St Mary's Catholic Primary School

History Learning Rationale and Skill Development

Throughout pupils’ time at St Mary’s children will develop their historical understanding, research and enquiry skills. We aim to see development and skills progression in the following key areas:

·         Comparing different periods of time

·         Using primary and secondary sources

·         Using artefacts

·         Creating accurate timelines

·         Using historical language

Year Group

Topic

Learning Objectives – Planning and Assessment

1

Victorians

Role of class and fairness

Reform

Common Good

Oppression

I understand some history of the local area

I understand monarchs have power and sometimes this changes

I understand how people’s lives have shaped this nation

I know Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world

I can sort artefacts into ‘then’ and ‘now’

I can ask and answer questions about the past

I can sequence events and artefacts into a chronological order

I can use common words before, after, then and now

I can use a range of sources to find out about significant people and why they did things in the past

I can begin to identify different ways to represent the past using photos, stories, ICT, drama, timelines, drawing

2

The Dark Ages

It’s dangerous in the dark!

loss of learning and democracy

Conflict

Resilience

Faith

I can observe changes in an aspect of social history (crime and punishment from the Anglo-Saxons to the present)

I know the legacy of Greek or Roman culture

I can contrast a non-European society that with British history (early Islamic civilization studied through the Crusades)

I am beginning to know and understand the history of these islands

I can observe and handle a range sources of information to find out about the past

I can ask and answer questions about the past to find out answers.

I can sequence events, photographs (or art) and artefacts into chronological order

I can use common words and phrases related to the passing of time, for example before, after, past, present, then, now.

I recognise why people did things and why events happened (developing empathy and understanding)

I can compare photographs (paintings, stained glass, tapestries) of people or events in the past, to identify differences in the ways of life.

3

Ancient Egypt

How do we know so much about so long ago?

Spirituality

Tradition

Fairness

I understand achievements of the earliest civilizations

I am starting to understand why empires rise and fall

I can use sources of information, including ICT, to find out about events, people and changes

I can ask and answer meaningful questions about the past

I can sequence several events or artefacts into periods of time

I use dates and vocabulary related to the passing of time to place the time studied onto a timeline

I can find out about lives of people in the time period studied and compare with our life today

I can recognise similarities and differences between periods of time

I can compare an aspect of life across early and late times studied.

4

Vikings-Traders and Raiders

Is the world ours to explore?

Weakness

Power

Conflict

I understand settlement in Britain by Anglo-Saxons and others groups

I understand the history of Christianity in Britain

I comprehend the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England

I can create a structured account of history

I can use and evaluate sources of information, including ICT, to find out about events, people and changes

I can use the relevant material to build up a picture of a past event

I can place events, people and changes into correct periods of time on a timeline

I can identify key features of people’s lives and of events

I can identify and describe reasons for and results of historical events, situations and changes

I can identify different ways in which the past is represented and interpreted

5

Space Race

Competition between countries, but at what cost?

Media

Common good

Pride

I understand changes within living memory (especially to national life)

I can recall the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements

I understand economic, military and political influences on past events

I begin to identify primary and secondary sources

I can select and combine relevant information from different sources

I can use the evidence collected to build up a picture of life in the time studied

I can place events, people and changes into correct periods of time

I make comparisons between different times

I use dates and vocabulary related to the passing of time, such as modern, ancient, BC, century and decade

I examine causes and results of events, and the impact on people

I show some understanding that aspects of the past have been represented and interpreted in different ways

6

The Mayan Civilisation Colonialism, discovery and disease

Conquest

Exploration

Freedom

I can recall and discuss the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements

I try to devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance

I understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources

I recognise and use primary and secondary sources

I can place current study on a timeline in relation to other studies, to sequence up to 10 events

I use relevant dates and terms related to the passing of time

I can find out about beliefs, behaviour and characteristics of people, recognising differences in views and feelings

I can use sources and evidence to support my thoughts about the past

I am beginning to make links between past societies and periods

I recognise the past is represented and interpreted in different ways, and give reasons for this

Threads across school

What we see in lessons:

Access to primary sources

Extended writing

Different views of the past

Connecting history to what happening today/children’s lives

What we see in classrooms:

An immersive and exciting display

A timeline

Artefacts

Children’s history work being celebrated

What we see in books:

Children describing(KS1) and explaining (KS2) the past

Historical language

Awareness that the past is presented in a certain way

Feedback focusing on the history objective

Outside school:

Homework projects or websites to explore

School trips to immersive and stimulating venues