History
The teaching and learning of History at St Mark’s Primary School
Our Intent
At St Mark’s we want our children to understand that significant past empires, ancient and modern history, as well as our local history, is the result of a number of causes and consequences which are interconnected. During their time at the school, they will learn to sequence key events and periods and consider them in terms of chronology and their impact. They will also identify significant people and develop their ability to enquire about the past and present, using a range of primary and secondary sources. All of this comes together to form their understanding of the modern world.
In the Early Years, children will be assessed against the following related ELG:
ELG: Past and Present Children at the expected level of development will:
- Talk about the lives of the people around them and their roles in society
- Know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now,
drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class;
- Understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books read in class and storytelling.
KS1 End of Key Stage Expectations:
Pupils should be taught about:
- - Changes within living memory – where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life events beyond living memory, that are significant nationally or globally.
- - The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements – some of these should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods.
- - Significant historical events.
- - People and places in their own locality.
KS2 End of Key Stage Expectations
- - Pupils should continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study. They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms.
- - They should regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance.
- - They should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information.
- - They should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.
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CORE CONCEPTS IN HISTORY TAUGHT ACROSS THE SCHOOL |
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Understanding of Chronology
Past and Present (EYFS) |
Historical Enquiry |
Develop a range of Historical Knowledge and Understanding |
Organisation and Communication |
Historical Enquiry through examining sources |
Interpretations of History |
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Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
Year 4 |
Year 5 |
Year 6 |
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Autumn |
Local History
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Toys |
Fire, Fire! |
Romans in Britain |
Tudors |
Power to the People
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Freedom |
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Spring |
Ancient or World History |
Infinity and Beyond
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Heroes from the past |
Ancient China |
Ancient Greece |
The Mayan Kingdom |
The Kingdom of Benin |
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Summer |
British History
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London Life
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Transport |
Anglo-Saxons |
Vikings |
Victorians |
World War II |
Topic choices are based on coverage outlined within the National Curriculum as well as themes that are linked to pupil interest and which enable us to promote broader diversity which reflects the backgrounds of the pupils at St Mark’s.
Implementation
- History at St Mark’s will be taught in half termly blocks. Where possible, we will also use texts in English to teach historical content and subject knowledge, to further enrich children’s understanding and exposure of the history topic
- Each history topic begins with a topic page which outlines the objectives that are to be taught during the term
- Homework tasks will link to the termly topic, encouraging children to participate in additional research whilst at home. Work will then be brought into school and used in class displays
- Within lessons, children will be exposed to the broader context within their topic, to help them to understand chronology and to make broader links
- Vocabulary linked to topics will be displays and pre-taught to help to support EAL and SEN pupils
- Each term trips and/or experiences will be undertaken to further immerse students in the topic they will be learning about
- At the beginning of each lesson, children will complete a ‘Do now task’ to reinforce knowledge retention from previous lessons
- Teachers will use schemes of work and lesson plans developed by the school which embed our history vision within the historical content of the individual lessons and the theme as a whole. During the course of the term, they will cover objectives and core concepts from the national curriculum
- Subject knowledge documents have been provided by the subject leader and inset training, to help to make our expectations for the teaching of history clear to all staff
- ‘Big’ or ‘Fertile Questions’ should be used within lessons to probe and extend children’s thinking as appropriate. There are examples written into the plans.
- A topic map which focuses on promoting diversity within the curriculum should be referred to in order to make and promote a balanced representation of history across the key stages
Impact
The history curriculum has been carefully mapped against the core skills and knowledge objectives below. At the end of each topic, the children complete a mini quiz based upon the objects that were taught during the topic. Teachers then review and update the progression of skills document that is kept for the class. Class teachers use end of unit assessments; their own judgements using skills progression documents and their formative assessment of children’s work against target tracker statements to determine whether they are working towards, above or at the expected level for History.
St Mark’s History Curriculum
Progression of Skills and Knowledge
5 Key Skills:
- Chronological understanding: an understanding of time vocabulary, sequencing, timelines, wide chronological framework (big historical timelines), and similarity, difference and change.
- Historical Knowledge and Understanding: Knowledge of key dates, events and historical figures in a historical period, reasons and results of historical events and the actions of historical figures, understanding of daily life in a historical period, comparison of historical periods.
- Interpretations of History: Understanding that different sources will say different things, analysing sources for reliability/accuracy, deciding which sources to use.
- Historical Enquiry: Find answers to simple historical questions, use sources to find out about the past, pose own historical questions and test hypotheses, conduct research using the library or internet.
- Organisation and Communication: Communicating historical knowledge and understanding through varied methods, including verbal discussions, presentations, creative avenues, writing and ICT.
- The skills build on each other - in order to complete organisation and communication successfully, the children will need chronological and historical understanding for example.
- The complexity of each skill will build as the children progress through the curriculum. Each year, the children will build on the skills they have learnt in past years.
