History
Key Question
'How have historical people and events impacted on our society?'
Intent
At St Martins we have developed a rich and exciting history curriculum that aims to teach children important skills and give them an understanding of what has happened in this country and the near and distant past. Our curriculum supports children with historical enquiry, questioning and sequencing of events. Children develop a timeline of key historical events looking in depth at key aspects. We hope to create a love of history and to equip children with skills they can use across the curriculum.
The history curriculum at St Martin’s is carefully planned and structured to ensure that current learning is linked to previous learning and that the school’s approaches are informed by current pedagogy.
Our intention, by the time children leave us, is that they have a good understanding of History and are able to answer our overarching question. – ‘How have historical people and events impacted our society?‘
Implementation:
History is taught in blocks throughout the year, so that children achieve depth in their learning. Moreover, there are regular opportunities for children to being historians, using their disciplinary knowledge, interpreting historical sources and artefacts to find out about the past. Incidental links are made throughout teaching where appropriate. The history progression document looks at the progression of substantive and disciplinary knowledge.
Each year group has a curriculum progression document that is available on the school website. This shows when each topic is being taught.
Teachers have identified the key vocabulary and information for each topic and consideration has been given to ensure progression throughout each year group and across the school. Teachers identify key facts that they would like the children to know and have created a subject knowledge planner for this to share with parents for each topic being taught. These are also available on the website for each term.
In Key stage 1, Learning Journals show the broad and balanced curriculum and demonstrate the children’s knowledge and understanding. On joining Key Stage 2, children have a History book which follows them from year to year reflecting their growth in historical knowledge and understanding. Consideration is given to how greater depth will be taught, learnt and demonstrated within each lesson through open ended activities that can be accessed in different ways. Outcomes of work are monitored to ensure that they reflect an understanding of the key identified knowledge.
EYFS:
Early years explore historical themes through the Understanding of the World strand of the EYFS curriculum. This involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places and time.
KS1:
During Key Stage 1, children begin to develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They start to know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.
KS2 :
Throughout Key Stage 2, pupils should continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study. Children will learn to select, organise, review and present relevant historical information. These skills will be built on. Children will begin to understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources and that sources need to be carefully evaluated.
Key Concepts:
The curriculum also looks at key concepts these are:
1.Chronological understanding and knowledge of time including, the characteristic features of periods, the use of language of time periods and the passing of time and the use of timelines.
2. Historical enquiry, the use of evidence and communicating history
3. Interpreting history which includes explaining what they think and understanding that historians and people in history have a different point of view
4. Continuity and change (contrast) during and between periods
5. Cause and consequence (why something happened and what impact did it then have)
6. Similarities and differences within a period: social diversity including beliefs and attitudes
7. Significant events and people
Impact
Children leave St Martin's with a good understanding of the impact of historical events and people through time on our lives today. Children are also able to use prior knowledge to make reasoned arguments about what the future may hold, using their knowledge of historical events.