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Grace Darling
Lesson Plan
I taught a short history topic on Grace Darling, using a painting as the main focus, to encourage evidence-based learning. The painting depicts Grace and her father rowing towards the rocks where the remains of the Forfarshire are resting, with the lighthouse in the distance.
The speaking and listening elements...
Grace Darling
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Remembrance Day at KS1
Lesson Plan
Famous event in the past
This lesson introduces a famous event in the past through personal family history.
(These resources are attached below)
The photograph of Angela's grandfather, and the surrounding illustrations, provided a direct route into discussions about remembrance and war, then ranged wider still.
The children's literacy was...
Remembrance Day at KS1
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Magdalen Road
Lesson Plan
We focused on changes in one local set of shops (in Magdalen Road) and looked at the impact of the World War II Exeter blitz on the area.
The topic was a local study incorporating history and geography, developing children's historical understanding.
To develop as fully as possible the children's...
Magdalen Road
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Famous People: Florence Nightingale (KS1)
Lesson Plan
The life of a famous person from the past and why she acted as she did
Florence Nightingale: her life, why she went to the Crimea, and what happened as a result of her work.
Cross-curricular work: this lesson stretches and challenges all children, regardless of their ability, whilst teaching...
Famous People: Florence Nightingale (KS1)
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Get into Teaching
Considering a career in teaching?
Teaching – and especially teaching history! – can be a wonderful and rewarding career. The HA have many years experience working with primary and secondary teachers from trainee level through to heads of history and we're here to help you on your path. We have a comprehensive set of guides and resources for anyone...
Get into Teaching
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Roman Baths
Lesson Plan
Please note: this lesson was produced as part of the Nuffield Primary History project (1991-2009) and pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum. It is part of a full sequence of lessons available here.
The account tells how we recreated a Roman bath house in the Reception/Year 1 classroom during a ten-week unit learning about...
Roman Baths
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Roman market (KS1 or KS2)
Lesson Plan
Please note: this lesson was produced as part of the Nuffield Primary History project (1991-2009) and pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum. It is part of a full sequence of lessons available here.
Shopping in a Roman townPart of 'The way of life of people who lived in the more distant past in Britain'....
Roman market (KS1 or KS2)
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A Vision of Britain Through Time
Website
This free-to-use and publically accessible website has now been updated and re-launched with a new look, extra content and improved search tools thanks largely to funding from JISC (the Joint Information Systems Committee of Britain's universities).Among the latest additions is a full listing of every General Election result, 1832 to...
A Vision of Britain Through Time
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Primary Teaching Methods
Teaching Methods
Please note: this guide was written before the 2014 National Curriculum and some of the advice may no longer be relevant.
This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving...
Primary Teaching Methods
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Archaeology: A view from the classroom
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the current National Curriculum and some content and references are outdated.
Perhaps it is the earthiness of the ground beneath our feet which arouses pupils' curiosity. Or maybe, the idea of the unexpected with the hope of finding something precious or unusual, that is so engaging about archaeology....
Archaeology: A view from the classroom
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The Poor Law in Nineteenth-century England and Wales
Classic Pamphlet
Variety rather than uniformity characterised the administration of poor relief in England and Wales, and at no period was this more apparent than in the decades before the national reform of the poor law in 1834. Unprecedented economic and social changes produced severe problems for those responsible for social welfare,...
The Poor Law in Nineteenth-century England and Wales
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Alternative Suggestions to the QCA Planning
Briefing Pack
In the light of recent uncertainties about the new Primary Curriculum, we at the HA felt that it might be helpful to teachers in schools looking to adapt next year's planning to have a few alternative ideas at their fingertips. Those topics identified contain links to medium term plans that are...
Alternative Suggestions to the QCA Planning
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The New Elizabethans
Year 6 Scheme of Work
Please note: this resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
This unit centres on life in Britain at the 1953 coronation and how people at the time looked back to the reign of Elizabeth I.
This is one a set of Year 6 schemes of work arising from the 2005 KS2-KS3 History Transitions Project.
The New Elizabethans
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The Victorians
Topic Pack
The Topic Pack gives you a brief summary of the Victorians.
The Victorians
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Key Stage 2-3 History Transition Project
Guide to KS2-KS3 Transition
Please note: these resources pre-date the 2014 National Curriculum. For more recent resources on Transition KS2-KS3 please see:
Transition KS2–KS3 (Primary History article, 2021)
Smooth Transitions: Key Stage 2 to 3 (Primary History article, 2020)
Transition Key Stage 2 and 3 (Primary History article, 2016)
Before 1066 & All That: Transition between...
Key Stage 2-3 History Transition Project
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How cruel were the Victorians?
Year 6 Scheme of Work
Please note: this resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
This unit centres on Victorian crime and punishment.
This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and...
How cruel were the Victorians?
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Culture Shock: The Arrival of the Conquistadores in Aztec Mexico
Historian article
When the Spanish Conquistadores arrived in Mexico during the early sixteenth century there were many repercussions for the indigenous people. Their conversion to Christianity and the sacking of their temples are two of the most well known examples. However, it is often forgotten that the Aztecs had only a pictorial...
Culture Shock: The Arrival of the Conquistadores in Aztec Mexico
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Indus Valley
Topic Pack
The names and stories of the people and their cities are a mystery, their ideographic script yet to be deciphered. So how do we know the ruined cities of the Indus Valley belonged to a unique civilisation, forgotten for millennia?
Indus Valley
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Why history matters? Round Table discussion podcast
Podcasts
Podcast of the round table discussion available here!The History Matters Annual Conference in May saw the best turnout we've had for some time with a healthy and representative mix of HA members. Our thanks to all those who contributed their time and energy in delivering workshops and lectures. Our afternoon...
Why history matters? Round Table discussion podcast
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Oral history - a source of evidence for the primary classroom
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
To help children develop a more rounded awareness of historical understanding, they should have the opportunity to examine different types of evidence. The National Curriculum states that, "children should recognise that the past is represented and interpreted...
Oral history - a source of evidence for the primary classroom
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Reading Sources Using Textbreaker
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Pages 8-9 detail how functional literacy's concept of genre resulted in the creation of Textbreaker to empower pupils to ‘read' all historical sources, but especially those previously thought too hard for them to tackle. Below is...
Reading Sources Using Textbreaker
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Living Museums and Victorian Britain
Year 6 Scheme of Work
Please note: this resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
This unit centres on ways of portraying life in Victorian Britain.
While factual knowledge of aspects of Victorian life in Britain are a vital component of the unit, the main focus is on exploring the way living museums present the period,...
Living Museums and Victorian Britain
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Myths and War Evacuees
Year 6 Scheme of Work
Please note: this resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
This unit centres on the evacuation of children during the second world war. While the factual knowledge of evacuation is an essential component of the unit, the main focus is on exploring the varied feelings and experiences of children sent to...
Myths and War Evacuees
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Introducing local history: the Fusehill Workhouse Project
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Master and Mistress of the Workhouse refused to talk to any of us as she was adamant that nothing she could remember would be very interesting!
Of course disappointments like this have to be accepted and...
Introducing local history: the Fusehill Workhouse Project
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The history teacher's craft: Doing local History through the eyes of W. G. Hoskins
Article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Editorial comment: When teaching local history we all have an idea of what it is: both as a body of knowledge - information, dates, facts and substantive concepts - and as what that knowledge is based...
The history teacher's craft: Doing local History through the eyes of W. G. Hoskins
