primary History Project developed a whole class interactive teaching strategy to support pupil reading of difficult and...
Reading into writing
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Mini Scaffolds: Charts, Concept webs, Diagrams, Mini-Frames
Primary History article
The language of History develops subject content knowledge and associated vocabulary & phraseology, p. 30. Pupils can record, extend and develop their historical language through using a range of mini-scaffolds or frameworks that they flesh out with teacher guidance and support.
A class can build upon basic historical vocabulary through questioning,...
Mini Scaffolds: Charts, Concept webs, Diagrams, Mini-Frames
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History and language
Primary History article
Pupil writing is present at every point in studying history - from initial questioning to the writing and presentation of a finished piece of work. Children continually explore, acquire and build upon both existing and new historical vocabulary and phrases, p. 30. Writing depends totally upon pupils' linguistic knowledge and...
History and language
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Poetic writing
Primary History article
Poetry is a major area for pupils creative and imaginative historical writing. Pupils writing historical poetry can draw upon a wide range of poetic modes, for example haikus, sonnets, blank verse. Poetry is an excellent vehicle for public presentation, with pupils reading their composition to their class members. To use...
Poetic writing
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Writing: demonstration and modelling
Primary History article
Pupils' historical writing can take thousands of different forms, for example, an advert, comic, magazine article, love letter, short story, exam essay, poster or account of a castle visit. For pupils to compose in any genre they must understand and assimilate the genre's skeletal framework, its mode, tenor, field - pp....
Writing: demonstration and modelling
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Multi-modality and writing history
Primary History article
We all now live in the digital age.
The smart phone, kindle, i-pad and computer mean children are immersed and interact in a digital world of moving, still and spoken images. They are also able to communicate digitally socially: for example, Twitter and Facebook. Social media facilitate social as well...
Multi-modality and writing history
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Writing & History Overview
Primary History article
History provides an extremely rich context for literacy and writing, see Case Study 3: Evacuees. As such, Writing History is an element in a whole school policy towards literacy that emphasises Language Across the Curriculum for all subjects and areas. references. Case Study 1 illuminates the concept that pupil writing permeates...
Writing & History Overview
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In My View: Children Writing History
Primary History article
Getting ready
Before actually putting children to paper and pencil it is useful to spend some time clarifying the issues relating to the written task through other verbal media, which will help above all the least able pupils. We have found the following activities help children prepare for writing at...
In My View: Children Writing History
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In My View: Writing History
Article
First Steps
Writing history comes not at the beginning, but at the end of a process of selection and research. The first step is to choose a subject and develop some questions about it. Then comes the research into secondary and, much more excitingly, primary sources. Finally,the writing takes shape....
In My View: Writing History
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Time, Chronology, language and story
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Time, although an extremely complex, abstract concept, is one that begins to develop in children's minds as soon as they are born. Although it cannot be seen or touched and leaves no visible trace, very young...
Time, Chronology, language and story
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Planning with literacy
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
History is a subject which of necessity makes extensive use of language in all its forms and so the links with literacy are many. Cooper (2000), Bage (1999), Hoodless (1998) and Nichol, in the Nuffield History...
Planning with literacy
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Bringing an information text to life: Pets in the Blitz
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Editorial comment: The in-service course had focused on how to read information texts in a stimulating, engaging and intellectually rewarding way, and how to take Bruner's concept of transforming information from one mode to another...
Bringing an information text to life: Pets in the Blitz
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Learning to engage with documents through role play
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
First let me say that I did not research the materials used or plan this lesson. For this I must acknowledge, with thanks, that this is the work of my colleague, Mike Huggins, and the senior...
Learning to engage with documents through role play
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Using classic fiction to support the study of childhood in Victorian times
Primary History article
Please note: This article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references may be outdated.
Classic fiction provides useful sources of information for investigating the lives, beliefs and values of people in the past. In this article Ann Cowling describes activities undertaken with student teachers which may also serve as models...
Using classic fiction to support the study of childhood in Victorian times
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An integrated literacy and history unit of work
Primary History article
The passing of Harry Patch - the last World War I veteran - in the summer of 2009 is a fitting starting point for children in Key Stage 2 (7-11 year-olds) to begin to tackle some of the issues of the First World War. Many classes already study the Second...
An integrated literacy and history unit of work
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Dig it: Literacy, ICT, Archaeology and History
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Editorial comment: Pupil reading of written and printed texts is a central element in their ‘Doing History'. As such, it is one of numerous integrated pedagogic activities that combine to make up a lesson, a series...
Dig it: Literacy, ICT, Archaeology and History
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Pride in place: What does historical geographical and social understanding look like?
Primary History case study
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
‘Some primary schools are like the High Street in many of our towns. I can predict what I will see before I go through the door. What I want to see is something that gives me...
Pride in place: What does historical geographical and social understanding look like?
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Cross Curricular Project on a famous person
Primary History case study
Please note: This article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references may be outdated.
If you are considering studying someone other than Florence Nightingale you have two basic options. You can either choose a local character who would be more relevant to the children, or you could study someone who...
Cross Curricular Project on a famous person
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Drama and story telling
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Everyone loves a story - especially a story well told. To encourage learning all primary teachers should consider the creative art of telling a story, as well as developing a variety of ways of interacting through...
Drama and story telling
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Literacy Time Plus+ My Writing Progress Record
Review
Synopsis: Self-assessment sheets for Early Years literacy, which the child completes in discussion with the teacher.
Review: This would be useful if Early Years staff have not got any other assessment strategy in place. It contains colour sheets for the child to complete, stating what level they are on and...
Literacy Time Plus+ My Writing Progress Record
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Folk tales: Universal values, individual differences
Paper
This paper is about using folktales to introduce young children to the past. It examines the ways in which folk tales reflect the different types of people found in the past and now, in all societies and how folk tales reflect universal values as well as differences between societies. It...
Folk tales: Universal values, individual differences