Progression of Skills and Knowledge Early Years
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Nursery |
Reception |
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New Early Learning Goals |
New Early Learning Goals: - I can talk about the lives of people around me and their roles in society. - I know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now. - I understand the past through settings, characters and events encountered in books and storytelling. |
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Chronological Understanding |
- I can retell a simple past event in correct order. - I can remember and talk about significant events in my own experience.
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- I can talk about past and present events in my own life and in the lives of family members and compare them. - I can tell others about changes that have happened in my own life since I was born. - I can recognise events that happen more than once, e.g. birthdays, festivals. - I can use language associated with time. |
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Range of Historical Knowledge and Understanding |
- I can recognise similarities and differences between the past and the present, and changes over time. |
- I can start to learn about the past through stories that I read. - I can look closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change. |
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Interpretations of History |
- I can ask questions about aspects of my familiar world. |
- I can make observations of the world around me, and talk about changes that occur. |
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Historical Enquiry |
- I can question why things happen. - I can understand why and how questions. |
- I can answer how and why questions about experiences and in response to stories and events. - I can use vocabulary such as why, how, because, find out, wonder etc. |
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Organisation and Communication |
- I can ask questions and talk about differences and similarities that I observe. - I can start to use historical vocabulary when talking about the world. |
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Progression of Skills and Knowledge Key Stage 1
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Yr 1 |
Yr 2 |
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National Curriculum |
- Changes in living memory linking to aspects of change in national life (Toys and the Seaside). - People and places in our own locality (London Life) - Lives of significant individuals (Neil Armstrong) |
- Events beyond living memory significant nationally (Great Fire of London). - Lives of significant individuals (Heroes from the Past). - Changes in living memory linking to aspects of change in national life (Transport) |
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Chronological Understanding |
- I can put 3-4 concrete objects in chronological order on a timeline. - I can talk about how things were different when my parents and grandparents were children. - I can begin to use dates to talk about people or events from the past. |
- I can sequence 3-4 artefacts, photographs and events on a timeline. - I can use dates to talk about people or events from the past. - I can connect my new learning to events/people I have learnt about before, and put on a timeline. |
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Range of Historical Knowledge and Understanding |
- I can recognise the difference between past and present in my own and other’s lives. I can talk about these similarities and differences. - I can know and recount episodes from stories about the past. - I can find out about the past by talking to an older person. - I can find out about a famous or important individual. - I can explain how local people or events in history changed things nationally or internationally. |
- I can describe historical events. - I can describe significant people from the past, and talk about what they did. - I can explain the causes of a historical event and what the consequences were. - I can explain the impact of events from the past on how we live today. - I can explain why some people in the past acted the way they did. |
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Interpretations of History |
- I can start to see how the past is represented in different ways. - I can compare adults talking about the past, and start to think about reliability. - Using stories, I can understand the difference between fact and fiction. |
- I can choose and use parts of stories or sources to show that I understand events or people from the past. - I can start to explain why some sources are more reliable than others. |
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Historical Enquiry |
- I can show some understanding of how people find out about the past. - I can show some understanding of how evidence is collected. - I can ask questions about the past. - I can answer questions about the past using different sources. |
- I can understand and talk about how people find out about the past. - I can show understanding of how evidence is collected. - I can ask and answer questions about the past using sources. - I can research the life of a hero of the past, using sources and the internet. - I can research the life of a famous Briton from the past using sources. |
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Organisation &Communication |
I can communicate my historical knowledge through discussion, art, drama, modelling, writing and using ICT |
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Progression of Skills and Knowledge LKS2
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Yr 3 |
Yr 4 |
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National Curriculum |
- Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age (Literacy Tree and the Celts) - The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain. - Britain’s settlement by the Anglo-Saxons. - The achievements of the earliest civilisations – Ancient China. |
- Ancient Greece - Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots– The Vikings. - A study of an aspect of British history beyond 1066: The Tudors.
