Teaching Primary History
Other titles in the Bloomsbury
Curriculum Basics series:
Teaching Primary Geography by Stephen Scoffham and Paula Owens
Teaching Primary Science by Peter Riley
Teaching Primary French by Amanda Barton and Angela McLachlan
Teaching Primary Spanish by Amanda Barton and Angela McLachlan
Teaching Primary Computing by Martin Burrett
Teaching Primary PE by Jazz Rose
Teaching Primary Art and Design by Emily Gopaul
BLOOMSBURY CURRICULUM BASICS
Teaching Primary History
By Matthew Howorth
BLOOMSBURY EDUCATION
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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First published in Great Britain, 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
This edition published in Great Britain, 2024 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Text copyright © Matthew Howorth, 2015, 2024
Illustrations copyright © Gary Davies, 2015, 2024
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Quotations from National Curriculum documents used in this publication are approved under an Open Government Licence v3.0: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
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7 Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots
8 The Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor
Viking raids and invasions
study of an aspect of history or a site dating from a period beyond 1066 that is significant in the locality, e.g. Victorian or Tudor site
Introduction
Tackling the curriculum
The history National Curriculum changed in 2013 and much of Key Stage 1 remained as it was, with just a few tweaks and additions, meaning most Key Stage 1 planning could stay relatively the same.
Key Stage 2 saw a number of changes, mainly to encourage pupils to learn how to interpret different historical events. People see things from different angles and in different ways; we do now, and we always have done! So rather than filling pupils’ heads with dates and facts, encourage them to consider what happened from different points of view: why and how might people see things differently? Encourage them to be inquisitive and to ask questions. Why might somebody think in one way, yet somebody else think in another? This is where you can use everyday examples and events that happen on a daily basis to reinforce the point, perhaps even using examples from school life – how the pupils react in the playground or in lessons. It will also enable them to consider something from another or opposing point of view, rather than just their own – a vital skill in life.
The Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings are all taught at Key Stage 2, giving pupils a chronological grasp of what happened pre-1066. There is still plenty of scope to look at some exciting topics after that, ensuring that there is much for pupils to get enthused about.
Teaching of the curriculum is split between overview and depth studies, giving teachers some freedom; it also doesn’t have to be taught in chronological order, although it may make sense to do at least some of it that way. Also, the local history study can be combined with one of the other topics and made into a depth study.
Ideas for medium-term plans and schemes of work
The National Curriculum lists the historical periods that have to be studied, but the suggested topics within each period are just that: suggestions. They are non-statutory, so it is possible to have a fair amount of choice in what you teach. If you don’t want to teach the suggestion that is made in the National Curriculum, you don’t have to, as long as what you do teach satisfies the main period of study.
In terms of what you teach, think about whom you are teaching it to; some topics are better grasped and understood in Year 5 or 6 rather than Year 3 or 4, for instance. Think about the subject matter: is it appropriate for the pupils, in terms of both subject matter and level? Would they get more out of it if they were in Year 5 or 6, or is it a topic they can enjoy in Years 3 and 4?
This book will give you plenty of ideas of how to teach the topics, so you can choose how much depth you want to go into. Each idea at Key Stage 2 will have activities that you can simplify and do with Years 3 and 4, but also plenty of more complicated activities and extension work should you choose to study it with Years 5 and 6. There are also lots of samples of schemes of work and medium-term plans on the internet.
The chapters in this book will provide information and teaching ideas for the vast majority of the topics listed, and those not included in this book are available online at www.bloomsbury.com/BCB-Teaching-History. Also listed online are other topics of study, ideas and resources.
How this book works
This book is split into three main parts: Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2 and Upper Key Stage 2. Each chapter within these sections focuses on the curricular units of study and includes an overview of each topic listed, followed by three lesson plans; it also identifies areas for further research for both teachers and pupils, including books, films/TV programmes and apps. The lesson plans themselves include starter and plenary activities and extension tasks; there are also ideas for school trips, lists of online resources and sample questions. Each chapter concludes with a list of cross-curricular links and a summary of learning and progression.
