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Making the most of your primary membership
Information
Making the most of your HA membership
HA membership offers much more than just your subscription to Primary History. As a member you can enjoy a wholistic package of benefits and resources designed to support you, whatever challenge you may face. With the vast array of support available it can...
Making the most of your primary membership
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One of my favourite history places: Luxor, Egypt
Primary History feature
History teacher in Cairo; oh, my word! Living in Cairo for the past four years enabled me to explore the country to a degree not possible as a visitor. Based in Maadi to the south of the old Islamic city, I live about 20 minutes’ walk from the Nile. A...
One of my favourite history places: Luxor, Egypt
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Scheme of work: Local history – the story of our High Street
Scheme of Work, KS1 History, Changes Within Living Memory (unresourced)
Teaching a unit that considers ‘changes within living times’ requires a focus that provides clear evidence of those changes. Children need to be able to identify specific differences as well as recognise relevant similarities. While we all still undertake shopping on a daily or weekly basis the processes involved in...
Scheme of work: Local history – the story of our High Street
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How significant is the tragic story of the SS Mendi?
Primary History article
Historical anniversaries and events are often in the news, commemorated locally and nationally. I have found that getting the children involved in topics relating to these can really help them feel the importance of their learning, help them to appreciate the past and feel a sense of responsibility – a...
How significant is the tragic story of the SS Mendi?
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How museum collections make ancient Egypt, and the people who lived there, real
Primary History article
It’s a safe bet that ancient Egypt is one of the most exciting topics on the primary history curriculum. But that can come with misunderstandings of a complex 3,000-year-long history and an accomplished group of people, embedded by the sensationalised, gory, and othering approach often shown when ancient Egypt features...
How museum collections make ancient Egypt, and the people who lived there, real
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Film: Surviving the Stone Age
Primary History Workshop Annual Conference 2019
This primary workshop took place at at the Historical Association Annual Conference, Chester, May 2019. The workshop featured: Chris Trevor – Presenter of HA subject leader courses/Primary Education consultant and Dave Trevor – Co-presenter of Prehistoric workshops and ex teacher.
This workshop dispelled the popular myths and stereotypes of the Old...
Film: Surviving the Stone Age
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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
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How have schools interpreted the new EYFS Framework?
Primary History article
The new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework became statutory from this September (2021). Although the seven areas of learning and development remain unchanged (including Understanding the World), the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) have changed within each of these areas. These new ELGs have been written so that they are...
How have schools interpreted the new EYFS Framework?
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Film: What's the wisdom on... Causation
Your Virtual History Department Meeting
We’ve been talking to our secondary school members and we know how difficult life is for teachers in the current circumstances, so we wanted to lend a helping hand.
'What’s the wisdom on…' is a brand-new and already popular feature in our secondary journal Teaching History and provides the perfect...
Film: What's the wisdom on... Causation
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Insights from a year of leading the development of a ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’
Primary History article
Raynville Primary School serves a highly disadvantaged area of West Leeds and we work hard to provide our children with the best opportunities to learn and enjoy their time with us. One jewel in the crown of our school’s curriculum is children’s historical learning as part of a knowledge-rich curriculum....
Insights from a year of leading the development of a ‘knowledge-rich curriculum’
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Visual image: boxing boys fresco from Ancient Greece
Lesson Plan
John Fines was working with a class of 28 Year 6 pupils, studying Ancient Greece. John wrote: Challenge is what the Nuffield Primary History project is all about, and I wanted the class to think hard about the Greeks and to question sources. My learning objectives were for the children...
Visual image: boxing boys fresco from Ancient Greece
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Sudan Holy Mountain: Jebel Barkal and its Temples
Guide Book
This guide book was produced by Timothy Kendall and El-Hassan Ahmed Mohamed (Co-Directors NCAM Archaeological Mission at Jebel Barkal) and has been published on our website by their kind permission (© 2022 Timothy Kendall and El-Hassan Ahmed Mohamed) to support our podcast that examines the history of Ancient Nubia and the Kushite...
Sudan Holy Mountain: Jebel Barkal and its Temples
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Scheme of Work: Walter Tull
Primary Scheme of Work, Key Stage 1 History (unresourced)
Pupils will look at the childhood and football career of Walter Tull, what happened to him when he fought in World War I and why he was different from most people of his time. They will compare his experiences to issues and people still relevant today including the double Olympian...
