What am I going to learn in history?
Year 1 - Parliament and Prime Ministers
The children will be introduced to historically significant events that highlight the development of British democracy, including the introduction of the Bill of Rights and the introduction of the first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole. As well as learning about the changing role of Parliament, and the introduction of the office of Prime Minister, the children will also learn about what Parliament and the Prime Minister do today. This includes looking at changes in living memory, such as the change in government/Prime Minister/local MP. Through role-play, children will experience what it is like to vote, and how all the votes are counted and the person who has the most votes wins. This activity will support fruitful conversations around some of the difficulties of voting, especially when everyone has different opinions. Throughout the unit, the children will be encouraged to ask questions and use the important key vocabulary taught. This unit also subtly introduces the disciplinary concept of continuity & change through exploring the declining power of the monarchy and the increasing influence of the Prime Minister and Parliament.
Year 2 - Powerful Voices
This unit introduces key figures from the past and today, who have fought for human rights: Gandhi (political freedom), Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr (equality for African Americans, freedom from discrimination), Malala Yousafzai (access to education for girls), and Greta Thunberg (climate change activist). This unit builds on chronologically from the history studied across KS1 and covers history spanning from the 19th century until the present day. Previously, the children learnt about powerful and significant people in time, such as kings and queens and prime ministers. In this unit, we look at the stories of some significant people who were not born into powerful positions (like a king or queen) but were able to use their voices to spread their beliefs to influence change. Some of the individuals studied in this unit are still alive today and continue to be making changes in the world. The children will learn that historians study the lives of significant people and look at what they say and do and evaluate the contributions they have made to national and international achievements. The lives of each of the significant people studied in this unit can be told to the children as stories from the past. In each lesson, the children will be given a quote from each person- a primary source- and asked to explain what they think they meant by what they said, thinking about the purpose of the quote, who they were addressing and what was the intended impact of their words.
Year 3 - Anglo-Saxons, Scots and Vikings
This unit builds on chronologically from previous units include the Stone Age to the Iron Age, and Romans in Britain and covers approximately 650 years, from around 410 CE – 1066 CE. The pupils learn that after the Romans left, a mix of tribes from Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands began to migrate to England. The three biggest tribes were the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes. This group of people are known today as the Anglo-Saxons. During this period, England was not a united country but was separated into kingdoms, each ruled by different kings. The pupils can apply their geographical knowledge of England to look at the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and locate their school within one of them. They can also apply their knowledge of Europe, including Northern Europe, to locate where the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings originated from. The pupils will learn about the lives of people who lived in this period, how they lived, their homes, their jobs, what they ate and what they did for fun. They will discuss how we know about the lives of people who lived so long ago and learn about primary and secondary sources such as artefacts found at Sutton Hoo, places such as West Stow and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. They will also look at religious beliefs of both the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings, and how both were gradually converted from their Pagan beliefs to Christianity. In this unit, the pupils will also learn about the Picts and the Scots. They will discuss how historians find out about these people in the past, and how they engage in historical debate, such as what the symbols on Pictish Stones can tell us. During this unit, the pupils will learn about the Vikings and the significance of Viking Long ships that enabled them to travel, trade, raid and invade. They will look at the relationship between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings; the battles and the compromises that took place during this period.
Year 4 - The Stuarts
This unit aims to support children to develop a chronologically secure understanding of this significant period of British history by diving deeper into the changing role of the monarchy during the 17th century. Throughout the unit, the children will learn about some of the significant events that took place during this time, such as the English Civil War, the Gunpowder Plot and the Great Fire of London. They will learn that historians use a range of sources to interpret what happened in the past, and use evidence to discuss possible causes, and consequences, of significant events. Children will learn about the lives of the monarchs and leaders during this period. When learning about Oliver Cromwell, the children will look at different historical perspectives of him and his time in power. The children will look at the political and religious impact that each person had on Britain. Children will be encouraged to draw comparisons/analyse differences between the reigns of each monarch/leader and look at how Britain changed, and/or stayed the same, as a result of their leadership. The children will explore what happened in their local area during this time, including any local connections to some of the significant people/events being studied. 5 They will learn about the role that Stuart monarchs played in establishing the early British Empire and will draw upon what they have learnt in Year 4.
Year 5 - The Victorian Age
During this unit, the children learn about the significant life of Queen Victoria: both her personal life and some of her decisions as a monarch, including her involvement with the British Empire. In addition to the political context of this time, this unit also delves deeper into the social aspects of Victorian Britain, looking in particular at the lives of the poor. During the unit, children will consider the similarities and differences between the lives of the rich and the poor in Victorian England. Children will have access to primary sources to explore what it was like to live in a Victorian slum or workhouse and discuss how attitudes towards the poor were reflected in new legislation. The children will also learn about more positive aspects of the Victorian period, looking at the significance of the Great Exhibition and the growth in technology and new discoveries made by the Victorians. This will build on children’s previous learning about the Industrial Revolution. The children will complete the unit by looking at the legacy of the Victorians, analysing the similarities and differences between life in the 1900s and life in Britain today and considering the question, what has changed/stayed the same since the Victorian era? During this unit, children build on their knowledge of the substantive concepts of monarchy, industrialisation, urbanisation, empire, imperialism and poverty. This unit will provide a historical context when the children learn about the Suffragette movement in Year 6, where the children learn about Queen Victoria’s views on women’s suffrage. The children will also gain some background knowledge regarding the British Empire and Britain’s position in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which will support their understanding when they begin their unit on World War I.
Year 6 - World War II
Throughout this unit, children will be encouraged to make connections between what they learnt about World War I and other wars in the past. The unit begins by securing essential background knowledge about the war before looking in more depth, including when and where it took place, and who was involved. The concept, ‘conquer’ will be built upon, looking at the countries conquered by Germany. The children will look in some depth at the Battle of Britain- a battle fought entirely in the skies- and the Blitz- a strategy used by the German air force to try and force Britain to surrender. The unit focuses on the Battle of Britain and the Blitz from a military context. The social context is also explored. The children look at life on the Home Front. Local context is considered, such as local landmarks that may have been destroyed during the Blitz. In previous units, including ‘World War I’ the children have learnt about the lives of soldiers, including life in the trenches, and have discussed how battles took place on land, in the air and at sea. In this unit, the children will look in more depth at the role that intelligence and code-breaking played in winning the war. They will learn about the code-breakers at Bletchley Park (75% of them were women), including some significant people who played a vital role in supporting the war effort (Alan Turing and Mavis Batey). The children will learn about a related event of global significance that took place at this time: the Holocaust. The children will build upon their knowledge of Nazi Germany, and look at what happened following the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. Throughout the curriculum, the children have looked in some detail at groups of people from the past who were ostracised, ill-treated and even killed as a result of their beliefs, ethnicity or race. This unit will introduce a new concept: genocide. They will look at the atrocities committed, interpreting sources with a focus on learning about what life was like for Jewish people at that time. Key vocabulary and concepts taught previously will be recalled in this unit, including: Home Front, Propaganda and Rationing. The children will look at the actions of the wartime government and the impact on the lives of people at the time.
