Mastering Primary History 9781474295567, 9781474295550, 9781474295598, 9781474295574

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Mastering Primary History

Mastering Primary Teaching series Edited by Judith Roden and James Archer The Mastering Primary Teaching series provides an insight into the core principles underpinning each of the subjects of the Primary National Curriculum, thereby helping student teachers to ‘master’ the subjects. This in turn will enable new teachers to share this mastery in their teaching. Each book follows the same sequence of chapters, which has been specifically designed to assist trainee teachers to capitalise on opportunities to develop pedagogical excellence. These comprehensive guides introduce the subject and help trainees know how to plan and teach effective and inspiring lessons that make learning irresistible. Examples of children’s work and case studies are included to help exemplify what is considered to be the best and most innovative practice in primary education. The series is written by leading professionals, who draw on their years of experience to provide authoritative guides to the primary curriculum subject areas. Also available in the series Mastering Primary English, Wendy Jolliffe and David Waugh Mastering Primary Languages, Paula Ambrossi and Darnelle Constant-Shepherd Mastering Primary Music, Ruth Atkinson Mastering Primary Physical Education, Kristy Howells with Alison Carney, Neil Castle and Rich Little Mastering Primary Science, Amanda McCrory and Kenna Worthington Forthcoming in the series Mastering Primary Art and Design, Peter Gregory, Claire March and Suzy Tutchell Mastering Primary Computing, Graham Parton Mastering Primary Geography, Anthony Barlow and Sarah Whitehouse Mastering Primary Design and Technology, Gill Hope Mastering Primary Mathematics, Andrew Lamb, Rebecca Heaton and Helen Taylor Mastering Primary Religious Education, Maria James and Julian Stern Also available from Bloomsbury Developing Teacher Expertise, edited by Margaret Sangster Readings for Reflective Teaching in Schools, edited by Andrew Pollard Reflective Teaching in Schools, Andrew Pollard

Mastering Primary History Karin Doull, Christopher Russell and Alison Hales

BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain 2019 Copyright ©  Karin Doull, Christopher Russell and Alison Hales, 2019 Karin Doull, Christopher Russell and Alison Hales have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors of this work. Cover design: Anna Berzovan Cover image © iStock (miakievy / molotovcoketail) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and the publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: HB: 978-1-4742-9556-7 PB: 978-1-4742-9555-0 ePDF: 978-1-4742-9557-4 eBook: 978-1-4742-9558-1 Series: Mastering Primary Teaching Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters.

Contents Series Editors’ Foreword

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How to Use This Book

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1 An Introduction to Primary History

1

2 Current Developments in History

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3 History as an Irresistible Activity

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4 History as a Practical Activity

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5 Skills to Develop in History

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6 Children’s Ideas – Promoting Curiosity

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7 Assessing Children in History

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8 Practical Issues

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Bibliography185 Index193

Series Editors’ Foreword A long and varied experience of working with beginner and experienced teachers in primary schools has informed this series since its conception. Over the last thirty years there have been many changes in practice in terms of teaching and learning in primary and early years education. Significantly, since the implementation of the first national curriculum in 1989 the aim has been to bring best practice in primary education to all state schools in England and Wales. As time has passed, numerous policy decisions have altered the detail and emphasis of the delivery of the primary curriculum. However, there has been little change in the belief that pupils in the primary and early years phases of education should receive a broad, balanced curriculum based on traditional subjects. Recent Ofsted subject reports and notably the Cambridge Primary Review indicate that rather than the ideal being attained, in many schools, the emphasis on English and mathematics has not only depressed the other subjects of the primary curriculum, but also narrowed the range of strategies used for the delivery of the curriculum. The amount of time allocated to subject sessions in ITE courses has dramatically reduced which may also account for this narrow diet in pedagogy. The vision for this series of books was borne out of our many years of experience with student teachers. As a result, we believe that the series is well designed to equip trainee and beginner teachers to master the art of teaching in the primary phase. This series of books aims to introduce current and contemporary practices associated with the whole range of subjects within the primary national curriculum and religious education. It also goes beyond this by providing beginner teachers with the knowledge and understanding required to achieve mastery of each subject. In doing so, each book in the series highlights contemporary issues such as assessment and inclusion which are the key areas that even the most seasoned practitioner is still grappling with in light of the introduction of the new Primary Curriculum. In agreement with the results attached with these books, we believe that students who work in schools and progress onto their Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) year will be able to make a significant contribution to the provision in their school, especially in foundation subjects. Readers will find great support within each one of these books. Each book in the series will inform and provide the opportunity for basic mastery of each of the

Series Editors’ Foreword

subjects, namely English, mathematics, science, physical education, music, history, geography, design and technology, computing and religious education. They will discover the essence of each subject in terms of its philosophy, knowledge and skills. Readers will also be inspired by the enthusiasm for each subject revealed by the subject authors who are experts in their field. They will discover many and varied strategies for making each subject ‘come alive’ for their pupils and they should become more confident about teaching across the whole range of subjects represented in the primary and early years curriculum. Primary teaching in the state sector is characterized by a long history of pupils being taught the whole range of the primary curriculum by one teacher. Although some schools may employ specialists to deliver some subjects of the curriculum, notably physical education, music or science, for example, it is more usual for the whole curriculum to be delivered to a class by their class teacher. This places a potentially enormous burden on beginner teachers no matter which route they enter teaching. The burden is especially high on those entering through employment-based routes and for those who aim to become inspiring primary teachers. There is much to learn! The term ‘mastery’ is generally considered to relate to knowledge and understanding of a subject which incorporates the ‘how’ of teaching as well as the ‘what’. Although most entrants to primary teaching will have some experience of the primary curriculum as a pupil, very few will have experienced the breadth of the curriculum or may have any understanding of the curriculum which reflects recent trends in teaching and learning within the subject. The primary curriculum encompasses a very broad range of subjects each of which has its own knowledge base, skills and ways of working. Unsurprisingly, very few new entrants into the teaching profession hold mastery of all the interrelated subjects. Indeed for the beginner teacher it may well be many years before full mastery of all aspects of the primary curriculum is achieved. The content of the primary curriculum has changed significantly, notably in some foundation subjects, such as history and music. So although beginner teachers might hold fond memories of these subjects from their own experience of primary education, the content of the subject may well have changed significantly over time and may incorporate different emphases. This series, Mastering Primary Teaching, aims to meet the needs of those who, reflecting the desire for mastery over each subject, want to know more. This is a tall order. Nevertheless, we believe that the pursuit of development should always be rewarded, which is why we are delighted to have so many experts sharing their well-developed knowledge and passion for the subjects featured in each book. The vision for this series is to provide support for those who are beginning their teaching career, who may not feel fully secure in their subject knowledge, understanding and skill. In addition, the series also aims to provide a reference point for beginner teachers to always be able to go back to support them in the important art of teaching. Intending primary teachers, in our experience, have a thirst for knowledge about the subject that they will be teaching. They want to ‘master’ new material and ideas in a range of subjects. They aim to gain as much knowledge as they can of the



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subjects they will be teaching, in some of which the beginner teachers may lack in confidence or may be scared of because of their perceived lack of familiarity with some subjects and particularly how they are delivered in primary schools. Teaching the primary curriculum can be one of the most rewarding experiences. We believe that this series will help the beginner teachers to unlock the primary curriculum in a way that ensures they establish themselves as confident primary practitioners. Judith Roden James Archer June 2017

How to Use This Book This book is one of twelve books that together help form a truly innovative series that is aimed to support your development. Each book follows the same format and chapter sequence. There is an emphasis throughout the book on providing information about the teaching and learning of history. You will find a wealth of information within each chapter that will help you to understand the issues, problems and opportunities that teaching the subject can provide you as a developing practitioner in the subject. Crucially, each chapter provides opportunities for you to reflect upon important points linked to your development in order that you may master the teaching of history. As a result you too can develop your confidence in the teaching of primary history. There really is something for everyone within each chapter. Each chapter has been carefully designed to help you to develop your knowledge of the subject systematically, and as a result contains key features. Chapter objectives clearly signpost the content of each chapter and these will help you to familiarize yourself with important aspects of the subject and will orientate you in preparation for reading the chapter. The regular ‘pause for thought’ points offer questions and activities for you to reflect on important aspects of the subject. Each pause for thought provides you with an opportunity to enhance your learning beyond merely reading the chapter. These will sometimes ask you to consider your own experience and what you already know about the teaching of the subject. Others will require you to critique aspects of good practice presented as case studies or research. To benefit fully from reading this text, you need to be an active participant. Sometimes you are asked to make notes on your response to questions and ideas and then to revisit these later on in your reading. While it would be possible for you to skip through the opportunities for reflection or to give only cursory attention to the questions and activities which aim to facilitate deeper reflection than might otherwise be the case, we strongly urge you to engage with the pause for thought activities. It is our belief that it is through these moments that most of your transformational learning will occur as a result of engaging with this book. At the end of each chapter, you will find a summary of main points from the chapter along with suggestions for further reading. We passionately believe that learners of all ages learn best when they work with others, so we would encourage you if possible to work with another person, sharing your ideas and perspectives. The book also would be ideal for group study within a university or school setting.

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How to Use This Book

This book has been authored by Karin Doull, Christopher Russell and Alison Hales, who are experienced and highly regarded as professionals in their subject area. They are strong voices within the primary history community. By reading this book you will be able to benefit from their rich knowledge, understanding and experience. When using this ensure that you are ready to learn from some of the greats in primary history.

Chapter 1 An Introduction to Primary History Chapter objectives ●●

the importance of history

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what does history look like?

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what is history all about?

‘History’, according to Henry Ford, in an article in the Chicago Tribune on 25 May 1916, ‘is more or less bunk’. Interviewed at the time of the First World War, his famous statement is accompanied by the observation that ‘the men who are responsible for the present war in Europe know all about history’. Within this context, and considering how horrific the war, that was underway, was, this last point is arguably true, especially from the standpoint of an industrial modernist. These men knew their history and were still prepared to ignore it and inflict more pain and misery upon the people of Europe and the wider world. However, Ford’s initial point, ‘History is more or less bunk’, when taken as an isolated statement, as it often is, demands further examination. This chapter aims to establish the importance of history, what history looks like in primary schools and, indeed, explore what history is actually all about.

So, what is history? The Roman philosopher Cicero is credited with defining history as the ‘witness that testifies to the passing of time, it illuminates reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity’ (1889). This is a significant reference. It refers to a number of attributes of history that are particularly pertinent. The explicit links to ‘daily life’ and ‘reality’, serve as recognition of the impact of the past upon our everyday lives, and how the events of the past not only shape our reality, but also inform our conditions and reactions in our

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day-to-day lives. The phrases ‘vitalizes memory’ and ‘tidings of antiquity’ can be seen as recognition of our own personal engagements with history, whether they be those of personal histories, living memories, a personal nostalgia, links to your local area or your family history. English Historian, R. G. Collingwood explains that ‘the value of history … is that it teaches us what man has done and thus, what man is’ (1946). A feeling of learning from the past pervades this definition and is further supported by E. H. Carr, who explains that ‘the function of the historian is neither to love the past nor emancipate himself from the past, but to master and understand it as the key to the understanding of the present’ (1961), which is evidence still further of the belief that the past has much to tell us of our own lives and that of our futures. More recently, popular historians have offered their views as to what history is. TV’s Dan Snow, who through the multifaceted ‘History Hit’, brings history to a large audience, tells us that ‘history is everything that has ever happened on the planet’ (HistoryHit.com). Lucy Worsley, chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces, who is a well-known historian through her numerous books and television series, alludes to historical enquiry when she tells us that ‘if we reach out a hand across the centuries, we find that our ancestors are very much like us in the ways they lived, loved and died’ (2011). Reaching out a hand suggests the investigative nature of asking questions and being involved in the process of finding out about the past. While Suzannah Lipscomb offers the idea that history is about understanding yourself, she is recalling the ideas of Collingwood, when she posits that ‘history is the story of who we are and how we’ve got to be there. So it is fundamentally important in our sense of ourselves’ (Lipscomb cited in Sanderson 2013). For historians, the study of the past is a puzzle that leads to a greater understanding of our world. The study of the characters of the past, their decision-making and the impact of those decisions upon our lives can be seen as the crux of what history is.

Why study history? Pause for thought Why should children study history? Why is history in the primary school curriculum important?

The relevance of studying history is paramount to our understanding of the world. The discipline of history means that learners become inquisitive, and they are keen to examine the past and are diligent and thorough in their work. Their driven passion for history is forged through their understanding of the subject and a curiosity in

An Introduction to Primary History

examining the ways in which the past is represented. Studying history develops skills and sensibilities that are transferable and will have an influence in other aspects of our lives and those of our children. History is all around us. It is inescapable from the badges on our school uniforms, to the emblems of major companies, the insignia of the Royals on various household products, pillar boxes as well as the crests of many of our favourite football teams, a sense of the past is a large and relevant part of our everyday lives. Even the recent phenomenon of ‘selfies’ can be seen as being part of this tradition of recording memories and documenting events. Perhaps not every ‘selfie’ is essential, and some may never leave the device they were taken on, but some ‘selfies’ record the special moments in people’s lives, whether that is a significant birthday, such as an eighteenth, or a memorable night out with friends. Documents, in all their forms, make up the raw materials for historians to study the past and piece together the lives and times of our forefathers. This means that our understanding of the past begins with each individual. For instance, how would you describe yourself to a new acquaintance? Chances are, your response will be steeped in the experiences you have had, whether they be travel, food, musical tastes or reading habits. It is your personal history that makes you you and that’s what defines you. Of course, we are talking about you now in the twenty-first century as you read this, but the history of the world is made up of millions of personal histories. Some have combined to become the histories of major events and celebrated historical occasions of the past.

Types of history There are different types of histories that we can explore. We have already made mention of a few of these (personal history, local history). Some of these histories are concerned with particular groups of people, so you may study, for example; women’s history, children’s history, black history, American history or modern European history. In studying these areas, we will investigate political points of view, people’s struggles with authority and disputes over land and rights. Other studies in history may be more concerned with domestic life in the past. We may look at living conditions, day-to-day life, toys, leisure pursuits and pastimes and the experiences of ‘ordinary’ people. This has come to be termed as social history.

Pause for thought What are your experiences of aspects of history in your education? What approaches to the teaching of history have you observed and encountered?



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Recognition of these types of histories combine to inform us about our current position in the world and how we come to be where we are. An understanding of the integrity of the subject of history is paramount in understanding why studying history is important in the first place.

School history As we have seen, history is the story of our past, as defined and created by the actions and decisions of those that have gone before us. In its simplest form, history is the what, who, when, where and why of the past. What happened, who did it happen to, when did it happen and where did it happen? This is then reflected upon, discussed and analysed as we ask, why did it happen? In primary schools, there is an opportunity for history lessons to focus upon the exciting exploits and adventures of the people of the past. These stories can capture the children’s imaginations and they can throw themselves, wholeheartedly, into the life and times of these colourful characters that populate a world full of intrigue, war, power struggles, myths and legends and with danger at every turn.

Pause for thought Which characters from history would you focus on? Which exploits and adventures, from history, do you remember from your history lessons at school? Why do these people stand out? Can you think of someone from history that you have studied in the past?

However, we need to exercise caution at this point, for while history can be seen as the stories of the past. We need to also provide opportunities for the children to not only be immersed in the stories of the past, but also become engaged in the processes of finding out about the past. Good primary school history should see the pupils working as historians.

The content of history and the process of history The subject of history can be seen in two ways. First, there is the knowledge associated with certain events and topics. These are facts and details of the past, the kings and queens, explorers and lives of significant people at certain periods of time. We can think of this information as the dates, key facts and knowledge of historical points of

An Introduction to Primary History

reference that would be useful in a pub quiz. Knowing and recalling facts and figures is certainly impressive and may be associated with ‘being clever’, but that is not the whole story of being a historian. The second element as to what the subject of history is concerned with is the understanding of historical events. This means understanding why something happened, what caused it as well as understanding the consequences of the actions of others in the past. This understanding comes through enquiry and investigation with historians engaged in research in order to provide a picture of the past. This has previously been explored (Russell 2016) with school history seen as a combination of both the content of history and the process of history. The content of history is the subject knowledge, the facts, details and dates, while the process of history is concerned with the ‘process’ of finding out about the past. This involves lines of enquiry, investigations, engaging with source materials and making deductions. Across a scheme of work, the aim for teachers is to provide opportunities for the children to be involved in both the content and process of history. For example, children at Key Stage 1, who are studying a topic that covers ‘events beyond living memory’ (DfE 2013) may well be learning about the Great Fire of London. In a scheme of work, such as this, the children would learn facts about the Great Fire of London, such as the date the fire started (2 September 1666), the road where it started (an alley off Pudding Lane) and the name of the baker, in whose premises the fire started (Thomas Farriner) but the children may also be asked to investigate the context for the fire, and contributing factors for the spread of the fire and techniques in firefighting. This may lead to looking at the weather conditions, building materials as well as the legacy of the fire, the impact the fire had on the street layout of London, the impact upon fire insurance and firefighting. Table 1.1 highlights the facts that can be considered as the content of history, along with the lines of enquiry that are in alignment with the ideas of the process of history. These lines of enquiry encourage children to investigate the Great Fire using source materials, making judgements, sifting through evidence and drawing conclusions. Table 1.1  The Great Fire of London

Facts

Lines of Enquiry

The fire started in Pudding Lane

How did the fire spread?

The bakery was owned by Thomas Farriner

What firefighting methods were used?

The Fire began on 2 September 1666

What factors contributed to the spread of the fire?

The fire was under control by 5 September 1666

How do we know so much about the Great Fire of London? Are the ‘accepted’ facts true?



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The history curriculum in primary school By looking at a topic such as the Great Fire of London means that we have already considered one of the biggest influences as to what primary school history is. The History Programmes of Study: Key Stages 1 and 2 (DfE 2013) is a defining document in shaping the history that occurs in the classroom, which is perhaps why there is so much debate as to what the content of the history curriculum should be and how, for that matter, it should be taught.

The national curriculum The national curriculum for history as set out in the 2014 curriculum is the product of much debate (Arthur and Philips 2000, Taylor 2013, Russell 2016) and provides clear guidance as to the expectations as to what history should look like in the classroom. The History Programmes of Study: Key Stages 1 and 2 (DfE 2013) outlines a purpose of study that alludes as to much of what we recognize good history teaching to be about. Here the children should encounter ‘a high-quality history education’ and will ‘gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world’ (DfE 2013). Such documents are often open to interpretation and here the word ‘coherent’ could be the catalyst to a number of discussions. It could be included in this document in reference to the findings of the 2011 ‘History for All’ Ofsted report (Ofsted 2011) that found that while children’s subject knowledge was good, their chronological understanding was less secure. By desiring a coherent knowledge within the subsequent curriculum, one can interpret that this is a response to the findings of the document, with coherent knowledge referring to a deeper chronological understanding. This recognition of the strong subject knowledge the children have gained means that another interpretation for the inclusion of the word coherent here, could simply indicate a desire for a greater depth for children’s knowledge, recognizing that a great deal of facts about a particular era is pretty much useless without any context or understanding.

Curiosity A phrase from the curriculum document, that I refer to in lectures and seminars, is that history ‘should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past’ (DfE 2013). This phrase appears in the purpose of study and supports an approach to teaching history that hooks the children’s interest using such things as an intriguing artefact, a gory story, a school trip or a quirky fact. The idea here is that the principles of good history teaching can be introduced having, at first, succeeded in engaging the children’s imagination and turning them on to investigating the

An Introduction to Primary History

past. Therefore, the initial engagement is the ‘hook’ upon which we hang our good history teaching. Teachers are, in my experience, a creative and imaginative breed who can provide an endless supply of new ways of introducing topics and stimulating learning, and so designing new and imaginative learning experiences that maintains a historical focus is a large part of the role of a good history practitioner. The purpose of study calls for the children to want to ‘know more about the past’ (DfE 2013). This can be interpreted as the children, in their studies, going beyond the facts and details that initially drew them in, and see them begin to develop their own lines of enquiry in order to delve deeper into a topic and create their own historical understanding, based upon their genuine interest in the subject. This promotes an enquiry-based approach in the way we teach history. Enquiry is one aspect of history, that is referred to directly in the purpose of study, that sets out that ‘teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments and develop perspective and judgement’ (DfE 2013). This is the bones of being a historian, as these activities, outlined here, are the processes and experiences that good history teaching will provide for our children. While the interesting facts and ‘quirky history’ may be used to engage the pupils initially, it is the mechanics of the subject that provides the substance of our lessons. Other aspects of history referred to in the purpose of study include change, diversity of societies and identity. Children are also required to consider ‘the complexity of people’s lives’, ‘relationships between different groups’ and the ‘challenges of their time’. These are weighty areas to discuss, and, as the same purpose of study is provided for Key Stage 3 as it is for Key Stages 1 and 2, perhaps there is an inbuilt expectation that these areas will be revisited on more than one occasion throughout a child’s overall time in school and at a suitable level for the children’s engagement. Similarly, the aims of the curriculum apply to Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. Here, pupils are to ‘know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative’ (DfE 2013). The link being made here again between coherence and chronology. There is nothing to say that units must be taught chronologically; this is at the discretion of each individual school. However, the phrasing here might be seen as encouragement for schools to arrange their long-term plans for history to reflect a chronological approach to their history in order to address the idea of a coherent narrative and in so doing address the main findings of the 2011 Ofsted paper. The aims of the curriculum also consider Britain’s historical position in the world. Pupils should consider ‘how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world’ (DfE 2013). Here, traditional areas, such as explorers, inventions, monarchs and empire can be studied, which will not only sate the desires of those of the more politically right-minded, who crave a curriculum that tells of Britain’s glorious past (Arthurs and Philip 2000), but also provide the opportunity to explore other areas of history that have had an impact upon Britain, such as the Potato Famine and Windrush. The aims of the history programmes of the study also talk of ‘how people’s lives have shaped this nation’. There is no specific mention as to ‘significant’ people, although ‘significant individuals’ are referred to at Key Stage 1. This means that the



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‘people’ mentioned in the aims of the curriculum could be either people of renown or ‘ordinary’ people who have made extraordinary contributions in shaping our past. These could be either people who may be of national significance as the impact of their accomplishments has impacted upon modern life or somebody who is of local notoriety and forms part of the heritage and landscape of a particular part of the country. The national curriculum highlights other areas for study, which include ‘the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies’ and ‘the achievements and follies of mankind’ (DfE 2013). Alongside this, children are expected to ‘gain and deploy’ particular phrases, gaining a ‘historically grounded understanding of abstract terms’. The terms suggested here include ‘empire’, ‘civilization’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’ (DfE 2013). Teachers are at liberty to include and add any of their own suitable terms, maintaining the ‘historically grounded’ aspect of this work. The ambiguity here may feel unsettling but can also be considered as liberating in that some ownership of the national curriculum can be taken here by practitioners. Aspects of history that are more familiar to non-specialist teachers and are included here range from concepts such as ‘continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance’ and include processes of history such as ‘making connections, drawing contrasts, analyzing trends, framing historically valid questions’ and creating structured accounts that include ‘written narratives and analyses’ (DfE 2013). The document goes on to ensure that children ‘understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims’ (DfE 2013). This will also see the children at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 discovering ‘how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed’ (DfE 2013). This may be explored when children investigate versions of the past, examining documents and evidence that contradicts a perceived and agreed understanding. An example here could, once again, be the Great Fire of London. Many of the accepted truths of the Great Fire are passed down as indisputable facts. However, Mason (2016) writing for the BBC HistoryExtra website as well as the curators at the Museum of London counter a number of the accepted facts of the Great Fire. For instance, many children’s books about the Great Fire will report that there were around six deaths as a result of the blaze. However, this generally accepted number of fatalities is rather lower than is now believed. Although there was a four-week gap, caused by the fire, in the regularly published Bills of Mortality, which would have proved to be an excellent source of information in chronicling the disaster, Mason (2016) points towards parish records that indicate an increase in the number of burials in the immediate aftermath of the fire. In addition, written records from diarist John Evelyn, who talked of a foul smell that was caused by burning bodies. Hanson (2002) claims that the figure is more likely to have been in the several hundreds, maybe even thousands, citing the lack of procedure in record keeping and accounting for the charred remains at the time, as his rationale. Although the exact number of related deaths will never be known, there is enough evidence to suggest that it was higher than the widely accepted six that has come to be the accepted number.

An Introduction to Primary History

Finally, the aims of the history programmes of study see the children gaining a ‘historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts’ (DfE 2013). There is emphasis upon the children ‘understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history’ and ‘between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history’ (DfE 2013). Some debates seem to never reach a conclusion. One such debate would be the time devoted to the Foundation Subjects in the primary school timetable (Webster and Misra 2015). Suzannah Lipscomb (cited in Sanderson 2013) emphasizes this point, alluding to the idea that the methods of teaching history are potentially less important than the amount of time devoted to history in the timetable. Talking before the 2014 curriculum was put in place, Lipscomb stressed that ‘if we don’t have more hours of history, then it doesn’t matter what you do with the syllabus, it’s going to be a mistake. As it is, it’s almost impossible to do because of the almost minimal time that’s given to it’. The point about more time for foundation subjects, and history in particular, is similarly stressed by Russell (2016) and is not a recent discussion. The Historical Association Teacher Survey (2017) highlights the issues relating to time allocation towards the teaching of history across Key Stages 1 and 2.

Pause for thought What are your experiences of how history is organized in school?

Lipscomb recognizes that while not all students appreciate the need to study history, they should; stating ‘ultimately there’s something in the study of history for everybody because it’s everything that’s ever happened’ (2013). This echoes the idea outlined by Snow on HistoryHit.com. Lipscomb goes on to say, ‘Everything we encounter in our lives, be it the boundaries, between countries, enmities, territories, our ideas about things, the very concept of how we think, our superstitions – everything is a product of the past and our specific past’ (Lipscomb cited in Sanderson 2013). This brings our thoughts back to the idea of history being concerned with not only past events and people, but also a sense of identity and belonging and a personal connection with the past. Russell (2016) talks of a personal nostalgia when referring to the connections people have with their own past. This may manifest itself in the way in which people treasure personal effects, family heirlooms or photographs of family members, pets or particular memories of days out and holidays. This can also be seen in the affinity people hold with their locality, the roots that they have for places, or the determination to establish new roots and become part of a community as people settle, for whatever reason, in new places. Some of the themes here link directly back to the definitions of history as set out at the beginning of this chapter, particularly, those thoughts of Cicero and ‘tidings of antiquity’.



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What is history? In this chapter, we have already begun to explore what history is in terms of definitions, school history, the curriculum and content and process. Here we can further examine history in terms of the classroom.

Aspects of history As we have seen, the question as to what history is is rather more complicated than might first be imagined. For our classroom history, we can think of history in terms of aspects of history. These are ideas and features that are related to the subject of history in any way such as change, bias, evidence, enquiry, identity, interpretation and chronology. These aspects of history can be seen in terms of historical skills, concepts, and attitudes and values (Russell 2016). Table 1.2

Table 1.2  Aims to provide a visual reference setting out many aspects of history against the areas of skills, concepts and attitudes and values

Skills

Concepts

Attitudes and Values

Observation

Chronology

Empathy

Sequencing

Change

Different points of view

Questioning

Continuity

Tolerance

Understanding

Similarities

Respect

Enquiry

Differences

Curiosity

Reasoning

‘Oldness’

Enthusiasm

Explaining

Enquiry

Interest

Considering

Evidence

Historical imagination

Interpretation

Understanding that different points of view exist

Identity Belonging Historiography Knowledge

Bias

An Introduction to Primary History

We can see here that some historical skills are linked directly to a historic concept, for example, that of sequencing and chronology. Other aspects of history sit alone, such as empathy, a term that is not referred to directly within the national curriculum document (DfE 2013), although developing empathy, through asking questions such as ‘How would you feel if you lived a Skara Brae?’ as well as developing ideas of historical imagination, is likely to feature in lessons at Key Stages 1 and 2. We can also see that there are links between these identified aspects of history and a range of the terms and phrases that appear in the History Programmes of Study. For example, the curriculum makes reference to inspiring pupil’s curiosity, as well as making direct references to aspects of history, such as ‘change’, ‘continuity’, ‘evidence’ and asking questions.

Historiography The interpretation historians place upon events forms and shapes our ideas and opinions of those times. This may then change over time. For instance, have you ever watched an old TV programme, one you watched when you were younger, and thought how much it had dated? That’s because the context within which you are watching the programme has changed, even if the programme itself hasn’t changed at all. You are older now, this might alter the way in which you view the world, you have more experiences to draw upon, you have met more people and been to more places, all of which will have an impact upon how you perceive the TV show you are re-watching. In addition, times have changed, or the themes of the programme, the jokes, topics, fashions and tastes may all be viewed differently in today’s society than they were when the programme was originally made. In the same way, events of the past may be reviewed and revisited and, as a consequence, re-evaluated with our contemporary eyes and sensibilities. This means that, over time, versions of the past can be formed, reassessed and revised through whatever lens historians are using. This is referred to as historiography.

Principles and practices Another way of thinking about ‘what history is’ involves considering the principles and practices of the subject of history. This involves developing a clear understanding as to the essence as well as to the nature of the subject. This is a debate across the foundation subjects, with much talk of subject identity and the unique attributes, characteristics and benefits that exist across the range of foundation subjects (Webster and Misra 2015). This leads to stressing the importance of teachers, both specialists and non-specialists, having an understanding of the unique nature of specific subjects, such as history, and the nuances that exist between the subjects.



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Thinking of subjects as individual disciplines and gaining a deep understanding and confidence in your knowledge can also serve to strengthen the links between them, and, in turn, lead to thoughts about cross-curricular lessons or thematic approaches to teaching subjects in the primary school. Many schools will adopt such an approach, as it is a sure-fire way of creating interesting lessons that seemingly cover two or more curriculum subjects simultaneously, therefore easing the strain on a too full timetable, freeing time for additional core lessons, interventions and booster classes. The appeal here is understandable; not only for the specialists with the aforementioned advantages for the timetable in mind, but also for non-specialists who may feel less confident in their understanding of individual subjects and seek to hide their uncertainty behind a cross-curricular theme or topic.

CASE STUDY: Chocolate Some schools may adopt a thematic approach to the delivery of the foundation subjects, combining a number of activities under a general title. In this example, a local school looked at Chocolate. For the subject of history, this provided a clear link to study the Mayans and the Aztecs, but also included other opportunities, such as exploring chronology through old chocolate bar adverts, chocolate bar wrappers and the designs from the past. Across the curriculum, children wrote chocolate recipes in their English lessons, which also provided opportunities for measuring and volume and capacity in their mathematics lessons. English lessons also saw the children reading Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. In Design Technology, the children created their own chocolate bars and they designed their own wrappers in Art. Creating jingles and adverts combined experiences in Music and Computing as well as persuasive writing in English, while Geography lessons looked at the route cocoa beans take, the distances they travel which led to map reading and co-ordinate work.

Pause for thought There is no doubt that an approach such as this, outlined above, will capture the imagination of your class. However, do we need to exercise some caution here? Are there other considerations? Will the integrity of individual subjects be compromised if such an approach is followed? Is there a danger that certain aspects of history will be ignored? How does a history coordinator ensure that coverage of a full range of skills and experiences that we know to be good history are covered? What do you think?

