Amble Links First School – History Curriculum Overview
The study of history involves engaging pupils in investigating questions about people and events in the past in order to enable them to better understand their lives today and for a future as more informed and enlightened citizens. Through the study of history pupils also develop a wide range of critical thinking skills which enable them to understand the contested nature of knowledge and to distinguish between ‘fact’ and subjectivity when it comes to reaching conclusions and making judgements about the past. With this in mind, we have established a school curriculum plan for history as an entitlement for all pupils thats is:
Aspirational: Instilling a desire to achieve the highest levels of success through providing them with the opportunities to excel in long lasting knowledge and understanding and mastery of core historical skills. Such high aspirations are clearly identifiable in the progressive and increasingly challenging objectives of the scheme of work of each enquiry, which define clearly what the pupils will know, understand and be able to do.
Logical, and broad and balanced: The subject content we have selected reflects the guidance and the demands of the National Curriculum.
Chronologically sequenced: As pupils progress through the school, our curriculum allows them opportunities to evaluate both change and progress from one historical period to another and to build on previous knowledge and understanding as they tackle more complex and demanding enquiries.
Relevant: Careful consideration has been given to the selection of historical enquiries that extend the knowledge and understanding of the children beyond 1066.
Progressively more challenging: Through the complexity of the subject knowledge and also the critical thinking skills, we want to support the children to ensure they understand the significance of that knowledge.
Built upon and has continuity with the provision for history established in the Early Year Foundation Stage and in particular that which addresses the knowledge and skills expectations of the Past and Present Early Learning Goal
Inclusive: We deliver the same curriculum to all of our children irrespective of specific learning needs or disabilities and differentiating where necessary through, for example, class support, providing different learning environments, alternate learning activities and assessment outcomes.
KS1 | Year 1 | Year 1 | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 2 | Year 2 | |
Enquiry | How do toys and games compare with those of children in the 1960s? | Who is the greatest history maker? | Why is the history of my locality significant? Why does Warkworth have a castle: | What does it take to be a great explorer? | Why do we know so much about where Sappho used to live? | Why was Charles sent to prison? | |
Substantive Knowledge (knowledge about the past) | Changes within living memory | Events beyond living memory Lives of significant individuals | Events beyond living memory Lives of significant individuals Significant events, people and places in locality | Changes within living memory Events beyond living memory Lives of significant individuals | Events beyond living memory | Events beyond living memory | |
Disciplinary Knowledge (how historians study the past) | pictures/photos artefacts books videos | engravings artists impressions photographs paintings statues/monuments maps wall murals | pictures/photos/drawings diaries eye-witness accounts maps | eye-witness accounts diaries paintings photographs video footage | artefacts artists impressions pictures/paintings eye-witness accounts maps | letters and telegrams posters drawings photographs artefacts newspapers statues, sculptures, monuments Film footage | |
Disciplinary Knowledge (Critical thinking skills) | By the end of the enquiry our children, working as young historians, will have demonstrated that they can use effectively the range of simple historical techniques, enquiry skills, contemporaneous evidence, fieldwork and subject vocabulary to: | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Disciplinary Concepts | Chronology Change Similarity and Difference | Significance Cause and consequence Similarity and Difference Chronology | Significance Change Cause and consequence | Significance Similarities and differences | Significance Change Cause and consequence | Continuity and change Cause and consequence similarities and differences | |
Substantive Concepts | Culture Entertainment | Power Monarchy Conflict Equality | Democracy Culture Conflict Monarchy and Power | Monarchy Trade Equality Exploration | Democracy Culture Conflict Empire | Crime and Punishment Conflict Empire War and Military | |
