-
Primary History 58: The Olympics
The primary education journal of the Historical Association
THE OLYMPICS: TEACHING HISTORY TODAY
04 Editorial: Nelson Mandela, Apartheid and the Olympics
05 Think Bubble: What ever happened to the Standing Long Jump? - Peter Vass
06 Public celebration of the 1864 Olympian Festival - Dominic Wallis
PLANNING FOR THE OLYMPICS
08 Primary History and planning for teaching the...
Primary History 58: The Olympics
-
Britain and the Wider World in Tudor Times
Reference
The wider world: The Tudors ruled Britain during a fascinating and fast-changing century. Europe emerged from the Middle Ages, and Europeans sailed across the oceans, reaching the East, discovering the New World of America, establishing colonies, and circumnavigating the world for the first time (Ferdinand Magellan in 1517, and Francis...
Britain and the Wider World in Tudor Times
-
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
-
Teaching and learning through personal, family and local history
E-CPD
N.B. This unit was produced before the 2014 curriculum and therefore while much of the advice is still useful, there may be some out of date references or links.
This unit is concerned with the way that primary age pupils can make use of their own personal, family and local history...
Teaching and learning through personal, family and local history
-
Florence Nightingale
Primary History resource
Born: May 1820; Died: August 1910
Background and early life
Florence Nightingale was born to a wealthy evangelical family in Florence, Italy in 1820. She was named after her place of birth. It was normal at the time for girls from wealthy families to be educated at home by a governess,...
Florence Nightingale
-
Young Historian Awards 2023 – the winners
Annual history competition for schools
Each year the Historical Association partners with The Spirit of Normandy Trust to recognise young historians who have shown excellent knowledge and demonstrated historical argument around a subject associated with a series of themes. The competition is divided into age brackets and the entry at secondary level is by essay,...
Young Historian Awards 2023 – the winners
-
Citizenship in Ancient Greece: case study
Case Study
This was a ten-week Ancient Greece unit, taught to a Year 6 mixed ability class of 34 children. There was a strong citizenship strand running through the whole programme, particularly the strands of political literacy and critical enquiry (see below). Citizenship values and concepts, with teaching/learning activities in italicsAppreciation of...
Citizenship in Ancient Greece: case study
-
Think Bubble - Interpretation
Article
One of my favourite places in France is Poitiers Cathedral. Whenever I set out from the north or drive home from the south, I can usually find an excuse to stop off there. For me, its crowning glory are its 13th Century choir stalls with their wonderful medieval figures and...
Think Bubble - Interpretation
-
Recorded webinar: Maya ruler King Pakal II of Palenque
‘A veritable Tutankhamun of the New World’
The discovery in 1952 of the tomb of King Pakal II of Palenque has been called the most important archaeological find in the history of the Americas. Protected by a magnificently sculpted stone sarcophagus depicting Pakal’s descent to the underworld and re-birth as the maize god lay the body of...
Recorded webinar: Maya ruler King Pakal II of Palenque
-
Happy and Glorious: exploring and celebrating the Platinum Jubilee
Primary History article
History is full of significant royals, yet few seem quite so remarkable as Her Majesty the Queen. Since her birth in 1926, she has witnessed the tragedy of a world war, the decline of the British Empire and the birth of the Commonwealth of Nations. Not only is she the...
Happy and Glorious: exploring and celebrating the Platinum Jubilee
-
Making links: Myths, legends and problem-solving with the Greeks
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
Introduction: Meaningful links
"Teachers will be able to make links within and across areas of learning to help children understand how each distinctive area links to and is supported by others."
(Rose Chapter 2, 2.23)
‘Meaningful...
Making links: Myths, legends and problem-solving with the Greeks
-
Announcing the winners of the Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2021
The HA's writing competition for children ages 10-19 years
This writing competition seeks to encourage young people to express their creative sides alongside a strong understanding of a historical period, event or theme. This year despite restrictions, further lockdowns and uncertainty the number and quality of entries remained high, as well as being imaginative, exciting, well researched and a...
Announcing the winners of the Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2021
-
Harold Son of Godwin
Classic Pamphlet
To lecture on Harold Godwinson, earl of Wessex, King Harold II of England, in the year 1966 at Hastings is a presumption. We appear to know much about him, and yet in fact there are many gaps in knowledge. Much information, so plausible at first sight, proves unreliable on closer...
Harold Son of Godwin
-
Storytelling: Socrates, Alcibiades, and Athenian democracy
Lesson Plan
Nigel Parker's Year 5 class had just made a start on the Ancient Greeks. In this lesson we began with Athenian democracy, where the free adult male citizens decided everything, even ostracizing generals they didn't like.The story of SocratesI told the children some of the story of Socrates, who taught...
Storytelling: Socrates, Alcibiades, and Athenian democracy
-
Scheme of work: The Platinum Jubilee
Primary Scheme of Work, Key Stage 1 History (unresourced)
In this unit, children will learn about the significance of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee. They will look at the life of Queen Elizabeth II, from her role as Princess Elizabeth to her coronation and through to 2022, as a great-grandmother and the longest-reigning British monarch. The unit will help children...
Scheme of work: The Platinum Jubilee
-
Young Quills 2024 – the longlist
HA annual awards for best historical fiction for young people
Each year, the Historical Association runs ‘Young Quills’, a competition for published historical fiction for children and young adults (14+). The Young Quills books for each year must be published for the first time in English in the year preceding the competition – so 2023 for this year’s selection.
Our...
Young Quills 2024 – the longlist
-
Teaching the Ancient Greeks: an introduction
Reference guide
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
Please note: this guide was written before the new National Curriculum...
Teaching the Ancient Greeks: an introduction
-
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
-
Primary Curriculum Schemes of Work
Article
All schemes of work are free to HA Members, along with a host of other resources and benefits. If you are not yet an HA Member, you can get a taster of our schemes of work through our open-access Anglo-Saxons unit, our open-access Great Fire of London unit and our...
Primary Curriculum Schemes of Work
-
Teaching Slavery
HA Guide
Please note: this guide was written in 2010 and some links may no longer work. For more recent guidance, see:
Teaching sensitive subjects: slavery and Britain’s role in the trade (2019)
Slavery in Britain (2013)
Sarah Forbes Bonetta - scheme of work (2015)
Diversity guidance for primary teachers and subject leaders (2019)
Teaching Slavery...
Teaching Slavery
-
Ancient Egypt
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
Please note: this guide was written before the new National Curriculum...
Ancient Egypt
-
Diversity in Primary History
Primary History articles and resources
There has been much emphasis on ensuring that we teach a balanced history curriculum which reflects diversity. Teachers often ask the Historical Association where they can get their ideas and find examples of good practice. From the start, the journal Primary History has addressed the many strands of a diverse...
Diversity in Primary History
-
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
-
Young Quills Awards 2016 – Winners and Reviews
Multipage Article
The Young Quills awards are presented annually by the HA for best historical fiction for young and youth readers released in the previous year. The final decision of the winners is selected by an adult judging panel who are interested in the historical accuracy and presentation as well as by the...
Young Quills Awards 2016 – Winners and Reviews
-
Teaching the Ancient Greeks
Primary History article
Ancient Greece has been part of the primary national curriculum since its inception in 1991 so you may already have a viable scheme of work and classroom resources in place. However, this is not a reason for eschewing the opportunity to review what you are doing, especially to explore how...
Teaching the Ancient Greeks