The Historical Association Survey of Primary History 2015 (2016) highlights that 70 per cent of history teaching takes place as an integrated programme or project, which means that 30 per cent of history teaching is taught as a separate subject. The subsequent Historical Association Survey in 2017 also indicates that topic work was cited as the most common method of teaching history. It is worthy to note that while

An Introduction to Primary History

there are advantages to teaching through an integrated approach, the danger is that the integrity of the subject will be compromised. A cross-curricular lesson concerning say history and English may well in actuality become a writing lesson, with the aims of the history lesson, at best, lost to a series of facts and details. Similarly, a lesson concerning art and history may well become more concerned with a technique in using paints than in enlightening the children as to, say, the role art has played in communicating ideas of power and wealth over the populace over time. Another issue here may well be the marking and feedback that occurs. This may well be more focused upon grammar, phrasing, verb agreement and range of vocabulary, rather than the historical accuracy of the child’s observations and thoughts.

Pause for thought As a history teacher, what are your thoughts here? Consider your experiences? How do schools give feedback for all areas of learning?

Therefore, a deep-rooted understanding as to subject identity of history and how those features can be linked effectively across the curriculum is essential in delivering lessons that maintain the integrity of the subject throughout a scheme of work. Understanding the key principles and practices for history is, therefore, essential in providing meaningful and focused learning experiences for the children in your school. The key principles of history concern themselves with empowering practitioners to engage in historical thought processes. These principles engage teachers and their pupils in a way that ensures that they act, think and behave as historians, which helps them to see the world through the lens of a historian (Russell 2015, cited in Webster and Misra 2015). This is, as we have seen, of the upmost importance for lessons that are taught in a cross-curricular or thematic manner, but also, just as important for the practitioners to understand if their lessons are to be taught as discrete subjects. With this in mind, Table 1.3 offers a breakdown of specific principles and practices relating to history.

Table 1.3  Principles and practices

Principles

Practices

Enquiry

Questioning

Evidence

Weighing Evidence

Research

Lines of Enquiry

Reasoning

Drawing Conclusions

Interpretation



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Practitioners can see the link between the principle and the practice as being the main concern of the subject of history (Principles) and the process of ‘doing history’ (Practices). History, as we have seen, is primarily concerned with asking what happened and then finding out what happened through collecting evidence and drawing conclusions.

Summary If the thoughts of Henry Ford are to be believed, then history is bunk and we need not concern ourselves with the subject any further. However, this chapter has cast light on the integrity of the subject of history, the specific attributes that make history an important part of a child’s education. We can see the benefits of studying history as being that of developing thoughtful, curious, enthusiastic, inquisitive learners in our classrooms, who are not only fascinated with the details of history (the characters, gory stories and quirky facts) but are also intrigued by the processes of finding out about the past (using evidence to create arguments, handling artefacts, using the power of deduction to piece together a picture of the past and understanding how consequences may affect the future). We can see history lessons as a balance of the content and the process of history as children explore the wide range of aspects of history that include the principles and practices of good history teaching. In this light, history is not bunk.

Recommended reading Russell, C. (2016) Essential Primary History. London: Open University Press.

Chapter 2 Current Developments in History Chapter objectives ●●

current developments in history

●●

current thoughts and practices in the field of history

●●

the importance of history in the curriculum

This chapter sets out to explore the current developments in history and aims to highlight current thoughts and practices in the field of history, while reaffirming the importance of the subject of history in the curriculum. Building on our understanding of what history is, from Chapter 1, we can begin to explore the contexts within which primary history operates. Within this framework, we can consider how, as a discrete subject, history sits within the curriculum, and also how this looks as part of the wider field of the humanities. We can consider the wider picture of external factors that shape and form primary history in our schools and the impact this has upon teaching and learning and thinking. The ever-shifting landscape of education creates interesting spaces for such thoughts and our work as we prepare new teachers for a career in education. Therefore, for any new teacher, developing a strong sense of one’s own philosophies and thoughts is of paramount importance in your development.

What is the current state of primary history? Recent years have seen much discussion about the place of history in the curriculum. This has included discussion as to the content of the curriculum as well as considering approaches to the delivery of teaching the primary history programmes of study. The most recent changes, it can be argued, began with the ‘History for All’ Ofsted report in 2011. It was a document that highlighted chronological understanding as an issue across primary schools. This theme was taken up through subsequent discussions around the 2014 curriculum and the final curriculum document itself, as well as by organizations such as the Historical Association (2013) and the School’s History Project (2014).

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Husbands et al. (2003) research highlights that teachers ‘have different conceptions of what school history is for, how and why it should be taught and what sort of pursuit it is’ (2003:7). This may seem problematical; however, it is also understandable, given that each practitioner has his or her own starting point and understanding of the subject. This in itself provides us with an interesting landscape within which to interpret what we mean by history and especially as regards to the directions thinking about history might take in identifying current themes and developments.

The value and status of history as a subject Husbands et al. (2003) suggest that the teaching of history has repeatedly altered over the last thirty years, influenced by curriculum change, government change and a steady flow of initiatives, along with a public perception of what history should be, while Arthur and Philips (2009) agree with this sentiment, adding that the teaching of history provokes much heated debate. Unsurprisingly then, the value and status of history as a subject, within schools, has been of some debate in recent years. This is a point that is raised in the Historical Association Survey of History in Primary Schools in 2017. (Historical Association 2017). Towards the end of the 1990s, much debate in history education centred round the status of the subject itself within the curriculum (Arthur and Philips 2009, Rose 2009). There was much talk of ‘areas of learning’ rather than discrete subject teaching. A thematic approach, many argued, would have weakened the integrity of a subject such as history. However, this was nothing new. Price, writing in 1968 (cited in Arthur and Philips 2009), had asserted that history had, even at that stage, been a subject in danger (Price 1968). The precarious nature of the subject was somewhat secured when a change in government in 2010 brought about a new set of ideals that were installed in Whitehall and led to a shift in emphasis for the curriculum and the subject of history in particular.

History and the humanities Barnes and Scoffham (2017) present a thorough survey of the current state of the humanities in English primary schools. They interviewed a number of head teachers and presented, within the context of relevant literature and reports, an overview of the current position of humanities subjects, including, of course, that of history. First, Cremin (2017), cited in Barnes and Scoffham (2017), highlighted that ‘since the National Curriculum was introduced in 1989, a stream of initiatives and government regulations have created an education landscape where there are few certainties, apart from an ever-increasing demand for accountability and ever-more stringent targets’. The significance of the importance of humanities subjects should not be underestimated; for instance, another aspect, when exploring current developments,

Current Developments in History

concerns the well-being and happiness of the children that we teach. The World Health Organization (HBSC 2016) cited in Barnes and Scoffham (2017) report that English school children fare poorly when compared with their European counterparts, with only 48 per cent of English eleven-year-olds stating that they like school, compared to 74 per cent of Albanian children that answered positively. Similarly, Barnes and Scoffham (2017) point out that 30 per cent of English respondents indicated that they felt ‘pressured by school work’ whereas 9 per cent in Sweden and 10 per cent in the Netherlands offered the same response. These figures from the World Health Organization present a sad state of affairs and a troubling context for which English schools, in conjunction with the delivery of the foundation subjects, such as history, are set to work. One positive aspect here can be seen in the fact that the foundation subjects are well placed to address these issues in that the multifaceted nature of the subjects allow schools to exploit these attributes and plan creatively and deliver opportunities to explore a wide range of issues, including life skills, such as problemsolving as well as pastoral aspects of education, such as spiritual, moral, social and cultural elements. History as a primary school subject is particularly well placed to provide opportunities for children to explore the wide range of human emotions and their endeavours, including considering the challenges of people in their time and making links between events in the past, empathy, historical imagineering and an understanding of, or attempt to make sense of, the world and current issues and global trends that the children will encounter through the news, social media, initiatives in school, charity events and their school lessons themselves. These could include ecology issues, social injustices, terror threats and radicalization (Barnes and Scoffham 2017). Your own emerging philosophies will guide your thinking as to how you prefer history to be taught and how best issues such as those highlighted above are addressed. For instance, a cross-curricular approach may be seen as a particularly effective means of addressing issues in a whole project approach that calls upon the individual traits and attributes of particular foundation subjects. Barnes and Scoffham (2017) highlight this point, suggesting that ‘the humanities have a key role in exploring the wider legacy of globalisation and the rapid changes which characterise modern life’. They also claim that the humanities ‘can also contribute to building a more hopeful, respectful society’ (Booth and Ainscow 2011; Scoffham and Barnes 2017). Another consideration is that discrete teaching time for history is often limited within primary schools. Published data from schools suggests that schools spend ‘about an hour each week (4 per cent of teaching time) on each of the humanities subjects, though this may well represent an aspiration rather than what happens in practice’ (Barnes and Scoffham 2017:298). The recent History Association Primary Survey (2017) has noted the allocation of time allocated towards history teaching. The latest survey indicated that 15 per cent of respondents reported a decrease in time on the timetable. However, the majority of responses referred to no change at all, while a number referred to history teaching time as being incorporated with topic work and cross-curricular projects.



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Pause for thought What is your experience of how history is accommodated within the curriculum? What approaches towards history teaching have you experienced? Discrete teaching/Topic? How is time allocated for history lessons? Weekly/Termly?

History, society and identity History in particular can provide opportunities for addressing social cohesion (Russell 2016). There are opportunities to develop understanding of society as a whole, as we have seen, exploring aspects of history allows for children to develop holistically in terms of social, moral, cultural and spiritual development. This develops ideas of tolerance and respect as well as a furthering of metacognitive awareness of a sense of self in terms of making sense of the world within which we, as individuals, find ourselves. For children, this begins at a very young age. Russell (2016) asserts that ‘children begin to form a historical understanding almost from the moment they are born’ (2016:9), adding that ‘their view of the world is informed by their everyday encounters’ (2016:9). These experiences expand and change their understanding of the world as the child grows and encounters more and more events and influences, but as they do so, their ideas, opinions and understanding of themselves change and shift as they encounter and assimilate each new experience. History helps children make sense of the world, which, as we have seen, in Chapter 1 through the thoughts of Suzannah Lipscomb, is an important keystone in the make up of what history is. Russell (2016) takes this debate further, indicating that good history teaching develops a sense of identity. This understanding of the world starts with the child at the centre of their experiences, influenced by external factors as the child grows, develops and gains more and more formative experiences. This model, advocated by Cooper (2012), builds upon the assertion of Hoodless (2008) that ‘the study of history builds children’s understanding of society’ (2008:2). With this in mind, we can see history as an integral cog in understanding ourselves and our place in society. Another consideration here is that of a commonly held view that we, as a society, can learn from the mistakes of the past. One could argue that there is plenty of evidence to suggest that this aspiration is not heeded. However, it remains a noble goal of the subject as a whole.

Pause for thought Reflect upon the ways in which you engage with history and events of the past. How have these experiences shaped your thoughts about history, your history and your identity?

Current Developments in History

History and development History develops critical faculties, aides problem-solving and logical, reasoned thought processes. Politically too, history’s current state is of major significance. Hoodless (2008) states that ‘it has always been considered of great importance for those leading their societies to understand their current place in history and the significance of past events in their own and others’ societies, to inform their functioning in the present’ (Hoodless 2008:3). Within the 2014 history programme of study, the local study unit is well placed to discuss and shape understanding of our own immediate society, influences and sense of self. This may lead to thoughts of civic pride, a community spirit, national pride and a sense of togetherness. The pedagogic value of history for schools should not be underestimated. History provides opportunities to develop thinking skills (Wallace 2003), experiential learning (Kolb 1984), discovery learning (Bruner 1961), and it poses philosophical questions (P4C 2017) and raises ethical and moral concerns. Crawford (1995) explains that history enables schools to develop children’s thinking in that they need to discuss, analyse and check the validity of sources and information, while also developing a sense of fairness and an ability to see the point of view of others. He goes on to explain that history develops the ability to empathize and to value and understand the actions of others. Studying history provides meaning to events and provides a rationale to explain incidents and outcomes on our past while also developing the skills and ability to do so. One important reason as to why history should be valued is that the teaching of history allows a number of ‘life skills’ to be addressed. Hoodless (2008) highlights the advantages history brings in addressing conceptual development, while Russell (2016) highlights the importance of history in developing the whole child in terms of cultural, religious, societal and economic understanding.

The Historical Association Survey of History in Primary Schools in 2017 In addition to considering the current state of history in terms of current practices and examining the context of the recent past, we can also look at other sources that cast a light on current developments. The Historical Association Primary Teacher Survey is a good measure of current thinking. Current developments in primary history can be seen most keenly through the findings of the Historical Association Survey of History in Primary Schools in 2017 (Historical Association 2017). Their key findings, based upon the responses of 183 individual teachers, include the following: history co-ordinators are undersupported in their roles; teachers felt under resourced to deliver the history



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curriculum; there is a lack of financial support and training; and the status of history has remained largely unchanged by the introduction of the 2014 curriculum (Historical Association 2017). A large focus of the 2014 curriculum is that of chronological understanding, an issue first raised by Ofsted in History for All (2011) and highlighted by Cooper (2012) and Russell (2016). The Primary History Survey (2016) set out to question this aspect of history work in primary schools. This included links made between topics that are taught across the school within the curriculum. Of the respondents, 68 per cent answered that there was a focus upon chronology while 74 per cent indicated that factual knowledge was a focus for history work (Historical Association 2016). Arguably, this focus has lessened, with the focus of the 2017 survey now seemingly directed at time and approaches to teaching history, rather than content. However, when discussing the monitoring of children’s work, 87 per cent of respondents referred to ‘historical concepts’, although it is unclear as to which concepts are covered (Historical Association 2017:24). Developing a creative curriculum can be seen as a current development, albeit one that has been around for some time. Again, the survey looked to enquire about the methods used in delivering primary history. Nearly half of the teachers questioned, as to how history was taught in their school, indicated that a teacher-led didactic approach was the most frequently employed technique, ‘followed by practical investigations with sources (25%), worksheets (12%) and independent research from books and the internet (9%)’. Three per cent of respondents referred to role-play (Historical Association 2017:19). The survey also indicates that the most common techniques for teaching history were teacher input, independent research, enquiry and role-play. Among these the most often used approaches included creative and imaginative writing (47 per cent), drama and role-play (38 per cent), enquiry investigations (33 per cent), historical fiction writing (31 per cent), storytelling (23 per cent), discursive writing (22 per cent) and persuasive writing (18 per cent), with the least used approach being construction and modelling with only 8 per cent of respondents indicating this as an approach they had used (Historical Association 2017:20). When questioned upon engaging aspects of the national curriculum, in the 2015 survey, the Stone Age to Iron Age unit was reported as having been ‘well received’ among teachers. Other comments indicated that the teaching approach has been considered by some respondents rather than the subject matter itself, here, ‘enquiry-based work’, ‘change over time’, ‘source analysis’, ‘trips’ and ‘cross-curricular learning’ are cited as having a positive impact upon engaging learners. However, the 2017 survey indicates that this unit is now associated, among teachers, as being the least well-resourced unit and the unit with which teachers feel least prepared to teach (Historical Association 2017). The survey also casts a light on a number of other issues, primarily that of resources for teaching, time for teaching history and the structure of the timetable for history, whether that be a block of time, weekly slots or as part of a project. There is

Current Developments in History

a perceived growth in weekly timetabled slots compared to previous survey results and topic work appears to be more prominent across both key stages (Historical Association 2017). Interestingly, the perceived status of history is also questioned within the survey, with history being seen as predominantly ‘high status’ in Key Stage 2. However, a reported ‘low’ status is returned at Key Stage 1 (Historical Association 2017:17). The Primary History Survey 2017 indicates that concerns regarding the teaching of history remain in line with previous reports, in that time, status, resources and Continued Professional Development (CPD) and an awareness of good practice are all referred to by practitioners. There is much debate when our attention turns to assessment and marking. As we have seen, the 2017 survey indicates that, when monitoring children’s work, 87 per cent focus upon conceptual understanding and that most of the monitoring is done through written means with informal discussion also recognized as a main means of monitoring (Historical Association 2017:23). Some schools indicated that they were in the process of setting up their assessment strategies for history, while another issue referred to in the survey highlights a debate as to what is assessed and monitored between historical concepts, factual knowledge and even English ability (Historical Association 2017:24). Unsurprisingly, the survey highlights assessment as a key area within which to provide further support in the future (Historical Association 2017:33).

Pause for thought How would you answer the questions here? Do your responses, to the questions raised in the survey, differ from those indicated above? Again, thinking of your experiences, what do you consider to be pressing issues for primary history?

In addition to the picture presented within the survey, we can add the thoughts of Michael Maddison, who left the post of Ofsted lead inspector for history in 2015. This is a position that is not to be replaced, which, in itself, is perhaps an indication of the current climate at Ofsted at least. Maddison highlighted three key areas as to the current state of primary history. First, he suggests that primary history is all too often presented as part of an integrated curriculum. This is directly opposed to the Ofsted’s preferred method of delivery and, again, raises the concern that the integrity of the subject is lost and that history lessons have more to do with art, DT or English lessons rather than the aspects of history that we know and understand to be an integral part of what history is. Maddison believes that as a result of such an approach ‘pupils’ knowledge and understanding has suffered’ (keystage history 2016). Second, Maddison suggests that a well-structured enquiry is ‘the most effective subject pedagogy’, stating that



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this ‘helps pupils to think for themselves’ and develops ‘skills in research, analysis, evaluation and communication’ (keystage history 2016). These can all be seen as skills that will be ‘valuable in future study and employment’ (keystage history 2016). Problem-solving is another area that Maddison highlights as being of particular importance for ‘preparation for later study’ (keystage history 2016). Maddison’s final point on the current state of primary history is that the best learning in history involves the pupils engaged with historical thinking that ‘demands the ability to investigate, consider, reflect and review events of the past’. This developed historical knowledge ‘which they had learnt to communicate in an increasingly sophisticated way’ (keystage history 2016). Ofsted’s chief inspector offers some insight into current developments (Spielman 2017). A standout thought regards curriculum design, and the understanding of what that is and what it entails. An emphasis on designing the curriculum, it is implied, has been lost over time, with those entering the profession in recent years being less well-equipped to tackle this in their school than their older colleagues. Reasons for this could well sit with a shift in emphasis in training needs, lack of funding for CPD, a narrowing of the curriculum and a relentless focus upon attainment in English and Maths. As we have seen, the status of other subjects such as history can be compromised. However, Ofsted’s recognition that there has been a narrowing of the curriculum is a step in the right direction and in part gives us the go-ahead to create and design a creative, engaging and purposeful curriculum. Spielman also highlights the ambiguous use of the words ‘curriculum’ and ‘timetable’ and that there is an uncertainty among many school leaders as to the distinction between the two. With this in mind, practitioners are encouraged to create inspiring schemes of work that set out to provide opportunities to address all aspects of history, from chronology, interpretation, to enquiry and research. The Historical Association Primary History Survey (2017) offers insight here as to what schools are already doing. The survey found that the ‘most common resources used were audio-visual (78%) and the internet (63%). These were followed by artefacts (34%), stories (29%), fieldwork (23%) and worksheets (23%)’ (Historical Association 2017:20). Archaeology and textbooks were the least used resources while little use has been made of oral history opportunities and the use of buildings, monuments and statues according to the respondents of the survey. Perhaps this suggests opportunities for more creative approaches towards teaching history. We should encourage learning outside the classroom (LOtC) (see Chapter 4) and the use of artefacts to engage, inspire and enthuse the children. An integrated project is an ideal approach here, with the children creating documentaries, films, podcasts, apps and web pages while researching artefacts, topics and people and considering the validity of the evidence and visiting sites, museums and places of historical significance. However, this flies in the face of other ideas as to how history should be taught. Is there a shift in ideas here? Is a new rhetoric emerging? Time will tell, but for now, we can see these spaces as opportunities to create fantastic historical experiences for the children we teach.

Current Developments in History

Pause for thought What is inspiring history? How do we ensure our history lessons are engaging and fun, but also focused upon historical concepts and aspects of history? How do you think history is best taught?

History and the challenge of teaching controversial issues There is no doubt that history is both emotive and controversial. We are inevitably faced with aspects of the past which are complex, difficult to understand and sometimes difficult to acknowledge. Issues that might be deemed to be emotive or controversial are themselves open to interpretation and discussion; what might be controversial to one may not be to another.

Pause for thought What is your understanding of a ‘controversial issue’? When does something become controversial? Write a list of topics that you consider controversial and why.

Hidden history The exclusion of some histories and not others is also open to question, and yet throughout time we have seen many aspects of history that have been hidden away, or at the very best tokenistic in its coverage. Until the 1980s and the introduction of Black History Month – now a prominent feature in primary schools – black and ethnic minority people have largely been excluded from our history curriculum/books, despite Great Britain being a multi-ethnic nation for thousands of years. Though nonetheless important, women, the working class and minority cultural groups, to name a few, have also been slow to emerge in the history books. The national curriculum (2013) itself pays lip service to such history, failing in its offering of ‘suggested content’ to recognize the achievement and significant of those who might not be recognized or considered important in history. Here we argue that it is these hidden aspects of history we should also consider if we are promoting an inclusive history curriculum for all (Claire 1996, Dixon and Hales 2014). A curriculum that is designed without considering the multi-ethnic and multifaceted nature of our society runs the danger of excluding large groups of people, including the very children that occupy our school. For example, the traveller community have a very rich and long



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history which is both interesting and fascinating; by including them in our teaching and learning we may not only engage these groups in our present and in many of our communities but may also be a way to address some of the misconceptions that surround them.

Pause for thought What is your understanding of black history? Who does it include/exclude? Does your school celebrate Black History Month or is this an integral part of your ongoing teaching?

Southgate (2017) states that while some theorists would rather leave the past behind, it is of ‘ethical importance’ that we do not. She proposes that we need history to be an ‘ethical’ practice’ which considers how current perceptions of the past have come to be the way they are, what we chose to include and why and more importantly what we choose to exclude and why (p. 490). So why is it important that we consider the inclusion of controversial or hidden issues in the classroom? As Claire tells us: Because controversial issues are rooted in values, beliefs and different ideologies as well as personal interest, children can use historical analogies as the rehearsal ground for their own developing ethical and ideological standpoint. This is not indoctrination but education: they [can] weigh up serious ethical questions and decide where they stand. (2007, p. 29)

Dixon and Hales (2014) suggests that we are failing to acknowledge the extent of controversial issues which children are exposed to on a daily basis. The media, and more recently social media regularly portray graphic scenes and images of events and happenings around the world, much of which shapes our history as well as global history. It would be naive to think that these events do not prompt discussions among children and adults outside the classroom, some of which may be unsolicited; ignoring this we are leaving children open to the possible misinterpretation, stereotyping and misconceptions about important social issues. The primary classroom can provide a safe and neutral environment in which to explore issues, to think through responses and consider values and beliefs.

Pause for thought What are your thoughts on this? Do you think children are interested or worried about the events that happen? Did you, for example, discuss the Manchester or London terrorist attacks?

Current Developments in History

It may be that much of our history is controversial and this is already being included in our classrooms without our being aware of it. If we reflect on our current curriculum in history, consider the beheading of Henry VIII’s wives; Guy Fawkes, a terrorist of his time; child slavery and the study of war. Do children relate to these events in a meaningful way, fully understanding the historical significance behind them, or has the passing of time simplified the message that they give? By teaching events in isolation we may be adding to the misconceptions of children, as will be discussed in Chapter 5, leaving them to think that such events ‘only happened in the past’ and yet we are confronted with similar contemporary events every day.

Pause for thought Have you ever considered these topics ‘controversial’? Can you relate them to events happening in current history?

It is recognized that teaching controversial issues in the classroom is a challenge for both the experienced practitioner and those new to the profession. While we urge teachers not to avoid such practice, we advise that you seek the advice and support from your subject leader or senior management before embarking on issues that might cause controversy. Story provides a safe and often impartial way to explore sensitive subjects and some suggestions are made at the end of chapter as a starting point but the following case study illustrates how such issues may be tackled in the classroom.

CASE STUDY: An example of teaching controversial issues in a year 1 classroom The concept of cause and consequence with year 1 children was explored through the topic of children who had been displaced by war (still very current). The teacher began by assessing the children’s initial understanding through a game of snakes and ladders, posing questions at strategic points, such as ‘What would have happened if I had thrown a 5?’ or ‘What would happen if only children with blue eyes were allowed to climb ladders?’ Would it be fair if the number of throws for each side was different? This went on to raise many questions about equity and fairness. Following a unit on homes, whereby the children had drawn/ painted their own homes, the teacher used the book One Day We Had to Run by S. Wilkes and showed the children pictures that refugee children had drawn of their now homes in the refugee camps. The children discussed reasons of why they might have had to leave their homes and to the surprise of the teacher suggested very appropriate causes – war, bombing and poverty. It was then considered how these children might have felt and what it was like having to leave very quickly.



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The teacher followed up these ideas and further developed concepts using role-play and games. The unit of work was concluded by children themselves creating a whole class story of a fictitious displaced child using the story circle technique (children form a circle, the teacher starts the story off and the children continue the different parts going around the circle). The story was orally told and children had opportunities to practice, change and refine before the final telling.

Pause for thought In light of your reading, would you consider adapting any of the content of your history curriculum?

Current developments and further research The first part of this chapter gives a very comprehensive account of the current developments in primary history arising from the contemporary research available at the time of writing. This section will go on to consider the further research needed in the field, looking at the much wider issues in primary history generally, as well as the gaps in our pedagogic understanding of how children learn. It will offer some suggestions of how an early researcher or classroom-based practitioner might take ideas forward.

History and education for social justice and citizenship – the bigger issues With war and conflict being high on the political and social agenda in twenty-first century, we consider the notion of social justice education through the primary history curriculum and will evaluate the position of educators as agents of challenge, change and transformation. We propose that by listening, discussing and valuing the views of young children, practitioners can make an analysis of their understanding and application of complex historical concepts such as cause and consequence and this can be used as a basis to develop a more personalized primary history curriculum with a pedagogical approach to meet the needs of an increasing complex society. While there are research studies regarding older children’s conceptual understanding of complex issues, research studies looking at younger children are limited, meaning that we might be inadvertently underestimating children’s ability. Cooper (1995) is among

Current Developments in History

the very few who has considered young children’s understanding and the proposal of developing a curriculum more suited to current needs. Murris (2013) draws on the work of Fricker (2007) and refers to this as the ‘epistemic injustice … which occurs when someone is wronged in their capacity as a knower’ (p. 245) due to the hearer’s prejudices (assumptions of young children’s understanding) causing them to miss out on knowledge being offered. Social, moral and values education and the drive for global citizenship has seen a more prominent rise in current academic and educational discourse, particularly in light of recent controversies, global terrorism and radicalization. Conversely however, we have also seen the guidance for primary citizenship education being withdrawn in the national curriculum (2014), only to have been replaced with the controversial Fundamental British Values document (2014). Hawkins (2014) makes an argument for the need for reconsideration of children’s understanding of what she describes as social injustices. She argues that young children not only hold views and perceptions of quite complex issues but become socially proficient at a very early age in the way they can appropriate and manipulate social discourses, thus often leading to negative attitudes, prejudices and bias towards different groups or situations (Hawkins 2014, Walker 2012). Trofanenko (2014) in her discussion of affective emotions pedagogy describes how topics which evoke emotions, particularly those that honour past historical events and the recent contemporary issues, not only develop children’s education for social justice but also contribute to forming a collective national identity and sense of belonging. It is argued that in the drive for global citizenship and education for social justice, there is a need to consider and refine the current pedagogical approaches to one that challenges current practice with children leading from the centre.

History and multi-layered personal identities Hales (2018) explores the role of local, personal and community in history and how this may impact on identity and children’s learning. Personal identity is bound by one’s personal values, beliefs, behaviours styles and characteristics shaped by the interplay of culture. She draws on the work of Ushborne and Del La Sablonnierre (2014) who argue further that with increasing diversity of culture it is now harder to identify with any one culturally homogenous community group with this impacting personal identities, resulting in some individuals carrying multiple identities to form what they term as ‘collective identities’. This is becoming ever more evident in our primary classroom whereby we are increasingly experiencing children from very diverse and complex backgrounds. Chapter 8 will explore a curriculum where children’s personal, local and community history is at the heart of the curriculum and runs as a thread throughout several chapters. However, while authors/writers rightly



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advocate the benefits for such a curriculum and approach (Claire 1996, Dixon and Hales 2014, Russell 2016, Husbands 2016) there appears to be little research into the impact on children’s sense of identity and what such a curriculum could afford. Hales (2017) goes some way to address this in her research but still much more needs to be done, particularly within the primary age range. How, for example, are schools using or linking initiatives such as Fundamental British Value to the history curriculum (if at all) and if so what is the impact it is having on both learning and children’s identity?

Pause for thought What are your ideas for further research? What do you see as gaps in our understanding and pedagogic knowledge in the teaching and learning of primary history?

These are big questions and ones that raise many further questions. It is not suggested that during everyday classroom practice such research is possible, but the reader might wish to explore some of the ideas through, for example, a Master’s degree, PhD or other postgraduate study. However, there are areas of research that practitioners can undertake within their classroom which can enhance classroom practice, develop understanding and be available for dissemination of good practice.

Teachers as researchers Pedagogy and classroom-based research is becoming increasingly recognized by policy makers and school leadership as fundamental in our development of practice (Scolls 2015). Recent developments of teaching schools have seen the formation of educational research hubs led by teachers working alongside academics to improve and impact on school development. While core subjects may dominate much of this research and is of course important, there is an opportunity for schools to lead and develop the wider curriculum to further enrich children’s education. Teachers are natural researchers; they are continually looking for new ways, exploring new ideas and reflecting on outcomes to inform practice. Many of the ideas and research explored in this book have come from everyday practice. Russell (2016) highlights the enjoyment that teachers experience when teaching history, and given that we know children are also highly engaged in the learning, history makes an excellent area to research further in the classroom. The following case study gives one such example which describes how a former primary student, now NQT was interested to explore how re-enactment in primary history engaged children.

Current Developments in History

CASE STUDY: Classroom-based research Peter, a former primary student combined his passion of historical re-enactment and love of teaching (see case study 5.2, Chapter 5) to form the basis of his research project in his final year at university. Though used less frequently than drama and role-play activities, he recognized that there was little research about the use of re-enactment in primary history teaching and the promotion of it as a method of teaching. While his instinct led him to believe this was an effective method of teaching, he wanted to see for himself. He set out to consider their levels of engagement and historical understanding through the use of real artefacts and interaction with a historical character. He began by giving the children a questionnaire about their history learning generally, following a usual history lesson and then after the re-enactment activity. During the activities he devised structured observation sheets to assess the level of engagement, noting the number of times and types of actions made by the children and the types of questions and answers they gave to assess understanding – this was completed by the class teacher while he participated in the re-enactment (though this could have easily been completed by a teaching assistant or other adult). Analysing the responses, the re-enactment activity indicated a much higher level of engagement and demonstrated a deeper levels of understanding for things such as empathy and historical situations.