Scheme of Work: Walter Tull
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Whatever did the Greeks do for us?
Primary History article
The National Curriculum asks us to help our children to study ‘Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world’ [DfE 2013]. Lots of books explore the ancient Greeks [see, for example, Ancient Greece by Alf Wilkinson, Collins Primary Histories, published in 2019]. It is a familiar topic....
Whatever did the Greeks do for us?
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The potty timeline: an effective way of using timelines
Primary History article
Timelines are a constant source of fascination. Rows of events and time periods all jostling for position on an eternal line, cramming together or strung out with wide gaps between them. In our primary classrooms, however, the vastness of timelines can be diminished as we crop them on computers and...
The potty timeline: an effective way of using timelines
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On-demand webinar: Creating curriculum pathways: War
Primary webinar recording release for 2023–24
Webinar series: Creating curriculum pathways through primary history at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
Session 5: War
An overview will be given of the development of warfare over time from the Stone, Bronze and Iron ages and taking in ancient civilisations, Greeks, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings. This overview...
On-demand webinar: Creating curriculum pathways: War
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On-demand webinar: Creating curriculum pathways: Trade
Primary webinar recording release for 2023–24
Webinar series: Creating curriculum pathways through primary history at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
Session 1: Trade
An overview will be given of the development of trade within and between historic civilisations and cultures from the Neolithic period of the Stone Age onwards. This will include examples of...
On-demand webinar: Creating curriculum pathways: Trade
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Young Historian Awards 2022 – the winners
Annual history competition for schools
This was a very positive year for the Young Historian Awards. The judging panel continue to be delighted by the quality of the work submitted in a variety of formats by young historians. Although entry levels were lower than during the pandemic, the data confirms that, with the exception of...
Young Historian Awards 2022 – the winners
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In important times, we need important points of view
HA primary survey 2024
Without your voice, history education will be in the hands of those that shout the loudest.
Education is something of which we all have first-hand experience, but it is ever-changing and evolving. That is why the Historical Association (HA) monitors the status of history education as an essential part of...
In important times, we need important points of view
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Developing early history skills and understanding through the EYFS
Primary History article
Read more like this:
EYFS scheme of work
EYFS Medium term plan: Toys and Games
Early Years Foundation Stage (article)
Early Years: learning about the past (article)
Using 'Development Matters' in the Foundation Stage (article)
For many children, going to nursery school is a key part of their day. It...
Developing early history skills and understanding through the EYFS
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Teaching pre-history outside the classroom
Primary History article
From a visit to a local museum or heritage site, to using bushcraft skills to give pupils first-hand experience of what it might have been like to live in ancient times, teaching prehistory outside the classroom can really give this area of the curriculum the wow factor. The inclusion of...
Teaching pre-history outside the classroom
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How an atlas and a very old map can help us make sense of the ancient Greeks
Primary History article
The ancient Greeks were a maritime people – they travelled and traded vast distances by sea, but rarely left sight of land. They were also a very divided nation. Separate city states fiercely guarded their independence, only uniting [sometimes!] to fight against a common enemy like the Persians. The Greeks all...
How an atlas and a very old map can help us make sense of the ancient Greeks
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Online course: Ofsted subject reports: supporting quality history and geography
Primary CPD in partnership with the Geographical Association
The Ofsted history and geography subject reports of 2023 highlighted several areas of strength and improvement in primary schools. However, it emphasised that pupils’ experience of both subjects and disciplines could differ significantly between schools.
This supportive, practical one-day course from the Geographical Association and Historical Association will support primary...
Online course: Ofsted subject reports: supporting quality history and geography
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Using ancient monuments to help teach about pre-Roman times in Britain
Primary History article
It is inconceivable that anyone teaching ancient Britain has not used some of the famous sites such as Stonehenge, Avebury, Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar or Stones of Stenness. They are vital sources of information for this period of history and the teaching usually introduces the element of mystery...
Using ancient monuments to help teach about pre-Roman times in Britain
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Recorded Webinar: Mass-Observing Modern Britain
Article
Mass-Observation is probably the most consistently useful source for the study of mid and late 20th social lives Britain. It was established in 1937 with the aim of investigating ordinary life and developing an 'anthropology of ourselves.' It used a range of different methods to collect information, from recording overheard...
Recorded Webinar: Mass-Observing Modern Britain
