History
At Greenlands Primary School all children, including those who are disadvantaged and children who have SEND learn subject specific concepts through studying different periods of history
A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.
- Marcus Garvey
Why History Is Important
History is the study of people in the past and how their actions have influenced our lives today. History can help children to make sense of the world in which they live and can help them to develop a sense of identity. Our aim is that the children should understand that the society, in which we live, has been shaped by developments in the past. They will learn about the role of individuals, events and movements that have played in moulding modern society. By studying historical source material, the children will be encouraged to ask questions, deduce information and solve problems through an investigative approach.
National Curriculum– Purpose of Study
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.
What History Looks Like At Greenlands Primary School
The teaching of History at Greenlands Primary School is underpinned by the National Curriculum and the Greenlands Knowledge and Skills Progression Document. Knowledge and Skills have been arranged within subject specific themes. Vocabulary for each topic is identified and explicitly taught to address the recognised ‘word gap’ that exists for many of the children that attend Greenlands Primary School. The regular revisiting of previous learning will enable children to know more and remember more.
Inclusion
All historical lessons/activities are designed and planned to include all children through a range of approaches. Lessons are planned to facilitate the best possible outcome for all children within the class.
Concepts and themes Running Through History
- Time, change, chronology – to create a sense of period and time, the sequence of when things happened, what changed and what continued, what we might see as progress.
- Reasons and results – how can we explain why things happen in history, how did people make a difference to what happened? What followed as a result of these?
- Interpretations – how and why does the way that history is produced differ? Do we all understand the past in exactly the same way? How do we show what the past was like?
- Historical evidence – What do we use to find out about the past? How can we use this material safely to produce the best history we can? What are the problems when using historical sources?
- Significance – how do we choose what is most important in history as we cannot use everything?
- Historical Enquiry
- Chronological Understanding
- Historical Knowledge
- Interpretations of History
- Organisation and Communication
Whole school overview
EYFS
Children in the reception class show that they are historians by showing awareness of time in the day, commenting on, and noticing what happens in each season, being able to narrate their daily routines/weekly activities, use past tense with increasing accuracy, sequence a life cycle/ stages of growth for a plant or animal and be able to compare and say what is the same/different about something.
During the topic ‘Dinosaur Detectives’ children will get the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of dinosaurs and become Palaeontologists. Through a mixture of high quality fiction and non-fiction texts children will be encouraged to answer ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions, explain own knowledge and understanding, and ask appropriate questions so that they can answer the question ‘What can I tell you about dinosaurs?’
Key Stage 1
Year 1
Children build on their history learning by investigating a topic within living memory. They start with something that is real to them - toys. Children have the opportunity to: compare toys from the past to toys of today, identify the similarities and differences in ways of life in different periods of time, examine the significance of the invention of technology, and continue to expand their understanding of cause and effect by exploring the effect that technology has had on life today.
Children will move on to learn about the history of our school. Children will act as historians using our school building to map the changes that have happened over time. They will learn that in the past children did not go to school but worked to contribute to their families earnings. The children will understand that our school has grown as the village of Darenth has got bigger.
Year 2
Children continue to develop their history learning by investigating the Great Fire of London. They will learn about where and why the fire began and the effects on the city of London. They will understand that the reason we know about the effects of the fire is from artefacts such as Samuel Pepys' diaries.
They build on their knowledge of the past when they study the lives of Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. They understand the impact of these women's lives on nursing practices today. They dig further into the past learning about the Norman Conquest and the affect on England. They begin to look at historical sources as evidence from the past.
Key Stage 2
Year 3
Children continue to build on the knowledge and skills acquired in KS1 and apply these when investigating the changes in Britain from Stone Age to Iron Age. They research this period of history using books and the internet, comparing the lives of people in this period of history with their own. They study Skara Brae to find out about life in the Stone Age and explore the changes from nomadic living to living in settlements and the advent of farming in the Neolithic Revolution.
Children then move on to the Roman era and to explore the question ‘Why did the Romans' invade Britain’. During this unit children will deepen their understanding of the changes that happened during this period considering significant people, for example Boudicca and Julius Caesar, places and events, the effects these had on Britain and the evidence left behind.
Year 4
Children explore the achievements of the earliest civilisations - the Anglo Saxons, and the Vikings. Children build upon their understanding of invasion from the Romans in Year 3 and use evidence to build up a picture of significant people and past events. Children will continue to deepen their understanding of cause and effect from KS1 and Year 3, to offer reasonable explanations for what happened during these periods of time.
Children will then go further back in time to learn about the Ancient Egyptians. They will explore the religious beliefs of Ancient Egyptian society and the evidence left behind that allows us to understand and know about their lives and the roles of men and women.
Year 5
Children expand their historical understanding further by going back in time to other ancient civilisations – The Ancient Greeks and the Kingdom of Benin. Children will apply, and deepen their comparison skills and their understanding of historical events. They will develop a greater understanding of cause and effect as they research information and understand how the Ancient Greeks influenced modern society. They will develop a wider understanding of human development in a non-European society through their learning about the Kingdom of Benin.
Year 6
Children deepen their historical understanding of the Victorian period. This in-depth study will enable children to explore cause and effect in detail, using evidence from school log books and the Dartford Workhouse Census to understand changes in Victorian life and the concept of the British Empire under the reign of Queen Victoria.
Children then move on to a unit focusing on the role of Great Britain in the two world conflicts. Using our War Memorial they will look at the involvement of 'PALs' regiments in World War 1 and the causes that led to the outbreak of war. They will focus on the battles in France with particular reference to the Battle of the Somme. This unit then moves onto the causes of World War Two and the events of the Battle of Britain and how this led to the eventual liberation of France by Allied forces.
