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The digital revolution
Primary History article
Developments in information technology continue at an extraordinary pace. Many young children will have little or no idea of what it was like to live in a world without mobile phones, computers and the Internet.
Most children will regularly make use of devices such as smart phones, digital cameras and...
The digital revolution
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Case Study: The history club
Primary History article
Editorial note: this is an introductory article on the History Club concept: Primary History 64, summer 2013, on History and the new 2014+ National Curriculum for History will provide a vade mecum for schools to develop their own History Clubs.
.... sometimes we use the past and today, modern times,...
Case Study: The history club
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How a history club can work for you and your pupils
Primary History article
Bev Forrest writes: As part of my role as a Historical Association Quality Mark assessor I am privileged to visit schools across the country. In the autumn of 2019, I ventured out into Essex to carry out an assessment at Dilkes Academy. I was delighted to recommend gold status for...
How a history club can work for you and your pupils
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Case Study: Historical information and the local community
Primary History article
The ICT revolution
A paper register, a pink-lined A4 mark book and a written school log book are surely historical artefacts? The transition from paper to digital technology continues, changing the world of the classroom teacher whose working life like mine, began in the print age when digital-based education was...
Case Study: Historical information and the local community
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Ideas for Assemblies: Battle of the Somme
Article
Commemorating the Battle of the Somme through an assembly is not an easy task and one which needs careful thought and preparation. This battle officially started on 1 July 1916, after a week-long artillery bombardment, though both British and French commanders had prepared for the offensive for several months. To highlight...
Ideas for Assemblies: Battle of the Somme
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A Victorian Christmas
A Victorian Xmas
The Historical Association In Alliance With Association for Language Learning. Cross-Curricular Unit: Year 5/6 French and History. A Victorian Christmas.
A Victorian Christmas
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Developing local history in your primary curriculum
HA Primary Subject Leader Area
Field trips as a class may be problematic for the immediate future, but this doesn't mean that you can’t still plan for a local history enquiry even during periods of local lockdown. On the contrary, if the enquiry is localised then the children should still be able to access local amenities...
Developing local history in your primary curriculum
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Teaching the First World War in the primary school
Article
The current commemorations of the First World War have opened the door to some real opportunities for those teaching primary history – perhaps even considering taking children to the battlefields. Although this is customarily a secondary-school experience, this article outlines the opportunities for primary-age children. The suggestions here are based...
Teaching the First World War in the primary school
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Epistemic insights: bringing subject disciplines together
Primary History article
"Teaching epistemic insight goes hand in hand with teaching a broad and balanced curriculum. It includes building students’ understanding of the ways that different types of disciplinary knowledge can help us to address questions that bridge subjects and disciplines." (Teaching and Learning about Epistemic Insight brochure, https://crc.up.pt/wp-content/uploads/sites/101/2017/09/epistemic-insight-brochure.pdf)
The Epistemic Insight Project...
Epistemic insights: bringing subject disciplines together
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Beyond the classroom walls: museums and primary history
Article
Apart from the difficulty of getting hold of a hard copy of the new National Curriculum framework, museum educators have little to worry about in the results of the curriculum review. The framework reveals few changes that will affect what museums have been doing for the last eight or so...
Beyond the classroom walls: museums and primary history
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The Battle of Britain
Article
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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Ancient Sumer
Primary History article
For many teachers and children alike, Ancient Sumer will be completely new. Although Sumer has always been an option for teaching about Early Civilisations, the fame of Ancient Egypt, as well as being a tried-and-tested topic, has meant that Sumer has perhaps been overlooked. There is little danger of failing...
Ancient Sumer
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Recorded webinar: Dealing with the issues from lockdown in the primary history classroom
Webinar
In the last 12 months many pupils have missed significant chunks of school and importantly a significant chunk of their history learning. In this special one-off webinar we discuss some of the issues we are all facing. What does catch up in history look like? How helpful is this terminology?...
Recorded webinar: Dealing with the issues from lockdown in the primary history classroom
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So was everyone an ancient Egyptian?
Developing an understanding of the world in ancient times
I will be honest – no child has actually asked me if the world was ever full of Ancient Egyptians! Having said that, by focusing on one part of the world, children are left with either this impression or the idea that nothing was happening elsewhere in the world. Clearly,...
So was everyone an ancient Egyptian?
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Diversity and the History Curriculum
Article
It's very dangerous if you make it seem like history is the province of a certain segment of society. History should belong to and include all of us. The curriculum needs to appeal to as many children as possible or a number of them could become disenchanted with education because they...
Diversity and the History Curriculum
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Thematic or topic based whole school curriculum planning
Primary History article
Creative curricular planning With the National Curriculum under review, it seems that more schools are taking a creative approach to planning by delivering the curriculum through a focused theme or topic. This has allowed schools to take more ownership of the curriculum and has helped teachers become more innovative in their...
Thematic or topic based whole school curriculum planning
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Primary History Survey Report 2012
Primary Survey
History in Primary SchoolsIn June the Secretary of State announced that history would remain a compulsory part of the primary curriculum from age 5 to age 11. We welcomed that announcement but urged a note of caution regarding slimmed down programmes of study. The Survey into History in English Primary...
Primary History Survey Report 2012
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HA Primary Survey Report 2011
Primary Survey
Primary Teachers need more training for history and they have ideas about what the want to teachThe Historical Association has carried out a survey of Primary teachers across England and Wales revealing that training for teachers at that level is one of their biggest concerns. Primary School Teachers may not...
HA Primary Survey Report 2011
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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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Education for geographical understanding
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Geography is one of humanity's big ideas. It literally means something like ‘writing the world'. Thus, traditionally, geography is associated with rich descriptions of places. For many years geographers were almost synonymous with explorers, bringing back...
Education for geographical understanding
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Planning for historical understanding a conceptual framework
Article
Planning for historical understanding a conceptual framework:
Responding To The Rose Report Through The Lens Of The Cambridge Review.
Introduction
At last we have Children, Their World, Their Education: Final Report and Recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review, (Alexander 2009). This is an independent study funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Trust,...
Planning for historical understanding a conceptual framework
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Scheme of Work: The Georgians
Primary Scheme of Work, Key Stage 2 History (unresourced)
This unit focuses on the Georgian period across the mid to late 18th century. It is during this period that Britain (rather than England) begins to consolidate the gains made by Tudor and Stuart explorers and traders. The seeds of the British Empire of the Victorian period are planted at this...
Scheme of Work: The Georgians
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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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Art and History: Justifying the Links
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated.
History and Art have been taught as traditional subjects for many years and as cross curricular subjects they compliment each other beautifully. I do not see how we can realistically completely separate them...
Art and History: Justifying the Links
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How the Quality Mark for history can support you as a subject leader
Article
Whether you have been a history subject lead for a while or are new to the role, the HA’s Quality Mark (QM) for Primary History can help to support you in developing the subject in your school.
In this guide experienced Quality Mark assessor and primary educator Sue Temple outlines...
How the Quality Mark for history can support you as a subject leader