Key Vocabulary | chronological, modern, decade, BC, AD, century, millennium, timeline, artefact, invention, commemorate, historian, memorable, significant | famous, infamous, commemorate, chieftain, pharaoh, pirate, privateer, discrimination, Prime Minister, treason, accomplishment, conspirator | expedition, indigenous, voyage, conquer, timeline, pioneer, navigate, mission, motive, space race | primary evidence, secondary evidence, artefact, remains, reconstruct, preserved, archaeologist, unearthed, archaeology, excavate, depiction, pyroclastic, emperor, infer | Western Front, cypher, communication, decode, reconnaissance, code, commemorate, aristocrat, patriotic, memorial, invasion, allies | ||
Local Links Cultural Capital | Memories of grandparents/great grandparents | Warkworth Castle Alnwick Castle | Amble Town Square Memorial Family members accounts | ||||
LKS2 | Year 3 | Year 3 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 4 | Year 4 | |
Enquiry | How did the lives of Ancient Britons change during the Stone Age? | What is the secret of the standing stones? | How do artefacts help us to understand the lives of people in the Iron Age? | How did the arrival of the Romans change Britain? | Who were the Anglo Saxons and how do we know what was important to them? | What did the Vikings want and how did Alfred help to stop them getting it? | |
Substantive Knowledge (knowledge about the past) | Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age | Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age | Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age | The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain | Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots | The Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor | |
Disciplinary Knowledge (how historians study the past) | Artefacts Paintings Artists impressions/reconstructions Maps Photographs Monuments | Video footage - recreation of the process of bronze manufacturing at the beginning of the Bronze Age Artefacts Monuments Artists reconstructions Photographs | Photographs Artefacts Artist reconstructions Maps Tabular and graphical data Film footage | Artefacts Photographs Maps Engravings, mosaics, frescos, murals Paintings, portraits, prints, drawings Artist reconstructions Statues, sculptures, monuments | Artefacts, Photographs, Maps Book extracts, posters, newspapers Engravings, mosaics, frescos, murals Paintings, portraits, prints, drawings Artist reconstructions Statues, sculptures, monuments Stained glass | Artefacts, Photographs, Maps Films - Pathe News and modern Book extracts, posters, newspapers Engravings, mosaics, frescos, murals Paintings, portraits, prints, drawings Artist reconstructions Statues, sculptures, monuments Stained glass | |
Disciplinary Knowledge (Critical thinking skills) | By the end of the enquiry our children, working as young historians, will have demonstrated that they can use effectively the range of simple historical techniques, enquiry skills, contemporaneous evidence, fieldwork and subject vocabulary to: | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Disciplinary Concepts | Continuity and Change Similarity and Difference Chronology Significance Sources | Continuity and Change Similarity and Difference Chronology Significance Sources | Continuity and Change Similarity and Difference Chronology Significance Sources | Significance Cause and Consequence Change Similarity and Difference | Significance Cause and Consequence Change Similarity and Difference | Significance Cause and Consequence Change Similarity and Difference | |
Substantive Concepts | Society Settlement Tribe Migration Agriculture Trade | Society Settlement Tribe Agriculture Trade Power | Society Settlement Tribe Conflict Agriculture Trade | Society Settlement Trade Conflict | Chronology Religion Conflict Monarchy Settlement | Chronology Society Conflict Settlement Religion Monarchy | |
Key Vocabulary | primary evidence, secondary evidence, archaeologist, artefact, hunter-gatherer, knapping, ceremony, mesolithic, timeline, anachronism, subsistence, excavation, nomadic, domesticate, palaeolithic, neolithic | primary evidence, secondary evidence, alloy, social class, ceremony, commemorate, capstone, artefact, archaeologist, smelting, BC, status, monument, interred, cist, timeline, stone circle, chieftain | primary evidence, secondary evidence, alloy, rampart, celts, inscription, votive, currency, smelting, BC, hillfort, palisade, siege, barter, hoard, invasion | primary evidence, secondary evidence, conquest, occupy, uprising, lanista, gladiator, emperor, resistance, authority, border, AD, invasion, pacify, Plebian, philosopher, artefact, rebel, conquer, millennium | primary evidence, secondary evidence, Roman Catholicism, Pope, chronicle, noble, social class, feudal, timeline, chronological, millennium, barbarian, AD, pagan, conversion, Christian, status, serf, reconstruct, treaty, rule, century | primary evidence, secondary evidence, conversion, Norsemen, longship, legend, Witan, territory, motive, timeline, pagan, chronicle, invasion, myth, legacy, occupy, homeland, resist | |