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Chronological Understanding |
- I am beginning to use dates and historical terms to describe events. - I am beginning to use a timeline within a specific period of history - I am beginning to recognise some of the different time periods within British history. - I can place events, artefacts and historical figures on a timeline. - I am beginning to understand the concept of change over time. |
- I can use dates and historical terms to describe events. - I can use a timeline within a specific period in history. - I can use a timeline to understand what caused big events to happen. - I can recognise some of the time periods in British history, and the overlapping histories of groups that invaded Britain. - I can place events, artefacts and historical figures on a timeline using dates. - I can understand the concept of change over time. |
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Range of Historical Knowledge and Understanding |
- I can give reasons for why certain events happened as they did in history, and why certain people acted as they did. - I can begin to understand how events from the past helped shape our lives today. - I can give a broad overview of what life was like in a historical period. - I am beginning to describe the characteristic features of the past, including beliefs, attitudes and experiences of men, women and children. - I can talk about some of the causes and consequences of main events and changes in history. - I can begin to understand why Britain may have been invaded and conquered. |
- I can suggest why certain events and people acted as they did in history. - I can explain how events from the past have shaped our lives today, and the influence of past cultures on our culture. - I can give a broad overview of what life was like in a historical period. - I can compare some of the times studied with those of other areas of interest around the world. - I can describe the characteristic features of the past, including ideas, beliefs, attitudes and experiences of men, women and children. - I can suggest causes and consequences of some of the main events and changes in history. - I can understand why Britain has been invaded and conquered. |
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Interpretations of History |
- I am beginning to describe the social, cultural and religious diversity of past societies. - I can describe different accounts of a historical event, explaining some of the reasons why the accounts might differ. - I can look at representations from the period, such as artefacts. - I am beginning to compare and contrast different forms of evidence. |
- I can describe the social, cultural and religious diversity of past societies. - I can describe different accounts of historical events, explaining why the accounts may differ. - I can use and analyse different sources – artefacts, information texts and historical sources. - I can compare and contrast different forms of evidence. |
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Historical Enquiry |
- I can begin to use evidence to ask questions and find answers to questions about the past. - I am beginning to suggest suitable sources for enquiry, and using more than one source to paint a more accurate picture of the past. - I am beginning to recognise the part that archaeologists have had in understanding the past. - I am beginning to use research skills in finding out facts about the time period I am studying. |
- I can use evidence to ask questions and find answers to questions about the past. - I can suggest suitable sources for enquiry, and use more than one source to paint an accurate picture of the past. - I can recognise the role of archaeologists in understanding the past. - I can use my research skills to find out about the time period I am studying. - |
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Organisation and Communication |
- I can recall, select and organise historical information. - I can communicate my knowledge and understanding through different forms.
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Progression of Skills and Knowledge UKS2
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Yr 5 |
Yr 6 |
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National Curriculum |
- A study of an aspect of British history post 1066 – Parliament and the Victorians. - A non-European society – The Maya |
- A historical study post 1066: Freedom - A non-European society – Benin - A significant turning point in British History: The World Wars. |
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Chronological Understanding |
- I can use dates and historical terms more accurately in describing events. - I can place features of historical events and figures into a chronological framework. - I can describe the main changes in a period of history. - I can identify periods of rapid change and contrast them to periods of little change. - I am beginning to understand the concepts of continuity vs change over time. - I can explain the chronology of different periods, and how they relate to each other on a timeline. - I am beginning make connections and contrasts between different time periods, and talk about trends over time. |
- I can use dates and historical terms accurately in describing events. - I can place features of historical events and figures into a chronological framework. - I can describe the main changes in a period of history, using historical terms (political, social, religious, cultural, technological) - I can identify periods of change in history, and contrast them with periods of little change. - I can understand the concepts of continuity and change over time, and can represent them on a timeline. - I can explain the chronology of different time periods, and how they relate to one another on a timeline. - I can make connections and contrasts between different time periods, and talk about trends over time. |
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Range of Historical Knowledge and Understanding |
- I can study differences for life in a time period for different groups, e.g. men and women. - I can examine causes and results of events, and how these have shaped the world today. - I can begin to understand the political history of Britain. - I can compare and contrast life in different time periods I have studied. - I can begin to explore how cultures changed within a time period studied. - I can describe in detail historical events and information about historical figures I have studied. - I can explain how some aspects of British history have had an impact elsewhere in the world. - I can find out about beliefs, behaviours and characteristics of historical cultures, and recognise that they might differ. |
- I can confidently describe historical events and the lives of historical figures who I have studied. - I know and can recall key dates, characters and events of the time studied. - I can explore the diverse beliefs , behaviour and characteristics of historical people, recognising that their views may differ to my own, and that there may be varied views within the culture. - I can compare a historical culture with another period studied. - I can write an explanation of a past event focusing on cause and effect, using evidence. |
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Interpretations of History |
- I can understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources. - I can compare accounts from different sources, and start to evaluate their reliability. - I can offer reasons for different versions of historical events. - I can understand that no single source of evidence can give a full picture of the past. |
- I can start to link sources, and work out how conclusions were arrived at. - I am aware that different evidence will lead to different conclusions, and can use evidence to analyse different sources. - I can show an awareness of propaganda, and analyse how this might affect the message of a source. |
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Historical Enquiry |
- I can begin to identify primary and secondary sources. - I can devise historical questions about the period I am studying. - I can test out a hypothesis using sources, in order to answer a question. - I can begin to use the library and internet to conduct independent research. |
- I can identify primary and secondary sources. - I can devise historical questions about a period I am studying, thinking particularly about change, cause, similarities, difference and significance. - I can test out a hypothesis, using a range of sources. - I can suggest omissions in sources, and explore ways of finding out this information. - I can bring knowledge gathered from several sources together in a fluent account. - I can confidently use the library and internet to research. - |
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Organisation and Communication |
- I can recall, select and organise historical information. - I can communicate my knowledge and understanding through different forms. - I can produce structured work, using appropriate dates and historical terms.
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Accompanying documents