The reader might question the purpose of such research beyond the need for a university research project. However, this research led the way for the student to secure a history leadership role within his school, with justification for re-enactment to be prioritized and seen as a valid method of teaching. Below are a few suggestions of what teachers might research and how this might be done. Readers are reminded of school policy and ethical considerations when conducting any small-scale research, that is ensuring that questions are sensitive to children needs and experiences and permission is sought before any findings are publicized beyond that of the school. The reader may be surprised that these are areas of real research and not just everyday practice – which I am sure most are. Be assured that such activities will not only add to your professional development but also to the current developments in history. For example, classroom practice can be written up into a short 500-word case study and sent to a professional magazine or journal, such as Primary History (Historical Association) or Primary Teaching, and editors will be delighted to publish in upcoming editions! Apart from writing the brief account this is nothing extra to what you are doing every day – and so why not share and celebrate the excellent practice we know is going on in classrooms across the country? Imagine the delight of children to see their teacher’s work in print and you might discover hidden talents beyond the classroom!



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Possible areas of research in history within the primary classroom

Research question Is assessment of children’s historical learning through written methods, limiting their potential to demonstrate conceptual understanding and knowledge? Are we underestimating the value of other methods such as oral retelling, pictorial or drama as a means of assessment? Research methods to find out Purposely plan a series of lessons where children are able to record their understanding in other ways such as using a voice recorder, painting or retelling an adult. Assess or analyse in the same way as you would a written piece, that is, what vocabulary do the children use, is it in context? Do you notice any patterns or particular groups of children, that is, children with English as a Second Language (EAL) or Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) that this method of assessment shows greater understanding? Possible outcome and impact This may lead the way for a focus on different methods of assessment in your school’s assessment of history.

Research question Do children engage in historical artefacts during their play or independent activities and is there any evidence of further learning? Research methods to find out Leave a range of artefacts in different areas of the classroom, that is, role-play area, book corner, writing area. At a time convenient plan to observe for a given length of time and record the number and ways the children interact with the artefact. Possible outcomes and impact Increased interaction and any possible learning may provide evidence for a need of further resourcing being prioritized for history teaching and learning.

Research question Do children take history learning experienced in school beyond the classroom? Research methods to find out Construct a questionnaire and give to children asking questions such as what history do you enjoy; do you do any history at home, with family/friends and so on. Interview children to find out more about their learning beyond the classroom.

Current Developments in History

Possible outcome and impact This may add to your history curriculum planning: what do children enjoy outside and how can we optimize history learning through what we offer in the classroom? How might we encourage greater learning outside the classroom?

Pause for thought Reflecting on research in the classroom, can you identify this in your own practice? What other areas in history teaching and learning might you want to explore?

Summary This chapter has offered the reader a comprehensive account of the current developments in primary history and encourages them to consider the findings further through professional debate and dialogue. It acknowledges the challenges practitioners face when confronted with contentious and complex history content, both past and contemporary history and offers reassurance for teachers in its inclusion in the primary classroom. It has explored possible gaps in current research and why addressing these are important if history teaching and learning is to continue to evolve and develop. It urges the reader to consider how they might use everyday practice with a researchers’ eye to add to the body of knowledge and enhance history learning for primary children.

Recommended reading Arthur, J. and Philips, R. (Eds) (2009) Issues in History Teaching. Oxon: Routledge Falmer. Barnes, J. and Scoffham, S. (2017) The Humanities in English Primary Schools: Struggling to Survive. Education 3-13. Vol 45 No 3. 298–308. Claire, H. and Holden, C. (2007) The Challenge of Teaching Controversial Issues. London: Trentham Books. Historical Association (2007) A Report from The Historical Association on the Challenges and Opportunities for Teaching Emotive and Controversial History 3-19. Historical Association. Historical Association (2017) Historical Association Survey of History in Primary Schools. Historical Association. https://www.history.org.uk/ha-news/categories/455/news/3452/ history-in-schools-2017 [accessed 11 December 2017]. McDonagh, C., et al. (2013) Enhancing Practice through Classroom Research: A Teacher’s Guide to Professional Development. Abingdon: Routledge. Russell, C. (2016) Essential Primary History. London: Open University Press.



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Recommended websites Information on Black History Month: https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/ https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-facts Great Black Women in History: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/41433196 Information/resources related to Global Issues: http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/global-issues-overview/

Chapter 3 History as an Irresistible Activity Chapter objectives By the end of this chapter you should ●●

understand the significance of these civilizations and be able to make valid decisions when selecting specific units of work

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understand how these units can be used to stimulate children’s enthusiasm for the ancient world

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be able to trace themes across continents and periods

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become aware of the irresistible nature of history

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understand the role of archaeologists and the importance of material culture in developing knowledge of these cultures

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recognize the need to focus on significant people and events as well as social history

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be aware of how these areas may be introduced to younger children

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be aware of possible issues that may arise when teaching these units

Introduction The non-European aspects of the history national curriculum play a vital part in helping children to recognize and value diversity within the human past. It is important for them to be able to look beyond their own national history to understand that other civilizations also shaped the world they live in. While it is true that these ancient empires can be used as points of comparison with our own it is also essential to consider the significance of the civilization in its own right. These early cultures allow us to investigate the different, the strange and the magnificent, building on the work of early archaeologists to see as they did ‘wonderful things’. As much of

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our knowledge of these very early societies relies upon archaeological evidence it is necessary to understand the discipline and meet some of the main characters. Investigating the history not only of Britain but also of the wider world enables children to appreciate the wide sweep of human existence as was recognized by a child studying the Shang in rural Shropshire. Just that we now know about these people. A hundred years no one knew anything about them – people thought they were legends. Now we know they really existed. (Morgan 2016:33)

Non-European units within the national curriculum The non-European units have been part of the national curriculum since its inception. The latest iteration provides us with the choice of four ancient civilizations set across the globe as well as a choice of three more recent empires. The choice of ancient civilizations lies between ●●

Ancient Egypt (Egypt),

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Ancient Sumer(Mesopotamia/Iraq),

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Indus valley civilization (India/Pakistan),

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Shang Dynasty (China).

While the more recent empires provides a choice of ●●

The Maya (Guatemala, Central America),

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Benin (Nigeria, West Africa),

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Early Islamic Civilization – Abbasid Caliphate (Baghdad, Mesopotamia/Iraq).

All these different civilizations share a number of characteristics. These were sophisticated city states with extensive trading routes. Farming and food production was efficient, supporting large populations. Writing and numbering systems allowed records to be kept. Religion played a central role within the civilization. There was an effective military that was used to extend the bounds of the empire. Each society was strongly hierarchical. Arts and crafts flourished. A further point of similarity was observed by Bracey: ‘All emerged by rivers in warmer parts of the world and were supported by agricultural communities’ (2016:12). The role of the river in enabling the development of trade links and communication as well as providing sustained fertility is fundamental to the growth of more complex communities. Some of the empires lasted many generations while some were more short-lived. The pace of change was not great in some of the longer lasting dynasties with sometimes almost imperceptible alterations (micro change) while in others cities rose and

History as an Irresistible Activity

fell more precipitously (macro change). The Indus valley civilization appears to exist relatively unchanged until some sort of catastrophic collapse at the end, possibly triggered by climate change. The Shang Dynasty however rises up out of conflict and war and is ended by further conflict. It is important to realize this as Claire suggests, ‘No civilisation remained the same at all times’ (Claire 1996:207). Either the full length of the existence of the empire has to be considered or a focus is taken at a point of rupture or transformation. As we will see in Chapter 5 there is a requirement within the national curriculum to make comparisons across time and place. This is also explicit with these units: ●●

the achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the civilizations,

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a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history.

As Bracey suggests this ‘ clearly requires children to be aware of what is happening in different parts of the world so they appreciate that there was more to human development than the achievements of a single culture’ (Bracey 2016:12). It is unlikely that within a six-week block however it would be possible to cover both an ‘overview’ and a ‘depth study’ of one of these sophisticated and complicated ancient civilizations other than in the most superficial manner. Even if only the ‘depth study’ is selected seeking to provide children with a comprehensive understanding of the three thousand year history of the Ancient Egyptian civilization within this six-week time slot would prove challenging. Once again it is likely that individual elements of the society will be considered without the historical context needed to understand the formation of that society. Further on within the chapter we will consider how to devise an overview with an additional example of a depth study

Pause for thought You have an hour a week over six weeks to cover the topic of Ancient Egypt. What do you think ‘an overview’ means? What do you understand by the term depth study? What would you include and why have you made that choice? Would you want to provide an overview of the other three units as well? How and when would you do this? How much time would you take from Ancient Egypt to do this? What aspects of the Ancient Egyptian period have you chosen to focus on and how are they linked to each other?

Here is an example of a six key questions that could shape an overview of Sumer. Try to select your questions so that they follow logically and develop on from each other. This will ensure that you don’t just have six interesting and fun but potentially unrelated ‘one off’ sessions. This is what we mean by an overview.



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Key question to shape session

Justification for choices  

What enabled Sumer to This allows you to look at where and when the civilization developed become such a wealthy and what factors contributed to this development such as agriculture civilization? and trade based around the two rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates How did they order their cities?

Her you could focus on the city of Ur as this has a good city plan. You could look at both how the wealthy and how the everyday people lived. You can use some of the artefacts from the Royal Tombs of Ur here. Ur is a port city and centre of trade.

How did their religious Considering the temple within Ur you can begin to think about how beliefs shape their religion shaped people’s lives considering Ur-Nanna, the deity world? for Ur. You could then look at the rest of the pantheon. In English you could extend with the ‘Saga of Gilgamesh’. Look at the Ziggurat of Ur here. What made the Sumerian civilization so advanced?

This is where you look at some of the firsts, writing, wheels and boats. Look at how these things affected people’s lives and contributed to the all-important trade.

How did it come to an end?

What led to the collapse? Her you need to look at conquest and expansion of other states. Again you can link this to wealth and trade.

How do we know about ancient Sumer?

This is where you link up to the work of Leonard and Katherine Woolley and the discoveries made in the 1920s. Again the focus would be on your sample city of Ur. How did they make sense of what they found? Have our ideas about these artefacts changed since then?

   

With the World History periods there is an expectation that they should be compared to British society at a similar time. As the British history study units end in 1065 the suggested point of comparison is 900 AD. The focus for comparison in Britain would be on the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Wessex under Alfred and Edward. It is clear that there were major trading routes across continental Europe and Mesopotamia at this point. These provide a valid link for investigating the societies in England and Baghdad. What differences or similarities would a trader see when delivering goods? This period would link to the classical period within the history of the Maya, when most of the great cities flourished. How would these compare to the fortified burhs of Winchester, Wallingford and Oxford? Both cultures could be considered as warrior societies but in what way were they similar or different? More problematic is a comparison between Benin and Britain in 900s. Little is known of the Kingdom of Benin at this point with evidence relating instead to the fifteenth century and the time of the Tudors. There are many points of comparison, from hunting, trade, the role of the rulers for Tudor society and that of Benin at its height but not for the earlier time.

History as an Irresistible Activity

The Maya

Benin

3500BC 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 AD1 500 1000 1500 2000

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Sumer

Abbasid Caliphate

Indus Valley

Shang Dynasty

The role of the non-European units It is important to consider why the non-European units were included within the history curriculum initially and why they continue to be retained. The original documentation identified three reasons for their inclusion: ●●

Significance,

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Legacy,

●●

Understanding evidence.



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Each of these civilizations had significance in its own right. It developed and expanded, creating complex social structures, generating iconic characteristics and style and influencing and shaping its geographical location. ‘Each was powerful and influential in its own time, and each left a legacy of achievements that influenced developments elsewhere or at a later time’(NCC 1993:3). The focus in selecting this unit is for children to begin to understand the significance of this civilization. Why should we look at this civilization rather than another? What is specific and special to this culture that made it iconic or influential? Why do we still recognize this society? Why do we need to look at this place? What will we learn from this that we will not get from other units? Each of these civilizations also created a legacy. In addition to having a profound effect on their own geographical area they also influenced future developments. There were developments in astronomy, writing, mathematics, medicine and technology that fed into later advances. As originally suggested, ‘They are therefore worth studying not only because they are interesting in their own right but also for their importance in the development of other societies’(NCC 1993:3). These units also help children understand the historical continuum. They allow children to expand their understanding of the past and provide an alternative perspective of the past. It is important for children to appreciate the achievements of civilizations beyond Britain and Europe. It is important to consider aspects of world history not only for their own sake but also to help pupils see their own history in a fresh light and from new perspectives. A basic aim of these units is therefore to broaden pupil’s historical perspectives. (NCC 1993:3)

Finally most of the information that we have, particularly for the Ancient Civilizations, comes from archaeological investigations. Even with those societies that flourished in the later periods archaeology has allowed us to understand more about the origins of these cultures (see recent work with British Museum https://www.google. com/culturalinstitute/beta/project/british-museum-s-maya?). Mesoamerican communities such as the Aztecs and Maya continued until the arrival of the Spanish in the fifteenth century. Many of the great cities of the Maya had languished however, hidden Figure 3.1  Mayan temple within the jungle

History as an Irresistible Activity

in equatorial jungle until rediscovered in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is only with the understanding provided by archaeology that we can gain a valid perspective on those cultures. With an inability to decipher some of the written evidence from certain cultures we are dependent on material culture (or the artefacts or detritus left behind) to speak for the people themselves. It is only through this material culture that we can hear the voice of the people and listen to the story they want to tell.

Points of consideration in selecting units of work Geography One of the key questions to start your investigation has to be: ‘Why did this civilisation grow up at this time and in this place?’ There are strong cross-curricular links with geography and we should not ignore the significance of physical geography. Rivers are central to the development of all of our ancient civilizations and to two of the world study units (Benin and Baghdad). They ensure fertility and provide communication, transport and trade links for a growing empire. A simple aerial photograph of the Nile demonstrates the fecundity created along the length of the river. The physical geography around the central city of the civilization can explain why the city was designed as it was and what the key building materials were. It can also

Figure 3.2  Satellite image of Egypt and the Nile river



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show us where food was produced and how the civilization adapted or manipulated their environment. If the civilization creates large ceremonial buildings what does it make them of, why do they choose that material and where do they get that material from? Resources that were scarce, far away or difficult to transport or work suggested how important or prestigious a building was.

Pause for thought Consider how you might set up an overview session where children are given information about different civilizations and asked to identify common factors. You could focus on city states and think about what factors might have contributed to their development.

●●

●●

What factors were necessary conditions for growth? ❍❍

Population growth

❍❍

Control

❍❍

Security

What did these factors provide? ❍❍

Location – Security – Fertility

❍❍

Trade – Raw materials/products – Food

❍❍

Communication – Method – System

●●

What did cities contribute to the growth of civilization? – Bureaucracy – Wealth – Security – Creativity

Look at plans of cities, images of buildings or reconstructions of city and physical geography maps. What was similar and what was specific to the different locations? What conclusions could you draw from these? Possible cities – Ur (Sumer), Harappa (Indus valley), Yin/Angyang (Shang), and Memphis (Egypt)

History as an Irresistible Activity

Cultural integrity Historical work on a non-European civilisation must seek to study the culture in terms of the people who developed and lived it. … [It] must take on great cultural differences and try to understand them in their own terms and avoid making judgements against a yardstick of European value systems. (Claire 1996:205)

If we are to recognize the significance of non-European civilizations we cannot seem them as somehow inferior to us or less than the ancient civilizations of Europe such as those of Greece or Rome. It is important that we judge them on their own merits. The ancient civilizations and world study units permit us to recognize ‘multi-perspectivity’ or ‘the multi-faceted nature of the perspectives with which historians must engage’ (Hamer 2014:42). By this we mean that we can and should be considering the histories of other people not through the lens of our own perspective but by looking through their own eyes. Hamer further suggests that ‘in many societies history teaching either ignores marginalised groups … or helps strengthen stereotypical perceptions of them’ (Hamer 2014:45) When the Benin brasses were first seen in Britain (1897), for example, it was not believed that they were of African origin but had to be derived from European influences. McGregor suggests that they had an electrifying impact as ‘Europeans had to revisit and overhaul their assumptions of easy cultural superiority’ (McGregor 2012:500). Five of the seven non-European units have been part of the national curriculum since its first iteration. In considering the purpose of school history, the National Curriculum History Working Group justified their inclusion by suggesting that ‘studying the history of other societies from their own perspectives and for their own sake counteracts tendencies to insularity without devaluing British achievements , values and traditions’ (Brooks, Aris and Perry 1993:15). It is certainly true that while investigating both ancient civilizations and the world study units you might encounter certain ethical issues. When teaching this aspect you need to consider how you will present cultural practices that differ to our own such as human sacrifice as practised by the Maya. While human sacrifice may appear barbaric in our eyes it was no worse than what might have been happening in England at the same time (think of the Viking’s ‘blood eagle’ for example). You should also put it into its historical context. What did it mean and why was it important to the Maya? Ideas of bloodletting to strengthen the land are found in almost all cultures, although perhaps not ritualized at such an extensive level. Moreover a focus on human sacrifice/bloodletting in Maya, Ancient Sumer or the Shang can lead to false impressions or the reinforcing of stereotypes. Understanding this historical context is central. While looking at and discussing these practices you can help children begin to understand why they happened. Claire suggest that ‘this does not prevent one having a moral view about human sacrifice , but avoids pointing a judgemental finger at another civilization and ignoring the sins of one’s own’ (Claire 1996:207).



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We need to focus on the historical context of the time while recognizing our own shared humanity. In essence communities aim for the same things; security, freedom from hunger, shelter and family are the common denominators that shape societies. These provide us with initial questions to begin to answer about our chosen culture: ●●

What sort of home did they live in? How as it made? How was it used?

●●

How did they feed themselves – farming, hunting and luxury foods? What type of food and drink did they have? How did they get it? Who provided the food? Did they trade with others?

●●

How did they keep themselves safe? Was this a dangerous time or a peaceful one? Who kept them safe? Was their home fortified?

You can then move onto more complex questions about the wider community and how they organized themselves. Here we need to think about governance, systems, religious belief and cultural, scientific or technological achievements. We are looking here at the impact that these areas had on the life of everyday families. In order to understand a civilization we need to know how it functioned. The wealth of a community depended on trade – how was this organized and who benefited most from that wealth? How did religious belief shape the lives that people lived – did it affect all aspects of their lives or only impinge at certain times? How was security maintained and who controlled those forces? What systems were used to communicate across and order or manage the empire? It is also important to recognize how the people saw themselves. This is most obviously demonstrated by their buildings and art work. By investigating line, pattern, colour and texture we can begin to see what was important to them, developing a feel for the style of the period. Here we are reliant on material culture. Not all forms of art may have survived particularly those created out of textile, leather or wood. Clay, metal and stone will provide the majority of evidence items. It is important to help children understand three key points here: 1 Evidence is fragmentary and so we are only seeing a fraction of what was created. 2 Much of what we do see belonged to the wealthy rather than everyday families because ordinary people would have used less costly materials that probably would not have survived. 3 We have little idea of the true colours and therefore full effect that the object or building would have had because of the depredation of time. Try to provide colour reconstructions to give children an idea of original impression that would have been created. Below you can see the Temple at Karnack as it is and an artist’s impression of it as it was. The blaze of colour would have been stunning.

History as an Irresistible Activity Figure 3.3  Present day temple of Karnak

Figure 3.4  Painted reconstruction of temple of Karnak

Diversity agendas The ancient civilizations and world study units allow us to show the histories of people in other parts of the world. They provide useful examples to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of recognizing how history and identity are intertwined. All histories have value. No one historical account may claim the status of being the sole repository of truth and the moral superior of all others. (Hamer 2014:39)

With that in mind we need to consider what history we present to our classes and how we honestly and seriously reflect diversity. How is Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) history represented in schools? When considering the original national curriculum



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the working party considered that in order to give pupils a sense of identity it was important to recognize that ‘no standard uniform culture can be imposed on the young in so culturally diverse a society as exists in Britain yet much is shared in common’ (Brooks , Aris and Perry 1993:15). This concept continues to be seen as fundamental to promoting effective learning as suggested by Ajegbo’s influential report: Exploring and understanding their own and others’ identities is fundamental to education for diversity, essential as pupils construct their own interpretations of the world around them and their place within that world. (Ajegbo, Kirwain and Sharma 2007:29)

The non-European units play their part in developing this diversity as recognized in recent work commissioned by the Runnymede Trust as they advise that the focus on ancient civilizations and non-European societies and histories provide some excellent opportunities for engaging with ‘world history’ and outside of the usual Euro-American trajectories. (Alexander, Weekes-Bernard and Chatterji 2015:7)

While these reports highlight the importance of considering diversity within the primary school this is not merely an issue for schools with a multicultural setting. Learning about the histories of others is a central element of the national curriculum. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. (DfE 2014:147)

It is nevertheless true however that in some areas there is greater diversity within the school population as Ainscow recently noted: Between 2005 and 2015, the percentage of the primary cohort who are minority ethnic (i.e. not classified as White British) rose from 19.3% to 30.4%. The largest increases have been in the percentage of Asian children and ‘Any other White Background’. (Ainscow 2016:6)

Metropolitan areas have the highest number of BAME students with around 81 per cent in inner London. If this is the case within metropolitan schools it is even more important therefore to select carefully the units that are chosen from the non-European options. The most recent primary survey from the Historical Association (HA) identifies Ancient Egypt as the most popular of the ancient civilizations (84.6 per cent) with the Maya – the world history unit – being the most selected (61.4 per cent). In classes with large proportions of Asian children it would make more sense to me to choose the ‘Indus Valley Civilisation’ and ‘Early Islamic Civilisation’. The first allows children to begin to explore the history of their ethnic homeland. The second provides positive images of Islamic thought and civilization while helping children to understand the original meaning of the word ‘caliphate’. This can challenge some

History as an Irresistible Activity

of the negative connotations linked to the word ‘Islam’ which has been created by certain elements of society and fostered by extremist actions both in the Middle East and in Europe.

CASE STUDY This was part of my thinking in my own school. There was a large Afro-Caribbean demographic within the school. I encouraged staff to cover both Ancient Egypt and Benin. I wanted in particular to show children positive images of Africa that did not relate to victimhood as is so often the case when considering slavery. Benin and Europe, through Portugal and England, met as equal trading partners each with complex and rich cultural heritages. The pomp and splendour of the court of the Obas (rulers) dazzled the European merchants creating interesting enquiry questions for children when studying the period. My assessment was proved correct when I sat in on an observation of a student teacher. The class were looking at the abdication of Edward VIII. Black child: ‘How come there were no black kings or queens?’ Student endeavours to explain line of succession. Child ‘There must have been some black kings?’ Second black child: ‘Yeh, don’t you remember there were them Obas we looked at last year – they woz black’ First child: ‘Oh yes that’s ok then’. The children needed to be able to see their ethnicity as being equal in status to their white counterparts. Studying Benin promoted positive self-esteem for black children as well as widening the perspectives of the other children. This unit also allows us to see African images of Europeans as well as representations of their own culture. This is Africa through African eyes not through a European perspective. Figure 3.5  Benin brass plaque showing warrior with leaf sword and attendants



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Pause for thought Look at one or more the following reports: Commission on the Future of Multi-ethnic Britain by Agegbo, Kirwain and Sharma http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/pdfs/2007-ajegbo-reportcitizenship.pdf History lessons: Teaching Diversity In and through the History National Curriculum by Alexander, Weekes-Bernard and Chatterji https://www.runnymedetrust.org/projects-and-publications/education/historylessons-2.html Primary Schools responding to Diversity: Barriers and Possibilities by Ainscow, Dyson, Hopwood and Thomson http://cprtrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Ainscow-report-160505.pdf Consider what implications they have for you as a primary teacher. What do you need to think about when considering what and how you teach?

Tracing themes across continents and periods Much of the language of the national curriculum focuses on comparing across and within periods as well as seeking for links and connections. There are three issues to consider in relation to this: 1 It is important to be clear about what the focus of learning is in order to provide criteria for the choices that you need to make. If you want to develop the concept of causality, through perhaps considering why civilizations developed or declined, then the information and resources need to focus on this. 2 A considerable depth of subject knowledge is needed in order to recognize relevant or significant relationships across a range of periods. Without this in-depth knowledge there is a danger that any links will be superficial. 3 With limited time choices need to be taken carefully to make best use of what is available. Once again selection is important here. It is important to be realistic about what you can achieve. It is better to do less well than to try to cover too much. You need to consider what you want children to understand about this culture or civilization. This requires careful thought and planning as well as this breadth and depth of knowledge. Undoubtedly the reason that Ancient Egypt is the most popular unit is because teachers feel they know something about the period. The primary survey suggests that the unit is chosen because it has been part of the national curriculum since the beginning. This is true of the Indus Valley Civilization and Ancient Sumer as well; however, few people choose these.

History as an Irresistible Activity

Teacher subject knowledge, particularly in the humanities subjects, is of increasing concern as recognized in a recent report: ‘It is now recognised that poor teacher subject knowledge across the board is a significant problem. The Carter Review is explicit about the lack of good subject knowledge among teachers and recommends an “exploration of the importance of the subject and why it matters to the learner now and in the future”’. (Barnes and Scoffham 2017:300)

ITE programmes continue to diminish the time given to humanities subject training. Lack of local authority support has reduced the possibilities for effective CPD to those in school. This had led many primary schools (whether independent academies, church aided, -controlled or Local Authority-administered), [to] rely on ‘in house’ expertise in the humanities. This approach runs the risk of recycling subject knowledge deficiencies amongst staff. (Barnes and Scoffham 2017:303)

This may explain why the same units are chosen each year as staff rely on the familiar, as they lack confidence in less well-known units. In order to plan adequately, to make valid choices about what to include, a depth of subject knowledge is required. If you do not know who or what was significant within a civilization it is impossible to select a relevant focus. The head of Ofsted has recently suggested key areas to consider when embarking on curriculum design. A good school achieves a careful balance. Balance is the constant challenge when schools plan. Time is limited. Therefore choices need to be made about what to do when, how much depth to pursue, which ideas to link together, what resources to draw on, which way to teach, and how to make sure all pupils are able to benefit as each new concept, construct or fact is taught. (Spielman 2017)

Some suggestions for planning themes across continents and periods EXAMPLE 1 Buildings: Construction and use (Lower Key Stage 2) Collect a series of images of different places. Here I have chosen the pyramids of Gaza, the citadel at Mohenjo Daro from the Indus Valley civilization and the ziggurat of Ur in Ancient Sumer. Initial investigations can focus on these different terms. What do they mean? How are they the same or different?



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Mastering Primary History Figure 3.6  Pyramids at Giza

Figure 3.7  Citadel at Mohenjo Daro

Figure 3.8  Ziggurat of Ur

History as an Irresistible Activity

What can you tell from looking at these buildings? What similarities can you see? Where do you think they might come from? Are they all from the same place? Are they all from the same time? What were they built of and how were they built? Record initial ideas on a working wall, whiteboard or digital wall such as padlet. Then tell the children what these places were. Locate on timeline and geographically. Look at the reconstructions of the places.

Figure 3.9  Reconstructions of pyramids at Giza

Figure 3.10  Reconstructions of citadel at Mohenjo Daro



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Mastering Primary History Figure 3.11  Reconstructions of ziggurat of Ur

How does our view of these places change? Explain that these are reconstructions that have been based on archaeological evidence. What do these add to our understanding of this place? Split into three groups to investigate each of the sites using a range of resources. Provide key factors you want children to find out about and also allow them to bring one other fact or point of interest of their own. ●●

What was this place for?

●●

Who lived or worked there?

●●

How was it organized?

●●

How was it made?

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Why is this place worth remembering?

Imagine that the class is a board who will be presenting Heritage status to one of these places. The groups need to be prepared to argue for their site. Bring children together to show their findings in the form of a presentation. They can use audio/ film/’expert witnesses’/plans/maps/images/brief histories.

Overview or depth study Selecting a single period as a focus might still require you to consider what elements of that society you will focus on. It is important to know how different sections of the past relate or do not relate to each other. If we consider the most popular choice of Ancient Egypt I am sure that many schools will look at pyramids and their construction, mummification techniques including tissue paper and dolls or figures and Tutankhamun. There are a number of issues with this. 1 Tutankhamun and pyramids are over 1,000 years apart. Tutankhamun was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings not in a pyramid. By skipping from pyramids straight to Tut we risk creating misconceptions in children’s minds.

History as an Irresistible Activity

2 Following the mummification process is of itself interesting but it needs historical context. The reason for this practice is central here. We should always encourage children to think ‘why’ not just ‘what’ or ‘how’. 3 Do these three areas give us a broad enough view of Ancient Egyptian society across the 3,000 years that it existed? There are potentially more effective ways to cover this fascinating period. You could choose to look across the length of the period by focusing on one key pharaoh’s reign then the next. The focus would be on looking for changes across the period but also recognizing the similarities that existed across this long span of time (an example of a scheme of work covering this can be found on the HA website https://www. history.org.uk/primary/categories/759/resource/7517/scheme-of-work-how-did-thecivilization-of-egypt). You could also choose to focus on just one of these influential pharaohs. Choose a time of catalyst or change. Each of the examples below introduces a pharaoh who brought change to their point of history. How did this person change their society and affect the lives of those around him or her. You could select Khufu, builder of the great pyramid; Hatshepsut, the female pharaoh; Akhenaten, the heretic; Ramesses II, the warrior; Ptolemy, the first of the Greek Pharaohs; or Cleopatra who was to lead to the downfall of the Egyptian civilization.

EXAMPLE 2 Nebamun, Akenaten and Tutankhamun Nebamun lived in Thebes and was involved in gathering and distributing grain. When he died he was buried in a decorated tomb. Parts of these decorations are now in the British Museum (teachers resource https://www.britishmuseum. org/PDF/Visit_Egypt_Nebamun_KS2.pdf). The paintings from the tomb are found in almost every child’s text book of Ancient Egypt although information about Nebamun is rarely included. Using the illustrations provided in the British Museum’s resource pack children can begin to explore the life of an affluent government official just before the time of the pharaoh Akhenaten. The change of pharaohs just after Nebamun’s death will be a point of rupture within Ancient Egypt’s history when all will be changed for a period of time. Akhenaten’s reign comes almost in the middle of the Egyptian period. Initially known as Amenhotep IV he seems a conventional pharaoh until he undergoes a religious conversion. He changes society from polytheistic to monotheistic religion recognizing only the sun god Aten. He changes his name, moves the capital and builds a new capital in the desert and creates new more naturalist art forms. His queen is the beautiful, charismatic and influential Nefertiti. In looking at all the changes that Akenaten instigated I am also intrigued to wonder what his ordinary subjects might have made of what was happening. Thanks to extensive excavations at Amarna, where his city was built and then deserted, we know some of the names and occupations of those who lived



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Mastering Primary History Figure 3.12  Nebamun hunting in the marshes

there. What if the daughter of Nebamun (see Figure 3.12, sitting on the boat) married the chariot officer Renefer and set up home in the new city. What would her life have been like? We can use these two characters to investigate life in Akhenaten’s capital using maps, images and models (if this interests you, see Kemp’s (2013) The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its people, Thames and Hudson and excavation details from the Amarna dig http://www. amarnaproject.com/). The art work of this period is particularly distinct. Plants, fish, birds and animals are naturalistically and beautifully crafted on frescos. The figures of Akhenaten and Nefertiti are shown in realistic rather than stylized forms. There are many intimate domestic scenes with their family. These sorts of images are only seen at this time. The Aten is often shown casting its benevolent rays onto the royal family. Tutankhamun (Tutankhaten) marries one of Akhenaten’s daughters Ankhesenamun (Ankhesenpaaten). Look at the suffixes of their names ‘aten’ or ‘amun’. Their two different names show how they grew up with the Aten as sole god and then reverted to the old gods when Tutankhamun became pharaoh. The images of them together show a close intimate relationship with her adjusting his collar, gifting him symbolic flowers for love, long life and prosperity. Sadly of course this does not happen and Tutankhamun dies tragically young. If we can interest children in what happened to Ankhesenamun afterwards we create a mystery that will intrigue and inspire them. The focus here is on investigating a relatively short period of time in the eighteenth dynasty. ●●

We are looking at just before Akhenaten’s great change with the life of Nebamun

History as an Irresistible Activity

●●

●●

The changes Akhenaten brought about and how those affected Egypt ❍❍

The new religion,

❍❍

The new city,

❍❍

The new art style.