Local Links Cultural Capital | Local monuments - statues/war memorials | Roman Fort | Lindisfarne | ||||
UKS2 | Year 5 | Year 5 | Year 5 | Year 6 | Year 6 | Year 6 | |
Enquiry | The story of the Trojan Horse: historical fact, legend or classical myth? | How did a pile of dragon bones help to solve an Ancient Chinese mystery? | Why is Anthony considered a great Victorian? | Why did Britain once rule the largest empire the world has ever seen? | Why did the Ancient Maya change their way of life? | Why was winning the Battle of Britain in 1940 so important? | |
Substantive Knowledge (knowledge about the past) | Ancient Greece - a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world | The achievements of the earliest civilisations | A local history study | A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066 | A non-European society that provides contrasts with British history | A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066 | |
Disciplinary Knowledge (how historians study the past) | Artefacts Photographs Maps Book extracts Artist reconstructions Engravings, mosaics, frescos, murals Paintings, portraits, prints, drawings Statues, sculptures, monuments | Artefacts Photographs Maps Book extracts Artist reconstructions Engravings, mosaics, frescos, murals Paintings, portraits, prints, drawings Statues, sculptures, monuments | Artefacts Photographs Maps Book extracts Films - Pathe News and modern Paintings, portraits, prints, drawings Statues, sculptures, monuments | Photographs Maps Letters and telegrams Films - Pathe News and modern Book extracts, posters, newspapers Engravings, mosaics, frescos, murals Paintings, portraits, prints, drawings Statues, sculptures, monuments | Artefacts Photographs Maps Book extracts/journals Artist reconstructions Engravings, mosaics, frescos, murals Paintings, portraits, prints, drawings Statues, sculptures, monuments Hieroglyphics Codex | Photographs Maps Letters and telegrams Film - Pathe News Book extracts, posters, newspapers Paintings, portraits, prints, drawings Tabular and graphical data Military orders Speeches | |
Disciplinary Knowledge (Critical thinking skills) | By the end of the enquiry our children, working as young historians, will have demonstrated that they can use effectively the range of simple historical techniques, enquiry skills, contemporaneous evidence, fieldwork and subject vocabulary to: | ||||||
|
| Local Study - need assessment criteria |
|
|
| ||
Disciplinary Concepts | Significance Cause and Consequence Change Similarity and Difference | Significance Cause and Consequence Change Similarity and Difference | Significance Cause and Consequence Change Similarity and Difference | Significance Cause and Consequence Change Similarity and Difference | Significance Cause and Consequence Change Similarity and Difference | Significance Cause and Consequence Change Similarity and Difference | |
Substantive Concepts | Democracy Power War and Conflict Empire Monarchy | Dynasty Empire Monarchy War and Conflict Power Religion | Power Democracy Economy Trade Conflict Society | Monarchy War and Conflict Resistance Empire Trade | Society War and Conflict Agriculture Civilisation Trade Religion Migration | War and Conflict Power Democracy Economy Trade Settlement | |
Key Vocabulary | artefact, Sparta, siege, legend, manuscript, authenticate, envoy, ruler, deception, city-state, Troy, myth, engraving, mosaic, depiction, conquest, warrior | artefact, archaeologist, Emperor, ceremonial, tomb, reconstruct, myth, intercede, divining, restoration, Oracle, noble, chamber, grave goods, sculpture, legend, parchment, inscription, conquest, valley | ruler, Sovereign, self-governing, exploit, conquer, Prime Minister, parliament, imperial, indigenous, colony, independent, maintain, manufacture, freedom, President, rights, federation, invasion, battle | artefact, ceremonial, tropical, expedition, famine, deforestation, water cycle, flash flood, overpopulation, reconstruct, city, rainforest, rediscover, eclipse, timeline, restoration, drought | allies, occupy, politician, Prime Minister, Royal Air Force, evacuation, combat, neutral, command, campaign, invasion, Fuhrer, reich, Luftwaffe, alliance, RADAR, Blitzkrieg, dependency, superiority, propaganda | ||
Local Links Cultural Capital | The Great North Museum | Woodhorn Museum | |||||
Outcome | Exemplification | Outcome | Exemplification |
Recognise | Name and point out who or what something is e.g. a tree in the school grounds or a Queen being crowned in a painting. | Explain | Demonstrate understanding and comprehension of how or why something is the way it is as a result of synthesising information (see above) e.g. why most of the great stone cities of the Maya were abandoned by AD 900 or why competing demands make managing Britain’s National Parks a challenge. |
