History
Intent
History at Bishop Aldhelm’s Primary School is an engaging subject that helps children to understand the world around them, the impact the past has on the world today and develop critical thinking. Our history curriculum aims to inspire curiosity, build chronological understanding, and foster a sense of identity through the exploration of local, national and global pasts. This involves learning about variety of topics including Kings and Queens, The Great Fire of London, Ancient Egypt and World War Two.
Implementation
At Bishop Aldhelm’s school, we have a clear progression of the historical knowledge, skills and vocabulary from EYFS to Year 6. We teach History in a chronological order so that the understanding of chronology is built on in each key stage. Children become historians by thinking critically about the past, considering other points of view, conducting research and considering the impact of events. To help our pupils understand how History is relevant to them, we use timelines, artefacts, stories, and role play to bring history to life.
In History, our curriculum develops children’s knowledge through the following concepts:
- Significant People
- Trade
- Settlement
- Invasion
- Chronology
- Democracy
Impact
At the end of year 6, the children will be able to:
- Skills Development: Pupils develop skills in critical thinking, enquiry, interpretation and communication through looking at a variety of sources, discussing and debating these sources, and considering who made them and for what reason.
- Vocabulary Development: Learning subject specific vocabulary such as “civilisation”, “empire” and “monarch”, pupils will develop a wider, more complex vocabulary and will gain a deeper understanding of what these words mean.
- Chronological Understanding: By sequencing events and learning about historical periods or events in chronological order, pupils learn to recognise the impact of cause and effect over time and see how past events have impacted future time periods.
- Cross-Curricular links: The subject strengthens reading comprehension as children read a variety of sources and think critically about what the source is telling them. It has strong links to writing as children create letters, news articles and plan debates. There are also links to Maths (timelines, dates, years, chronological order). Additionally, there are links to drama and music (role-playing, creating or listening to songs, hot seating).
Cultural Awareness:
- Learning about historical contributions from various countries and civilisations helps pupils to appreciate and respect different cultures. They understand how History can shape ideas about belonging and heritage.