The transition back to the previous established system on/during the reign of the boy king

It is true that as Henson, Stone and Corbishley suggest: The aim of [history as a] discipline is often seen as deriving from the past as a narrative story of what actually happened. Narrative is easy to understand; it often involves interesting events and above all, involves named individuals with whom people can identify. In this way learning about the past becomes the dominant perceived aim of the object while learning from the past is hidden behind the seductive appeal of the narrative. (Henson, Stone and Corbishley 2004:29) Clearly it is important to ensure that children develop an understanding of the processes of history and extend their skills in recognizing and utilizing sources but narrative provides structure and identifiable aspects as focus. A period study that does not include certain individuals or events can become amorphous. Doull suggests that ‘one of the drawbacks of [these units] has often been the lack of recognisable personalities or features’ (Andreetti and Doull 2000:65). It is more difficult therefore to identify why changes might have occurred and how those changes were instigated. We can identify the development of historical enquiry but not necessarily cause and consequence. ‘How do we know’ is a key question but so is ‘why did that happen’. To answer the later we need people and or events. Figure 3.13  Akhenaten and Nefertiti with three of their daughters



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The importance of Archaeology and some of the key names Much of what we know about these ancient civilizations comes from the work of archaeologists. Continuing excavations extend or change the knowledge of these periods. It is important that children understand how archaeologists work. Archaeologists use material remains, geographical traces and scientific analysis to seek information about past societies. Recently satellite images have been used to identify archaeological remains invisible at ground level. Such evidence however provides archaeologists with very few facts. It allows them rather to interpret the past, and any interpretation based on such evidence may be proved unsatisfactory by future discoveries of conflicting evidence. (NCC 1993:5)

We should remind children here again that evidence is fragmentary and can be interpreted in different ways. It is important that children are capable of appreciating that all historical knowledge is more or less approximate and tentative is a valuable lesson. Not only do new discoveries often overturn old certainties, but the imperfect and incomplete nature of our knowledge of … can help children realise that historians can only build on what is available and some questions may never be answered. (Claire 1996:208)

Henson, Stone and Corbishley suggest that while ‘the past is inaccessible … the remaining evidence can be examined’ (2004:35). They suggest that posing questions to let ‘dumb’ evidence ‘speak’ we create a cognitive dissonance that allows children to begin to construct an understanding of the past. Comprehending that the past is a construct is key to understanding what is meant by historical interpretation. This is supported by Bowles and Weldrake when they say ‘archaeology challenges children, provides opportunities for further questioning and discussion, and promotes the development of historical thinking’ (Bowles and Weldrake 2001:19). Early archaeologists were often looking for treasure or significant artefacts to fill museums much in the style of Indiana Jones. Scientific recording techniques began to be developed in 1920s which proved to be a significant period for archaeological discoveries. Flinders Petrie and Leonard Woolley were influential in recording systematically and digging stratigraphically bringing scientific techniques to the study and so preserving more evidence. In addition they considered different strata of society seeking also to look at the lives of the ordinary as well as the rulers. The work of archaeologists could provide a starting point for investigating a period as you encourage children to draw conclusions from patchy and incomplete evidence. The lives of some of these early archaeologists also make a fascinating study.

History as an Irresistible Activity



More information about female archaeologists, palaeontologists and explorers can be found at http://trowelblazers.com/articles/

Some of the key people and places Unit

People

Place

Time

Working for

Amarna Naukratis Tanis (Egypt) Palestine

1920s

British Museum

Howard Carter

Amarna Valley of the Kings (Egypt)

1920s

Ancient Sumer

Charles Leonard Woolley and Katherine Woolley

City and royal tombs of Ur (Mesopotamia now Iraq)

1922 begun

British Museum

Indus Valley Civilization

John Marshall and Daya Rum Sahni

Harappa and Mohenja Daro

1920s

British Indian Authority

Shang Dynasty

Li Ji

City of Yin (now Anyang)

1928

Zheng Zhonxiang

Tomb of Lady Fu Hao

1975

Chinese Authorities

Ancient Egypt Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie and Hilda Petrie

1930s 1922 Tutankhamun

All archaeological investigations have a focus and this inevitably provides children with an opportunity to get deeply inside the past. (Bowles and Weldrake 2001:17)

Understanding the role of archaeologists and the techniques they use provides some stimulating class room activities for children: ●●

●●

Dustbin exercises ❍❍

Gather a selection of ‘clean’ rubbish in a bag. Ask the children to draw conclusions about the household from the rubbish.

❍❍

You can provide more than one bag with a different selection of rubbish so that you can help children understand that you need multiple evidence before you can tell what sort of people lived there.

❍❍

What does the rubbish not tell you as well as what it does?

❍❍

What do we ‘know’, what can we ‘infer’, what is ‘unlikely’?

The broken shards ❍❍

Either break up a simple terracotta plate or pot, or cut up the image of a pot, jug or amphora.

❍❍

Choose a shape that is not so recognizable to children.

❍❍

Do not provide all the bits – leave out some key areas.

❍❍

Ask children to work in pairs to reconstruct the shape.

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●●

❍❍

Have image of the complete object for them to compare with later.

❍❍

Allow for groans and frustration particularly if the paper bits get blown off the table!

The class dig ❍❍

Use sandpit or school grounds – create an area that can be divided up into little squares with string.

❍❍

Provide small trowels and brushes.

❍❍

Each child has their own area and digs gently to see if they can find anything.

❍❍

If the object overlaps designated area they must work with the other person involved.

❍❍

Clean, sketch, measure, photograph and record dimensions and position in trench of found object in finds book.

A visit from the local archaeology society or if possible working archaeologists would bring excitement and interest to the class. It may even be possible to arrange a Skype discussion with working archaeologists as happened in Shropshire where children were able to ask questions of archaeologists work on Shang Dynasty sites. A brief glance of the table of archaeologists will demonstrate links to institutions like the British Museum where many of the artefacts from these digs can be found. This can lead to another ethical issue to be considered. Should European museums continue to hold artefacts from Asia, Africa and Oceania or should they be returned? There is much controversy around this question which is still a hot topic. You may want to consider this further through debate and discussion. Do be aware that ethical questions can produce diametrically opposed but very heartfelt views.

Ancient history and Key Stage 1 Key Stage 1 does not contain any guidance or expectation that these periods or civilizations will be considered. That does not mean that a focus on ‘the wider world’ cannot be developed. In both the theme of ‘Significant Individuals’ and ‘Past events beyond living memory’ there is a reference to global as well as national. Examples are provided for these areas with the national curriculum but they are just that, examples, to be used or ignored as schools see fit.

CASE STUDY A past event beyond living memory could be the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. This would introduce the work of archaeologists, Howard Carter in particular, and the civilization of Ancient Egypt. There are many good-quality images of artefacts

History as an Irresistible Activity

available as well as Carter’s diaries and drawings with Burton’s photographs (see http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/discoveringTut/ ). ●●

●●

Create a ‘tomb’ and that is very dark with just a small opening to look though to see the ‘treasures’. Create a visual information pack for children and they could act as fellow archaeologists or journalists reporting the find. Create a template for them to record the ‘finds’.

●●

Transform the interactive play area into an archaeologists’ camp site.

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Set up the sand tray or an area of school grounds squared off as a dig site.

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Ask someone from the local archaeology society to come in and talk to children.

On a similar theme you may want to look at a series of explorers for significant individuals. There are a number of picture books available for a diverse range of people.

We have books on all the following:

Matthew Henson

Afro-American explorer

North Pole

Alexandra David Neel

French women explorer

Tibet

Ibn Battuta

Islamic explorer

North Africa to China and back

Benjamin of Tudela

Jewish explorer

Mediterranean and north Africa

Mary Kingsley

British women explorer

Gabon West Africa

Neil Armstrong

American astronaut explorer

The Moon

Nelly Bly

American woman explorer

Around the world

Zheng He

Chinese military explorer

China, Africa and India

Marco Polo

Venetian merchant explorer

Middle East, India, China

Amelia Earhart  

American flying explorer  

Crossed Atlantic – attempted circumnavigation of the world

Of course we can all name other intrepid explorers (Gertrude Bell is one of my favourites) but unfortunately not all of their exploits have been made into picture books. How can you use these? Each group looks at one book and uses it to create a poster. Once the posters have been completed they can be ordered on a timeline. You could also look for any similarities or differences about the people. What makes an explorer? Don’t forget to include the reasons why they went exploring.



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EXAMPLE 3 ●● ●●

●●

●●

In your group read the picture book you have been given. Create a poster to show who your explorer was and where he/she explored. Use websites or an information booklet from the class teacher to research additional information. You need to include: ❍❍

A map,

❍❍

An image of the person,

❍❍

Something said by or about them,

❍❍

A reason why they might be significant.

Summary In this chapter we have considered the place of the non-European units within the national curriculum, identifying why they have been included and how they might be used. In considering which of these optional units to select for a focus we need to be clear about what we want to achieve and how this will develop the historical understanding of the children. We should also look at the demographics of our school communities focusing not only on ‘what do I know about ...’ but also how this unit can meet specific or wider school needs. In order to do this we need to ensure that we develop our subject knowledge across the different units. It is only when armed with secure information that we can begin to create appropriate schemes of work. This is a key skill to be developing as Ofsted notes that ‘primary school leaders reported that recruiting staff who could design a curriculum was becoming increasingly difficult’ (Spielman 2017). We have looked at what some of the issues may be when selecting these units and considered how they might be used to develop children’s understanding of chronology recognizing links and connections within and across periods. In issue of whether to create an overview of the period[s] or focus on a depth study has been discussed. We have suggested that it is important not to present an unstructured social history across a long span of time as ‘there is a danger of teachers ignoring the historical concepts of change and continuity and freezing the non-European society in a timeless frame. The civilisation is treated as if it were static and unchanging over the centuries’ (Claire 1996:207). Although most of the focus has been on Key Stage 2 we have considered how these periods might be covered in Key Stage 1. These units are central to considering diversity within the curriculum as Claire suggests that ‘confronting and trying to come to terms with value conflicts, teaching or learning about another cultural system and according it dignity and respect, demands great maturity’ (Claire 1996:206). Above all however these units offer some exciting and different cultures to explore. They are full of artefacts, people and buildings that do

History as an Irresistible Activity

not resonate with us in the same way that British history does. When working with these units we need to be touched as the archaeologists were with a sense of awe and excitement about the ‘wonderful things’ (Carter 1923:96) we too can explore.

Recommended reading One of the best resource books was produced with the initial NC. It contains maps, timelines, background information resources and a scheme of work for each of the original nonEuropean units (no Shang or Islamic civilization). It is no longer published but you may find one languishing in a classroom or you can buy it second-hand as I did: National Curriculum Council (1993) History at Key Stage 2: An Introduction to the NonEuropean Study Units. Skeldergate: National Curriculum Council. A thoughtful and thought-provoking work by Hilary Claire is also available second-hand: Claire, H. (1996) Reclaiming Our Pasts: Equality and Diversity in the Primary History Curriculum. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham books Ltd. Morgan, A. (2016) ‘Searching for the Shang in Shropshire’, Primary History 72 Spring P28–33. Bowles, A. and Weldrake, D. (2001) ‘Archaeology – An Approach to Teaching History at Key Stage 2’, Primary History 29 Spring P16–19. Primary History 51 Summer 2009 Doing Archaeology with Children. The last two articles consider practical suggestions for engaging in archaeology with primary age children. Alun Morgan’s article shows how present-day archaeologists working in China linked up with children in Shropshire to help understand discoveries around the Shang Dynasty. Paul Bracey has also done a lot of work in this area. You can find some of his articles on the HA website but see also: Bracey, P. (2016) ‘“Shaping the Future”, Black History and diversity: teacher perceptions and implications for curriculum development’, Education 3–13, 44:1, 101–112, DOI: 10.1080/03004279.2015.1095216. For Anglo-Saxon contact with Islamic trade, see ‘A trail of garnet and gold: Sri Lanka to Anglo-Saxon England’ by Ilona Aronovsky P20-27 and ‘The gall nut and Lapis trail’ by Alf Wilkinson P28–30 in Primary History 2017 76/Summer. For a scheme of work showing an overview of Ancient Egypt (with suggested resources) see ‘How did the civilisation of Ancient Egypt wax and wane?’ by Karin Doull: https://www.history.org.uk/primary/categories/759/resource/7517/scheme-of-work-how-didthe-civilization-of-egypt HA website has schemes of work for all units within the national curriculum. Useful resources with ideas and high-quality images can be found at the British Museum’s ‘Teaching History with 100 objects’: http://www.teachinghistory100.org/ Finally, see Shared Histories for a Europe without Dividing Lines by the Council of Europe: https://www.coe.int/en/web/history-teaching/2010-2014-shared-histories-for-a-europewithout-dividing-lines



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Chapter 4 History as a Practical Activity Chapter objectives ●●

exploring teaching history outside of the classroom

●●

toolkit ideas for teaching history outside

This chapter will explore teaching history using locations outside the classroom, such as historic sites, museums and galleries. We will examine practical toolkit ideas, including heritage walks, as well as grounding our thoughts in theory and current thinking in the field (no pun intended!) Having established a rationale for teaching history away from the classroom and having considered the underpinning theory, we will explore potential ideas for researching the local area, investigating sites of national importance and ways in which we can address aspects of history through our outdoor experiences.

You get paid to do that? Teaching history outside Recent years have seen an increase in interest in using outside space to address the curriculum. This has been largely supported through the LOtC manifesto (DfES 2006) that advocates such an approach to teaching and learning, listing the benefits as being; improved academic achievement, the development of skills and independence, more relevant and engaging learning, stimulation and motivation, improved behaviour and an improvement in attitudes towards learning (DfES 2006). LOtC has been identified by a plethora of researchers and educationalists as being a valuable part of a rounded and balanced experience of the curriculum (Falk and Dierking 2012, Dillon et al. 2006, Russell 2016, Beames 2010, Talbot-Landers 2015 and Waite 2017), and while educational trips have been

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advocated with much research and interest in recent years, it is worthy of note that a school trip has been an integral part of a school’s curriculum long before the current interest since the turn of the century. However, for our purposes, we need to clarify what is meant by ‘outside’ in this context. The manifesto itself sheds light on this thought, offering that ‘outdoors’ refers to any setting other than the classroom; this includes the school grounds, the local area, museums, galleries, farms, wetlands, nature spots, historic sites, beaches and just about any other setting, where education takes place, that you care to mention. Of course, the rationale for taking the children outside needs to be grounded in the aims and objectives of the intended learning, making a structured visit essential in creating a purposeful and meaningful teaching and learning experience. This chapter will explore the ways in which history can be taught away from the classroom. Using museums, galleries, historic sites, the locality and other agencies, we will look at the perceived advantages of such experiences, themes and issues surrounding the teaching of history away from the classroom as well as the theory behind the process.

Rationale for going outdoors Min and Lee (2006) posit that learners can be motivated by outdoor experiences with ideas of ‘novelty and adventure’ cited by Waite (2017) as another motivating factor for taking learning away from the classroom. These ideas stimulate individuals and create memories that are closely associated with recall and, in turn, learning. Nadelson and Jordan (2012) claim that field trips provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge, learnt in school, to a real context, while Bransford (2000) claims that field trips allow learners to ‘transfer, apply and anchor knowledge’. Of course, we are also concerned here with not only consolidating learning on a trip, but also in providing new experiences and learning opportunities that are specific to the outdoor experience and while not all learning on a trip is quantifiable (Snelson 2007), Dillon et al. (2006) claim to have found ‘substantial evidence’ that indicates that outdoor learning if ‘properly conceived, adequately planned, well taught and effectively followed up’ can develop knowledge and skills and add ‘value to their everyday experiences in the classroom’. Given the wealth of outdoor opportunities outside learning offers, we need to be certain as to the aspects of history that we want to address through our chosen outdoor experience. Aspects of history, as set out by Russell (2016) focus upon historical ideas such as identity, chronology, historical perspectives, interpretation, change, historical imagination, bias and evidence. There is a need to be clear in our learning intentions and while some of the ideas concerning learning outside the classroom are sometimes more to do with outdoor and adventurous experiences,

History as a Practical Activity

rather than curriculum-based learning in another setting, it nevertheless indicates that there is a rich seam of experiences that fall under the umbrella of outdoor learning and LOtC and make these experiences such a valuable part of the school experience.

Underpinning theory As indicated in the introduction, our rationale for taking the children outside the classroom needs to be clear in its intentions and ambitions. In addition to this, the ‘identity’ of the learner in outdoor settings needs to be considered. Much of the thinking in this area is underpinned by the work of Bourdieu (1991) who offers a framework that sets into context the identities of those in outdoor learning. The focus for this centres around the concepts of ‘fields’, ‘agents’ and ‘the game’. We will explore each in turn.

The field Bourdieu considers the world to be made up of a collection of organizations that he refers to as ‘fields’. Fields can be seen as places, such as schools, museums, galleries and offices. Each field is unique in terms of vocabulary, history, identity, rules and the ‘games’ that exist within each field.

The agents Agents are best seen as players in a field. For a school, for example, the agents would be the teachers, but would also include other people that encounter the school through various roles. Each ‘agent’ (or player) knows and understands, to varying degrees, the rules as to the field in which they find themselves. They understand specific language to the setting as well as a shared understanding of the values, beliefs and ideals of that setting.

The game The game is the idea Bourdieu uses to explore what happens in each field. Agents are involved in playing the game. As each agent knows the rules, they also know the



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routines, events, systems that are in place and are therefore equipped to not only play the game but also protect the field from newcomers that are less well-versed in the field and the associated rules, customs and practices which may generate a sense of elitism and create barriers towards a sharing of knowledge and the opportunities for learning within certain fields. Consider a field in which you feel you belong to, for instance, in a school, you probably have a good understanding as to the systems and routines that are in place, including the way in which the school day operates, the procedures, the hierarchy, the unspoken rules, acronyms (i.e. LOtC) and specific language that are part of the school language and vocabulary. You would feel fairly at home here as you understand much of the rules of this particular game. However, now consider a field in which you know very little (e.g. a solicitor’s office, a police station or a hospital). You may be aware of some of the practices, but you would feel less likely to feel completely at home in these settings. This idea is taken further by Bourdieu, who goes on to introduce the idea of ‘habitus’. This considers our disposition towards new experiences and new or unfamiliar settings. Influences upon our ‘habitus’ can include your upbringing and life opportunities and even the expectations that are placed upon you or you have placed upon yourself. However, through exposure to ‘experiences’ we begin to gain what Bourdieu calls ‘illusio’. This is best described as the belief and desire to enter and play ‘the game’ in a new ‘field’. Illusio allows an agent to feel comfortable in their new surroundings as they acquire and develop an understanding of the practices and ideas that are associated with the new field. When we, as teachers, consider using museums to teach history, this idea of ‘illusio’ applies to us. This, in turn, allows children to feel comfortable in their new learning setting. Talbot-Landers (2015) indicates that ‘as teachers it is necessary that we acquire illusio, not only to improve our own practice, but so that we can also develop the children’s illusio’ (2015:152). Hein (1999) suggests that in order for learning to take place, learners need to feel comfortable in their surroundings. This requires orientation, whereby learners are considered by taking into account four key areas: ●●

Feeling comfortable,

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Feeling safe and in control,

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Ability to navigate within the location,

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Understanding how the setting works.

Through orientation activities, illusio is built, as learners begin to feel comfortable in the new setting. This can be planned for, as orientation builds the children’s understanding of the setting and in turn, their comfort in the setting allows them to access the intended learning. It is perhaps for this reason that

History as a Practical Activity

many new galleries and museums are designed as being light, airy, open and friendly spaces rather than the grand, imposing, formidable Victorian buildings of older museums. This sense of accessibility and friendliness to the space not only attracts visitors but also enhances the learning experience for ‘traditional’ school trips. In addition to this, authors (Hein 1999, Talbot-Landers 2015 and Waite 2017) suggest that effective learning in such places follows a constructivist approach. Griffin and Symington (1997) suggest that a three-part model should be employed when devising a school visit out of the classroom. This consists of pre-visit, the trip itself and post-visit consolidation. The pre-visit is concerned with preparation, identifying the intended learning, the opportunities that are available and for making contact with the site and the staff. This aspect of the visit is really important to the overall success of the day, in terms of both the logistics and the learning.

Pause for thought Think about your experiences of school visits and learning away from the classroom when you were at school. ●●

What do you remember of a specific learning experience?

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What impact has it had?

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What made it memorable?

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Do you remember the intended learning outcomes the teacher had planned, or other details of the day?

The trip The trip itself needs to be well planned and purposeful. Clear aims should be in place as well as a collective understanding as to what is intended for the trip. An ‘orientation’ activity is seen as a good starting point in helping establish a focused learning experience. This should be a short task that allows for movement and choice, and contains an achievable end goal (Talbot-Landers 2015). The main activities should allow for the children to work in small groups, discuss their task together and achieve success together by competing the task as a team. This is very much in line with a constructivist approach and also advocates dialogic talk, as advocated by Alexander (2008), in helping children organize their thoughts and express their ideas in line with each other. This also provides the opportunities to address aspects of history, such as reasoning and justifying ideas and notions about the artefacts or evidence they are exploring.



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The visit should provide opportunities that either couldn’t be conducted in the classroom or else can be addressed more effectively during the course of the visit.

Post trip Opportunities should be found to consolidate learning after the visit. This is underlined by the work of Dillon et al. (2006), who identify that an effective follow up emphasizes the links between outdoor activities and indoor activities, meaning the work conducted while out of the classroom is consolidated once back at school. They cite Orion and Hofstein (1994), Uzzell (1995) and Falk and Storksdieck (2005), who state that what happens subsequent to a visit is of the upmost importance as learning ‘is not an instantaneous phenomenon, but rather a cumulative process of acquisition and consolidation’, a point supported by Anderson (1999), Bransford, Brown and Cocking (2000) and Medved (1998). This also fits the three-part model as suggested by Griffin and Symington (1997).

Practical considerations There are other considerations that are universal to all outdoor learning. First, that of the risk assessment; secondly, the adult support; and finally, the positioning of the outdoor experience within a scheme of work.

The risk assessment While many outdoor learning locations provide their own risk assessment documents, you will find that you will need to conduct your own risk assessments in line with your school’s policy. Talbot-Landers (2015) highlights the Health and Safety Executive document ‘School Trips and Outdoor Learning Activities: Tackling the Health and Safety Myths’ (2011) which offers pragmatic advice. Considerations here include identifying hazards, potential harm, to whom and to what extent and precautions to be taken. Arrangements and procedures may differ from school to school and across the country. It is therefore essential that you are familiar with the requirements for the area of the country that you work in. Further advice can be gained from the school’s Education Visit Coordinator and through the teaching unions and, often, from the sites and locations that the proposed learning will be taking place. The risk assessments offered from the location will be specific and will contain consideration to aspects of the visit that you may not have thought about, making these documents an invaluable resource in the planning of your outdoor learning experience.

History as a Practical Activity

Additional adults Another consideration is that of other adults. This may include other teachers, classroom assistants, teaching assistants and volunteer helpers, such as parents and friends of the school. These additional adults may be used to help supervise the children while they are engaged in their ‘outdoor’ learning, as well as, in some instances, taking some responsibility for the learning activities themselves. Volunteers may be well-equipped in helping with the logistics of the day. However, guidelines for the ratio for such supervision can be referred to. For instance, the Educational Visits Coordinator website indicates ratios of adults to children. They suggest ratios that are in line with the 1998 DfES guidance. Y1 – Y3 –   1:6 Y4 – Y6 –   1:10/15 Y7 – above  1:15/20 However, it is clear that this is a suggestion and that the types of activities, location and risk should be taken into account, as should the age of the children. These ratios can be modified as seen fit. The DfE (2014) make no immediate reference to such ratios and advocate a ‘common-sense approach’ to learning outside. Talbot-Landers (2015) takes this further and states that ‘there is no statutory requirement stipulating pupil-adult ratios’ (2015:155). However, it is unlikely that you would undertake outdoor learning without further additional support. You would therefore need to consider the type of support that is required and equip your volunteers with the necessary information, such as the timetable of the day, medical information (such as inhalers) and a map of the location being used. With practicalities taken care of, your own considerations may include how the learning is best to be achieved. As indicated at the start of this section, some helpers may find themselves, not just managing a group of children during the day, but also working with them in particular tasks and challenges. This is most likely to occur if the children are placed in groups and spend the entire day with their allocated adult. However, an enthusiastic parent, however well-meaning, may not be best equipped to provide the input about a Greek wine cup or the Roman Chatelaine set in the museum. This may lead you to considering a carousel of activities that run throughout the day. This would allow for each group to be provided with the best experience and would make best use of any available education officers that may be running workshops. Another option is to brief the volunteers and ‘train’ them prior to the visit in terms of the questions they are to ask the children, prompts to use and to supply them with the necessary background information. Discussion with your adult helpers is essential in providing a successful outdoor experience. Through discussion you can manage expectations, inform the helpers of what is required and give support and encouragement to your team for the day.



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Pause for thought Have you been involved in an outdoor experience as an adult? ●●

What was your role?

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Were people from the site involved? If so, in what capacity?

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Who planned the activities?

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Was the experience followed up back at school?

When do you go? Another consideration is that of where, in the scheme of work, do you place the outdoor experience? Russell (2016) explains the thought processes here. As the teacher, ideally, you will have designed the scheme of work and will therefore have considered how, and in what order, the learning takes place. For instance, you may wish for the outdoor experience to take place at an early stage of the scheme of work. This would allow the children to build upon their experiences of the trip during the rest of the topic. An early placed outdoor experience may also allow children to develop and research lines of enquiry that emerged on the day. And, as we have seen, the trip itself engages children and this wave of enthusiasm and motivation can be harnessed and can carry on through the rest of the topic. One potential drawback with an early outdoor experience is that the children’s knowledge of the topic (or lack of at this early stage) may prevent them from getting the most out of the experience, say to a museum exhibition, or a workshop in which they know few of the answers. This obstacle can be overcome. A healthy relationship with the education officers should ensure that their questioning is pitched well and the exhibit can be used as the inspiration for the topic of work and as a regular hook to be drawn upon throughout the rest of the work back at school. A mid placed visit offers the security of the children having some understanding of the topic being studied and still allows time for work to be completed back at school as the unit continues, while an outdoor experience at the end of a topic benefits from the fact that the children, by now, should have a good grasp of the unit but may appear to be presented as a reward for their work rather than as a learning experience in itself. This brings us back to the idea of the trip having a clear focus. This could be in the form of a task that the children need to work on during the trip but also afterwards, such as creating a video guide to the location or a presentation based upon specific artefacts and aspects of the trip that are being studied. One school adopted this approach when they visited Rufford Old Hall, a National Trust Property in the North West of England. The children were charged with the task of taking photographs of a puppet in different locations around the estate (Figures 4.1a and 4.1b) and collected the information by making notes as they visited each location on the tour. Once back at school, the children created a guide to Rufford Old Hall, with the puppet acting as the narrator.

History as a Practical Activity Figure 4.1a  The puppet at Rufford Old Hall

Figure 4.1b  The puppet in the Great Hall with a suit of armour

Pause for thought Is there a suitable location that you would like to visit? The puppet idea can be transferred to almost any location or historic site. Which aspects of history will you be able to explore with the puppet?



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Museums and galleries When thinking about delivering aspects of history and learning outside, it is only natural that practitioners will think of using museums and galleries as part of their work. This form of outdoor learning, in a sense, is more structured than an outdoor and adventurous setting, but nevertheless, comes with a plethora of considerations. First, it is the ‘illusio’ that has been developed and nurtured within the teacher that allows them to believe that the museum or gallery is a ‘field’ in which they can play ‘the game’ but, as we have also seen, we also need to accommodate the starting positions of the children in our class. This is where Hein’s idea of ‘orientation’ is relevant. Once the children have begun to establish themselves in the setting, the matter of the intended learning can be addressed. Hoodless (2008) and Cooper (2012) advocate the use of first-hand experiences in the teaching of history, while Russell (2016) and Pickford, Garner and Jackson (2013) note the importance of an enquiry-based approach. Dean and the Nuffield Primary History Project (2011) see history as ‘an evidence-based interpretation’ of the past, which would suggest that the use of ‘real’ artefacts and relics in museums and galleries is of real importance in providing meaningful and memorable experiences. Providing a context for the work is essential in establishing the purpose of the visit and the associated work within the children’s minds. This is aided by the aforementioned use of dialogic talk that allows ideas to be expressed, questioned and reasoned among the groups of children as they work towards solving a problem, answering a question or figuring out what they are looking at from the museum’s collection. The museum experience itself should be memorable and interesting as well as focused upon the intended learning. Hooper-Greenhill (2007) discusses the experience of visiting the museum, positing that the inspiration of the trip and the experiences with the artefacts will impact upon the learning, an idea that is supported by Griffin and Symington (1997) who suggest that the role of the teacher, on such an outside learning occasion, is of paramount importance to the overall success of the day. Museums and galleries can foster this through exhibitions, workshops and their education officers, who understand the way in which their exhibitions are intended to be viewed and the level and type of interaction that is intended for exhibit. A greater understanding of the approaches to learning has, in recent years, led to a huge shift in emphasis in the design of activities, the use of artefacts and, indeed, the design of the museum space itself. The education officers at museums and galleries across the country are constantly looking at ways in which they can provide new and meaningful experiences for school trips, as they endeavour to maximize the potential ‘revisit’ market that each child on a school trip represents. Increased visitor numbers are a significant factor in the motivation of museums and galleries in generating valuable experiences for the children, whose first encounter with such a setting may well be the school visit. This has led to a noticeable shift towards practical activities and interactive exhibitions and a move away from more formal or staid approaches. However, lots of settings will still

History as a Practical Activity

offer school resources to help teachers plan their trip and prepare for the visit. Many of these resources are provided as e-materials, which means that schools can access them long before the actual day of the trip and therefore include the salient aspects of these materials into lessons prior to the trip itself. Again, this fits the three-part model as teachers prepare for the visit. Another consideration here, when planning and designing your school trip, is that these ‘boundary packs’ (so called as they cross the boundary between school, home and the museum) are not bespoke to the needs of the children in your class or indeed have they been written for a specific age group at all. And while the content may be relevant and interesting, it equally may not be completely aligned with your learning objectives and intended outcomes. That said, these resources do offer a wonderful starting point in terms of possible activities, toolkit ideas and the use of exhibits, as well as providing solid background information for developing your own subject knowledge, and, as identified, they are often available online, and can be shared with your additional adults and volunteers prior to the day, ensuring that everyone is primed and equipped with the information before the day. An approach that works for any outdoor setting, whether it be a museum, gallery, locality or historic site, is that of the ‘learning journey’ that has been developed by Beames and Ross (2010). This is a three-step procedure that enables children to identify lines of enquiry and to then act upon them. The three steps being: ●●

Question,

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Research,

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Share.

