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Film: What a strange place to be buried
Virtual Branch Film
Anna Cusack joined the HA Virtual Branch to discuss unique burial locations in London c.1600-1800. Anna recently completed a PhD at Birkbeck, University of London on the marginal dead of seventeenth and eighteenth-century London, focusing specifically on suicides, executed criminals, Quakers, and Jews and the treatment of their bodily remains...
Film: What a strange place to be buried
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Keeping the content manageable in Key Stage 2
Article
This section offers guidance on how Key Stage 2 history can be organised through the use of a number of key investigative questions for the most commonly taught areas of study.
Keeping the content manageable in Key Stage 2
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The Battle of Britain
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
David Field gives a descriptive account of a History Club's project on the Battle of Britain.
The Battle of Britain
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Did all Ancient Greek women stay at home and weave?
Primary History article
We tend to focus on the bigger picture in teaching on the Ancient Greeks – democracy; Olympic Games; architecture; theatre; myths and legends – but children love the minutiae of everyday life. And half of the population of Ancient Greece was female. So just what part in life did women play? And how different was it to that of men?...
Did all Ancient Greek women stay at home and weave?
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The gall nuts and lapis trail
Primary History article
We are used to images of monks copying out texts in a very ornate manner. Books such as the Lindisfarne Gospels still absolutely amaze us with their colour, style and appearance. It must have taken hours and hours to copy out a text like that.
But how was it done? And how did the monks make the inks they...
The gall nuts and lapis trail
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A trail of garnet and gold: Sri Lanka to Anglo-Saxon England
Primary History Article
Sri Lankan garnet in Anglo-Saxon graves?
In 2009 news broke of a fabulous hoard of gold and garnet military ornaments unearthed in a Staffordshire field. TV reports mentioned the garnet might have come from Sri Lanka or India, but how could it have got here? I began reading up what used to be called ‘The Dark...
A trail of garnet and gold: Sri Lanka to Anglo-Saxon England
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Learning about the past through a study of houses and homes
Primary History article
A thematic study based on houses and homes is an excellent way to link learning about the past with something all children will be able to relate to – where they live. Planned carefully, it can provide a range of learning opportunities for both inside and outside the classroom.
Let’s look outside
Learning about houses...
Learning about the past through a study of houses and homes
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Hearts, Hamsters and Historic Education
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
This is a reflection on a project, set up with a variety of different thoughts about education in its widest sense. Or, to put it another way, a primary school teacher's record of a unique...
Hearts, Hamsters and Historic Education
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Curriculum plan: Ancient Greece
Primary History, Years 5 and 6
Welcome to our new look curriculum plans. Log in below to access the unit.
Before you delve into our plan on Ancient Greece with author Andrew Wrenn, take a look at this short film from Steve Mastin, outlining our approach to curriculum plans and what to look for in a...
Curriculum plan: Ancient Greece
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Why is diversity so important and how can we approach it?
Primary History article
Imagine what the following scenarios tell you about the past – a Tudor role-play of Queen Elizabeth visiting Kenilworth Castle; a photograph of London during the Blitz; a picture of Viking warriors attacking Lindisfarne monastery. The first of the images can perhaps draw on a family visit to an event...
Why is diversity so important and how can we approach it?
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Learning about the past through ‘ourselves and our families’
Primary History Article
‘Ourselves and our families’ is a popular theme in foundation settings and Reception classes. It is often undertaken at the beginning of the academic year, although it can be taught later when teachers have a better understanding of children’s home circumstances. This theme can provide many opportunities for children to...
Learning about the past through ‘ourselves and our families’
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Using the back cover image: Mummified cat
Primary History feature
For hundreds of years, travellers to Egypt have marvelled at the amazing monuments evident throughout the country. The treasures of Ancient Egypt became more fascinating after the discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1799, which led to the deciphering of the hieroglyphic language. Many Victorian explorers returned to their European...
Using the back cover image: Mummified cat
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An Olympic Great? Dorando Pietri
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
The Italian confectioner Dorando Pietri is one of the most famous figures from the 1908 Olympics - famous for not winning. His story raises issues of sportsmanship suitable for class discussion. There are detailed accounts readily...
An Olympic Great? Dorando Pietri
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Don't forget key skills!
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
With the pressure on curriculum time in primary schools, and the need to concentrate on literacy and numeracy, many teachers have recently felt that visits outside the classroom are a luxury. The introduction of Curriculum 2000, though, puts renewed importance on learning...
Don't forget key skills!
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Lions of the Great War: How are Sikh soldiers of the First World War seen today?
Primary History scheme of work
Lions of the Great War? How are Sikh soldiers of the First World War seen today?This Key Stage Three History scheme of work focuses in depth on the contribution of Sikh soldiers from the Indian subcontinent fighting on behalf of the UK between 1914 and 1918. It is designed to...
Lions of the Great War: How are Sikh soldiers of the First World War seen today?
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Young Quills reviews 2022
The Young Quills Awards for best historical fiction
The Young Quills books for each year must be published for the first time in English in the year preceding the competition – so 2021 for this year’s selection. Divided by age suitability the books are given to schools on the condition that the children and young people there write...
Young Quills reviews 2022
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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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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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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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Rhyd-y-Car cottages at St Fagans Museum of Welsh Life
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
The miner’s cottage is part of a project at The Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagans, to preserve folk history. Since its founding in 1948, over 40 buildings, including a row of six original miners’ cottages from Rhyd-y-Car, have been dismantled and...
Rhyd-y-Car cottages at St Fagans Museum of Welsh Life
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Is teaching about the Holocaust suitable for primary aged children?
Primary History case study
Editorial note: While this is a valuable paper, we must point out that the normal ethical procedures concerning such a sensitive, emotional subject must be followed in relation to pupils, their parents/carers and the wider community, i.e. the protocols for permission and clearance to teach such topics must be followed....
Is teaching about the Holocaust suitable for primary aged children?
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The Shang: What can we tell about an ancient civilisation from one tomb?
Primary History article
The Shang Dynasty of China, based around the Yellow River area, is regarded as the first Chinese dynasty that we have written evidence for. It was established in around 1760 BC when Tang set up his capital in the city of Bo. Over the next 600 or 700 years the Shang Empire grew and shrank,...
The Shang: What can we tell about an ancient civilisation from one tomb?
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Isambard Kingdom Brunel: A Significant Victorian
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content, references and links may be outdated. For more recent content see our Brunel scheme of work and George Stephenson scheme of work.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) have recently published new Schemes of Work for all subjects. Included within these...
Isambard Kingdom Brunel: A Significant Victorian
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Early Islamic civilisation
Primary History article
The Primary National Curriculum pinpoints Early Islamic Civilisation as Baghdad c. AD 900 - yet it was so much more. For approximately a thousand years after AD 700 there was an extraordinary amount of activity that radiated out from Baghdad and along a glittering crescent through North Africa and into...
Early Islamic civilisation
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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