It is important to challenge pupils to think for themselves, to form their own opinions on events and to interpret them in different ways, rather than blindly following and believing facts that they are told. It is vital that they question motives and reasons behind the decisions and actions that people made, looking at the past with an inquisitive nature. Do not recite endless dates for pupils to learn; of course, some dates are important to remember, but it is much better for pupils to be excited by the past rather than bored by it. The more they realise that people were just like we are today, with the same hopes, fears, dreams, motivations and faults, the more they will understand how and why people behaved in the ways that they did.
Make sure that the pupils understand some basic historical terms:
• bc: Before Christ – the number of years before Jesus was born. 33 bc would mean 33 years before Christ was born.
• ad: Anno Domini – Latin for Year of our Lord. ad 45 would be 45 years after the birth of Christ.
• Chronology: Arranging dates or events in the order in which they happened. So the dates 1914, 1066, 1588, 1939 and 1666 in chronological order would be 1066, 1588, 1666, 1914, 1939.
• Sources: In looking at historical evidence, we look at sources. There are different types of sources:
• Primary: Primary sources are from the time of the event in question. They can be direct evidence from eyewitnesses who were there at the time of the event – for example, Samuel Pepys’ diary extracts on the Fire of London. They can also be from someone who was alive at the time of the event in question but perhaps did not directly witness it for themselves; they may have formed an opinion from living at that time, or heard about it from people who did witness it. For example, William of Poitiers, who wrote about the Battle of Hastings, was William the Conqueror’s chaplain and was not at the battle himself, but he provided the most detailed accounts of the event. A primary source can be in many forms, such as a letter, report, diary, memoir, artefact or work of art. Primary sources can be very useful in understanding how people felt at the time of an event.
• Secondary: A secondary source is one that is not from the time of the event in question. These sources may be compiled after the writer has studied primary sources and completed with the benefit of hindsight. However, they may be also written after the writer has just studied other secondary sources. A secondary source can be a textbook, painting or any written evidence created after the event. Secondary sources can be very useful and may be well balanced, but it does depend on where the author got their information. When looking at historical evidence, it is important to consider the provenance of the source.
• Provenance: The provenance of a source tells us who wrote a source, when they wrote it and for what purpose. We have to look at the provenance of a source to get a better understanding of how useful and reliable it is. A source written by an eyewitness may be biased, depending on what their personal objectives and opinions were at the time.
• Example 1: A Royalist who supported Charles I during the Civil War would have a different opinion about the King than a Parliamentarian who fought against him.
• Example 2: A painting created in the 1800s showing the murder of the two princes in the Tower would probably be based on the account of their murder written during Tudor times by Thomas More. But Thomas More was a Tudor man, with a high position under Henry VIII’s reign. Henry’s father, Henry VII (the first of the Tudor monarchs), seized the crown from Richard III, the man generally held responsible for the murder of the two princes. Thomas More would have been about five years old when the two princes disappeared without trace, and More was raised by John Moreton, a man who had fallen out bitterly with Richard III. So would More’s account of the disappearance of the two princes be an eyewitness account? No, as he wasn’t there when the boys disappeared. Would it be a contemporary account, created at the time? Again, no, because More was a young child in 1483–1485, the period in which the princes probably disappeared. Would it be a reliable account? Maybe, maybe not; as mentioned earlier, More was Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII and his account was written in Tudor times – to write anything different would be akin to writing one’s own death warrant. Is it an accurate account? Maybe, we don’t know for sure. Is it a useful account? Very, as it is what many people would have thought at the time and have done since. However, this
just demonstrates the caution with which some sources have to be considered. Looking at the provenance will help you to decide how useful and reliable a source is.
At the start of each topic, the relevant section from the National Curriculum for primary history is quoted under the heading ‘What does the curriculum say?’. The extract is taken from the Department for Education’s ‘The National Curriculum in England: Key Stages 1 and 2 framework document’ (September 2013), pp. 188–192. The full document can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-prim ary-curriculum
Matthew Howorth can be contacted and followed on X @HoworthM.