This structure can be reinterpreted for use in a museum setting, for while Beames and Ross propose their ‘outdoor journey’ to work in localities and neighbourhoods and to address themes such as ‘place’, this approach works successfully when applied to address aspects of history in other settings. This is something Beames and Ross allude to themselves in their paper, stating that this approach ‘should be generalizable and transferable’. Children can explore the gallery space and identify objects in the collections that they find particularly interesting or are curious about. This may lead to a line of enquiry being developed, with questions raised and discussed among the group. Encouraging discussion and collaborative learning is important in developing ideas and allowing the children to develop holistically. Once they have researched and discovered answers to their questions, the children then present their findings to the rest of the group. The overall process allows work to begin in the setting and then move back to the classroom for further investigation and the sharing of their work.

Toolkit idea Initial trainee teachers at Edge Hill University work closely with their tutors and the education staff at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. A workshop I run includes



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the opportunity for the trainees to find paintings that they are particularly drawn to. We discuss how the painting could be used to address aspects of history, identifying which aspects they have thought about and what it was that first drew them to the painting. This often links to ideas of identity, whereby trainees recognize a link between their interests and the subject of the painting. Their ideas are then shared with the group.

Interest and motivation Hooper-Greenhill (2007) stresses that learning should be enjoyable, while Falk and Dierking (2012) and Russell (2016) stress that curiosity encourages learning. This provides the foothold to support good history teaching to take place in an outdoor setting, such as a museum. For instance, an everyday item, such as a die, common to many a board game, will elicit much curiosity if the die is from Ancient Rome. This instantly inspires curiosity, as set out in the programmes of study for history DfE (2013), and encourages children to engage in historical imagineering. We will revisit historical imagination later in this chapter.

Questioning Through curiosity, practitioners can elicit good questioning from the children, developing a further aspect of history that not only calls upon the children’s initial interest and enthusiasm, but also opens the door for further work in interpretation, reasoning and, naturally, enquiry itself. Of course, the quality of the questions from the children may need to be developed here, in order to maximize the potential learning (and for the enquiry not to be beached by a left-field question). In that respect, again, the role of the teacher is at the forefront of proceedings, as is the fact that, in the galleries and in particular in workshops with gallery staff, the questions at this stage, may be driven by the education officers or by the teachers themselves, thus enabling the focus of the experience to be maintained, while directing and re-directing the children’s attention to the exhibition in hand, while also ensuring that the children’s own curiosity and enthusiasm is valued and followed up at a later date.

The locality The Outdoor Journey advocated by Beames and Ross (2010) can also be used to develop aspects of history while using the local area to the school. At Key Stage 1, children are to study ‘significant historical events, people and places in their own locality’, while at Key Stage 2, children are to study a local study unit with the suggestion that this could be linked to other study units in the history curriculum

History as a Practical Activity

(Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, etc.) or, as an opportunity to study ‘aspects of national history’ that go beyond 1066. Many schools will take this opportunity to include the topic of the Second World War into their long-term planning. Certainly, most towns and villages across the country will have links to this topic and probably a local war memorial too. An outdoor journey may well take in local landmarks, street names and provides the opportunity for children to raise questions as to how the town has changed, what is unique about the locality and also provides, once again, opportunities to address identity and belonging (Russell 2016). This approach was closely followed by year 6 children investigating their home city of Liverpool (Russell 2016b). Here, children took part in a walking tour of their city that took in parts of the city associated with commerce, tourism and the Beatles. In an approach, not dissimilar to that advocated by Beames and Ross (2010), the children were encouraged to look around them, ask questions and develop lines of enquiry. This learning experience took place early in the planned scheme of work, which allowed time for questions that emerged on the visit, to be investigated and researched later in the study unit.

Heritage walks Another aspect to dealing with the immediate local area is that we almost inevitably find ourselves considering national history too. Dixon and Hales (2015) state that ‘everywhere has a past’ and that local history can ‘help to tell the national story, and can make links to the wider world’. Heritage walks can be used to further our understanding of chronology. Local areas will tell a story of not just one period of time, but of several.

CASE STUDY: Ormskirk A heritage walk can inspire a deeper understanding; for instance, Edge Hill University is located in the small market town of Ormskirk in West Lancashire. The roots of the town lie with ‘Orme’, a Viking Invader (Orme, originally Ormr) who established a settlement in a ridge that runs from Lancaster in the North to Chester in the South. Having converted to Christianity, Orme then established a church (Kirk) and the area became known as Orme’s Kirk. Ormskirk is also famed for the church of St Peter and St Paul that is renowned for having both a tower and a steeple. A local myth exists that two arguing sisters who couldn’t agree between a tower and a steeple solved their dispute by building both. The truth lies in Henry VIII and the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The bell from the nearby Burscough Priory, a victim of the Dissolution, needed re-housing, so a tower was built upon the parish church of St Peter and St Paul. Later still, Ormskirk became renowned for gingerbread, with, allegedly, a Royal train making a diversion while enroute to Edinburgh (quite a diversion!) in order to buy some gingerbread. There is evidence of various Royal visits, but confirmation of this exact story is hard to come by.



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Much earlier, in 1286, Ormskirk had been granted a Royal Charter that allowed for a market to be established and markets have been held on Thursdays since at least 1292. Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of Ormskirk’s history is the links between the First World War warhorses and the town. Between August 1914 and November 1917, a total of 215,300 horses were brought to Ormskirk Station, where they were then walked to the nearby Lathom Hall until they were dispatched into service (Byrne 2012). There are links to the Napoleonic Wars, Slavery and even to the Beatles, thereby going to show that a small, rural town can reveal a rich tapestry of history and ways in which to address chronology and many other aspects of history. It also shows that there are links to not only local affairs but also to the national picture. A walking tour of Ormskirk reveals war memorials to both World Wars as well as the Crimean War, date stones, old coach houses and evidence of turnpike roads. At Edge Hill University, history minor specialists take part in a walking tour of Ormskirk (Figures 4.2 and 4.3). They are encouraged to look for clues to the past as they explore the town. For some trainees, who have moved to Ormskirk from other part of the country, Ormskirk is a new place to discover and this exercise also addresses identity and belonging. The walking tour is often referred to positively, by the trainees, in their end of year assessment. Figure 4.2  Trainees are encouraged to take photographs and look for clues as they explore Ormskirk

History as a Practical Activity

Figure 4.3  Trainees are encouraged to take photographs and look for clues as they explore Ormskirk

Pause for thought As trainee teachers, you could investigate your local area and produce a history of your hometown, through a heritage walk and the use of a range of sites, books, the library and photographs. This will develop a sense of identity as well as an opportunity to address a number of aspects of history.

Pickford, Garner and Jackson (2013) remind us that history provides us with the context for our work, while Temple (2013) stresses the importance of the children understanding how ‘real’ historians work. This would include engaging with opportunities to work with real artefacts, documents, maps and other sources as well as working with the outdoors as a resource in itself. By doing so, the children will be able to build a picture of their local area and the impact and influence it has had, or has had placed upon it, of the national picture. This is an approach adopted by historian and TV presenter Michael Wood and his well-known Story of England (2010). He looked at one village, Kibworth in Leicestershire, and, told the story of England using local stories, accounts, documents and records pertaining to all aspects of English history. Bage (2000) and Dixon and Hales (2014) have similar views, recognizing that children will encounter all aspects of National History as they uncover the stories of their own locality as we saw, this is certainly the case with our brief look at the town of Ormskirk.



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Pause for thought At school, you may not have the budget of a BBC TV production, but you can see that this sense of ‘doing history’ and literally getting your hands dirty and touching and holding real objects from the past creates excitement and curiosity that we want to harness in our history teaching. As indicated earlier, good starting point for an investigation, such as our Ormskirk Case Study here, would be to contact a local history group, read local history books, visit the local library, find websites and twitter feeds that focus upon your local area.

Historic sites Another avenue available to teachers when designing their schemes of work is that of historic sites. This may include stately homes, ruins, landmarks or exhibits, such as HMS Belfast, or sites such as the Beamish Open Air Museum. Such opportunities offer a ‘hands-on’ approach, while open air sites, such as Corfe Castle in Dorset, run by the National Trust allow children to explore the ruins of a Norman Castle while finding out about the life and times of the Royal Fortress from volunteers and National Trust guides. TripAdvisor offers an insight into the effectiveness of such a visit to Corfe Castle as one teacher enthuses about the effectiveness of the trip in teaching History with her Y5 class. Such locations lend themselves very much to addressing two aspects of history in particular, first, that of historical imagination: ‘What would it have been like to live here in the 11th Century?’ and, secondly, role-play and re-enactments. Across the country, re-enactment groups cater to provide ‘living history’ experiences at sites such as the National Trust’s Corfe Castle or English Heritage sites, such as Richmond Castle in Yorkshire, thereby providing a way of recreating experiences, methods and equipment used at the time. This develops historical imagineering. Lemisko (2004) discusses Collingwood’s impact in this area, suggesting that historical imagineering is about reconstructing knowledge about the past, here constructing a picture of the past that relates to what really happened at that time in this location. This builds upon the ideas of a constructivist approach, whereby layers of understanding are added to existing knowledge and that that understanding is rooted in the evidence, artefacts and subsequent research of the period. However, historical imagination is sometimes regarded as a ‘fictitious’ history or a ‘made-up’ version of the past in the same way that a novelist creates a world for their characters in a historical novel. This is countered by Collingwood (1994) who argues that a historian creates a narrative that includes continuity and coherence rather than the more ‘fanciful’ imagination of the novelist (cited in Lemisko 2004). In the same way that a Roman die can instil a sense of wonder and empathy with times past, an outdoor experience at such a location will also provide opportunities to address aspects of history in creative and engaging ways, while also maintaining the integrity of the subject of history.

History as a Practical Activity

Hadrian’s Wall The Housesteads Roman Fort in Northumberland is another English Heritage site that offers opportunities to develop historical imagination and empathy at an actual Roman Fort. The English Heritage website proudly boasts of the ‘unique experience’ offered at the site and offers a starting point of wondering what life was like for the eight hundred soldiers that were based at the fort nearly 2000 years ago. As with many of the sites that schools may visit, self-led visits are available as well as tours that are led by the English Heritage experts. This allows a degree of freedom for teachers to create bespoke learning experiences for their children and to use the space in new and interesting ways.

Toolkit idea A site, such as Hadrian’s Wall, also offers the opportunity to develop aspects of history in a creative way. Figure 4.4 demonstrates how empathy can be addressed using Lego minifigures and through questioning the children as to how they think the Roman soldier may be feeling. This simple observation of identifying a feeling of being homesick could then lead to a discussion about where Roman soldiers in Britain came from, Roman foods, families, towns, villas and pastimes. When I use this particular picture with my trainees at university, I play an MP3 file of the sound of marching feet, creating a soundscape to accompany the Roman soldier holding fort at the outer most reaches of the Roman Empire. Hereby, again, creating an atmosphere that allows for historical imagineering. This too can be linked to other work on the Roman findings at Vindolanda, which provides a further insight into the life of a Roman soldier. Archaeological digs have uncovered a wealth of artefacts including shoes (that look very much like forerunners of Adidas predator football boots

Figure 4.4  Exploring empathy at Hadrian’s Wall using Lego Minifigures



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(Vindolanda 2016)) as well as the world famous ’Vindolanda Tablets’. These letters record everything from requests for army leave to shopping lists and homesick letters home, which again add to our work in putting together a picture of Roman life in Britain.

A local study As we have seen, using such sites will mean, for most schools, that they are using the local area and heritage sites that are within easy reach of the school. It is likely that the site will have been chosen for its impact upon not just the local area but also its national importance and significance. However, a purely ‘local’ theme is not to be dismissed. Dixon and Hales (2014) discuss the balance between local study and national interest in great depth. This allows us to explore the immediate local area in great detail, enthusing the children to become ‘history detectives’ as they scour the neighbourhood looking for clues to the past, including street names, lamp posts, pillar boxes, phone boxes, manhole covers, date stones as well as other clues such as missing iron railings, public parks and their names and layout, grave stones, railway stations, canal paths, pub names, coach house stables, mews houses, ghost signs and war memorials. Architecture too can reveal much about a street or neighbourhood, such as the style of window, type of roof, chimney, door and amount of glass. Challenging the children to look for such clues is to engage them in the act of ‘doing history’. Uncovering the past in this way creates an excitement and curiosity that we as practitioners want to harness. This motivational factor can be equally developed when children use hard evidence such as old maps, documents and photographs to add layers of detail to their findings. Combining approaches, such as using evidence, artefacts and the outdoors, also addresses another area of historical work, that of identity and belonging. The local area will be, by and large, well known to the majority of the children who walk the streets, go to the shops, attend Brownies and Cubs’ meetings, and play in the parks, so even if your own knowledge and understanding of the immediate local area to the school is a little hazy to you, there will be a certain resonance within the class when they begin to investigate the area through their history lessons.

Libraries and archives Local libraries and archives are a good starting point not just in order to develop your own knowledge but also as a source of inspiration and guidance. A visit to the local library can stimulate the children’s interest and, once again, provide opportunities to engage with documents and record books in order to investigate their

History as a Practical Activity

local area. In addition to visiting libraries and archives, a number of online options are available to teachers as they create their schemes of work based on the local area. A great resource is that of the National Library of Scotland (2017) online map application that allows children to explore their chosen area using a variety of maps and filters. Another online resource that can be used in conjunction with outdoor work is that of the University of Leicester’s Special collections. Here a collection of street directories can be found that cover almost the entire country, thereby allowing the children to explore in great detail their neighbourhood and the residents of their local area from times gone by. A further online resource that can aid the teaching of history outdoors is that of the Historic England ‘Heritage Explorer’ website. This is an online database of photographs that can be filtered by theme or place and can be used to help build a visual image of a locality or an era in times gone by.

Forest schools, beach schools and teaching history Use of the outdoors, in recent years, has developed from the initial ideas of the LOtC manifesto to include new approaches, including more adventurous outdoor activities as well as the ideals set out in the ethos of Forest schools and Beach schools. Roberts (2015) has explored this recent phenomenon of Forest Schools and the influence that this movement from Scandinavia has had upon teaching, and in particular, the teaching of history. With a focus on younger children, a woodland environment can be used to set the context for the historical work, explaining that the raw materials for everyday life in the past can be found in woodlands. This sets a course for investigating chronology and change. Similarly, the woodland setting can provide a background setting for a narrative approach to teaching history as the importance and role of the woodland is expressed through stories of Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings and so on. There are clear opportunities for cross-curricular work here too. Ideas of change, the woodland environment disappearing and the impact this has upon those living at different times can be explored. There is scope here to look at the development of tools, building methods, trade, farming and the growth of settlements near useful sources such as the woodland itself, rivers, river crossings and the availability of food. As with Forest schools, Beach schools allow children to explore the past as shaped by the coastal environment. Again, necessities, such as food and shelter may shape how the children explore the past, but there are clear links here to travel, broadening horizons, transport and trade links as well as tourism, seaside holidays, the growth of leisure time and pastimes, the impact of the railways and the role that the beach has had in the growth of many Victorian and Edwardian towns in Britain.



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History, outdoors and technology Technology need not be restricted to the classroom and, increasingly, there are ways to explore the past using technology out of the classroom. Challenging the children to record their findings in the form of photographs is a good way of focusing the learning and ensuring that everyone is engaged with the task. Similarly, the children can be asked to record their thoughts on devices such as Easyspeak microphones or the voice record features on tablets. At the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, I have challenged my trainees to create images of portraits using apps on their mobile phones, with the idea of identifying aspects of history that the portraits could be used to explore in more detail. Figure 4.5 provides an example of one such interpretation from one of my Primary history trainees who looked at addressing empathy using paintings from the collection.

Figure 4.5  Developing empathy using apps outside the classroom

History as a Practical Activity

QR codes and web-enabled tablet devices allow teachers to create orienteering challenges that can help focus work in the school grounds and locality while services such as Aurasma provide opportunities for teachers to explore augmented reality with the class while studying the local area, museum or historic site. As is often the case with new technologies, there is often a ‘wow’ factor that will enthuse and motivate learners and children; creating their own augmented reality presentations certainly achieves that. As history teachers, we need to ensure that the use of technology is purposeful, focused and addresses aspects of history in a meaningful manner.

Summary Across this chapter we have set out the theory behind using the outdoors to teach history. We have acknowledged the barriers we might face and the advantages of overcoming these. Consideration has been given to practical toolkit ideas and starting points for taking your history lessons outside, whether that be to explore the locality, a museum or to a heritage site. Now get your coat….

Recommended reading Dixon, L. and Hales, A. (2015) What Makes Good Local History? Issue 71. Autumn 2015. Primary History. The Historical Association.



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Chapter 5 Skills to Develop in History Chapter objectives By the end of this chapter you should ●●

understand what is meant by the term chronology and its role in developing children’s views of the past

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be clear about what we mean by the term ‘the big picture’ and how this idea has shaped the current curriculum

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be able to describe the relationship between characteristic features, comparison and chronology in developing children’s understanding

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consider what we are looking for to demonstrate progression within the concept of chronology

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be able to identify different themes that will enable children to make valid links within and across periods

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be aware of different strategies that will create valid learning opportunities within this conceptual area

Introduction The study of history allows us to move backward and forward within time. We use the benefits of hindsight to recognize significance within the past. It is also true however that the past has shaped our present through both that which we now recognize as significant and that which might, at the time, have appeared insignificant. We need to help children develop both an overview or ‘big picture’ of the past and the ability to identify some of the more immediate details linked to a specific moment, event or individual. In this we want children to be able to zoom in and out with their temporal lens (Rogers 2016, Valentine 2017) seeing how individual actions as well as gradual change contribute to ‘frameworks’ of understanding (Rogers 2016, Howson 2007, Dawson 2004).

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Chronology and the national curriculum In 2007 and 2011 Ofsted published subject reports on history. In both ‘History in the Balance’ (2007) and ‘History for All’ (2011) chronology was highlighted as an area that was not being covered effectively. Children are not good at establishing a chronology, do not make connections between the areas they have studied and so do not gain an overview, and are not able to answer the ‘big questions’. (Ofsted 2007:4) Some children found it difficult to place the historical episodes they had studied within any coherent, long-term narrative. They knew about particular events, characters and periods but did not have an overview. Their chronological understanding was often underdeveloped and so they found it difficult to link developments together. (Ofsted 2011:4)

What is clear from these observations is that, although this issue with the teaching of history was known, no real improvement had taken place. Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) continued to raise the issue as this comment from the history lead demonstrates: Too many children’ chronological understanding is not good. This is because their historical knowledge is episodic and their ability to make links across that knowledge is weak. (Maddison 2014:5)

Two key issues are identified here: the lack of a coherent overview of history and the inability to see how events, personalities or ideas may be interrelated.

‘To know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day.’ (DfE 2013:1, emphasis mine)

With the revision of the curriculum in 2014 the question of a coherent narrative, particularly that of British history, became a key focus of the Secretary of State for Education. Considerable public and political debate was generated within the media at the time (a search for ‘Gove’s History wars’ will produce a range of articles demonstrating the level of discussion). The focus was on the perception that there was an accepted canon of historical knowledge within this ‘coherent narrative’ that should be available to and known by all children. It was suggested that this canon would form the basis for the aim of ‘imparting a patriotic sense of national identity’ (Evans 2013). For many, Mr Gove in particular, this concept of ‘our island story’ was

Skills to Develop in History

central to this development of ‘national identity’, ‘Children are growing up ignorant of one of the most inspiring stories I know, the history of our United Kingdom’ (Gove 2010). Schama bemoaned this lost understanding when he pronounced that ‘our children are being short-changed of the patrimony of their story’ (Schama 2010). Unfortunately there remained no agreed consensus for what that ‘patrimony’ should include as different historians selected their own key events or personalities. The initial draft curriculum produced suggested for Key Stage 2 a chronological romp from the Palaeolithic period through to the Glorious Revolution. It was noticeable that much of the material was political history focusing on the constitutional and political development of England. The final revision attempted to mitigate against the ‘episodic nature’ (Ofsted 2011, Maddison 2014) of previous curricula by providing specific consecutive British history units up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. All the other units of European (Ancient Greece) and world history fall within the same time frame thereby potentially allowing children to make a comparative ‘big picture’ of this time.

Pause for thought What is your memory of learning history? Do you remember unrelated episodes? Can you remember any history teaching from your primary school? How confident are you about being able to place events or people on a timeline?

This focus does provide a rather limited palate for primary children to work with however, having removed some of the more colourful and accessible periods familiar from the previous curriculum. What is clear is that there is a strong expectation that consideration will be given to a specific ‘body of knowledge’ (Gibb 2017) that has been described variously as ‘a clear narrative which encompasses British and World history’ (Gove 2013), ‘history … to span the arc’ (Schama 2010), ‘over-arching story, a meta narrative’ (Ferguson 2010) or ‘the great arc of British history’ (Evans 2013). How the ‘body of knowledge’ is used is more problematic however. Hamer suggests that it is important to ‘resist the temptation to see history as merely an instrument for creating a sense of collective national identity’ (Hamer 2014:38) considering that ‘cultural identity has emerged as the main divisive force in politics’ (Hamer 2014:43). What is certain is that a mere rendition of listed events does not demonstrate historical understanding. Tosh refers to this as ‘sushi-bar history’ (Tosh 2008:127) while Shepherd and McLeod see this as ‘trivial pursuit history’ where ‘milestones in our past become isolated and non-connected chunks with little sense of themes and the bigger picture’ (Shepherd & McLeod 2008). Howson suggests that ‘fact cramming history … is of scant use … except possibly on quiz night at the pub’ (Howson 2007:40). What is being suggested here is that in-depth substantive content knowledge is important providing that it can be used to develop historical understanding.



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‘Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts: understanding the connections.’ (DfE 2013:1).

The second key focus within the 2014 national curriculum was an emphasis on recognizing connections both within and across the different historical evidence examined. Foster et al.’s research in 2008 (Useable Historical Pasts 2006-2008) had demonstrated that KS3 children were unable to connect past, present and future and consider the relationships between these three periods. They found that they ‘often behaved as if history consisted of unconnected arbitrary events’ (Foster et al. 2008:8). These findings were mirrored in Ofsted subject reports where a key weakness was identified when an absence of coherence in planning the curriculum and insufficient links made between different periods so that children had little idea of a developing historical narrative; they found it difficult to build up a chronological overview and experienced history simply as a series of episodes. (Ofsted 2011:31)

The language of the revised curriculum therefore focused on developing some coherence. At Key Stage 1 children are expected to ●●

‘develop an awareness of the past

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fit within a chronological framework

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compare aspects of life in different periods’ (DfE 2013:2).

While for Key Stage 2 there is a requirement for them to ●●

‘develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study

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note connections, contrasts and trends over time’ (DfE 2013:3).

There is an increased emphasis on looking across periods, seeking comparisons and identifying connections or links. This points to the need for schools to recognize significant associations across and within units and signpost them to children (see Example 1).

Pause for thought Why do you think it might be important to understand the historical context of an individual’s life or a specific event? What additional demand does this place on your own subject knowledge? Are you one of the teachers who would find it ‘difficult to establish a clear mental map of the past for pupils’. (Ofsted 2011:5)

Skills to Develop in History

EXAMPLE 1 We use the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’ to cover the period from the departure of the Romans in AD 410 to the Norman Invasion of 1066. The early Saxon raiders of the time of Hengist and Horsa bear little relation to the Anglo-Saxon monarch Alfred the Great. The kingdom of England that began to emerge in Alfred’s time develops into a complex, stable and wealthy state by the time of Edward the Confessor. We have to help children understand how the same term can refer to very different communities and groups of people. This could be done by completing a chart that compares different aspects of life across the periods: ●●

Where do they come from?

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How do they worship?

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How are their societies organized?

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What is life like for the everyday people?

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Who do they fight against or with?

There is also an increased focus on providing a wider historical context for the periods covered, relating them to other units of study historically and geographically. What, for example, does the term ‘Bronze Age’ mean in Britain, Ancient Egypt and to the Shang Dynasty?

EXAMPLE 2 Take the middle Bronze Age in Britain, the New Kingdom in Ancient Egypt and the Shang Dynasty and compare images of bronze artefacts. (A Google image search will bring up weapons in Britain, drinking vessels for the Shang and figurines and mirrors for the Egyptians.) ●●

What types of objects are being made?

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What types of decoration is used?

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What other materials are being used?

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Who are these objects for?

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What does the object tell you about what was important in people’s lives?

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How do these objects compare in terms of artistry and technology?

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What is similar and what is different about them?

Chronology or chronological understanding may potentially have a variety of definitions. ●●

Implicit is the knowledge that this relates to the concept of linear time and our ability to navigate ourselves within it.



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●●

It incorporates specific vocabulary that allows us to locate certain points of reference, such as now/then, old/new, era/decade, before /after, century, Roman and Tudor.

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Dates provide specific points of reference much like co-ordinates on a map.

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It was initially thought that this concept was inappropriate for primary age children (Piaget 1969) as it linked to the understanding of applying a numerical value to a particular moment. Subsequent research has shown that young children are able to understand historical time (De Groot-Reuvekamp et al. 2014), and that this is a developmental process that can and should be taught.

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Historical chronological understanding is wider than the recognition and location of particular points within history and includes ❍❍

knowledge and understanding of the place of people, events and changes;

❍❍

understanding of cause and consequence;

❍❍

recognition of similarities and differences within and across periods;

❍❍

identification of the ethos of the period.

While there is no expectation that British history units will be taught in chronological order it is incumbent upon schools to help children make chronological correlations to enable them to construct a useable framework of the past. If this is not done it can produce some fundamental misconceptions of the past. Discussions on chronological understanding with a third-year ITE student demonstrated an example she had observed while on placement in school. Children need to know where the different periods they learn fit in one overall picture. I had children thinking the Romans came after the Victorians because they learnt the Victorians first. (May 2016)

It would seem logical therefore to present children with information in chronological order much as is done in children’s text books. There is no research evidence however to show that this is any more effective than approaching units in random order (De Groot-Reuvekamp et al. 2014:493). What we do need to do therefore is to provide children with the tools to build this useable framework of the past wherein they can navigate themselves making linkages across past, present and potentially future time.

What are we really talking about with ‘the big picture’? The ‘big picture’ is a term used to denote the arc of history focusing not on individual periods or events but creating an overview where these events or periods can be put into some context. The ‘big picture’ seeks to identify links and connections that create order within mass of historical information allowing us to draw meaning from the whole. This focus on a spread of history is not new. In 1958 Braudel

Skills to Develop in History

coined the expression la longue duree (long term) to describe how a range of almost stable conditions such as climate or geography could shape human actions over an extended period of time. This was contrasted to histoire evenmentielle which related to individual events creating immediacy and fluctuation (Braudel 1958:727). Corfield returned to this view adding a third element to the equation. She suggests a three-dimensional model with interlocking facets of continuity (persistence), micro change (momentum) and macro change (turbulence) each needing investigation in order to create a viable view of the whole (Corfield 2009:56). She sees continuity as the benchmark against which change is measured, with micro change documenting small incremental adaptations to the tumultuous effects of macro change. Another common analogy is to see time as river in continuous movement (Figure 5.1). The current of the river or micro change pulls in certain directions sometimes carving out new paths (Figure 5.2). Barriers, either man-made (Figure 5.3) or natural (Figure 5.4), speed up or interrupt the flow leading to macro change. Figure 5.1  River

Figure 5.2  Current creating meander



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Mastering Primary History Figure 5.3  Ancient fish trap within river

Figure 5.4  Rapids within river

EXAMPLE 3 Here we could take farming as an example. The general shape of farming continues relatively unchanged for thousands of years (continuity). Incremental changes such as the domestication of animals and the development of tools, like the plough, contribute to increased performance (micro change). The agricultural revolution, the need for food in the Second World War and now increased computerization demonstrate evidence of macro change, points when change was forced through.

This example takes a diachronic theme to investigate over time, that of farming. Other examples might be transport, housing, medicine or crime and punishment. Corfield suggests that diachronic narratives of the long term – stories that stretch through time – are needed to make sense of the abundant historical ‘facts’ by framing them in an unfolding picture. (Corfield 2009:55)

Skills to Develop in History

The theme provides a structure within which to explore individual instances of the past. The KS2 history unit – ‘a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends children’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066’ – provides one such example of the requirement to take a long-term view. The examples provided suggest as possible areas of study: ●●

the changing power of monarchs,

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changes in an aspect of social history,

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the legacy of Greek or Roman culture.

The recent primary survey from the HA suggests that the most popular option for this unit was the legacy of Greek or Roman culture. While both units for the Roman Empire or Ancient Greece are well established in schools it is not possible to judge if this investigation is in addition to or part of these specific units of work. It may be that a session on the legacy of Greece or Rome is added to the end of these other units. What tends to happen with planning this type of unit is that aspects are identified and then linked to particular periods. With another suggested topic such as crime and punishment the planning often focuses on considering the types of crime and types of punishment in the Anglo-Saxon period in week 1 before moving to the medieval period in the next week. Not all periods will necessarily be covered (the Georgian period is often underrepresented with children leaping from Tudors to Victorians). This tends to reinforce an episodic view of the past. In the worst-case scenario the information from each session is treated discretely. This fails to encourage children to seek comparisons and differences, to make sense of what they have found out. It is, as Dawson suggests, that ‘there is little chance of children attaining a coherent big picture of the past when the topics they study have only the thread of chronological order to hold them together’ (Dawson 2004:14). What is important however is that children consider what changed or stayed the same and why this was. This should then allow them to consider how this develops their understanding of what life was like at that time. Gathering disparate pieces of information is of little use without seeing linkages across the periods that enables a narrative to be built. Shemilt observes that in such cases ‘meaning might be attributed to individual events and items … but … [is in] itself meaningless; it is a list not a historical narrative’ (Shemilt 2000:85).

Timelines These are the key tools in many schools to develop an understanding of chronological order and to allow children to begin to visualize the big picture of the past. They are essentially a chronological list of selected events, individuals and technology. They are a key tool for helping children to begin to locate these specific points within the



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Mastering Primary History Figure 5.5  A commercial timeline in the main corridor of a school. British history is below the line and world history above. This is a good example as it provides overlapping time lines for different civilizations

time continuum providing that they are taught how to use these. Hodkinson suggests that ‘without a comprehensive grasp of [historical time], children will fail to understand how to sequence events, periods and people chronologically’ (Hodkinson 2011:6). It is not enough to have a static timeline within the class that functions merely as decoration. Timelines should be actively referred to and added to in order to build children’s experience and knowledge. Timelines should not be confined to the introductory lesson of the topic. They should be employed within every lesson and utilised in a lively and interactive manner if they are to develop children’s time sense. (Hodkinson 2011:6)

Timelines should also refer to real rather than subjective time (such as long ago, or when mummy was little) as dates are central to locating ourselves in time. As Fine suggests, ‘We need them to engage in calculation of duration and to observe the process of sequence’ (Fine 2011:7). We tend to focus on specific periods within British history, such as the Romans, the Tudors, the Victorians, but these ‘periods’ are not of equal duration and some contained further classifications within them such as the Elizabethan period. It is important therefore that we do not visually present these as homogenous but reflect the different time spans. Using timelines requires thought and planning. It is not enough to simply have a timeline within the school or classroom and to assume that children will accrue knowledge from this. Classroom and school furniture tend to be largely ignored, especially if placed up high. Many schools have large, colourful interesting commercial timelines along shared corridors. I have yet to see any child stop to look at them however. Dawson advocates children building their own timelines, so selecting and evaluating what they feel is key using their understanding of prior knowledge as well as context to determine and order events. Vella expands this idea by asking children to use colour to represent continuity change across the timeline after investigating the source material (Vella 2011).

