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Victorian Britain and the Victorian World
E-CPD
This E-CPD unit has a number of possible focuses within the broader topic of Victorian Britain and the wider Victorian world. This follows a pattern that is strong within the structures of the School History Project. Each sub-topic needs to mirror what is best in history education at primary level, including...
Victorian Britain and the Victorian World
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Working effectively with your local history societies: the benefits and challenges
Primary History article
Local history provides rich opportunities to engage children in their immediate local area and understand their own history and how history contributes to a greater overall understanding and bigger picture. In this article, Nick Harman shares his school’s experience of participating in an exciting joint project with the local heritage...
Working effectively with your local history societies: the benefits and challenges
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Teaching The Indus Valley Civilisation in the 21st Century
Primary History article
This article discusses how mathematical concepts, literacy requirements and other areas of the curriculum can be harnessed to promote meaningful historical enquiry and understanding. This is especially so for a history topic which lends itself to enquiry based learning, scrutiny of every little clue, and speculation about the very many...
Teaching The Indus Valley Civilisation in the 21st Century
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How We Used to Sleep
School Resources
Want to take a fresh look at medicine through time with your students?
If so, you might be interested in teaching them about sleep’s history in the Renaissance. By focusing on sleep – something that we all do and have an opinion on – students can be introduced to changing...
How We Used to Sleep
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Teaching ‘changes within living memory’: making the most of your school
Primary History article
The Key Stage 1 curriculum requires an exploration of changes within living memory, and what better way to do this than discovering the history of your own school! In this article, Helen Crawford and Sandra Kirkland provide guidance and suggested activities to explore change and continuity in your own locality. ...
Teaching ‘changes within living memory’: making the most of your school
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One of my favourite history places: Neuschwanstein Castle
Primary History feature
Visiting Neuschwanstein Castle is a dramatic if seemingly unreal experience and for this reason it is one of my favourite historical sites. The castle is situated on the slopes of the Alps in Bavaria, close to the village of Hohenschwangau, overlooking low-lying plains to the north. The ornate turrets, Romanesque windows...
One of my favourite history places: Neuschwanstein Castle
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The Amesbury Archer
Primary History article
One of the requirements for the Key Stage 2 history curriculum is that children learn about changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. In some ways this is a challenging period to teach – the evidential record is patchy, it is open to interpretation, and there...
The Amesbury Archer
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World War II: breathing life into a local history enquiry
Primary History article
Debbie Doolan explores how the locality of her school, Worle School in North Somerset, was impacted by a significant event, World War II. What is particularly pertinent is not just the range of activities in this topic but the way the theme was refined over a number of years. It...
World War II: breathing life into a local history enquiry
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The wheels (and horses…) on the bus
Primary History article
A theme in the Early Years will have many cross-curricular links, encompassing many of the different areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework. The focus for this article is on historical elements of Understanding the World; however there will be some cross-over into other areas of...
The wheels (and horses…) on the bus
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Local fires as a subject of historical enquiry
Primary History article
The Great Fire of London is a popular Key Stage 1 history topic. In this article, James explores the widespread occurrence of ‘great’ fires and the potential of local examples for historical enquiry. Comparison between London and these local fires allows for discussion of similarities and differences in terms of...
Local fires as a subject of historical enquiry
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Teaching about Remembrance Day in EYFS
Primary History article
Remembrance Day (11 November) is an important time for children to learn about how we choose to both represent and remember significant events in the past. Within EYFS, learning about remembrance most obviously lends itself to Understanding the World – with a focus on children making connections between past and present,...
Teaching about Remembrance Day in EYFS
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Artefacts in the neighbourhood
Primary History article
Alf Wilkinson uses an everyday object found near you – a post box – to develop your children’s history skills.
Look carefully at the picture. It is a familiar object in the neighbourhood. It is a postbox – there will be one (or more) near you. Go out and look...
