Identity and place Making history meaningful

Identity and place. What is history for? What do children need from it? What is it currently giving them? How might we make it better?

Some of the issues. Pupils; are often weak at linking information together to form an overall narrative or story. They are also often weak in important history skills. while they often write, draw, discuss, make things and investigate, these skills are not developed progressively and so they do not improve across the key stage. Teachers; have been unwilling to be innovative with the curriculum. Often, sequences of lessons follow the route through the National Curriculum proposed by the QCA schemes of work. Key stages 1 and 2 make up two thirds of the statutory history provision for children.

Who am I? Seeing ourselves in the past; the individual perspective. Personal history, year 1 family history. Key concept; similarity and difference. Key process; using evidence. Key outcomes; old/new timeline, moviemaker film.

Making the strange familiar Images have been removed for copyright reasons. The images showed family photographs through the ages.

Where am I? Diversity in history. Image has been removed for copyright reasons.

Thinking through Key stage 2. Big pictures, comparative pictures, local pictures personal pictures. What do we teach, when do we teach it, how do the children make sense of it?

Key stage 2 framework questions. The big picturesSmaller stories, creating chronology and place. What made the Egyptians so powerful? (causation) How can we find out about life in Ancient Britain? (enquiry and evidence) How important were the Ancient Greeks? (significance) How have the Greeks been remembered? (interpretation) How did the Vikings change England? (change and continuity) How did the Vikings change Yorkshire? (change and continuity) Who changed the world the most between 1400 and 1600? (significance) What was life in our village like between 1800 and 1914? (evidence, change and continuity) How typical a Victorian town was Halifax? (change, causation, evidence) When and where was it best to be a child? (chronology, causation)

Rationale. Children have an opportunity to create a meaningful picture of the history of this country rather than a series of disconnected events. Opportunities are created for the children to explore diverse histories; to see black history, women and children in history etc. The key concepts of history are planned for and built upon. The children can create and explore their own hypotheses and be challenged. Real and meaningful outcomes can be planned for.

Providing comparisons. How important were the Ancient Greeks? (Then? Now?) Kirkburn sword, East Yorks, 300BC Corinthian helmet 460BC Images have been removed for copyright reasons.

Moving forwards and backwards. Remembering the Greeks. Images have been removed for copyright reasons. Images showed examples of classical style architecture.

Changing the world. Gutenberg Catherine de Medici Henry VIII Elizabeth I Suleiman the Magnificent Zheng He Joan Of Arc Da Vinci

Making it real. What was life in our village like? Image has been removed for copyright reasons. The image was of an old gravestone with multiple members of the same family.

Thematic stories. Who are the British? (chronology, change and continuity, cause and consequence) Who was the most important Briton/ (significance) How were people in the past ruled? (chronology, change and continuity) How do we remember Elizabeth 1? (interpretation) How did people in the past enjoy themselves? (chronology, change and continuity, cause and consequence) How do we know about the Greek Olympic games? (evidence) When and where was it best to be a child? (chronology, causation) How important were stories to people in the past? (significance)

Ways forward. Think about big pictures and small stories. Think about identity (in its widest sense) and place when planning a programme. Allow them to make connections and explore comparisons. Plan for progression through the concepts and processes of history. Be creative, both in terms of content and the outcomes of the enquires.