Skills to Develop in History Figure 5.6  This commercial timeline has clearly been created to link to the national curriculum requirements as it fails to show the Georgian or Medieval periods so leaves gaps in children’s understanding

Figure 5.7  Here we can see an example of a timeline created by children. While much is correct unknown images such as Napoleon and Montezuma have proved problematic. Obviously, the date of the pyramids is unknown, so this is also in the wrong place (photograph with kind permission of Paul Spears and year 5 children of Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School, Dartford)

Pause for thought How might you help children to correct this timeline? Which do children seem more comfortable with: images or texts?



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Timelines can be used to build knowledge as events happen and so discuss change and continuity. They should be referred to within the lessons. Research by De Groot-Reuvekamp et al. demonstrate that this is not the case in the majority of classrooms. While 78 per cent of those interviewed thought there should be a timeline in the class room only 45 per cent actually had one (De Groot-Reuvekamp 2014:503). We should make use of visual images as well as dates as advocated by Dawson: ‘Timelines are more likely to be successful in reinforcing chronological knowledge and understanding if they contain visual images rather than simply words and dates’ (Dawson 2004:21). It is also essential however to ensure that we use specific and precise time vocabulary with children in order to help them navigate space.

EXAMPLE 4 Incidents within an event can be used to create a sequence or timeline of the key moments. Here you can see images that show the sequence getting children to cut out and order the images. Alternatively you could label the images and then ask them to list the correct order. These have been put in chronological order. The example below looks at events from the Gunpowder plot using contemporary images. This would be an activity to take place at the end of the investigation when children are aware of the different events that took place. Timelines should be used as strategy alongside other elements of teaching and learning rather than as a stand-alone activity. They need to provide a historical context within the framework of an historical investigation.

Figure 5.8  The Monteagle letter delivered that gives the plot away to King James I (Source: Gerard, John. What Was The Gunpowder Plot? London: Osgood, Mcllvaine & Co., 1897. 115.)

Skills to Develop in History

Figure 5.9  Searching under parliament (Source: Gerard, John. What Was The Gunpowder Plot? London: Osgood, Mcllvaine & Co., 1897. 125.)

Figure 5.10  Guy Fawkes’s two signatures, the first on 5th November and the second after King James has recommended that the ‘gentel torturors’ should be used (Knight, Charles. The Popular History of England. Vol 3. London: Frederick Warne and Co., 1857. 327.)

Figure 5.11  Holbeach House where the rest of the conspirators flee to before the shoot out



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Mastering Primary History Figure 5.12  The public execution of the last two conspirators including Guy Fawkes (Source: Sidney, Philip. The History of the Gunpowder Plot. London: The Religious Tract Society, 1904. Frontis.)

EXAMPLE 5 When we consider the Romano-British period we are looking at a span of 400 years (ten to twelve generations). The idea that the Romans arrived, beat Boudicca, built a wall and some roads and then disappeared gives a false perspective to the period. There was the initial violent macro change of the AD 43 invasion and then a long period of micro change as Britain became amalgamated into the Roman Empire. Urban lifestyles developed over this time supported by sophisticated technology and extensive trade links. Any timeline needs to visually represent this time interval as well as highlight key hot spot events. The Boudican rebellion did not come as an immediate response to the invasion for example. ●●

●●

●●

●●

Children can be used to sequence events within a human timeline wearing dated tabards or holding specific images or information about events. Children can be asked to walk out the timeline stopping at key points. The physical space reinforces the time span. Provide source cards with dates and information. Ask children to place these in sequence along the top of the timeline and then colour red if it shows the Roman Empire expanding or blue if it shows it contracting. The thicker the colour the greater the change. Read the Capricorn Bracelet by Rosemary Sutcliffe and add the different generations in the story to your class timeline while investigating the events they describe. If there is a local roman site add as much information about it as you can to the roman timeline then track its rediscovery on the wider timeline linking the past with the more recent past or present.

Skills to Develop in History

CASE STUDY: THE POTTY TIMELINE: An effective way of using timelines The year 3 lesson begins with essential vocabulary definitions: chronology, decade, century, millennium, event, period. A single laminated sheet of loo roll segmented by felt tip lines into ten is introduced. Each segment of the sheet is a decade, a whole sheet is a century and counting out ten whole sheets of loo roll gives us a millennium. The children help to unfurl a prepared roll of loo paper from a set position at the front of the hall so that they see the roll moving to their left. A dotted line has been marked in felt tip along the perforated line of every tenth sheet, demarcating each millennium. A point is set for the current year, an arrow card AD 2000. We consider where AD 1000 might be added and ask where 0 would be. Children think about the significance of this year, AD and BC are discussed and a nativity picture is placed at this point. Children help to count back and place cards from 500 BC to 16,000 BC. They discover that the numbers are getting bigger as they go back in time. After adding significant events to the timeline, each group is given a period of history, for example Ancient Egyptians. They work out the length of time, round it to the nearest 100, then roll out and tear off the required number of sheets of loo roll, for example 800 years = 8 sheets of loo roll. When groups are ready, the children place their time period in parallel to the timeline. At this point all the children will be up, accessing the timeline searching for the correct location and then positioning them as accurately as possible. It is at this point that they discover how periods of time overlap and see how civilizations existed concurrently. ‘We can’t put ours down as it overlaps, Miss’. Children are now challenged about how they could use the large world map in the centre of the hall to explain their discovery. The penny begins to drop and the buzz around the hall is that civilizations can happen at the same time but in different world locations. Groups are given post-it notes to complete (civilization, duration and location) and place on the world map in the correct location. Adaptations For KS1 and reception The main body of the session is similar but focuses on British history. The group activity is a carousel of ‘history station’ tasks, for example Tudor make a pomander, while Anglo-Saxons make pottery from playdough based on books and pictures. Reception bring a block each to the session and ‘build a timeline’ prior to the introduction of loo roll. Towards the end of the session, all the ‘stations’ are placed in time order along the length of the timeline, then the children get into the time machine (a circular rug), turn around and ‘step back in time’ walking backwards along the blocks, encouraged to look at the history stations on their journey.



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Alison Mansell teaches at Lunts Heath Primary School, Widnes (Photographs: Rudston Heath Primary School, Liverpool)

Frameworks The idea of using a chart to create a structure for organizing chronological understanding is a popular choice. Much research has been undertaken around the idea of ‘frameworks’ in various forms (Shemilt 2000, Dawson 2004, Foster et al. 2008, Howson 2007, 2009, Jones 2009, Rogers 2016). Shemilt was aware that children found it difficult to ‘handle the past as a whole’ or to create a ‘coherent narrative’ of the past (Shemilt 2000:85). He postulated a line of conceptual development that could be developed through the use of different strategies. 1 Chronologically ordered past – developed through timelines with specific histories and landmark events; 2 Coherent historical narratives – connections and patterns are linked to events, beginning to recognize ‘turning points’; 3 Multidimensional narratives – recognizing elements of ‘what’ (people, technology, economics) and ‘systems’ (governance, institutions, politics) and then adding in motivating forces (cultural, religious, intellectual);

Skills to Develop in History

4 Polythetic narrative frameworks – understanding that there is no one true account, that our knowledge of history depends on evidence, who created that evidence and how it has been understood and that this understanding will potentially change over time. (Shemilt 2000) Within the primary classroom it is possible to develop some of this understanding albeit in a simplified manner: ●●

plot events and people on a timeline in order to begin to create an overview of the period (1) create a timeline of the events of the Gunpowder plot (see Example 4 above);

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identify how the actions of one person or group of people affected others (2) recognize how certain events are linked, for example the delivery of the Monteagle letter and the search of the parliament building;

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consider why people might have acted as they did (3) connect the persecution of Catholics with their desire to kill the King and restore Catholicism.

What is less likely is that primary age children will be asked to consider how and why different versions of the story have been presented and what these tell us about the significance of the event. A framework could be used to plot these events in a structure that allows us to identify connections or to compare responses. Dawson suggests thematic frameworks used across a key stage that link to themes such as empires, warfare and unity, power and citizenship, religion and human rights and social life with a concluding frame that asks for the most significant people or events. This would be introduced and then completed across the unit of study and reviewed at the end of the unit and year. An understanding of the frameworks of history provides the ability to trace patterns of change and continuity across long periods of time, to make comparisons and challenge comparisons. (Dawson 2004:17)

Howson and Rogers suggest synoptic frameworks that provide a summary, considering a number of themes across broad swathes of time. These allow for micro changes such as the Industrial Revolution to be identified as no one could allocate an exact date to when it started or finished. They also suggest the need to help children to understand that Tudor fashion did not immediately change into Stuart fashion in 1603. This form of contextualizing knowledge encourages children to stand outside and look in. The most important feature of such a big picture is that it is flexible enough to answer different questions of the past based on different scales and time frames. (Howson 2009:26)



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Pause for thought Have you seen frameworks being used in school? How do you think they might help children? Why might they be difficult to use?

EXAMPLE 6 An example of a summative framework might be a group or a personal chart completed at the end of each of the units of British history. This could also be either revised or modified in subsequent years particularly at the end of Year 6. This could also be used as a piece of evidence that is taken on to KS3. The focus could be ‘Migration and Trade’ as an overview What people were coming to this area?

Where were they coming from?

Why were they coming here?

What did they bring with them?

Who did they keep in touch with?

How did they change this place?

Jones focuses his framework around the responses of individuals involved within the event. This encourages children to judge from the perspective of the time rather than their own standpoint. This framework related to creating a record of experience of change from the individual’s point of view. He felt that this allowed him to consider that ‘individual characters from the past can inform, shape and illuminate a macro analysis of continuity and change’ (Jones 2009:13).

EXAMPLE 7 The Gunpowder plot could be considered from the point of view of Guy Fawkes. As well as looking at what he did children could be encouraged to think about what motivated him. Transcripts of his confessions could be used here. (These can be found on the National Archives’ website and explain Guy Fawkes’s reason for his actions.) This could be completed with the class teacher as scribe (and using child-friendly vocabulary) one section at a time while investigating the plot. Questions such as ‘Why do you think he is doing this?’ or ‘Why is this happening now?’ would help children focus. If a similar chart was completed for King James I it would allow children to consider historical interpretation.

All these frameworks require children to have a question to be investigated as well as allowing children to plot and assess links and connection in order to draw a conclusion. In order to do this, however, children need to have or be provided with considerable subject knowledge for ‘the work of constructing the big picture cannot be undertaken until the substantive material has been taught’ (Rogers 2016:2).

Skills to Develop in History



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Table 5.1  This considers how information might be recorded to consider motivation at different points during the plot

Past Planning the plot

Present Once caught

Future While in prison

Knowing

Fawkes had been sure that the plot would succeed in killing the King and restoring Catholicism

Fawkes knew there was a problem when he was discovered in the undercroft

Fawkes knew that he would be seen by many as a traitor and would be regicide

Seeing

Fawkes had seen how the Fawkes saw that he would be kings actions affected Catholics tortured and made to implicate the other conspirators

Fawkes could see that all had been discovered and there was little hope of bringing back Catholicism

Judging

In his mind his actions were justified in order to restore Catholicism

Fawkes’s mood was fatalistic as he realized there was no hope of mercy

Nothing would save him from a traitor’s death

Hoping  

Fawkes hoped that the plan would not be discovered

Fawkes hoped that the other conspirators would be able to carry out some of the plan.

Fawkes’s bravery in not confessing initially did not give the others time to escape.

(adapted from Jones’s ‘Shaping macro analysis from micro history’, TH 136 2009)

Maps Maps are another tool that allow children to explore connections and plot events. Again an initial enquiry question is essential to shape the research and provide focus. While mind maps allow children to show what they know they are often rather random or chaotic. The purpose is to bring order and recognize what information is significant to allow conclusions to be drawn. Thought maps require secure and extensive prior knowledge and a clear challenge. An activity such as this would be most appropriate towards the end of a unit of study. Thought maps allow children to zoom out the temporal lens (Rogers 2016) to look at the big picture. Foster used the metaphor of a car to symbolize the civil rights movement. She then asked children to draw a map to show the setbacks and constraints as well as the successes that the car encountered on its journey. Here the children needed to consider what metaphors they would use to represent specific actions or reactions (Foster et al. 2008). Valentine’s thought map required children to compare and contrast the rule of Tudor monarchs, considering such themes as relationship with advisers, religion,

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Mastering Primary History Figure 5.13  The children used two different coloured pens to show what knew before the activity and then what they felt they had learned afterwards. Unfortunately there is no evidence of any connections between the haphazard pieces of information

rebellion and stability, relationship to other countries and marriage and children. They then were asked to consider what changed or stayed the same from one monarch to the next. Monarchs were linked by annotated arrows. The arrows were thick or thin depending on how significant the change or continuity was. Important monarchs had bigger boxes. This was then used to allow children to draw written conclusions based on their thought maps. Rather than just listing events children were able to suggest why changes developed or explain what the consequence of changes were (Valentine 2017). Gadd also suggests providing information about a range of events that could be linked and allowing children to select those events they want to. The children then mapped the events together to show how they might be linked, identifying greater and lesser emphasis through the size of their boxes and proximity to each other. This was then used to create a written narrative account (Gadd 2009). Big picture matters are complex and it is unlikely that there will be one dominant approach to ‘big picture’ history in the foreseeable future – nor should there be. (Howson 2009:24)

What are some of the key considerations about looking at the ‘big picture’? ●●

While sequence is important so is an understanding of duration – timelines need to reflect this;

●●

Use timelines – refer to them, add to them and modify them. Use images as well as dates and terms;

Skills to Develop in History Figure 5.14  Here the actions of the king and government are in one colour, the gunpowder conspirators in another. Arrows show how action was linked. In addition Fawkes’s lantern is dark when circumstances favour the conspirators and with a candle showing when the king can see the plot

●●

Ensure that specific vocabulary is used to help children locate themselves with a time continuum;

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Ensure time for research and consolidation – substantive subject knowledge is needed to build frameworks and maps;

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Use structures to help children organize information over themes or long periods of time. Use these to look for connections or links that help children make sense of the information and recognize cause and consequence.

Why should we look at characteristic features? Characteristic features enable us to identify specific elements of a period and thereby locate them with a time framework. As adults we have a visual reference



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library in our head against which we compare images in order to classify them. Children need to build up this resource and so it is vital that we make extensive use of good-quality visual images. When considering artefacts we should also, for example, provide images of where and how they would be used. This can place the artefact within a context and reinforces the idea of ‘style’. What we are aiming to do is to develop the ability of children to recognize the particular attributes of a given period. Jordanova refers to this as ‘periodization’ which ‘furnishes historians with ideas about periods [and] their characteristic qualities’. She further suggests that ‘it also speaks to the nature of historical change and involves reflection, however implicitly, upon time’ (Jordanova 2016:97). Comparison is a key focus here as we look for the similarities and differences that identify ‘old house/new house’ or Roman Villa/Iron Age Roundhouse. While the identification of key factors is important what we also aim to do is to consider what this tells us about people’s lives at this time. Why might different materials or technology be used at this time? What does this suggest about trade or the development of new ideas? It is important that we do not encourage children to make subjective judgements based on their own experiences but to focus on understanding the imperatives and needs of that time and how they were being met. Dawson describes this area as a ‘sense of period’ which ‘begins with visual images of individual’s clothing, home or events – an introductory mental package to which a label such as “Tudor” can be attached’ (Dawson 2004:16). In helping children to develop this sense of period we need to provide a wealth of substantive knowledge underpinned with a range of visual material. There is a current practice in schools that seems to focus on using cartoon images of periods and events. This can tend to trivialize or infantilize the period. We should not be concerned about using more challenging resources with children. We should also supplement these with contemporary images and artefacts. It is important to select resources carefully, to ensure that they are historically accurate if we do not want to create a false impression. For many KS1 children the focus on characteristic features will be physical – what did they wear? What were their houses like? How did they move around? What kinds of work did they do? It is important to realize that this area also relates to intellectual characteristics – What ideas shaped this period? How did people treat each other? What fears and hopes did they have? This should certainly be a focus for KS2 as Dawson suggests ‘So when defining “sense of period” we need to include both the physical and the mental aspects of life’ (Dawson 2009:51). Dawson also suggests key elements within a period study that would develop this ‘sense of period’. The chart below is adapted from Dawson’s article ‘What Time does the tune start?’ (Dawson 2009). The ovals represent key facts that locate the period chronologically, the rectangles focus on physical characteristics and how they used their world, and the hexagon identifies intellectual triggers. With KS1 we would concentrate on those areas on the left of the chart while using the whole for KS2.

Skills to Develop in History

When was this period? Key people and events?

Sense of Period

What ideas and attitudes did they have?

What would they have seen, heard, touched or tasted?

What did they know about their world?

Our sense of period is developed with each historical enquiry that is undertaken as each adds to our constructed map of the past. It is important that these are also used to compare and contrast differences with our own lives and across and within different periods. We move from long ago > when granny was little > the time of the Great Fire of London > Anglo-Saxons > Anglo-Saxon raiders, Kingdom of Wessex, Late Saxon kingdom of England. Our increased knowledge allows us to refine our understanding. We can slot people and events from the past into a kind of mental map that enables us to make connections and draw comparisons across periods.” (Dawson 2004:14)

EXAMPLE 8 How comfortable would it have been to live here? A diachronic theme looking at homes would allow us to contrast the shape, construction, technology and materials used in a series of homes. We could investigate how the inhabitants cooked food, kept warm and lighted the dwelling. This would provide physical characteristics to compare. We could also however look at how the space was used and what that might suggest about personal relationships or the status of different people. We could look at how effective the people were at managing their environment. We could look for clues that might show evidence of what sort of beliefs people had and why these might be linked to their homes. Another very valid investigation is to consider how effective the technology is. More sophisticated technology was not always the most effective particularly if it had been imported and designed to meet the needs of a different climate.



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Children need to be given time to research on site and gather evidence, making use of digital recording devices such as tablets as well as mapping, sketching and rubbing. Plans of the buildings can be created from measurements taken on site. The design and the technology of the building needs to be carefully investigated looking at bindings and joins. Different types of materials need to be collated and where and how they are used should be recorded. What are the dimensions of the buildings, height, width, angle of roof? What direction does the main door face? How effective is the heat source? How might the rooms have been used? Initial research can be consolidated back at the classroom as children use the information to decide how comfortable would it have been to live in their house. Comparisons across the different buildings could then be made by children in role presenting their particular home. The photos below show exteriors of an Iron Age roundhouse, a Roman villa and a Saxon longhouse. They were built using archaeological evidence with the materials and techniques that probably would have been used. They can be found at the experimental archaeological site of Butser Ancient Farm, Hampshire.

Figure 5.15  Iron Age round house

Skills to Develop in History Figure 5.16  Roman villa

Figure 5.17  Anglo Saxon longhouse

How can we make valid connections from EY > KS1 > KS2 in terms of concepts and in terms of content?

Concept As highlighted in the chapter on assessment it is vital that the progression or development historical understanding is understood. Each concept and skill moves from the simple to the more complex. Without understanding the specifics it would be impossible to gauge whether children’s learning has moved on. This is also an important planning tool to ensure that we are aiming at the correct level while challenging and stretching children’s learning. The concept of chronology includes the use and understanding of specific vocabulary related to time, the ability to locate periods within a time continuum and an increased ability to draw conclusions about the relationship between different aspects of the past. This comprehension of ‘passed time’ is not strictly linked to mathematical understanding however but to a recognition of cause and effect within a specific temporal context.



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While ‘to identify periods of rapid change in history and contrast them with times of relatively little change’ would be a valid learning intention the following would not be appropriate. ‘Can they use their mathematical skills to work exact time scales and differences as need be?’ Or ‘Can they use their mathematical skills to round up time differences into centuries and decades?’ Both these latter examples refer to mathematical operations and do not contribute to an understanding of history. Byrom (2014) provides useful guidelines (taken from national curriculum requirements) that would help structure learning (Table 5.2). Table 5.2  Progression of understanding within concept of chronology across primary age phases

Work likely in…Chronology Chronological knowledge/understanding (including characteristic features of periods)

Early Years

KS1

●●

Use everyday language related to time

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Develop an awareness of the past

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Order and sequence familiar events

●●

●●

Describe main story settings, events and principal characters.

Use common words and phrases relating to the passing of time

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T alk about past and present events in their own lives and in lives of family members.

●●

●●

K now where all people/events studied fit into a chronological framework Identify similarities / differences between periods

KS2 ●●

Continue to develop chronologically secure knowledge of history

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Establish clear narratives within and across periods studied

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Note connections, contrasts and trends over time

KS3 ●●

Extend and deepen their chronologically secure knowledge of history and a well-informed context for further learning

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Identify significant events, make connections, draw contrasts and analyse trends within periods and over long arcs of time

Once again it can be seen that within the language of the national curriculum that there is an emphasis on making connections across periods. In the 2011 curriculum within the attainment target for level 2, KS1 children were expected to be able to ‘recognise that their own lives are different from the lives of people in the past’. This area would now seem to form part of the EY criteria while KS1 look for ‘similarities and differences between periods’, suggesting that children need to have a wider conception of the past than a comparison with their own history. The focus for KS2 is clearly on using developing knowledge of different periods and building a narrative that compares and contrasts across those periods. Given that the concept of chronological understanding needs to be specifically developed it is important to build the use of time vocabulary into taught sessions. It is also important to make reference and use of timelines. Dawson suggests that ‘enduring chronological understanding will be more effectively achieved if it infuses the whole planning process rather than being added in form of discrete exercises alongside existing units’ (Dawson 2004:15). Recent research on classroom practice in the Netherlands and England (De Groot-Reuvekamp et al. 2014) suggests that this is not currently the case. It was

Skills to Develop in History

found that less than 40 per cent of the teachers questioned monitored pupil progress in understanding chronology and in England less than 40 per cent consistently paid attention to the chronological order of historical periods in lessons. It is clear therefore that we should plan how we will develop chronological understanding and make explicit reference to it during sessions through the use of vocabulary and timelines. Misunderstanding the level of complexity within a concept can also lead to ineffective planning. One common activity in many history units is to compare the life of a child in that period with that of a child today (taking the unit of Ancient Egypt as an example). There are problems with this: 1 The points of comparison are so wide that it doesn’t make sense to pursue them, for example Africa > UK, essentially rural>mechanized urban, 1320 BC > AD 2017, wide gender and class differences. 2 This type of activity doesn’t really help understand what life was like for the majority of those living at that time particularly if we only focus on a child’s perspective. 3 If we only have half a term of history (five to six sessions) this is a wasted opportunity 4 This was a low-level KS1 activity and so should not still be a focus in KS2.

Content Effective planning across the curriculum requires a whole school focus. It is particularly important in KS2 where there are specific units of study that should be completed by the end of that key stage. Across the curriculum there are elements of choice and schools should make use of these to meet their own particular needs. It is also worth remembering that NC requirements are the minimum and schools can extend passed these in any way they like. The programme of study for history should map out how the school will cover required content. Chronology should be woven throughout providing a spine for the programme. There should be opportunities for linkages to be made across subjects allowing children to compare and contrast different units. They should refer backwards to past studies and project forward to what is to come. It is important that knowledge is built upon with each unit. There is no requirement to teach units in chronological order; however, the internal chronology of the period should be followed.

Pause for thought Look at the requirements of the national curriculum across the primary age phase. How would you organize the different units of work to help to reinforce children’s chronological understanding?



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Table 5.3  Sample programme of study across a primary school

 

Autumn

Spring

Summer

Nursery

Toys

Ourselves and Growing

Houses and Homes

Reception

When granny and grandad were little

Farming long ago ¤

Heroes of Flight

Year 1

Shopping now and then ¤

Great Fire of London

Fossil Girl

Year 2

The Eruption of Vesuvius

Explorers ¤

The Town cinema

Year 3

Changes from Stone Age to Iron Age ∞

Shang Dynasty of Ancient   China ¤

Year 4

Roman Empire and its impact on Britain ¤ ∞

Year 5

Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots

and The Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England ¤ ∞ Year 6

Ancient Greece and its influence on the Western world (Battle of Marathon)

Local History study (Victorian Industries, Empire and trade) ¤ A study of an aspect or theme that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066 (Arrival of Empire Windrush) ∞ Early Islamic Civilization including the study of Baghdad c. 900 (post SATs) ¤

Deconstructing the programme of study The early years As with any focus within the early years the emphasis should be on starting with the children and the experiences they bring. EY history is often underdeveloped as practitioners feel the concept – especially the idea of chronology – is very complex for your children. What we are attempting to do here is to introduce the idea of the past as distinct from the present. Simple time vocabulary such as old/new and now/then should be introduced. The focus should be on artefacts and images that children can investigate and discuss. Toys and Ourselves are popular themes as they focus on areas familiar

Skills to Develop in History

to children. Do ensure that if ‘Ourselves’ is linked with ‘Growing’ you focus on the human aspect rather than ducklings, lifecycle of frogs or butterflies. Houses and homes can and should, if possible, be linked to the local area. I would focus on old house/new house rather than a sequence as you want to consolidate understanding before you develop it. The focus on grandparents in reception allows you to make strong and valid home school links. This also allows for oral history where different aspects of the past might be remembered. There is a good variety of picture books to support this area. Any aspect could have been selected for farming in the past such as washday, bread making, from sheep to shoulder. You need a good strong contrast with the present where the changes can be easily identified. Farming however can be linked to shopping in KS1 so be used as a point of reference. Finally leave some time to look at a significant individual. It is important to ensure they are real rather than fairy tale or storybook.

I once saw a lovely piece of history from a nursery child. She had a picture of herself as a baby and a photo of herself in school uniform, both labelled and helpfully translated. The third in the sequence was her grown-up. She had written ‘when I grow up I will have beautiful butterfly wings and fly high’. She was, I am afraid, destined for disappointment. The class had also been looking at the lifecycle of butterflies and confusion had perhaps set in.

Key stage 1 There are four areas to be covered here: ●●

Changes within living memory (with a link to national aspects),

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Events beyond living memory (national or global),

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Significant individuals (national or global) – some compared across time,

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Local area ( significant events, people or places).

Shopping is an activity that all children know well and yet it has changed dramatically within living memory. This is a particularly rich area and could make links to where our food comes from (farming). The change to national brands such as Marks and Spencer or Sainsbury’s could be investigated through their digital archives. This can also be based on your own area. Two events rather than one. I think almost every school in the country does the ‘Great Fire of London’. Sources are easy to find. The event is contained within a clear period and there are some interesting characters. The explosion of Vesuvius and destruction of Pompeii could meet the same criteria from an international perspective. It could then feed into an aspect of the Roman period (KS2). Disasters are often more compelling than celebrations. You could also compare the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria with that of the present Queen or look at the three London Olympics.



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Again two investigations around people, one that looks at the achievement of a single individual and then a comparison across a theme. The Fossil Girl is Mary Anning an early palaeontologist of the ‘she sells seashells’ fame linked to the Dorset coast. Explorers allow you look across time and place. It is ideal for considering diversity with a range of adventurers linked to picture books. Finally local history should be linked to enquiry-based field work in your own place. The way that a building or local feature has changed over time allows children to create local and personal timelines reflecting on why that change has occurred.

Key stage 2 Nine units to be covered over three years, some of which are compulsory and somewhere choices can be made about the focus. They should combine overview and depth studies considering the ‘long arc of development as well as the complexity of specific aspects’ (DfE 2014). Examples are provided for how schools may meet requirements, but it is up to the school to make the final choice. The greater the substantive knowledge of the period the better you will be able to identify significant individuals or events. This is all about selection. Do not attempt to cover the whole period. ●●

Four chronological units of British History ❍❍

Stone Age to Iron Age,

❍❍

Roman empire in Britain,

❍❍

Early Anglo-Saxons,

❍❍

late Anglo-Saxon and Vikings to 1065.

●●

Local history

●●

A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066

●●

Ancient Greece

●●

Ancient Civilization

●●

❍❍

Ancient Egypt

❍❍

Ancient Sumer

❍❍

Indus Valley Civilization

❍❍

Shang Dynasty

Non-European society contrasted with British history ❍❍

Benin

❍❍

Maya

❍❍

Early Islamic civilization (Abbasid Caliphate)

Skills to Develop in History

I have two overlying themes here that allow me to make broad links across units: 1 The movement of people ∞, 2 Trade ¤ With at least two units a year one has been designated a major unit and one a minor (major in bold). The British history is taught chronologically across the first three years to provide a pattern that could reinforce chronological development. The two Anglo-Saxon units could be usefully conflated into a single study especially as that unit is selected as the major unit for that year. Year 3 – Stone Age to Iron Age gives an overview of a very long period with an in-depth focus on the middle Bronze Age. This then allows comparison with the Shang Dynasty which was also a bronze age trading civilization. Year 4 – Roman Britain looks at how Britain fared as part of an empire with extensive trading links considering what technologies, industries and systems were brought to Britain. It is also the first time that Britain becomes urbanized with large towns. These links can be reconsidered in the Victorian local history study. Year 5 – Looks at how groups of people came initially through either invasion and conquest or immigration (macro change) then becoming assimilated (micro change). The period of change is longer and slower in the Anglo-Saxon period so the idea of the speed of change could be considered across these units. Year 6 – Ancient Greece is a long period that is often considered without historical context through Gods, architecture and the Olympics. This looks at a specific event from the Persian Wars. A story from that event is part of the Olympics and so could be used to look forward linking nationally with the change at the 1908 London Olympics. The Greeks fight an early Persian empire while the Abbasid Caliphate rises in the same geographical area centuries later. This was trading across Europe including Britain during the Anglo-Saxon period. This is the justification for the example programme of study provided. Each school needs to devise their own. How they create it is up to the needs and focus of the school. What is important is that there is a plan that demonstrates how links can be made across the areas of study providing a unified whole.

Differing perspectives It is important to reflect different perspectives across any planned programme of study. Jones (2009) has suggested how the individual experience may be used to consider a wider context. Here he uses the depth to provide a perspective for the overview. The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun could be used to consider, through the investigation of his grave goods, the themes of religious belief and conflict, art and design, mummification, the role of the pharaoh, Egypt’s relationship with other



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countries as well as facets of everyday life. The story of the life of an individual allows us to begin to make comparisons with the wider community. In investigating history through the eyes of an individual it is possible to understand the impact in a wider context. The need to reflect across geographical perspectives has been clearly highlighted within the national curriculum as it delineates local, national and global contexts. It may also be viable to add European as a context given this close relationship with the continent has also shaped British identity. The need to travel across the different dimensions is necessary to recognize interdependence and causal links.

Global

National

Local

Pause for thought Create a diagram of concentric circles highlighting some key events that could relate to local, national and global contexts. Do you think the European perspective should also be included or that of the home nations of the United Kingdom?

History moves across, within and between these different dimensions of time as children are encouraged to note links and connections. Local history study is a specific requirement both at KS1 and KS2 and yet the requirement also includes the need to put the local dimension into a national or even global context. Lomas (2017) and Townsend (2017) suggest strategies for placing local events within a broader framework considering how place names, for example, may point to national or global events. Lomas also advocates ‘drip feeding’ local history through other history units. It is certainly true that where possible the local dimension to British history units creates a stronger sense of reality and provides a more comprehensive perspective.

