History
History Curriculum
Intent, Implementation, and Impact
History Curriculum Statement
Intent: What we want our pupils to learn.
At Barham Primary School, History forms a key part of our curriculum and has been designed to first fulfil the aims of the National Curriculum. We aim for a high quality, ambitious history curriculum which inspires curiosity and fascination in our pupils about Britain’s past and that of the wider world through ensuring the progressive development of historical concepts, knowledge and skill. We aim for History to develop passion and to instil curiosity in our pupils through allowing them to gain the opportunity to study key periods of British history, ancient civilisations and influential people who have shaped our lives today both in Europe and worldwide. We aim to develop their cultural capital through explicit teaching of vocabulary as well as visits to historical sites, museum explorations and themed days at school. We use assessment to maximise the growth of our pupils as Historians and as educated citizens.
History at Barham is made up of two main components. The children’s knowledge of the past and their understanding of subject specific vocabulary (Substantive knowledge) and their knowledge about how historians investigate the past and how they construct claims, arguments and accounts (disciplinary knowledge). These two strands are taught in combination as pupils study each unit of History.
Through our entire History curriculum runs a set of core concepts which are explored through each historical unit and provide lenses through which to consider different aspects of history. These concepts are revisited through different historical period, as well as in other subjects at Barham as children move through the school to deepen their understanding.
With an enquiry led approach, our aim is not only to cultivate curiosity and provide knowledge about the past, but to enable children to think like a historian, through the development of Historical enquiry skills.
Implementation: How we plan and teach History?
At Barham, each history unit begins with one or two overarching enquiry questions (topic overview). A series of lessons are then carefully planned for progression and depth. As children journey through the unit, they will develop the substantive knowledge through their exposure to the critical content they are exposed to and also their disciplinary knowledge they need in order to answer the overarching enquiry question. History is taught on a termly basis and is taught as a stand-alone lesson as well as implemented throughout a range of core and foundation subjects. This may include extended pieces of writing in English, ordering time in mathematics and exploring how cartography has developed over the different historical periods in geography.
At the beginning of each history unit taught at Barham, children view a broader history road map to identify the chronological context of previous learning, often using a timeline. We also have a discussion at the beginning of each new topic to identify what knowledge children have retained and explore new vocabulary for the period of history that is being studied. From there, previous key knowledge is recapped against the key concepts, and new vocabulary related to historical enquiry and the period being studied is taught.
Children take part in Historical enquiry using research and a range of sources used to enrich new learning. Children interpret their findings, make comparisons and draw conclusions using elements of the core concepts and working historically skills.
Our History curriculum overview identifies the critical content (substantive knowledge) knowledge and vocabulary acquired within each unit of work. Vocabulary is presented interactively in classrooms allowing frequent repetition and practice throughout the year giving ample opportunity for pupils to further develop language, vocabulary and speech and language skills. Reading is at the core of the curriculum at Barham primary and enhances history further through high quality texts often linked to history units through our Destination Reader lessons.
At Barham, we use knowledge organisers that contain key facts, information and vocabulary that children need to have in order to achieve a solid knowledge and understanding of a unit. The history knowledge organisers also refer to prior learning and key historical events around the era being studied and are designed to be implemented as live learning resources that children and teachers use regularly and with purpose.
At Barham, we promote inclusive practice and seek to provide engaging learning opportunities for all children to enable everyone to access the history curriculum. Through careful, yet ambitious planning, we ensure that all learning experiences are appropriately constructed to enable all learners, irrespective of academic ability or need, to meet the intended learning objectives.
Teaching and Learning
Our principal aim is to develop the children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in history and we use a variety of teaching and learning styles in our history lessons. We believe in whole-class teaching methods and combine these with enquiry-based research activities. We believe children learn best when:
- they go on visits to museums and places of interest
- they have access to secondary sources such as books and photographs
- visitors talk about personal experiences of the past
- they listen to and interact with stories from the past
- they undertake fieldwork by interviewing family and older friends about changes in their own and other people’s lives
- they use drama to act out historical events
- they are shown, or use independently, resources from the internet and videos
- they have access to, and are able to handle artefacts
- they are able to use non-fiction books for research
They are provided with opportunities to work independently or collaboratively, to ask as well as answer historical questions. We recognise the fact that we have children of differing ability in all our classes, and so we provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child. We achieve this through a range of strategies which are adapted by task, expected outcome and/or support from peers or adults.
Assessment and Recording
Assessment opportunities identify children’s understanding and interpretation of their learning within each history unit of work. At Barham Primary School, assessment is an integral part of the teaching process. Children record their History learning in their humanities books which displays their learning. The assessment of children’s work is on-going to ensure that understanding is being achieved and that progress is being made. KWL (Knowledge, Learning & Understanding) grids are used at the start of every unit. Formative assessment between lessons takes the form of teacher feedback which children answer in purple pen and ‘prove it on pink’ test style questions to test children’s retention and understanding of content taught. End of unit assessments are used to assess children’s understanding at the end of each topic as well as to inform planning.
Monitoring
Monitoring takes place regularly through sampling children’s work, pupil voice, teacher planning, book scrutiny, learning walks and lesson visits.
Impact: What we achive by delivering History in this way and how we know?
Impact: What we achieve by delivering History in this way and how we know?
By the end of EYFS, children will:
Know the meaning of new and old. They will begin to compare past and present events in their own lives, those of their families and other people they know. They will also be able to sequence events using language relating to time.
By the end of KS1, children will:
Previous learning will be built upon further as children develop an awareness of the past and know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework. They will be able to make comparisons by identifying similarities and differences between life in different historical periods and recall some significant people from events beyond living memory.
By the end of KS2, children will:
Have developed a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, noting connections, contrasts and trends over time. They will be able to use the appropriate historical vocabulary to describe change, cause, similarity and difference when
discussing significant historical periods, events or people and construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of historical information.
The impact of our history curriculum is that it develops pupil’s historical knowledge and their historical analysis simultaneously. Outcomes in books evidence an ambitious, broad and balanced history curriculum and demonstrate the children’s acquisition of identified key knowledge and vocabulary, which in turn reduces the word gap in disadvantaged children as well as evidence of their historical enquiry skills.
This ensures our children know more and remember more as they progress through the school. As a result, children leave primary school with the ability to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop a perspective and judgement creating capable lifelong learners.
History Curriculum Overview
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History Skills Progression
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