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A View from the Classroom - Chronology
Primary History feature
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
As a teacher, the passing of time in a classroom may be: challenging, stimulating, appear endless, be subject to constant change, though never dull. Years pass, yet at times it can seem but yesterday, when I...
A View from the Classroom - Chronology
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Edward the Confessor and the Norman Conquest
Classic Pamphlet
Nine hundred years have elapsed since the death of Edward the Confessor, the last English king descended directly from Cerdic, king of Wessex in the sixth century - and so from the pagan gods. Nine hundred years are a long time; and if Edward had been succeeded by a son,...
Edward the Confessor and the Norman Conquest
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Berlin and the Berlin Wall: on-demand short course – taster
Online self-guided short course for lifelong learners
This is a free taster version of our full self-guided short course on Berlin and the Berlin Wall – the full course is available free to all HA members (£54 for non-members).
The full course contains 6 filmed webinars from the original live course, and 28 articles, podcasts and other resources supporting the course...
Berlin and the Berlin Wall: on-demand short course – taster
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Film: What's the wisdom on... Extended Writing (Primary)
Your Virtual History Department Meeting
We’ve been talking to our secondary school members and we know how difficult life is for teachers in the current circumstances, so we wanted to lend a helping hand.
'What’s the wisdom on…' is a brand-new and already popular feature in our secondary journal Teaching History and provides the perfect stimulus for a...
Film: What's the wisdom on... Extended Writing (Primary)
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Berlin and the Berlin Wall: on-demand short course
Online self-guided short course for lifelong learners
The Berlin Wall became a symbol of a time in history, and a physical defining point in an otherwise covert series of battles. To study and explore the Berlin Wall is to explore how the Cold War manifested itself in Central Europe and the impact it had on one nation...
Berlin and the Berlin Wall: on-demand short course
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Happy and Glorious: exploring and celebrating the Platinum Jubilee
Primary History article
History is full of significant royals, yet few seem quite so remarkable as Her Majesty the Queen. Since her birth in 1926, she has witnessed the tragedy of a world war, the decline of the British Empire and the birth of the Commonwealth of Nations. Not only is she the...
Happy and Glorious: exploring and celebrating the Platinum Jubilee
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Back to basics: using artefacts in the classroom
Primary History article
While most teachers recognise the importance of artefacts in history education, knowing how to use them effectively can often prove more challenging. This article suggests ways to investigate historical objects and provides a framework to support children’s observations.
Why use artefacts?
Artefacts are simply any object used by people in...
Back to basics: using artefacts in the classroom
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Playing in the pandemic: Introducing the Play Observatory
Primary History article
What happens to children’s play in a global pandemic? In 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic was sweeping across the world, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from University College London and the University of Sheffield was beginning to plan a project to address this central question.
We began with history in...
Playing in the pandemic: Introducing the Play Observatory
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Film: The Partitions of Poland-Lithuania (1772-1795)
Repercussions for German-Polish Relations and their Legacy.
Karin Friedrich recently joined the Virtual Branch to discuss aspects of its complex history in her talk on the partitions of Poland, their repercussions for German-Polish relations and their legacy. Professor Friedrich is chair in Early Modern European History at the University of Aberdeen, co-director of the Centre for Early Modern...
Film: The Partitions of Poland-Lithuania (1772-1795)
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How have schools interpreted the new EYFS Framework?
Primary History article
The new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework became statutory from this September (2021). Although the seven areas of learning and development remain unchanged (including Understanding the World), the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) have changed within each of these areas. These new ELGs have been written so that they are...
How have schools interpreted the new EYFS Framework?
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Teaching ‘these islands’ from prehistoric times to 1066
Primary History article
The first aim in the National Curriculum indicates that children should:
Know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider...
Teaching ‘these islands’ from prehistoric times to 1066
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William Brookes and the Olympic Games
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
History flows like a river, sometimes quiet and unobtrusive, sometimes a raging torrent with wide-ranging effects on the world around us. It is punctuated by momentous events and significant individuals, who impact on its direction and...
William Brookes and the Olympic Games
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Local History and the 2012 Olympics
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
With the 2012 London Olympics rapidly approaching, you are probably marvelling at what a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity this is and what amazing classroom teaching opportunities it might bring.
You have probably already been inundated with ideas for...