Skills to Develop in History

Local archaeology can provide links to evidence of those who came before. Linking our stories with those who also lived in ‘our place’ creates a sense of continuity and community. To be able particularly to provide a human face, as in for example the Neolithic ‘Shepperton woman’ or ‘Spitalfields roman lady’ (see Museum of London) allows us to connect more viscerally with the past. Unexpected local links with more far flung areas of the world allow us to consider questions of diversity recognizing Britain’s influence across the continents as well as appreciating how Britain has itself been affected by other cultures and traditions. The Victorian Kyber, Afgan, Cabul and Candahar Roads demonstrate the long history that Britain has had with this part of the world. They also provide a rich vein for historical enquiry. Why did the Victorian builders name these roads after such places? What was happening at the time that might have been reflected in these road names?

Summary In this chapter we have considered the concept of chronology and how it underpins historical understanding. We have looked at how we might develop this concept through the use of frameworks and maps. We have been introduced to the terms ‘a sense of period’ and ‘the big picture’ and seen how these contribute to children’s understanding. We have considered how to trace themes or aspects across programmes of study and different dimensions. We have considered what is needed to assess this concept and why it is important to focus on links and connections. We have begun to recognize what is meant by the terms ‘macro and micro change’ and how this helps us to see the impact on the lives of those who experienced it.

Recommended reading Corfield, P. (2009) ‘Teaching History’s Big Picture: Including Continuity as well as Change’, Teaching History 136: 53–64. Penelope Corfield introduces the idea of macro and micro history linked to continuity. Doull, K. and Townsend, S. (2018) ‘Investigating the Issues and Implications of “Big Picture” History: Deconstructing the “Long Arc of Development”’, Education 3–13 https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2018.1483803 Karin Doull and Susie Townsend consider further ideas covered within this chapter, deconstructing professional choices that can be made in planning ‘Big Picture’ History. Lomas, T. (2017) ‘Coherence in Primary History: What is it and How Can It be Achieved’, Primary History 76: 8–12. Tim Lomas considers how the concept of chronology develops children’s understanding of a coherent past with a range of practical examples.



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Chapter 6 Children’s Ideas – Promoting Curiosity Chapter objectives By the end of this chapter you should ●●

begin to understand what children view as good history and some ways in which we can find out

●●

use some of the ideas as a starting point for history teaching and learning through innovative and creative ways (see suggestion boxes for each section for eliciting children’s ideas about history)

●●

have an understanding of children’s misconceptions and how we begin to overcome them

Introduction In his seminal text ‘How Children Learn’, Holt’s overriding message is to trust children: ‘Nothing could be simpler or more difficult. Difficult, because to trust children we must trust ourselves’ (1983, p. ix). He describes how schools at the time of writing were moving steadily and rapidly in the wrong direction, becoming larger, depersonalized and fragmented, education hanging on to the ‘mistaken idea that education and teaching are industrial processes, to be designed and planned from above … and imposed on passive teachers and their even more passive students’ (ibid). Several decades later and after several national strategies, standardization of teaching and learning through the formation of large academy trusts, it is worrying to see that we are still not ‘trusting children’. Schools have become even more factory like, imposing a ‘one-size-fits-all’ agenda on its workers (teachers) and products (children). This chapter aims to go some way in convincing the reader that we can still listen to children, follow their ideas and turn these into meaningful learning experiences while working in any given system. By doing so we can engage children, prompt a love of learning and allow them to take their learning forward in areas that are relevant and purposeful.

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What do children view as ‘good history’ and how can we find out? Pause for thought What do you consider as ‘good history’? What were your early experiences and does this influence the way you teach now?

The simple answer to this question is to ask them! At first consideration this appears obvious but research suggests that as teachers and educationalists we tend not to ask children for their input in curriculum content and how learning happens effectively (Mercer, Dawes and Staarman 2009, Alexander 2010, Haynes and Murris 2013). At the turn of the last century, education experienced a change in the political and cultural climate and schools saw a drive for greater citizenship education which advocated the need for greater student voice (Hargreaves 2004, Claire 2001, Ruddock and McIntyre 2007). As a result we saw the formation of school councils and other student bodies in both primary and secondary education. However it was found this was often tokenistic or ‘an add-on exercise’, largely adult led and narrow in agenda, tending to focus on the aesthetics of the school environment and charitable activities rather than seeking views on teaching and learning (Futurelab 2006 cited in Alexander 2010:151). The most recent and arguably the most influential study which did advocate a need to seek children’s views on curriculum content and other wider issues was Alexander’s report (2010) ‘The Cambridge Primary Review’, but this has had little direct impact in schools and even less so on the political agendas, despite pupil voice and personalization of learning being seen more frequently in the speeches and documents of successive government policy and decision makers, for example Teresa May 2017.

Pause for thought Does your school have a school’s council? How are the views of children gathered? Is it adult led? How might you change this?

Philosophies of working from the child’s interests are nothing new. Though terminology over the decades has changed (child-centred education, child-led learning, discovery learning, progressive education and personalized learning) and subsequent theories built upon, the underlying message remains the same. As Dewy in 1938 advocated, we need an active learning experience for the child, with their interests being at the heart of the curriculum (in Riley and Aubrey 2016). Even earlier (1919), Montessori expressed a need for freedom in a child’s learning through the selection

Children’s Ideas – Promoting Curiosity

of their own learning experiences (in Bruce 2011). Bage (2000) proposes a need for ‘teachers talking for the children and not at them’ suggesting that teacher should be the voice of children ideas (p. 21); and more recently, in the Cambridge Review Alexander (2010) argues for a pedagogy which calls for greater inclusiveness, putting the child, culture and community at the centre of learning. However despite extensive agreement among educators, much of what happens, particularly when children leave early years, is that their voice is lost and they become passive, rather than active learners (Fricker 2007, Walker et al. 2012, Murris 2013). This has been further exacerbated by the former chef inspector of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw who openly voiced his opinion on what he referred to as left-wing, hippy ideology of the 1960s stating: ‘We want to see teacher-led activities, we want to see structured learning, we want to see teaching in more formal settings’ (Paton 2014).

Pause for thought It could be argued that as a result of the former chief of inspections, this is what has happened. What are your views? Do you agree?

With all this in mind and specifically wanting to find out about children’s ideas particularly in history, research in two local diverse primary schools in London and Kent/ Essex borders was undertaken. The following case study summarizes the findings and illustrates that if we consider children’s ideas we can build a personalized history curriculum alongside integrating the familiarity of statutory and non-statutory history curriculum. While this is a small-scale piece of research, it is consistent with past experiences as a teacher working in primary education for a number of years and with the much wider general theories and debates of engagement in learning (Vygotsky 1978, Bruner 1986, Pollard 2013, Alexander 2010).

CASE STUDY: Children’s views on what makes good history Children across the primary phase, from reception to year 6 in both schools were asked ●●

‘what history do you like and what makes good history?’

The findings were enlightening but not overly surprising. Ideas and comments were consistent across schools and across the age ranges, though teaching approaches in both schools were different. When asked what history they liked to learn about, children initially recalled most of the topics being studied or had been studied in their class, that is, known topics such as the Romans, Florence Nightingale and local history. They reported enjoying these activities but were unable to expand on answers beyond the factual



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recall of information. However, what the research did reveal was that children were more interested in personal and family history linked to these topics – such as where they were born, lived, and their school and the history of members of their families and their experiences, that is, jobs and involvement in wars. It was in these responses that the children became animated, referring to them and choosing to talk more frequently and in greater depth than during previously mentioned learning. They moved beyond factually based knowledge, demonstrating deeper understanding of concepts. Unsurprisingly, they liked and wanted a teaching and learning approach that was practical (doing history) and interactive activities involving drama, stories and investigating to solve problems. Children from one school – historically rich in local history – reported that they particularly enjoyed teaching other children and exhibiting their learning to parents. This was a common approach in the school with older children devising drama and role-play to portray their history learning and then working with the younger children in collaborative learning workshops which again they planned and led. When asked why this idea/approach was enjoyable their response was: Because you can teach the little kids about history’… ‘it could be important a million years later’ ‘or a few years later because you might have taught those kids very important things and it could help them in life. As well as being able to share their learning in ways which they felt was enjoyable, learning through the local approach as discussed in Chapter 8 enabled the children to engage in personal and community history which they felt was important. They were able to tell stories of their families’ involvement in the Second World War and how that had affected the where they lived. The research concluded that learning in such a way had had a significant impact on children’s sense of personal and community identity and self-esteem (Hales 2017).

It could be argued that children ‘don’t know what they don’t know’ and therefore how can we simply ask children what they would like to learn about? We certainly do not want to venture back to the ‘secret garden era’ of education in the 1960s and 1970s where teaching and learning was, in the main, ad-hoc; but teachers need to feel and can be empowered to use their expertise and skilful knowledge of children to sensitively pick up on what excites them and build upon their ideas, seamlessly weaving it into any given curriculum. Research and experience have shown that children are interested in lots of the different historical content which is in statutory and non-statutory documents and therefore we only have to find out which bits excites them. But, equally I could be from a blank canvas and asking: ‘What shall we find out about?’ The suggestions in the next section alongside a very simple planning template, which can be adapted and used with children either orally or as a shared exercise, are recommended as a starting point.

Children’s Ideas – Promoting Curiosity

Idea/theme

What do I know?

How might I do this? What do I want to find out?

Starting points for gathering and using the child’s ideas for history ●●

Media and history as a starting point:

Creative hooks/questions to use ●●

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Hold a weekly review of the papers/TV headlines within your classroom, nominating a group of children each week to gather the headlines for discussion (Upper KS1/2 – some ideas given below). Pick topics for younger children for exploration which you think might interest them, that is, archaeological finds, events connected to know places or people. Ask them questions to prompt discussions, for example: What have you seen/heard in the news lately? What do you think of the story? What would you do if you were the queen, prime minister (or other historical character). You will be surprised by what they have picked up! Have newspaper/magazines as part of your ongoing reading provision in your classroom. Ask children to create their own ‘Newsround’ report or BBC news report on a self-chosen topic. Have an interactive timeline in the classroom where children are able to contribute events and happenings in the world which they feel is relevant and important. Hold debates on big issues! Hot-seat media-driven people – Donald Trump, Meghan Markle, about events that potentially impact on our past and present history.

Children are increasingly exposed to and interested by television and other social media stories and this is an excellent way to consider local, national and global history. The news can provide us with some great starting points which not only spark children’s interests but can be a way into many aspects of history and other cross-curricular work. While it may not be obvious to the non-specialist to consider potential media themes to the learning of history, the openings provide wonderful opportunities and creative ‘hooks’ to bring past to the present and act as a forum for children to begin to hypothesis about the possible future.



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Examples might include ●●

Red Nose Day – a study on children and poverty in ❍❍

Tudor times, Victorian times and contemporary times.

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Tim Peakes’s recent exploration in space – significant local people, space exploration through time.

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Brexit – a study looking at the rise and fall of the British Empire.

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Deaths of pop icons: David Bowie – Changes and impact on British music culture. Could be part of a local studies unit or a study beyond 1066.

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Social Media Developments – the social and economic impact on communication in the twenty-first century.

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Discovery of unexploded Second World War bombs.

Using contemporary media content is also an excellent way to develop historical skills, such as bias, communicating ideas and interpretation. This links explicitly to the literacy curriculum and can be a way of showing the application and transference of knowledge. We have to equip children with skills to interpret, evaluate and check sources so they understand what might or might not be relevant, valid or even true! We are increasingly hearing about ‘fake news’ in the media and by explicitly teaching how to determine the validity of such sources such as checking multiple sources of the same story, we are giving children a valuable, lifelong tool in which they can apply to different contexts. This applies to Internet searches too. We have become ever reliant on the extent and ease of resources and information available online and this has created a sense of acceptance and apathy among adults and children alike when searching for information.

Pause for thought What is your use of media, particularly social media? Do you regularly follow reliable news items to keep update with world events? Do you question what you read/hear/see?

We need to be mindful of what may or may not be appropriate, considering whether the material is appropriate, safe and reliable for children to use and if not why not? Of course teachers themselves need to be secure in the content and be able to source, evaluate and sort evidence critically and confidently so they are able to guide children in the learning too. The following toolkit provides teachers with a simple checklist when conducting Internet searches for resources, information and checking for reliable sources: ●●

Do you recognize the website where the sources are coming from after you put in a general search such as BBC, Gov.UK, any of the local or national museum, archives sites? Be selective. See the end of the chapter for reliable sites.

Children’s Ideas – Promoting Curiosity

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Avoid specific historical material from buzzy media sites such as Facebook, Huffington Post such like, unless this is specific for your teaching, for example the explosion of technology and social media in the twentieth century – but be clear of its use and be sure to check any school policy for Internet and social media use with children.

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If you are using any online sources, either directly or downloaded you must check the content before. Most schools have filters, but this is not a safeguard against inappropriate material or material which simply isn’t relevant.

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Have you ‘checked’ any facts that you intend yourself or children to use against a reliable book /source (check the recommended list at the end of this chapter)?

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If you are using a ‘head-line’ story, have you resourced it from a reliable agent, for example BBC News, The Guardian, TES and so on?

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If you are using multiple sources on the same story/topic, ensure that you have one or two reliable sources. Be clear which sources may not be reliable and why, in order to incorporate this in your teaching.

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Twitter is a good way to access information quickly and reliably particularly for contacting professionals in their field of study. University, museum academics and researchers are often more than happy to answer specific questions around their topic area. There are many good Twitter feeds and forums that you can access.

Toolkit 8.0 considering online sources ●●

Stories and history as a starting point

Creative hooks/questions to use ●●

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Use the pictures in children’s books as a starter to gather their ideas about a particular period in history, for example, ‘Peepo’ by Janet and Alan Alhberg; what do the pictures tell us about the past, the Second World War, homes and so on? Keep a range of historical stories in your reading area and observe regularly to see what conversations are happening, which stories are popular. This information can be used to plan learning – knowing that the children are already interested! ( See recommended examples at the end). Ask the children to plan some drama or role-play around a particular story using the question ‘what happens next?’



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Ask the children to produce their own story about an event they are interested in or feel is important, in the form of a story map, cartoon strip or blog. This could be a fictional story linked to a historical event or the retelling of a historical event as well as something from their own personal histories. Again, the stories will reveal interests and ideas. Use song lyrics to investigate and find out about the story the song is telling. The Beatles’ lyrics for example are brilliant for this. The children could choose their own era/songs and investigate this. Their ideas can be followed up depending on what they find.

Much has been written about the use of stories in primary education and it has long been recognized as a valuable approach to teaching and learning particularly in historical learning (Turner-Bisset 2005). Cooper (2007) draws on the work of Vass (2000, 2004) and Dilek and Yapici (2004) and reminds us of the importance of story in developing children’s mastery of history through deeper engagement with historical concepts such as interpretation and abstract thinking. When we think of stories and the use of story in education we are often first pulled to the fictional stories predominately used in the literacy curriculum to promote and develop specific reading skills, such as inference, interpretation and deduction, most of which are used for history enquiry; the use of story in history is not always considered as an obvious approach (Husbands 1996).

Pause for thought What historical stories do you know or have you read? Were they fiction or nonfiction, with a historical setting or content? What is your use of story in your classroom? Do you use stories regularly in history?

However, history and story are extrinsically linked (Turner-Bisset 2005). Every time an historian pieces together evidence about the past, they produce a picture that tells a story that people listen to, read or engage with; when people encounter an event or record an experience in some way, and that event or experience is retold it is a story or narrative of what has happened. When we document our lives through diaries, books and more recently through social media we are creating a story. Stories take many different forms and are presented in many different ways – books, diaries, recounts, oral storytelling, songs and poems. Historical stories and narratives are interpretations made by the teller and interpreted further by the receiver. Some are very factual, based on concrete evidence of the past and about real people and real events. Others are fictional which have accurate period detail but with fictional characters Stories are culturally universal

Children’s Ideas – Promoting Curiosity

and serve as a way to form identity and develop intercultural education (Claire 1996, Bage 1999, Dixon and Hales 2017, Dolan 2014). The following quote (cited in Dolan 2014:7) beautifully captures the power and importance of story and history. Throughout history, stories have transported people across time and space through the power of imagination. They take us into other lives, lands and centuries, connecting us with the experiences of individuals and communities affected by circumstances quite different form our own. As we are moved by the joys and ordeals of stories’ protagonists, we grow to the Other in ourselves and ourselves in the Other. (Glasgow and Rice, 2007, p. xiii) The following case study illustrates how the use of story and the exploration of children’s ideas through a local history study centred around the topic of ‘homes’ – a popular KS1 QCA (Qualification Curriculum and Assessment) topic at the time. The learning started with stories linked to the topic and while at the time it was not intentional to move away from the planned unit of work, it proved to be a very good illustration of how we might find out about children’s ideas and let them take ownership of their learning.

CASE STUDY: Using story as an impetus for learning and building on children’s ideas A year 2 class were read stories, both fictional and factual, of people moving between towns, villages and countries. The story of Floella Benjamin – a child’s TV presenter who tells of her move from the Caribbean to the ‘unfriendly’ UK in the 1960s – particularly captured the children’s attention. This prompted them to consider the movement in their own families and communities; for some moving had only been experienced between classroom to classroom and teacher to teacher, for others it had been much further afield. One of the more quite children in the class (Jerome) spoke about his family’s moving from Grenada to UK and how he now travelled frequently between his two homes. The other children were fascinated by his story and many questions were asked of him. This enabled the teacher to pick up on the children’s ideas and thoughts and use them to question and prompt the rest of the class. This stimulated other children to want to find out about their families and whether they had similar ‘histories’. As a result of this engagement, the unit of planned worked was changed though still keeping to the original ‘topic’ focus and the planned learning objectives. The children thought about the questions they wanted to ask their own families about their personal history of homes and moving. Linking to literacy – questions were devised for children to interview their families – these were practised orally and written to go home in a special questionnaire for them to complete. Jerome’s mum (a frequent and engaged parent in the school) agreed to come in and talk about her experiences when moving to the UK and so a mock TV centre was set up for the children to ask questions about her experiences. She brought in pictures and artefacts from her childhood which the children were able to explore. The work



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moved into looking at the history of the local area and homes (many of which were the children’s) and meeting and talking to local residents – all of which had their own stories to tell. This unit of work enabled interactive and cross-curricular learning presented in a way that was sparked from the children interests, curiosity and ideas of what they wanted to find out. Oral history became a regular and prominent feature of the classroom.

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Drama, re-enactment and artefacts as a starting point

Creative hooks and questions to use ●●

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Tell the children in advance that you are planning to hold a history day in your class or school. The children will need to think about who they are interested in and find out a bit about them. The children are then to come in dressed up as their favourite historical character. Select one or two based on popularity as a starting point for planning. Collect a range of artefacts from a given period – boot sales, garages and charity shops are excellent sources, but local history archives and museums will often loan out history boxes. Prompt questioning of the artefacts – who might use them? Let the children explore and create drama/role-play with them. What is the story behind the artefact? Get the children to become history detectives – don hats and use magnifying glasses for inspiration and let them follow leads that excite them. This could be around a building, area, school, with a range of artefacts. Bring in people in role or historical actors/re-enactors dress up yourself for children to question/hot seat/explore. Again the ideas that come from this can be used for further historical work on the person/period/event.

While drama is a widely recognized approach to teaching and learning particularly in history, re-enactment is a relatively new way to explore the stories and narratives of historical events and is a very engaging approach for teaching and learning of primary history in schools (Mikula 2014). Historical re-enactments take various forms of television historical dramas, plays or documentaries, but also include large battle re-enactments or drama re-enactments seen in museums and tourist areas. There are a number of professional drama groups that schools would be familiar with but there is also a growing number of re-enactment interests groups who explore different periods/events in history through re-enactment weekends and social events who are very keen and willing to share their knowledge and interests in schools, often free of charge or asking for expenses only (see case studies).

Children’s Ideas – Promoting Curiosity

Re-enactment itself has shown to promote a high degree of engagement with children in their learning which in turn develops higher-order thinking skills necessary for mastery of knowledge. A re-enactment will often include an element of drama, rather than just a retelling of a story in character and within this the children can become participates in the story through actively joining in with the drama or through the use of questions and dialogues after. The dialogic element which such immersion affords enables the children to explore concepts and ideas which they are able to adapt and connect learning in a very authentic way (Alexander 2010, Kraus 2008, Reeves 2017). Using the skilled questioning by the teacher or the re-enactor allows children to explore and follow up their own ideas and interests and therefore such an approach can be seen as a very personalized, child-centred way of learning (Brookhart 2016). The following case study shows how a former teacher trainee student, now NQT has combined his love of re-enactment and passion for teaching to engage children in the primary class room; he gives a real account of his experiences as a historical re-enactor:



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Children’s Ideas – Promoting Curiosity

CASE STUDY: Re-enactment in the classroom I am an NQT with a background in historical Viking re-enactment. I am normally requested to go into schools during a period of work focusing on Vikings or Anglo-Saxons. This will vary from the beginning of a sequence of lessons, to set a context for work to come; in the middle of a sequence, where I would be used to consolidate learning so far and act as a focal point for learning to come; or at the end a sequence to consolidate learning. Feedback from teachers would lead me to believe the first two ways would be the most effect ways to deploy a re-enactment-based lesson. At these times it makes the children excited to engage in the topic and creates curiosity in the topic to come. When conducting a re-enactment-based history lesson I dress in historically authentic clothing, have weapons and armour for the Viking period and also a number of authentic artefacts from a Viking’s everyday life. These include animal skins, drinking horns, horn and wooden cups, metal cutlery, runes and games. When entering a room I take on the character of a Viking warrior. I have found children at a primary school level are willing to suspend their disbelief and accept that a Viking is standing in their classroom and not dead and buried for nearly a thousand years and are excited by engaging in this way. From this point on I take on the role of an expert in a sort of extended hot seating exercise. I will start by giving an input on Viking history in Britain, asking questions of the class to ascertain their prior knowledge. I then give details on the main items I am wearing: clothing, armour and weapons. Next, I share the other artefacts out, to be explored by the children in small groups. Ideas are shared as a whole class and uses confirmed. At this point the lesson will be child led and I will react to questions given by the children. So far I haven’t ended this part of the session twice in the same way. Upon entering a class the items which cause the most interest are always my chain mail, sword and helmet. These are some of the most recognizable items related to a Viking and most children will have been exposed to the concept of these items before. Questions and comments often arise over the weight and feel of these items as the children may have misconceptions of these due to a number of factors. However, once the children have interacted with the items, they quickly run out of questions about them. When the other artefacts are presented to the children they have many more questions. They are first given time to interact with the objects and hypothesize what they would have been used for. All of the artefacts are easily relatable to the children as they are historical equivalents of items they will use in their everyday lives such as cups and blankets. This, combined with the ability to fully interact with real objects, feel their weight, smell them and experience the artefacts in all dimensions, peaks the children’s curiosity and enables them to develop more questions. I can then answer these or leave them unanswered to be used as the basis for further investigative lessons. (Peter Reeves, Primary school teacher, former student University of Greenwich and Re-enactor)



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Using the children’s ideas can lead to a number of drama and re-enactment ideas in the classroom. The following is a case study describing how children’s ideas turned into thematic workshops over a ‘History Theme Week’ across the whole school. This could equally be done in a single classroom with smaller planned activities over a day.

CASE STUDY: Using re-enactment during a History Theme Week As a new history coordinator and wanting to transform the nature of teaching and history within school, it was decided to immerse both the children and staff in a History Theme Week. All classes were taken off timetable and all teaching and learning sessions planned (where possible) were historically focused. Teachers were supported to find tangible and meaningful links to other areas of the curriculum, which in turn enabled children to see and experience the vast number of links that history very easily lends itself. One day was dedicated to a number of activities – which could choose across the school and engage in. Some of these activities were planned by adults but many had come from the ideas of the children which were gathered and considered prior to the week. The following are just two examples from the week: ●●

Two classes for example had been studying ‘Britain since the 1930s’ – in one class they had looked at music and how different groups and individuals had changed the culture and life of generations across times. They were particularly fascinated in the change in dance and how people enjoyed the music. With this in mind we set up two workshops to re-enact a 1940s tea-dance and 1960s disco. Elderly people were invited from the local sheltered housing that we had links with, staff from the school provided cakes and tea and the music from the era was played. The visitors then showed the children various dances which both children and adults did jointly. The children danced, sat and eat with the visitor and were able to ask and engage in their stories of time.

The second workshop focused on disco music by Elvis Presley and others in the 1960s and a member of staff who also happened to be a dance teacher gave lessons on jiving. We provided vinyl records and a record player – which unsurprisingly children had not seen (some were unaware that such things existed!) ●●

Other experiences included a Viking workshop – a family re-enactment group came in and demonstrated the way of life of a Viking family. They provided artefacts which children used, clothing which children made and tried on (sewing leather slippers) and making and trying food. Groups of children became additional members of the family being directed by the enactment group.

Another Tudor re-enactment group was used to give the children a Tudor meal. Simple food and dishes were made, and the children were able to sit down with a ‘knight’ and a Tudor lady to have a feast! During the feast, children sang songs and listened to tutor music while being entertained by a court jester.



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Children’s ideas and misconceptions The very nature of history and the interpretation of it undoubtedly lead to a number of misconceptions by both adults and children. This is often due to the lack of experience with a particular concept, activity or source of information or, where there has been experience, there has not been the opportunity for deep engagement to fully understand or explore the concept. Teachers’ subject knowledge can also be an issue and lack of it can add to children’s misconceptions which is why time is given to developing subject knowledge in previous chapters. Lomas (2016) stresses the importance of good history teaching and teachers needing to address children’s misconceptions about the past to avoid misconceptions being taken forward.

Pause for thought Do you regularly anticipate misconceptions and what they might be when planning lessons? Do you have strategies in place to address these as the lesson moves on?

The following tables provide examples of the most common misconceptions of children and how you address them. This is not an exhaustive list and should be used as a starting point for any planning you undertake.

Table 6.1  Children’s Misconceptions

Reasons for children’s misconceptions and some possible solutions The past is black and white Early pictures and films were generally shown in black and white before colour was Cost-effective and perfected.

If a picture is black and white the person or time it portrays must be old. For the reasons above many children will assume the picture is from a long time ago. Providing black and white pictures of living people and present times along with colour photos/pictures will help children begin to shift this notion.

If it is in print or in the news/on TV it must be true. (See the section on media and history) Providing the same story in different books/papers/films and enabling the children to discuss the differences and reasons for the differences will begin to help them question what they read or see. (Continued)

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Table 6.1 (Continued)

Reasons for children’s misconceptions and some possible solutions Eye-witness accounts must be reliable or true because the person was there at the time. Young children particularly may find it difficult to understand perspective/interpretation. Ask children to regularly discuss day to day events and highlight any differences that might occur between children. Why might some be less reliable than others? Does this make it wrong? Or not? What might make onr view of things appear different from other peoples?

If an object is dirty/rusty/well used it must be old. Using newer artefacts, link with science and investigate what happens when some materials are exposed to air or water. Include well used, but newer toys/objects when considering a historical time and compare to those that may be older but more intact. Discuss how we might tell which is older – materials it is made from, how it works and so on.

Man was from the same period as the dinosaurs Children’s films such as The Flintstones and Jurassic Park distort time and periods. Use a timeline (you will probably need to step into the playground to illustrate the distance properly) to show the time between the end of the dinosaurs and early man. Use clips from The Flintstones/Dr Who and ask children to list all the anachronisms they can see/find.

Certain situations were unique to certain periods/times, that is, child slavery only occurred in the Victorian times; all Tudors were rich; illiterate people are/were uneducated; there were no black people in England in the past. Historical accounts/evidence often tells a one-sided story. Before the introduction of initiatives such as black history month in our schools, the evidence presented to children tended to be very white egocentric. Ensure that in your planning you make links to other periods in time where things might have also happened. For example, we still have lots of child slavery today around the world; there is documented evidence of black people being present in the UK from hundreds of years – seek out pictures and evidence for this. Also try to give the alternative view, perspective and present history as a one-sided story. Build this into your planning. (see Chapter 4 ‘teaching controversial history’).

Summary Throughout the chapter we have emphasized the need for teachers to be confident to trust their professional skills and judgement to consult children on their learning and use their ideas in primary history. Children are excellent agents for their own learning and engendering a classroom climate where children are part of the teaching and learning process. We are both equipping them with lifelong learning skills and enabling them to be active participants in a fast-moving and ever-changing world.

Children’s Ideas – Promoting Curiosity

As Henderson and Atencio (2007) state: ‘Children’s tendency to learn is a natural process that unfolds whenever children are afforded opportunities for engagement, interaction and discovery’ (p. 245).

Recommended reading Excellent books for ideas using story and drama: Bage, G. (2000) Thinking History 4–1 4: Teaching, Learning, Curricula and Communities. London: Routledge Falmer. Claire, H. (1996) Reclaiming our Pasts: Equality and Diversity in the Primary History Curriculum. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books. Dolan (2014) ‘You, me and Diversity’: Picturebooks for teaching development and intercultural education’, London: Trentham Books. Ian Dawson’s ideas on his think history website: http://www.thinkinghistory.co.uk Turner-Bisset, R. (2005) Creative Teaching: History in the Primary Classroom. London: Dave Fulton. An sample of children’s authors to prompt historical learning in the classroom: Janet and Allan Alhberg books such as Peepo and Each Peach Pear and Plum and Burglar Bill are beautifully illustrated to prompt discussion on specific historical periods. David Mackee offers some controversial issues to explore through his books such as Tusk, Tusk, The Conquerors and The Two Monsters. Gary Crew and Shaun Tann’s books such as Memorial provide a lovely chronological account of memories of the First World War and the significance of treasured memories, and The Arrival – a silent picture book – highlights the plight of refugees, migrants and displaced people. Michael Morpugo offers a vast range of books, particularly for coverage of world war history. Mick Inkpen’s book Nothing enables discussion around chronology and family history. A web link to list fifty children’s cultural story books: https://www.theguardian.com/ childrens-books-site/2014/oct/13/50-best-culturally-diverse-childrens-books A lovely article by Sue Temple in Primary History Issue 73, which lists examples of excellent children stories to use in the classroom file:///C:/Users/alison/Downloads/PH_73__ Temple.pdf



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Chapter 7 Assessing Children in History Chapter objectives By the end of this chapter you should ●●

be clear about what we mean by the terms ‘assessment’ and ‘progression’ and define their interrelationship

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be able to specify what constitutes learning in history

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consider the evidence we are looking for to demonstrate progression in historical thinking and understanding

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reflect upon the different methods in which children can demonstrate understanding and how we use these to assess achievement

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be aware of what might the impediment be to or implications for professional development within primary history teaching

Introduction ‘How can we ensure that our interpretations of students’ performance are valid indicators of progress or lack thereof in reaching the goals of history education?’ (Seixas and Ercikan 2015:1) Ercikan and Seixas highlight the key issues around the assessment of history education – the need to be able to judge development within the understanding of the subject and our ability to make those judgements. While primary school teachers and leaders have become adept at analysing progression data in increasing levels of complexity this data relates to understanding in maths and English. Few schools or class teachers could offer such a detailed analysis of children’s historical thinking or understanding however. This chapter will investigate some of the issues around assessment and consider strategies to effectively determine progression within historical learning.

