History
History Curriculum Intent
Link to National Curriculum History Programme of Study.
“If you know your History, then you would know where you’re coming from.”
Bob Marley
At All Saints School, our History curriculum aims to inspire children’s curiosity and encourage critical thinking about the past. Through the analysis of evidence and evaluation of a range of sources, pupils will ask questions about the past, and consider how human mistakes, experiences and achievements have shaped their locality, their world and impacted the way they live today. Our curriculum will help pupils to gain an understanding of their place in the world using social, political, cultural and economic events which have built their history.
We will examine the children’s own personal history, and develop their sense of chronology throughout the study of projects through EYFS, Key Stages 1 and 2. Our History Curriculum will immerse pupils in historical study through high quality teaching, analysing primary and secondary sources of evidence, inspirational trips and knowledgeable visitors. Projects usually start with teachers introducing a new big idea or question whilst drawing on prior knowledge, skills and understanding. This is intended to ensure learning is more meaningful, and pupils’ ability to make links and draw comparisons with and between previous learning is strengthened. As a result, pupils develop understanding of chronology, links between historical events, and cause and effect.
Sequences of lessons start with pupils learning and understanding key facts and concepts, then moving on to develop and apply their understanding. Finally in the innovation stage, evaluating what they have learnt by, for example, creating work to reflect their understanding. This approach ensures that pupils are challenged to move beyond the learning of facts to using their knowledge in more sophisticated ways.
Key historical concepts
Teachers ensure that some key themes which it is important for children to understand are returned to and discussed repeatedly throughout the History curriculum. These are:
- Democracy (including monarchy and parliament)
- Equality and inequality
- Empire and invasion
- War and conflict
- Civilization and settlement
These concepts are key for pupils to understand in order for them to start to grasp some of the bigger recurring themes and issues which run throughout history, and we aim for children to understand a range of aspects of these by the end of their time at primary school.
Historical skills
In addition to these concepts, we aim to ensure children develop a range of skills essential to them in the study of History. These fall into three broad groups:
- Chronological understanding:
- ✓ Historical perspective (difference between short- and long-term timescales) ✓ Relationships between different periods of time.
- Interpreting knowledge: ✓ Making connections ✓ Comparing and contrasting, and identifying what is the same and what is different ✓ Determining significance
- Historical enquiry ✓ Using and evaluating evidence ✓ Asking historically valid questions ✓ Creating own accounts
For example, when developing a child’s chronological understanding across the school. In Year 1 children will order information on a timeline of events for the Fire of London. In year 3 they will sequence dates and information from several historical periods i.e. Stone age, Bronze and Iron age. In Year 6 they will articulate and present a clear, chronological world history narrative within and across historical periods studied e.g. timeline of significant events of WW2.
At All Saints School the History Curriculum is ambitious and designed to give all pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and including pupils with SEN and/or disabilities, the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. We use strategies from the NASEN guidance to support our scaffolding within History teaching. This includes, but is not limited to the following list;
- Adults to model sentence starters e.g. I think it is , I notice… It is made from… Have you seen one before??
- Photographs, real artefacts, videos for the children to explore.
- Pre-teach and overteach vocabulary. Create word banks in different colours. Adults check children’s understanding of the vocabulary during the lesson, and address misconceptions.
- Child to draw an idea or adult to scribe. Adult to take photographs/ video of roleplay.
- Use of Laptop/ ipad or text appropriate to children’s reading ability. Text in different colours for different subjects eg. When , who, where, why etc
How can I support my child with History?
- Look at events beyond their living memory
- Talk to grandparents about their childhood and compare with their own experiences e.g. toys, cooking, school.
- 2. Research the local area
- Go for a walk to the Victorian houses and compare with the houses in the Ladygrove estate. This would support the Year 2 ‘Street detectives’ project.
- Visit the Didcot railway centre. Why was the railway so important to the growth of Dudcote village to present day Didcot, the commuter buzzing town of today.
- 3. Piece together why things have happened
Look at Didcot in the past e.g. photographs, old maps, newspaper, census. Discuss how it has changed
4. Discuss and explore History Together
We are extremely lucky to have local museums that you could visit with your child. Encourage them to talk about what they found out.
- Oxford University Museum of Natural History-This would support Year 1 ‘Dinosaur planet’ project.
- Ashmolean Museum has several exhibitions-These would support Year 3 ‘Gods and mortals’, Year 4 ‘I am Warrior’, ‘Traders and Raiders’ and Year 5 ‘Pharaohs’ ‘Peasant, Princes and Pestilence’ projects.
- Oxford Castle-This would support Year 2 ‘Towers, tunnels and turrets’ and Year 5 ‘Peasant, Princes and Pestilence’ projects.
- Pitt Rivers Museum- This would support Year 3 ‘Tribal tales’ project.
