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Caesar lands
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 class had a clear objective - an understanding of Julius Caesar's landing in Britain, using Caesar's own account in translation...
Caesar lands
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Seeing, hearing and doing the renaissance (Part 2)
Teaching History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
In the last edition of Teaching History, Maria Osowiecki described in detail the fourth lesson in a five-lesson enquiry entitled: What was remarkable about the Renaissance? She also shared her resources for two lively, interactive...
Seeing, hearing and doing the renaissance (Part 2)
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The Great Plague of London (KS1)
Article
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 subject leaders, join the Historical Association today
This was originally part of a 7-week unit looking at...
The Great Plague of London (KS1)
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Teaching & Assessing Historical Understanding
Teaching of History Series No.63
The purpose of this pamphlet is to broach several issues relating to a child's understanding of some key concepts in History. These are:
Cause and consequence.
Time concepts, i.e. change, continuity, development, progression and regression.
Evidence.
Significance.
Similarity and difference.
Under each of these headings, consideration will be given to: ...
Teaching & Assessing Historical Understanding
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Continuing your professional development as an early career history teacher
Guidance for secondary school teachers
This document is designed for history teachers in years 2-4 of their career. Whilst teachers with more experience will find inspiration here, its primary purpose is to nurture subject-specific career development immediately after the intense NQT year. Working with these ideas will help prepare an early career teacher for academic...
Continuing your professional development as an early career history teacher
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Muslim soldiers in World War I
Primary History article
The objective of this lesson plan was to enable pupils to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the input of Muslim soldiers in World War I and to do so through empathy and creative discussion. I very much enjoyed teaching this session with a group of Year 6s, all...
Muslim soldiers in World War I
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Queen Elizabeth I
Lesson Plan
Please note: this resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum.
What might Queen Elizabeth have been like? Pupils study two documentary sources giving descriptions of Queen Elizabeth I.
You need to download two Resources documents (attached below)
Then pupils studied the Armada portrait of Queen Elizabeth I and considered factors involved...
Queen Elizabeth I
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Virtual Branch Film: The life and legend of the Sultan Saladin
Virtual Branch
Between 26 February and 2 March you can watch Jonathan Phillips’s 2020 HA Virtual Conference keynote talk on The life and legend of the Sultan Saladin. Phillips’s talk reveals how a man initially branded as ‘the son of Satan’ became so esteemed in Europe and, through extensive new research, we will follow how...
Virtual Branch Film: The life and legend of the Sultan Saladin
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Equality, representation and the census with Professor David Olusoga
Let's Count! Office for National Statistics and iChild's education resource programme
To support Census 2021, Office for National Statistics, together with education resource centre, iChild, have developed the free primary education resource programme Let’s Count! The programme includes 14 cross-curricular resources covering key areas of the English and Welsh primary curriculum. Let’s Count! has achieved accreditation from MEI, NATE and the Geographical Association....
Equality, representation and the census with Professor David Olusoga
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Move Me On 148: Using 'Bloom's taxonomy'
Teaching History feature
This issue's problem: Matt Boulton is using Bloom's taxonomy in very mechanistic ways to plan lesson objectives and think about progression in history.
Matt Boulton worked for 18 months as a Teaching Assistant before deciding to become a qualified teacher. His previous experience and understanding of the needs of students with...
Move Me On 148: Using 'Bloom's taxonomy'
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Mentoring Student Teachers
Primary History article
Up and down the country, providers of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) are involved in applying for reaccreditation so that they can continue to develop and support trainee teachers. This is being done against the backdrop of Ofsted implementing its new inspection framework for ITE, which has seen a number of providers...
Mentoring Student Teachers
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History supporting global learning
Primary History article
I am the teaching head of a small village primary school, Hawkshead Esthwaite Primary, in Cumbria. We have, for the last year been one of the first Centres for Excellence for the Global Learning Programme (GLP).The GLP is a Department for International Development (DFID) initiative which began in September 2013...
