History Policy

Rationale

At Ightenhill Primary School we believe that history should provide pupils with a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupil’s curiosity and provide opportunities for children to ask  perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence,  sift arguments and develop perspective and judgements.

It is our aim to develop:

KS1

Pupils should develop an awareness of the past, common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They should 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. They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. They should understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.

KS2

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. They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop and appropriate use of historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. They should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information. They should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

Teaching and Learning

The school uses a variety of teaching styles in order to cater for the different learning styles of our pupils. Our main aim in the teaching of history is to develop pupils knowledge and understanding of British , local and world history and to place events chronologically. This is achieved  through termly topic based studies delivered to a whole class. Children will be provided with opportunities to discover using a question based approach. Through careful planning of sources and artefacts children will be provided with opportunities to experience:

• formulating and answering questions
• analysing evidence
• debating /discussing events
• working individually, in groups or whole class
• practical activities
• working with ICT

Our staff have high expectations of all children, irrespective of ability, and encourage them to be successful and achieve their full potential. Where TAs are available, they are used to support individuals or groups.

Empowering Learners

As a school, we have adapted  a practice of ‘Empowering learners.’ The purpose of this curriculum is to teach children skills in order to become : self-managers, effective participators, resourceful thinkers, reflective learners, independent enquirers and effective team workers. History is taught using these skills.

Planning

A two year long –term curriculum is planned. Staff decides when to teach their  history topics to best fit in with the schools over-arching themes. Medium term and daily planning includes:

• lesson  activities
• differentiated activities
• assessment opportunities
• use of teacher and support
• key questions
• vocabulary

Teacher’s medium term plans  are  derived from the children’s responses to the ‘pre-learning tasks’. The teachers use the questions raised from  the Learning Challenge Curriculum to plan a sequence of lessons; the children’s questions /interests are also used.

Pupil’s records of their work

There are various ways for pupils to record their work in history. These may include:

• formal written work demonstrating knowledge
• group work  on other media
• drama activities
• diagrams / posters

Written work is completed in the child’s study unit book. The children are encouraged to work neatly using the school’s presentation policy.

Feedback

Work is marked in accordance with the feedback policy.

Assessment and record keeping

Before undertaking a history topic, the children complete a ‘pre-learning’ task. This allows the child to demonstrate to the teacher any prior knowledge they already have. As the topic is completed, teachers are able to compare pre and post learning tasks. These are filed in the children’s books. Regular review through observation of children and the marking of work informs on-going progress and next steps learning.

Monitoring and feedback

The action plan specifies the monitoring and feed back that is to be undertaken, this includes:

• work scrutiny
• opportunities to review the scheme
• learning walks

The results of such activities are recorded on a serf sheet and forwarded to the headteacher.

Practical resources

Resources are stored centrally and accessed by teachers at the beginning  of a topic .  Library loan and museum boxes can be ordered from outside agents.

Homework

Homework topic activity grids which provide children with choices to complete four activities over the duration of the history topic.

 Two Year Cycle 

HISTORY

 Aims

The national curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:

• know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
• gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

Subject content

Key stage 1

Pupils should develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time.

They should 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.

They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms.

They should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events.

They should understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.

HISTORY

 Aims

The national curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:

• know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world  Who first lived in Britain?
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
• gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales. Who was Harriet Tubman and why did she make a difference? What was special about Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela and what differences did they make?

Subject content

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.

They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms.

They should regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance.

They should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information.

They should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

Learning Challenge Curriculum for the wider curriculum

• What A Waste!                                                 (Cycle 1 )
• Animal Magic                                                     (Cycle 2)
• Rules, Rights and Responsibilities              (Cycle 1 and 3)   **Update to reflect Black Lives Matter**
• Who Invented That?                                       (Cycle 2) **Muslim inventors**

National Curriculum - The school curriculum in England

2.1 Every state-funded school must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based and which:

• promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and
• prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

2.5 All schools should make provision for personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE), drawing on good practice. Schools are also free to include other subjects or topics of their choice in planning and designing their own programme of education.

History: Governor walk round 23.01.20

Lessons

There are at least two study unit lessons a week.

Lessons begin with new vocabulary being introduced and a question.

The learning by the end of the lesson should help to provide the answer to the question.

There are strong cross- curricular links with English and maths .Example: During Black History month corridor three studied the book Henry’s Freedom Box in English and currently we are studying The Egyptian Cinderella. Skills learnt to write a diary in English can be used to produce a diary for Howard Carter.

A strong emphasis is placed on children being able to place periods successfully in chronological order using time vocabulary.

Corridor 2

Corridor two’s study unit this term is a history/geography based unit exploring pirates. Their question is:

Were real pirates like captain Jack Sparrow?

Corridor 3

The question this term is:

How can we re-discover the wonders of Ancient Egypt?

The children are studying artefacts and discovering the clues they provide about Ancient Egypt.

Corridor 4

The question this term is:

Who were the Mayas and what have we learnt from them?

They are looking at the Maya civilization, there beliefs, number system and where they fit in history.

Targets

KS1 is a two year cycle

KS2 is a four year cycle

This means that certain targets might not be covered in the year group shown. As planning is done on corridors year five might cover some of the year six targets this term. Or year three some of the year four targets. Over the cycle they should meet most targets.

Assessment

Regular book scrutinys

Talks with children

Target sheets at front of study unit books

 Targets

VE Day 2020

The Royal British Legion calls on the nation to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day from home.

Join us on Friday 8 May as we pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of the entire Second World War generation, from British, Commonwealth and Allied Forces to evacuees and those who served on the home front. As we face some of the most challenging times since the end of the Second World War, now more than ever it is important to unite in recognition of service to the nation, just as communities did 75 years ago.

A schedule of events can be found on the website below.

https://www.britishlegion.org.uk

We have also uploaded some nice activities for you to try at home. Send in photographs of your work, creations and celebrations to Mr Farrar, who will arrange for some prizes for the best work. 

ightenhillclass9@ightenhill.lancs.sch.uk

Year 5 - Olympics 

As part of our Olympic topic the year 5 children choose an Olympian from the past to create using clay. They then used this model to create a presentation for the rest of the class about their chosen athlete. 

Red, White and Blue Day

Red, White and Blue Day was enjoyed by all the children at Ightenhill. Activities were organised to celebrate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Jutland. Here are some pictures of the children in class three and four, who were making paper boats.