
History @ Hannah More
Intent
At Hannah More, we endeavour to develop a curiosity about the past through learning about a wide variety of local, national and global historical events and people. Through their secure chronological understanding, children will be able to compare periods of time and identify and explain changes over time. It is our intention for children to leave Hannah More with an appreciation of the importance of history and how it has impacted our lives today.
Our progressive curriculum enables children to pose questions and investigate the past using both primary and secondary sources. Children are taught the skills to identify the richness, reliability and relevance of sources and discover information for themselves, as Historians. Skills are mapped out to ensure children can explain aspects of history and develop an understanding of why interpretations may differ. It is our aim for children to be able to apply the skills and understanding taught at Hannah More, to any area of history.
Implementation
Each year group is taught two historical enquires ensuring coverage of the skills and periods of time set out in the National Curriculum. ‘Being a historian’ is an integral part of our history curriculum. The progression of skills and knowledge along with key vocabulary, has been carefully designed to build and develop key concepts such as chronological understanding, causation, similarities and differences. Children have access to a variety of high quality primary and secondary sources of evidence (artefacts, pictures, diaries, books etc) and develop their skills to question and interpret these for themselves, ensuring that key language is being explicitly taught along the way. This develops children’s critical thinking and allows them to apply skills and unpick knowledge for themselves, thus developing their interest and curiosity. Our historical enquiries are designed to be as relevant as possible to our children and therefore local links are made to strengthen the children’s connections to the current day and develop their curiosity about the place they live.
Black History Week is an important part of our history curriculum. Each year group studies a significant individual or event that has shaped the lives of black people both locally and worldwide. Children at Hannah More are from diverse backgrounds, with families speaking more than 60 different languages, and therefore our curriculum is carefully planned to be as representative of our children as possible. For example, in Year 4 children study the Early Islamic Civilisation of Baghdad, in Year 6 children research and discover more about their own family heritage and throughout all the enquiries significant individuals have been carefully chosen to represent the varying demographics of our school population.
Each enquiry ends with a showcase giving the learning a real purpose and enabling children to display the skills and knowledge they have gained. Enrichment opportunities are also undertaken with children partaking in an educational school trip or learning from a visitor to the school.
Early Years Foundation Stage
During EYFS, pupils develop their historical understanding through a combination of child initiated and adult directed activities.
They have the opportunities to:
- Think about changes that have happened during their own lives
- Explore some historical artefacts such as old toys, old phones, old photographs
- Read stories which illustrate changes that take place during a person’s lifetime
- Look at old photographs of the local area and discuss how it has changed
Impact
A clear skills progression allows teachers to use formative assessments to ensure children are making progress in history and to aid them in identifying any gaps or misconceptions in both history knowledge and skill. Verbal and written feedback is provided and children are given time to respond to this. Teachers adapt lessons to ensure misconceptions are addressed and learning loops are in place to allow children the chance to revisit and compare historical events and times previously taught.
At Hannah More, children talk with confidence and enthusiasm about history. Pupil voice is used to assess the knowledge and skills pupils have gained during their history enquiries and to ensure learning is stored in their long-term memory. Work scrutinies are also used by the subject leader to ensure teacher judgements are correct and that progress is evident across the school.
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Term 1
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Term 2
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Term 3
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Term 4
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Term 5
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Term 6
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Year 1
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How do we play in different ways?
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Why were Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong courageous people?
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Year 2
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How has travel changed in our city?
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How are schools the same?
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Year 3
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Were the Vikings bloodthirsty warriors or peaceful settlers?
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What did the Romans do for Britain?
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Year 4
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What did early Islamic civilisation leave behind?
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How do animals feed and grow?
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Year 5
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Who is trading with who?
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What is chocolate?
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Year 6
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How has our understanding of the human body changed?
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What made the Greeks great?
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What is our heritage?
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Here are some fantastic websites you can visit to help you learn about the past...
https://www.britishmuseum.org/learning.aspx
https://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/learning/walk-through-a-victorian-house/walk-through/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/games/mummy_maker/index.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/games/viking_quest/index_embed.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/famouspeople/
http://www.schoolsliaison.org.uk/kids/bombdamage.htm
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/subjects/zkqmhyc
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids/
http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/history/
If you find a website you think others would like, please tell your class teacher so we can add it to the site.