Intent
Our history curriculum is developed from the National Curriculum for History at Key Stages One and Two. The key knowledge for each topic or theme is set out in the Long Term Planning documents for each Milestone along with key vocabulary and suggestions for activities that will develop children’s understanding of historical concepts, enquiry and perspective (chronology). These documents are then used to form Medium Term Planning documents that underpin the teaching and learning of each historical era or significant event/individual. In Key Stage 2, key themes that can be explored across the topics or eras studied are identified.
Implementation
How do we deliver History at Crookhill Primary School?
- History is studied across the year in blocks of termly or half-termly units.
- Each unit of history covers a different historical event / famous person or historical era
- These lessons are usually delivered weekly.
- We use a range of resources but do not follow a particular scheme to deliver history.
- History is sometimes taught alongside other subjects, for example links may be made to Art and Design or Design Technology units of work.
- We deliver history lessons using a range of different types of activities including but not limited to: teacher led activities, guided research, use of appropriate audio-visual resources.
- We regularly revisit the content of lessons (and previous learning from prior year groups) to ensure that learning is embedded.
- Where possible, we take pupils on education visits or invite visitors into the classroom in order to enhance the learning.
Impact
We believe that progression in history require all aspects of the discipline to be developed. Historical knowledge is developed alongside the historical skills and concepts. Key knowledge can be assessed through retrieval quizzes and activities or end of unit topic quizzes. The skills / concepts of chronology, vocabulary, enquiry and interpreting the past are more subtle and assessment of these skills will be ongoing throughout the Milestone that the children are working within.
An ongoing record of these skills and concepts is kept in order to build up a picture throughout the Milestone phase the child is working in. Milestone assessment sheets give suggestions to staff of how information can be collected through assessment activities which will help to build a picture of each child or cohort’s current level of understanding. The aim is to build a narrative for each child or group rather than to collect data. This information can then be shared with the next year group’s teacher who can build upon the starting points of the class.
At Crookhill Primary we believe by becoming historians, children will develop a coherent knowledge and understanding of local, British and world history, helping them to further understand the world around them and how it came to be. Pupils will acquire a wide range of historical skills and develop a sense of identity and a cultural understanding based on their historical heritage.
Through the study of history, we can allow children to appreciate how people in the past have changed the societies in which they lived, our society today and how it will continue to change in the future. It is vital that all children are engaged and immersed in their history learning, in order to develop their understanding of the world around them.