History
A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.
History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.
Year Group | Year 3 – Aut 1 | Year 3 – Spr 2 | Year 3 –Sum 1 | Year 4 – Aut 1 | Year 4 – Aut 2 | Year 4- Sum 2 | Year 5 – Aut 2 | Year 5- Sum 1
| Year 5 – Sum 2 | Year 6 – Aut 2
| Year 6 – Spr 1
| Year 6 - Spr 2 |
Unit/Period
Key Question | Egyptians What did the Ancient Egyptians believe? | Stone Age Would you prefer to live in the Stone Age, Iron Age or Bronze Age? | Romans Why did the Romans settle in Britain? | Anglo-Saxons How hard was it to invade and settle in Britain? | Children Through the Ages How have children’s lives changed? | Vikings Were the Vikings raiders, traders or settlers? | Tudors What was life like in Tudor England? Wick Court Residential
| Census What does the census tell us about our local area?
| Mayans How did the Mayans compare to the Anglo-Saxons? | WW2 What was the impact of WW2 on the people of Britain? | Ancient Greece What did the Greeks ever do for us? | Crime and Punishment Study that extends beyond 1066 – Aspect/theme/turning point
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Chronological Awareness |
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Substantive (abstract) Concepts: Civilisation (Social and Cultural) |
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Substantive (abstract) Concepts: Trade |
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Substantive (abstract) Concepts: Beliefs |
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Substantive (abstract) Concepts: Achievements and Follies of Mankind
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Disciplinary Concepts: Change and Continuity |
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Disciplinary Concepts: Cause and Consequence |
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Disciplinary Concepts: Similarities and Differences |
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Disciplinary Concepts: Historical Significance |
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Disciplinary Concepts: Historical Interpretations |
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Historical Enquiry: Posing Historical Questions |
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Historical Enquiry: Gathering, Organising and Evaluating Evidence |
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Historical Enquiry: Interpreting findings, analysing and making connections |
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Historical Enquiry: Evaluating and Drawing Conclusions |
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Historical Enquiry: Communicating Findings |
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KS2
History Progression at St John’s – EYFS and KS1 LTP
| Topics chosen must cover the following areas: Changes within living memory including some that reveal changes in national life; significant events beyond living memory; nationally/internationally significant people including comparison of significant people to compare life at different times; significant events, people or places from the school’s locality. | |||||||
Year/Term | Reception | Year 1 Spring 1 | Year 1 Spring 2 | Year 1 Term 3 | Year 2 Autumn 1 | Year 2 Spring 1 | Year 2 Summer 2 | |
Topic Matters, Skills and Processes | A peek into the past Adventure through time | Toys Changes in Living Memory | How am I making history? | How have explorers changed the world? | How was school different in the past? | How did we learn to fly? | What is a monarch? | |
Chronology Sequencing events/objects using chronological vocabulary | To know that someone’s age is the time since they were born. To know that they started life as a baby but have since grown and changed. To know that some people are older than others. - Coming soon! To know that parents are older than children and grandparents are older than parents. - Coming soon! To know some language for talking about the passing of time and events that have already happened, even if used inaccurately. (before, yesterday, last week, last year). | To know that a timeline shows the order events in the past happened. To know that we start by looking at ‘now’ on a timeline then look back. To know that ‘the past’ is events that have already happened. To know that ‘the present’ is time happening now. To know that within living memory is 100 years. To know that beyond living memory is more than 100 years ago. | To know that events in history may last different amounts of time. To know a decade is ten years | |||||
Change and Continuity Similarities and differences between ways of life at different times | Being aware of changes that happen throughout the year (e.g. seasons, nature) - coming soon! | Being aware that some things have changed and some have stayed the same in their own lives. Describing simple changes and ideas/objects that remain the same. Understanding that some things change while other items remain the same and some are new. To know that people change as they grow older. To know that throughout someone’s lifetime, some things will change and some things will stay the same. To know that everyday objects have changed over time. | Recognising some things which have changed / stayed the same as the past. Identifying simple reasons for changes. | |||||
Causes and Consequences Why people did things Causes and results of events and changes | Experiencing cause and effect in play | Asking why things happen and beginning to explain why with support. To know that everyday objects have changed as new materials have been invented. | Asking questions about why people did things, why events happened and what happened as a result. Recognising why people did things, why events happened and what happened as a result. To know that changes may come about because of improvements in technology. | |||||
Similarities and differences | Beginning to recognise similarities and differences between the past and today. Using photographs and stories to compare the past with the present day. | Beginning to look for similarities and differences over time in their own lives. To know that there are similarities and differences between their lives today and their lives in the past. To know some similarities and differences between the past and their own lives. To know that people celebrate special events in different ways. To know that everyday objects have similarities and differences with those used for the same purpose in the past. | Identifying similarities and difference between ways of life at different times. Finding out about people, events and beliefs in society. Making comparisons with their own lives. To know that there are explanations for similarities and differences between children’s lives now and in the past. | |||||
Significance | Recalling special people in their own lives To know the names of people that are significant to their own lives | Recalling special events in their own lives. To know that some people and events are considered more ‘special’ or significant than others. | Discussing who was important in a historical event To know that some events are more significant than others. To know the impact of a historical event on society. To know that ‘historically significant’ people are those who changed many people’s lives. | |||||
Interpretation Ways we find out about the past and how it is presented | Recognising that different members of the class may notice different things in photographs from the past. To begin to understand that the past can be represented in photographs and drawings. | Beginning to identify different ways to represent the past (e.g. photos, stories). Developing their own interpretations from historical artefacts. To know that the past can be represented in photographs. | Recognising different ways in which the past is represented (including eye-witness accounts). Comparing pictures or photographs of people or events in the past. Developing their own interpretations from photographs and written sources. To know that the past is represented in different ways. | |||||
Historical Enquiry/ Sources and evidence |
| Using a range of sources to find out about a period. Using evidence to build up a picture of a past event. Observing the small details when using artefacts and pictures. Identifying sources which are influenced by the personal beliefs of the author. To know that archaeological evidence can be used to find out about the past. To know that we can make inferences and deductions using images from the past. | ||||||
| NB: You will not necessarily have entries in every box in every topic. Not all skills will be covered in all topics. However, each skill process should be visited at least twice in a key stage and approached at a higher level in the later visit. Key: P light use of the skills PP Overt practise of the skills PPP Strong emphasis on the skill | |||||||