Identify | Distinguish something or someone from others that may be similar e.g. oak trees from other trees in a wood or a castle from the buildings that surround it. | Empathise | The capacity to place oneself impartially in another’s position to better understand their motives, decisions and actions (even if they are not shared values) from their perspective e.g. the life of Native American Arctic whale hunters or why Elizabeth I encouraged privateers to attack, rob and sink foreign ships wherever they could be found. |
Describe | ‘Say what you see’. Give an account in words of something or someone e.g. an erupting volcano or some of the events leading up to the sinking of the Titanic. | Informed conclusion | A knowledgeable summing up of the main points or issues about something e.g. why there are increasing numbers of wind and solar farms to be seen in Britain or some of the benefits and disadvantages of the British Empire over time. |
Observe | Identify and distinguish with a degree of analysis some things that may potentially be more noteworthy or important than others e.g. the number and size of Spanish galleons in a painting of the Armada compared with the ships of the English navy, or that some places along a coast are being eroded by the sea faster than others. | Reasoned judgement | A personal view or opinion about something supported by factual evidence e.g. an argument for banning all single use plastic or the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. |
Select | Decide upon and choose that information considered most suitable or relevant to answer a question e.g. from a range of eight possibilities select three factors more likely than the others to have caused the Great Fire of London to spread so quickly or the three most significant factors causing annual flooding in Bangladesh. | Justify | Give reasons to show or prove what you feel to be right or reasonable e.g. which of the many medical advances of the 19th century was most significant and why or what should be done to reduce virtual water use by people in the UK. |
Categorise/Classify | Arrange information into particular groups according to shared qualities or characteristics e.g. creating two sets of the potential advantages and disadvantages of building a new international airport in London or sorting photographs depicting the lives of different social classes in Victorian Britain into different collections. | Apply | The transfer of knowledge and/or skills learned in one context to a different context e.g. awareness that the process or river erosion by bank undercutting is the same as the erosion of coastal cliffs by waves and recognising that the causes of wars or invasions are much the same down the centuries. |
Sequence | Place a set of related events or things that follow each other into an order e.g. the events leading up to William the Conqueror invading England or a timeline of devastating bushfires in Australia. | Evaluate | Weigh up and judge the relative importance of something in relation to counter ideas and arguments e.g. the costs and benefits of planting 1.5 billion trees in Britain or consider which factor was most significant in the Roman invasion of Britain. |
Compare and contrast | Find similarities and differences e.g. between the geography of the local area of the pupil’s school and that of the immediate environment surrounding a similar sized school in Borneo, or the ways of life of people living in the New Stone Age compared with how many lived in the Old Stone Age. | Critique | Review and examine something critically particularly to gain an awareness of its limitations as evidence e.g. how reliable is the Bayeux tapestry as a description of the events of the Norman conquest and why might the imagery on a website promoting a location as a holiday destination not be entirely reliable? |
Recall | Remember and recount something learned or experienced e.g. recollect from visits the main reasons why Warwick Castle was built where it is or how a local river changes from its source to mouth. | Hypothesise | Come up with an idea, question or theory that can be investigated to see whether it has any validity e.g. that in Ancient Egypt Tutankhamun was murdered or that ice sheets could be towed from Antarctica to reduce water shortages in southern Africa. |
Reason/speculate | Thinking and forming ideas about something without necessarily firm evidence yet to back it up – conjecture, supposition, guessing e.g. why Iron Age people in Britain built so many hill forts and compounds or why earthquakes are generally more hazardous to people around the world than volcanoes. | ||
Summarise | Outline or sum up briefly the main points about something e.g. how fair trade works or the main factors leading up to all women over the age of 21 years old receiving the vote in 1928. | ||
Synthesise | Bring together a range of ideas and facts from different sources to develop an argument or explanation for something e.g. the deforestation of tropical rain forests or why life expectancy in Britain remained less than 40 years until around 1800. |