Artefacts in the neighbourhood
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The legacy of ancient Sumer
Primary History article
Ancient Sumer was a fascinating civilisation that flourished at the same time as other key ancient civilisations. It is credited with having developed vital elements of technology such as the potter’s wheel, written language, complex mathematical concepts that are still used today and much else. This article focuses on the...
The legacy of ancient Sumer
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Exploring the history of space
Primary History article
Children have long been captivated by the idea of space exploration and this year marks the anniversary of several significant events, including the 50th anniversary of the European Space Agency and the 10th anniversary of Tim Peake’s launch to the International Space Station. In this article, Kate Rigby explores how...
Exploring the history of space
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The Battle of Monte Cassino and the D-Day Landings
Article
The Second World War is no longer a recent war. Very soon, there will be no veterans left to tell us how they saw things and what it was really like for them. While some eyewitnesses who were children at the time might be with us to see the centenary...
The Battle of Monte Cassino and the D-Day Landings
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Ancient Sumer: the cradle of civilisation
Primary History article
In 1936 the next eagerly awaited Agatha Christie novel had just been published and readers were transported to a region that, from 1922 had been named Iraq, but through history had been part of Mesopotamia. The plot focuses on an archaeological dig that was taking place there, the victim is...
Ancient Sumer: the cradle of civilisation
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The Roaring Twenties: teaching a decade of change across Key Stages 1 and 2
Primary History article
This article explores how one topic can be used in different ways to support historical understanding at Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2. The themes highlighted could link into possible golden threads to enable connections to be made across a school’s curriculum. The ‘Roaring Twenties’ also provide a real...
The Roaring Twenties: teaching a decade of change across Key Stages 1 and 2
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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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Women and space: reaching for the stars
Primary History article
The exploration of the heavens has drawn mankind since the dawn of time. Vast monuments reached to the stars marked with astrological key points. Astronomers sought to understand the movement of the universe. Since the twentieth century however this investigation has moved into space itself, pioneered by restless and inquisitive souls...
Women and space: reaching for the stars
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Exploring the many aspects of neolithic Britain
Primary History article
The Neolithic period provides many challenges – the huge length of time, the limitations of evidence, the many different aspects. This article suggests how a teaching programme might be structured to explore the period. It promotes the idea that these people, so distant in time, were much as we are...
Exploring the many aspects of neolithic Britain
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Identifying sources to plan a local study
Primary History article
Local history is fascinating, but finding interesting, authentic resources can be challenging. In this article, James P. Bowen gives practical advice about how to source a local history project, setting this in the context of Baldwin’s Gate in North Staffordshire – a valuable guide for anyone devising a local history...
Identifying sources to plan a local study
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Britain on pause: remembering the 1926 General Strike
Primary History article
In this article, Kate Rigby looks back at the 1926 General Strike and considers how this could be used to explore significance, cause and consequence in Key Stage 2...
Britain on pause: remembering the 1926 General Strike
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How to link food with British history and view change through living memory in Key Stage 1
Primary History article
From free school milk to free school meals, in this article Polly Gillow explores how you can use food as an engaging way to explore the past in Key Stage 1. She suggests different ways to incorporate food history into your curriculum and shows how food can be an excellent...
How to link food with British history and view change through living memory in Key Stage 1
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Unlocking the treasures of early Islam
Primary History article
Lucy Hawker demonstrates her school’s approach to teaching early Islam though focusing on its significance and demonstrating how lessons are effectively sequenced to develop subject knowledge and understanding. The article also indicates rich opportunities that this topic provides for links with other subjects...
Unlocking the treasures of early Islam
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Different ways of teaching local history through significant individuals
Primary History article
It is commonplace to include significant people when looking at the history of a given locality. The Historical Association has a series of case studies of significant local individuals organised by counties or regions. In this article Tim Lomas builds on that resource by looking at the way such individuals...
Different ways of teaching local history through significant individuals