History supporting global learning
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Saxon Ship Burial
Lesson Plan (KS2)
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 class had investigated life in Roman Britain. A visit to Dewa Centre in Chester together with class lessons and individual...
Saxon Ship Burial
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Pipes's punctuation and making complex historical claims
Teaching History article
Long, unreadable sentences in her students' essays led Rachel Foster to improve her post-16 students' punctuation. Her journey resulted, however, in more than improved punctuation.
It led her to theorise what historians are really doing in their ‘signpost sentences'. She found herself showing students how an academic historian anticipates a chunk of argument in a single, well-turned, opening sentence. Foster created an intervention in which students...
Pipes's punctuation and making complex historical claims
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Key Stage 1 local history through fresh eyes
Primary History article
Upon approaching this article on teaching the local history component of the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 I decided to focus on one school, to look at what they normally deliver, and to put forward suggestions that could be used to enhance their existing unit of study.
I visited Pencoys...
Key Stage 1 local history through fresh eyes
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Tripping over the levels: experiences from Ontario
Teaching History article
Here in the United Kingdom, we are used to the idea of assessing pupils’ work against Levels. In fact, perhaps we are a little too used to it. Our familiarity with the Level Descriptions in the National Curriculum, and the ways they might inform our Key Stage 3 assessments, can...
Tripping over the levels: experiences from Ontario
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The Last Duke of Lorraine
Article
The Place Stanislas in Nancy has a high reputation. But expectations are far surpassed as one surveys the beautifully proportioned square, with its imposing buildings such as the Hôtel de Ville and the Governor's Palace, its Arc de Triomphe and its magnificent iron work. It is a reminder of how...
The Last Duke of Lorraine
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Roman Britain: a brief history
Reference guide for primary
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 subject leaders, join the Historical Association today
From the founding of the city of Rome in the...
Roman Britain: a brief history
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Write Your Own Historical Fiction 2025 – The winners
The HA’s writing competition for children aged 10-15 years
Take time, a place and a character or two, and you can create some of the most exciting stories ever told – and by telling a story you unleash a desire to seek knowledge, to entertain, to inform and to enrich the lives of others. Storytelling is one of the oldest...
Write Your Own Historical Fiction 2025 – The winners
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The Historian 146: Out now
The magazine of the Historical Association
Read The Historian 146: Civilisations
Join The Historian editorial board As with all HA publications The Historian is edited by our members and has a small board of volunteers who discuss possible themes, commission articles, review and commission for regular features and read and respond to articles submitted by members....
The Historian 146: Out now
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SHP and 'What is history?'
Article
In the 1970s a new approach to history teaching was developed through the auspices of the Schools Council History Project (SCHP) later named the Schools History Project (SHP). In order to engage pupils (and reverse the perceived danger of a declining uptake of history amongst pupils) the project authors designed...
SHP and 'What is history?'
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Talking History 2026
A history public speaking competition for pupils in years 5 and 6
Following the success of our Great Debate competition for secondary students and the successful launch of our sister primary public speaking competition, we are pleased to announce that applications for our third Talking History competition for pupils in years 5 and 6 are now open.
What do I have to...
Talking History 2026
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Teaching History 71
The HA's journal for history teachers
10 Bridge that Gap! Are There Opportunities within the National Curriculum to Promote Co-operative Work between History and English? - Ian Davies and Mary Bousted
15 The National Oracy Project - Hilary Kemeny
17 Oral History: Working with Children - Inge Cramer
20 Historically Speaking - Pauline Loader
23 Skilful...
Teaching History 71
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Viking Burial Mound
Lesson Plan (KS2)
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.
In this simulation of an excavation, the children investigate a past event and imaginatively reconstruct what happened, on the basis of the...
Viking Burial Mound
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From Home to the Front: World War I
Primary History article
Events which encapsulate family, community, national and global history provide rich opportunities for engaging children. Some of these draw on positive memories associated with past events: the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, how people responded to the first flight to the moon, the Millennium celebrations. Yet it is perhaps gruelling...
From Home to the Front: World War I