Local History and the 2012 Olympics
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The Olympic Games, Classical and Modern
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Possibly a ‘once in a lifetime' experience will be witnessing the British hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games. Despite the inevitable commercialisation of the event, it will certainly be possible for children to be excited and...
The Olympic Games, Classical and Modern
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The Charles Dickens Primary School Project
Historian article
For many years London South Bank University [LSBU] trainee teachers have been engaged in a wide range of mini history-led, cross-curricular projects in local primary schools, culminating in the students teaching lessons to groups of children. Some of these projects have been on different aspects of community history, including in-depth...
The Charles Dickens Primary School Project
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Film: What's the wisdom on... Extended Reading (Primary)
Article
Please note: the 'What's the Wisdom On' film series has been produced principally for secondary school history teachers, however some of the content is transferrable to a primary setting. Secondary members can view the film here
'What’s the wisdom on…' is a popular feature in our secondary journal Teaching History and provides the perfect stimulus for a...
Film: What's the wisdom on... Extended Reading (Primary)
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The Great Exhibition
Article
‘Of all the decades to be young in, a wise man would choose the 1850s’ concludes G.M. Young in his Portrait of An Age. His choice is understandable. Historians and contemporaries have long viewed the middle years of the century as a ‘plateau of peace and prosperity’, an ‘age of...
The Great Exhibition
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GCSE Topic Pack: Medicine through Time
Topic Pack
Medicine Through Time is a Development study. It traces the development of medical practice from prehistoric times to present day. This development is not always continuous and sometime knowledge went backwards or stayed the same for long periods of time. You will need to know the reasons for this. Medical...
GCSE Topic Pack: Medicine through Time
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Recorded webinar: Introduction to Sporting Heritage in the Curriculum
Webinar
Excited about the opportunity to creatively incorporate sporting history as new part of your curriculum offer or a thematic enrichment extension to it?
Interested in hearing more about how this approach could inspire your students’ potential approach to EPQ?
Like to influence and shape how this might be achieved?
This...
Recorded webinar: Introduction to Sporting Heritage in the Curriculum
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Film: Meet the author: Marc Morris on The Anglo-Saxons
Article
In this Virtual Branch talk best-selling author and renowned historian Marc Morris joined us to discuss the process of researching for, structuring and writing his new book The Anglo-Saxons: a history of the beginnings of England.
Drawing on a vast range of original evidence - chronicles, letters, archaeology and artefacts - Morris's...
Film: Meet the author: Marc Morris on The Anglo-Saxons
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Film: Primary History and the Ofsted Inspection Framework
Article
In May of 2021, Ofsted published a blog post of findings from visits carried out to 24 different primary schools in order to gather evidence as to the quality of history education provided by these outstanding schools. You can find the blog here: https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2021/04/27/history-in-outstanding-primary-schools/
Areas of both strength and improvement were outlined, although the...
Film: Primary History and the Ofsted Inspection Framework
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Arthur Wharton: the world’s first professional black footballer
Primary History article
Schools are now looking to extend their study of significant individuals away from many of the conventional ones. This article looks at a lesser known individual, Arthur Wharton, which could make a good choice for teachers wanting to tap into pupils’ interest. Arthur Wharton was the world’s first black professional...
Arthur Wharton: the world’s first professional black footballer
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Subject leaders: supporting colleagues to develop their subject knowledge
Primary History article
Many teachers are especially concerned about subject knowledge and knowing what to teach. Using the example of the ancient Egyptians, this article focuses on how a subject leader can support colleagues develop and use their subject knowledge to become more adept at teaching.
One of the most frequent concerns of...
Subject leaders: supporting colleagues to develop their subject knowledge
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Sources for the Great Fire of London and its context
Primary History feature
Nina Sprigge reveals two interesting sources that can supplement teaching the Fire of London.
Fire of London: fundraising for refugees
The receipt on the back cover provides evidence of national fundraising in 1666. It is touching that people from Cowfold, a little village outside London, cared enough to want to...
Sources for the Great Fire of London and its context
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The Government of the Roman Empire
Classic Pamphlets
The Government of the Roman Empire, as everyone knows, was autocratic, and, like all autocracies, it was ‘tempered by assassination' or by military revolution. The emperor ruled through an imperial service, at once civil and military, in which several grades, corresponding to the social classes of the empire, were always...
The Government of the Roman Empire