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Why do we assess? Who do we make these assessments for? As with any activity we need to be convinced of the purpose of that activity. We need to be clear about our understanding of the value of that activity. Assessment allows us to judge the progress that children have made in historical understanding. We need to be able to determine if the activity that has just been completed has developed children’s learning in some form. It may be that the children are now more capable in using historical sources to extract information, that they can identify the causes of a significant event or have accrued some additional historical facts. We need to be clear about the purpose of the activity and of the evidence that we expect to see in order to know that the children have achieved the expected aim. As Ercikan and Seixas suggest we must ‘define models of cognition and learning in history’ and ‘design tasks and assessments targeting historical thinking’ (Ercikan and Seixas 2015:1). Effective assessment allows us to identify which children may need additional support in some way or what scaffolding may be needed to further develop understanding. It allows us to recognize those children who may need increased challenge or specific provision to enable understanding to develop. Assessment also allows us as teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of our strategies and improve our teaching. If we value the holistic view of primary education, then we also recognize and value learning across the curriculum and be able to celebrate children’s achievements across the full range of that curriculum spectrum. As such we would see development in history as important as that in English or mathematics. Positive feedback within history can develop a child’s self-esteem and motivation and can also transfer into confidence in other subjects. Parents, other teachers and school leaders need to be informed about the achievements of the children, particularly where the children demonstrate enthusiasm or interest in the subject. Assessment must be seen, as Cooper suggests, as ‘an integrated part of learning’ (Cooper 2012:80).

Pause for thought What strategies have you seen in school for assessing history? How and when is history understanding monitored? What criteria are being used to assess understanding and how is the data collected used?

Concerns related to assessment Progression and attainment are integral elements of assessment, but their connectivity is either not appreciated or conversely terms are used interchangeably. Progression can only be judged through some form of assessment however. Attainment can only be recognized through assessment. Past Ofsted subject reports and primary surveys by QCA and Historical Association (H.A.) have highlighted assessment and what is being assessed as an area of concern:

Assessing Children in History

Pupils in Key Stage 2 often do lots of things in history and that they enjoy the subject but this is not always translated into sufficient progress. (Ofsted 2007:9) No matter how enthusiastic many teachers were about history, their subject knowledge was often limited. As a result, they were unclear about the standards expected, did not fully appreciate progression in historical thinking, and had a hazy understanding of how to assess pupils’ learning in history effectively. (Ofsted 2011:13) Successive national reports by Ofsted and QCA have stated consistently that while the majority of history teaching in primary schools in England is good or better and pupils do make good progress, this is often in the form of enthusiasm, literacy and some factual knowledge rather than progress in historical thinking. (H.A. 2015:28)

In 2015 the HA Primary Survey found that there was a ‘precarious understanding of progression and standards in history’. Forty-four per cent of respondents did not assess history while 11 per cent did not know whether they did or did not assess suggesting a level of confusion about what was happening. Of those that did assess only 23 per cent assessed formally against specific criteria of some kind (H.A. 2015:28). In the most recent survey ‘Respondents’ own criteria were used by 44 per cent and 37 per cent accepted that they had no formal criteria’ (H.A. 2017:26). In addition to the comments provided it was noted that ‘the suspicion was that it was based on general rather than specific history criteria’ (H.A. 2017:26). This again suggests that there are some questions about what is being assessed. These same issues with a lack of clarity about what is being assessed as well as assessment failing to take place demonstrate a chronicle of concerns with this aspect of history education. Most recently, in relation to the removal of levels head teachers reported that ‘it’s amazing how quickly we have forgotten about subject knowledge’ (Barnes & Scoffham 2017:302). It is also clear that one of the issues linked to assessment is that of teacher knowledge, both of the process and criteria of assessment and the focus of that assessment. Bain identifies further the centrality of the teacher within the process when he suggests that ‘teachers background knowledge is critical for effective assessment’ (Bain 2015:69). This background knowledge he defines as a threefold ‘content-knowledge-for-teaching’ (Bain 2015:69) including knowing the background information and historical context that will be given to children, the need to know in depth about specific task and the need to know about general teaching strategies as well as the children’s abilities and previous knowledge. While most teachers can feel confident about this last element lack of personal subject knowledge can provide a barrier to successful assessment. If the teacher’s own subject knowledge is superficial it is unlikely that children will be able to engage in more challenging higher-order thinking. In addition teachers must have a secure understanding of how children develop and demonstrate historical thinking and how these concepts and skills develop in complexity. This was also noted by Lomas in ‘Key Principles for Assessment in Primary History’ (2014). ‘All staff involved in the assessment of history should build up some familiarity with the features of progression in history and be able to articulate



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why some pupils’ work is better than others. This involves going beyond content acquisition and general educational criteria such as literacy skills to cover some of the key concepts and processes of history’ (Lomas 2014). It is the lack of this knowledge of ‘key concepts and processes of history’ that was highlighted as a cause for concern in The Commission on Assessment without Levels (McIntosh 2015).

Pause for thought Select a piece of unaided history work from your school. Assess what historical understanding you think it demonstrates. What concepts or skills (in relation to historical understanding) are demonstrated? Are these at a simple or more complex level? Swop your piece of work with a colleague then moderate the results. Have you found the same things and come to the same conclusion? How would you move the children’s learning to the next stage?

Understanding and identifying progression and planning for assessment ‘Progression’, ‘impact’ and ‘moving children’s learning forward’ are all concepts that are familiar as terms to teachers. What is perhaps less consensual is what we understand by those terms in relation to history. First it is important to consider what we mean when considering that a child is ‘getting better’ at history. Does this refer to an ability to name places or people involved in historic events or correctly identify dates along with a chronological timeframe? This is sometimes known as substantive knowledge. Should we look for children to understand the difference in how the term ‘queen’ is applied to Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II? This is described as a substantive concept. Is progression linked to a developing understanding of causality or historical interpretation? This is a reference to second-order concepts. What is agreed by historians and history educators is that history is a complex study that involves different elements, be it substantive knowledge and concepts alongside second-order concepts (Ayres 2015), historical perspectives and historical methods (Seixas 2010), or historical knowledge and historical concepts and skills or historical thinking (Byrom 2015, Maddison 2014). The study of history relates to three interrelated elements: ●●

the factual information that is specific to an event or person’s actions,

●●

the ideas that help us put that information into some sort of context and

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the ability to identify information through the interrogation of evidence

These three elements are intertwined with the factual knowledge providing the context for developing historical understanding. It is important to understand that merely ‘knowing more things’ does not constitute historical development as we need to understand why those things are relevant or how they are linked together in order

Assessing Children in History

to assess their significance. What is certain is that we need to ensure that we have different expectations for children in year 3 to those in year 6. The National Curriculum 1995 provided level descriptors related to not only subject knowledge but concepts and skills. These demonstrated how an idea or a process could become increasingly complex across the age phases concerned. While this was seen by many as inappropriate or ineffective (Ayres 2015, Freeman 2015) it was a useful tool for the non-specialist primary class teacher to identify possible lines of development. It was also beneficial in that it identified historical understanding as the goal for promoting progression. Lee and Ashby argue that the second-order concepts provide the best way to conceptualize progression because it is best to imagine progression as a process of getting to grips with history as a discipline.(Ayres 2015:8). The drawback with this was highlighted by Ayres as he suggested that children could demonstrate high-order thinking skills but also have considerable gaps in their substantive history knowledge. When the new national curriculum was implemented level descriptors had been removed. This left many teachers without a clear understanding of what progression across the curriculum meant or how they would begin to assess it. This is also an international issue that educators grapple with as Catherine Duquette from Canada suggests that ‘the curriculum does not provide teachers with a clear progression of students’ cognitive development which causes confusion about what can be expected’ (Duquette in and Erickan and Seixas 2015:60). Schools have been able to devise their own scheme to measure progression or purchase commercial systems. The HA has published advice written by Jamie Byrom. He suggests that children need to be given the opportunity to investigate different elements of the history curriculum in various guises demonstrating the concept of the spiral curriculum suggested by Bruner (1960).The ‘Commission for Assessment Without Levels’ has considered a range of actions that schools might consider when devising assessment protocols. One area specifically considered is the idea of ‘Mastery in’. McIntosh sees this as ‘deep, secure learning for all, with extension of able students (more things on the same topic) rather than acceleration (rapidly moving on to new content)’ (McIntosh 2015:17). It is possible that this mathematics model will not be as easy to apply however given the non-linear nature of historical understanding. It is important to be aware that progression must be measured over time as Duquette suggests that ‘historical thinking is not an ability that is quickly mastered’ (Duquette 2015:62). This is because the nature of historical learning is in part bound up in conceptual understanding which is not easily quantifiable or measurable. Different activities and investigations will focus on developing different types of understanding that are not necessarily dependent upon each other. One thing that is certain as Ayres suggests: A crucial point to remember is that progress is not linear and easily explicable. Pupils do not go through a simple process of mastering steps to success in history; they may achieve some quite complex conceptual thought while still lacking basic tenets of historical understanding, for example chronology. (Ayres 2015:4)



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To sum up the key factors to consider in relation to the progression in historical understanding: ●●

Historical learning relates to the development of conceptual understanding within the context of substantive knowledge and concepts as well as the ability to deploy with increasing precision the skills of investigating source material.

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Historical understanding is therefore complicated and so difficult to assess.

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Progression is not easily quantifiable or linear with children achieving at different levels even within the one piece of work.

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Historical understanding is cumulative and therefore requires assessment over a range of pieces of work.

Assessment forms The focus for assessment must relate to historical understanding, the concepts or skills demonstrated, the factual knowledge and understanding exhibited. Too often the aim of feedback has appeared to be the child’s ability to read or write, thus transforming the activity into another literacy task. As Seixas suggests, ‘Assessing historical thinking independent of literacy skills is necessary for making meaningful inferences’ (Ercikan and Seixas 2015:6). It is important to realize that historical understanding can be assessed through a variety of tasks. Children do not need to provide written answers. They can tell us what they know, create art work or diagrams that shows understanding or use drama or role-play. Whatever method we choose to use as an assessment tool however, we need to ensure that our focus is on historical understanding.

Figure 7.1  Sample of child’s writing (Year 2)

Assessing Children in History

This piece of work, for example, has been amended by child (in green) and teacher (black). Only spellings have been considered. There is no evidence of any assessment of historical understanding at all. What the piece demonstrates is that the child can sequence events from the life of Bessie Coleman (chronology) and give reasons why she acted as she did (causality.)

Feedback Feedback can be given orally or in writing. This can be done within the lesson leading to reflection in action (Schon 1983) which can help children improve their understanding of the task. Verbal feedback is most effective when linked to the use of selective questioning; both closed to assess substantive knowledge and open to allow children to demonstrate conceptual understanding. Asking children, ‘When was Britain invaded by the Romans?’, for example, should result in names and specific dates. The question, ‘Why do you think Claudius was successful rather than Caesar?’, however, should allow children to make use of written evidence to explain the different outcomes. Written feedback should be specific to the historical understanding expected within that particular task and should not be too generic. ‘This is an interesting piece of work’, for example, would not be as useful to the child as comments such as ‘You have identified some key characteristic features, but you also need to be able to explain why you think these are particularly significant’. The second comment focuses on what evidence of historical understanding you have seen and how the child might progress. Effective feedback should identify both the strengths within the work and the misconceptions and errors and provide some concrete suggestions to improve understanding.

Formative assessment Developing historical understanding is a complex activity. Children can demonstrate different levels of understanding within a single piece of work. Children do not make progress in a simple linear fashion, and therefore it is not useful to break down activities into ‘steps to success’. This is too atomistic and fails to understand the composite nature of historical understanding. Formative assessment is used to make a series of judgements that will allow children to utilize the feedback to improve understanding across the period of study as suggested by McIntosh, ‘The primary purpose of formative assessment is to inform teaching and learning’ (McIntosh 2015:24). Both substantive knowledge and conceptual understanding are closely integrated and therefore often need to be considered together. Clear assessments of effective historical learning can only be made over a number of activities or pieces of work.



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The language of the preamble within the national curriculum suggests the need to consider formative assessment with terms such as ‘develop awareness’, ‘show some understanding’, ‘use a wide range of vocabulary’ (NC 2014:148). It is important to provide specific feedback on individual pieces of work, but these will not in themselves provide sufficient evidence to assess learning except at that particular point. Collecting a range of assessments over a period of time (such as the length of topic) will allow an more precise judgements as Byrom suggests, ‘The effect is cumulative: as they work with these key concepts in a wealth of different historical contexts, children will progressively grasp the subtleties involved’ (Byrom 2015:2).

Summative assessment This form of assessment is used to discover what children have understood in total about a topic or unit of work. It may take the form of a test, examination or presentation that may result in an overall grade. While an end of topic test may assess children’s knowledge at that particular point it is liable to relate only to substantive knowledge demonstrating the key facts that they can remember. Hilary Cooper provides a more challenging form of summative assessment with an end of topic class display (Cooper 2012:84) but this requires a breadth of time for history that is rarely seen now in schools. This type of assessment can be popular with children as it provides them with instant feedback and demonstrates that they ‘know things’ but it is not as effective as formative assessment in judging understanding.

Defining historical understanding The national curriculum programme of study for history has a number of different elements to it (DfE 2014). ●●

The purpose of study explains the importance of the subject within the curriculum.

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The aims describe the scope of historical learning encompassed by the programme of study.

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The attainment target is the same for all areas of the curriculum.

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The subject content includes two elements: ❍❍

the preamble that identifies historical understanding, and

❍❍

specific content areas or periods are also identified with exemplars that show how these might be covered.

The aims of the national curriculum for history relate to our two key areas: content and concepts. The language of the national curriculum directs us to the different areas with content being linked to ‘know and understand’ or ‘gain and deploy’ and concepts described as ‘understand’.

Assessing Children in History

Content provides the historical context for investigations. Children cannot recognize characteristic features or explain causality without a particular situation to relate them too. Accurate historical knowledge is essential and children need to be confident of their ability to gather and use information effectively. Information has to be interpreted and analysed in order to make sense of it however. It is pointless knowing the name of Boudicca if you do not know why she was significant. With that in mind it is important to consider Byrom’s observations that ‘isolated “coverage” of these areas of study and the exemplars provided under them will not, on its own, develop the sort of knowledge that is needed’ (Byrom 2015:2). The aim is to develop historical understanding by using historical concepts to investigate specific contexts. For as Ayres suggests, ‘Substantive and second-order understanding cannot be considered in isolation; they build on each other, and only function together’ (Ayres 2015:3).

Historical concepts Historical concepts can be used to analyse the significance of a particular event, period or individual. Different historians will potentially identify slightly different areas here or subscribe increased significance to one or another. Most, however, will agree on ●●

chronology,

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recognition of characteristic features,

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causality, and

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historical interpretation.

In discussing ‘concepts’ we are thinking about ideas that need to be understood rather than processes. Enquiry – the interrogation of a range of evidence – is a ‘skill’, a process that needs to be undertaken. The organization and communication of information can also be seen as a process. It is important here not to talk about historical skills while including within this conceptual understanding as the two are not the same. Each of the historical concepts becomes increasingly complex as understanding develops. It is important that we are aware of this progression and so ensure that children in year 6 are not working at the same level as would be expected for those in year 2.

EXAMPLE 1 One obvious example here is within the concept of characteristic features. When looking for similarities and differences we should be using our own experiences as points of comparison. When working with Key Stage 1 children this comparison should be explicit: ‘Can you compare your classroom to the one of your grandparents?’ Or ‘What features are the same in the high street today from that of 70 years ago?’ By the time children are in year 6 we do not want them undertaking the same type of enquiry task however. This comparison should be implicit.



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Children do not need to compare a ‘day in the life of a child in Ancient Egypt’ and themselves. Not only are the points of comparison so far apart as to be ludicrous but children are able to make this comparison independently.

When looking at the increasing complexity of conceptual development across key phases it is possible to draw some deductions about development. In general Key Stage 1 understanding is about beginning to recognize the concept. Examples relate predominately to the specific event or individual. Children are beginning to locate these in a time frame that becomes more specific as they develop. The new national curriculum encourages comparison between individuals but there is little research as yet to show how effective or how widespread this is. For Key Stage 2 there are some key phrases that continue to occur such as ‘make links’, ‘within and across’, ‘note connections’. It is clear that the focus is on both recognizing historical context and in setting it in a wider perspective. The idea of the overview is important here much more so than it was in the past. It is also important if engaging in a depth study to identify this with a historical context or theme. Chronology is the defining aspect to be developed across all aspects of history teaching. The use of timelines to help children locate people, events and periods within a historical framework is essential. Visual images create reference points for children and are critical in developing both knowledge and understanding. Chronology is however more than just the ability to remember and use dates. Young children cannot understand time intervals with any competency, but they can recognize characteristic features if provided with sufficient input.

CASE STUDY Activity looking at a Tudor miniature Young man among Roses by Nicholas Hilliard with a year 2 child. Adult: ‘What do you think about this picture?’ Child: ‘It’s from very long ago’ Adult: Interested face, Child: ‘from 1987’ Adult: Disappointed face, Child: ‘He is wearing the same sort of clothes as Henry VIII’ What the child could do was recognize style. She could equate it with something she had seen before. The numbers of the date had no meaning for her however.

Progression in the understanding of individual concepts Definition of the concept with sequences of developing understanding (The information in blue relates to concepts that would be appropriate for EYFS/ KS1 while that in purple relates to KS2) The concept of causality is not explicitly referenced within the new national curriculum although many of the other conclusions could not be drawn without

Assessing Children in History

understanding the cause and effect. It is clearly absurd to consider history without asking ‘why’ – ‘Why did this occur?’ ‘Why did they act like this?’ Therefore the concept has been included as an integral element of assessment. Progression for this concept is drawn from the old national curriculum guidance however.

Chronology ‘An understanding of the idea of linear time and how events relate to each other.’

Progression ●●

Sort.

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Sequence and order.

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Compare to own lives.

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Use terms that develop in complexity and precision.

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Recognize different periods within past.

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Identify changes within and across different periods.

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Make links between periods.

Characteristic features ‘An understanding of how to identify a specific event, person or period within history.’ Identification linked to ●●

Physical aspects,

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Intellectual aspects.

Concept is linked to Chronology and Change and Continuity (Similarities and Differences)

Progression ●●

Recognize there is a past.

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Compare own experiences to past.

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Locate within a framework.

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Identify differences within different periods.

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Establish narrative within and across.

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Note connections, contrasts, trends.



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Causality ‘An understanding of the reasons that affected people’s actions and how these actions had consequences.’

Progression ●●

Begin to realize that there are reasons why people acted as they did.

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Give a few reasons for and results of main events and changes.

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Describe and make links between events, people and changes and give reasons for and results of those events and changes.

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Address and devise historically valid questions about change, cause and significance.

Historical interpretation ‘An understanding of the subjective nature of historical evidence and recognition of the validity of multiple narratives.’

Progression ●●

Understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past.

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Identify different ways in which it is represented.

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Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

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Show that aspects of the past have been represented and interpreted in different ways.

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Know that some events, people and changes have been interpreted in different ways and suggest reasons for this.

Historical enquiry The skill of utilizing and evaluating source material as part of historical investigation is also progressive. Children move from being able to ‘ask and answer questions about the past’ (EYFS) to ‘ask and answer questions choosing and using sources to show they understand key features’ (KS1) and finally the ability to ‘construct informed responses that involve the selection and organization of relevant historical

Assessing Children in History

information’ (KS2). Again it is important that we know what sort of level is appropriate for different age phases. As with any assessment however children will demonstrate different levels of understanding from the same task and within the same age band as the following case study demonstrates. Year 1 children were looking at what is meant by ‘old and new’. They were given a series of laminated enlarged photographs and asked to sort them into either ‘now’ or ‘long ago’. All the photographs had been photocopied in black and white regardless of whether they were originally in colour or not. The aim of this was for the children to focus on the content of the photo when making their decision about which category to select.

CASE STUDY Child A was given a photograph of a little girl in trousers, sweatshirt, baseball hat and trainers standing with her grandmother.

Child A

Adult ‘Looking at this photograph, would you put it in the “now” pile or the “long ago” pile?’

‘Long ago’ ‘Can you tell me why you think this?’ No response from Child A. ‘What can you see in the photograph?’ ‘A little girl’

‘What is she wearing?’

‘She is wearing trainers’

‘Oh good, you have trainers too don’t you?’

‘She is wearing trousers’

‘You have trousers today too’

‘She has got a baseball cap’

‘You don’t have a baseball cap on but X does’

‘She has got a sweatshirt’

‘Have you got a sweatshirt like this?’

‘No!’

‘Have you got a sweatshirt even if it doesn’t look exactly like the one in the photo?’

‘Yes’

‘So she is wearing clothes like you. Shall we put this in the “now” pile or the “long ago”’?

While Child A is prepared to put it into the ‘now’ pile she is not really able to explain why she has done so even with scaffolding. She is able to make observations but cannot draw historical deductions from them.



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EXAMPLE 2 Child B is given an Edwardian photograph of two babies in a pram with a little girl in a velvet drop waist dress. Adult,  ‘Looking at this photograph, would you put it in the “now” pile or the “long ago” pile?’ Child B  (with a look or withering scorn!) ‘Long ago’ Adult,  ‘Can you tell me why you think this?’ Child B,  ‘Mrs Y, nobody wears clothes like that anymore!’ Child B was able to not only make observations but also use these to make a deduction. ‘I think… because …’. This shows her working at a high level than her classmate.

Children start by learning that they can find out about the past by looking at a picture or object or listening to someone telling a story. They demonstrate this understanding by volunteering facts learnt by looking at the evidence: ‘the ladies had long dresses’. They progress to being able to answer specific and structured questions and begin to justify their answers. The progression required is from simple observations like ‘What is Grandma doing in the picture?’ to answering more specific questions like ‘What sorts of clothes are the children wearing in the Victorian schoolroom?’ Children must then make deductions about life from the photos and combining image with other evidence. Photographs or images can be used with increasing levels of sophistication.

Figure 7.2  Image of child’s drawing (Year 2)

Assessing Children in History

Activities with images ●●

Sort into old and new.

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Sequence or order a series of related images.

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Identify characteristic features of a period.

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Recognize similarities and differences between past/present or different periods.

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Make deductions about aspects of life from the photo.

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Evaluate how valuable the photo is as a source.

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Compare it with other sources to check deductions.

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Discuss the point of view or bias of the image – consider why this was created.

Methods of assessment ‘The problem of assessment is directly related to inappropriate teaching activities which in itself is caused by a lack of a full understanding of the nature of history’ (Turner-Bissett 2005:156). In order to create assessment opportunities it is necessary to identify opportunities within taught sessions that allow children to demonstrate their understanding. This can be done in a number of different ways. It is important to understand that history assessment does not rely on written evidence. Ercikan and Seixas describe the process succinctly: ‘(1) define models of cognition and learning in historical thinking (2) design tasks and assessments targeting historical thinking’ (Ercikan and Seixas 2015:1). What they mean by this is that we need to have clear history-specific learning intentions linked to concepts or skills and identify the evidence that we will look for to know that learning has occurred. The only way to assess efficiently is to incorporate it into your planning from the earliest stages. This means choosing activities that will produce the sorts of results you want, when you want them. A good scheme of work will often include an activity, early on, that shows general levels within the learning group. This will be work that can produce results on a wide variety of levels. The teacher will make immediate use of these results in order to review the appropriateness of subsequent tasks to the class, to groups or individuals. Your scheme will aim to bring pupils on to a higher level in skills, concepts and knowledge. You will need activities that show as precisely as possible how much each individual has reached specific goals. These goals should relate to understanding a historical concept or using a skill. While children may demonstrate achievement at the task you need to be aware that two or three goes at the same sort of



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activity may be necessary to ascertain that child ‘A’ can consistently sequence a few events and objects.

Assessment using observations Myriad and various are the ways in which we can assess children’s historical understanding providing we know what we are looking for. With younger children much of what we will be doing will involve observation and listening. What sort of language will children be using as they interact in the old shop set up in the role-play area? Will they recognize that the shop would not have a computer and you can’t pay with a card? With older children if you have set up a hot seating activity, freeze frame or drama task again what sort of language are they using? Is appropriate to the time frame or are there glaring anachronisms? Watching children working in a group to analyse or evaluate a source are they able to justify their answers? If working on a site many of your assessments will be observations. Think about the questions that you will use to focus the children’s investigation. It is important to get children to justify their answers for example ‘why do you think that’, ‘how do you know that’, rather than just asking for pieces of information. Use a camera to record different aspects of the trail or visit. Recording answers and impressions for later processing maximizes valuable time. Even within a relatively unstructured activity such as drama you need to have a clear idea of what ideas you want children to understand and the evidence that you will be looking or listening for. Drama Activity recreating people from a village travelling to the Great Exhibition of 1851 Learning intention Describe some of the main events and changes of the time. Assessment criteria Can the children demonstrate the impact the development of the railways had on people’s lives? (Describe a main change of the period.) Assessment during activity Bring the children back to the open area and ask them to perform their role-play. Does this show ●● ●●

●●

an understanding of how the railways functioned? an understanding of the different uses people were making of the railways? an understanding of the impact the railways had on people’s way of life?

Assessing Children in History

Assessing written work By far the majority of history assessment is linked to written responses as this is still the most prevalent form of task. Many accounts will be factual descriptive writing of some sort. It is important to fight the temptation to comment on the writing conventions used.

CASE STUDY A group of second-year history specialist students were working with a class of year 3 children on Roman Britain (specifically Hadrian’s Wall). The students had devised a carousel of activities for the children. One activity looked at the roman baths, how they were built, who used them and why they would incorporate baths and sewage facilities in the fortifications. The children were assessed using open-ended questioning and the completion of a work sheet. The oral responses demonstrated a more sophisticated understanding than the children were able show in their written work as the mechanics of the task distracted them from the knowledge they had. In addition the following comments were provided in feedback to the students by the assistant head teacher as she observed part of the session: ‘Higher expectations of writing-HA (High Ability) longer sentences – choice of coordinating conjunctions’. This clearly demonstrates the imperatives felt in many schools to focus on developing writing skills. None of these things however will help the students improve their ability to generate challenging history activities although the suggestion to ‘use greater collaborative strategies’ was certainly pertinent.

Pause for thought What do you think the focus concepts were for this session? Clearly the children were using source material but what other understanding might be being considered? If you were assessing the children what might you expect for evidence of their ability within historical enquiry? How could you judge the impact you have had on the children’s learning.

Children should not be set in literacy groups unless the activity is specifically differentiated by task. We must not assume that a child who struggles to read will not be able to pick out key points within a photo or painting as it is likely that their observation skills are quite well developed. Cooper observes that ‘it is important not to put children into assumed ability groupings in history but rather to let them work at levels they choose within a shared topic’ (Cooper 2012:82). We should create activities that allow children to achieve across a range of levels of understanding.



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Mastering Primary History Figure 7.3  Example of student teachers’ display reflecting on the impact of their teaching

Group and pair activities are often used in history activities and these can provide interesting outcomes. The focus for the teacher must be the learning that the children will undertake through the enquiry-based element of the activity remembering that the product of the task is not in itself the measure of understanding. It is one element of what has happened in that activity. As Russell suggests, ‘The children can also become focussed on the end product rather than intended learning’ (Russell 2016:80). It is helpful to scaffold or structure any end product in order to allow children to demonstrate understanding. In creating a poster on an aspect of life within a particular period, using a text books as starters followed by Internet search or using an information pack created by the teacher, the end result should be defined. This allows room for open-ended responses as well as focuses on the research element for the children as in the example below. It is also helpful to assign different roles within the group.

EXAMPLE 3 Children need to ●●

have an editor, designer, researcher/s and writer/s;

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include at least three images, at least one should be contemporary;

●●

●●

select three to four examples of that aspect identifying characteristic features; identify a piece of information everyone thinks is important.

Children can demonstrate understanding of historical ideas through art, dance, film, creating digital resources, poetry, with the images to create an oral commentary or narrative to accompany their sequence of images.

Assessing Children in History

Further examples of activities Some examples of possible outcomes and how they can demonstrate achievement: 1 Load a number of images including paintings, artefacts, buildings and documents of the Gunpowder Plot onto the shadow puppet app. Children are asked to select five to six images, order them and record a commentary. (See Figures 7:4–7:8 for examples) a Select and combine information (using sources). In selecting the images to use children are evaluating which are most suitable for their task. They then combine other factual knowledge with the images to creating the commentary. Figure 7.4  Houses of Parliament 1600s

Figure 7.5  Burning effigy of Guy Fawkes (modern day)

Figure 7.6  Contemporary woodcut of king receiving Monteagle letter (Source: Gerard, John. What Was The Gunpowder Plot? London: Osgood, Mcllvaine & Co., 1897. 115.)



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Mastering Primary History Figure 7.7  Contemporary image of the discovery of Guy Fawkes

Figure 7.8  Contemporary image of Conspirators

2 Children visit a site such as Butser Ancient Farm. They are asked to sketch the Iron Age round houses and Roman villa focusing on the shape, use of space, materials used and building techniques seen. a Identify similarities and differences between ways of life between different periods (Characteristic features). b Give some reasons for, and results of, the main events and changes in the periods studied by explaining why different techniques were developed or used (Causality). Figure 7.9  Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire

Assessing Children in History

3 After studying early Islamic Civilization children are asked to create a board game showing the importance of trade and pilgrimage. a Describe and make links between events and changes and give reasons for and results of these events and changes (Causality). 4 Visiting the British Museum to see Benin Brasses children are asked to decide how the Benin artists saw themselves from looking at the bronze plaques and how they saw the Europeans from looking at the ivory salt cellar. a Show some understanding that aspects of the past have been represented and interpreted in different ways (Historical Interpretation). Figure 7.10  Ivory salt cellar from Benin showing Europeans

Figure 7.11  Benin Brass showing Oba and attendants

5 Listen to a series of different types of music from the Second World War. Listen to music and lyrics. Children are asked to say what type of music it is and why it might have been popular at that time. (Examples might include ‘In the Mood’ by Glenn Millar, ‘I’ll be seeing you’ by Sammy Fain, ‘Hang out the washing on the Siegfried Line’, ‘Can you oblige us with a Bren gun?’,



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’Kiss me goodnight, sergeant major’, ‘Thing-ummy-bob (that’s going to win the war), or even some Nazi swing from Charlie and his orchestra and Goebbels propaganda.) a Describe and make links between events and changes and give reasons for and results of these events and changes (Causality). b Show some understanding that aspects of the past have been represented and interpreted in different ways(Historical Interpretation). 6 Visiting a site (Hampton Court/Housesteads Fort/Rievaulx Abbey) children are asked to put a series of coloured stickers onto a plan to show which areas would be accessible to different groups of people. a Give some reasons for, and results of, the main events and changes in the periods studied (Causality). b Construct informed responses that involve the selection and organization of relevant historical information (Historical Enquiry). 7 Using ‘Found Poetry’ from accounts by Pepys and Evelyn children create a poem about the great Fire of London (use only words from the texts) A lamentable fire Miserable and calamitous Poor people Running Clambering Running like distracted creatures Flinging into the river Crying out and lamentation Noise and cracking and thunder So hot and enflamed Glowing with fiery redness Fall of towers like a hideous storm Conflagration London was but is no more a Construct informed responses that involve the selection and organization of relevant historical information (Historical Enquiry). 8 Children are asked to create a ‘Google Doodle’ or commemorative stamp for a series of significant individuals or events. a Create structured accounts using a range of media(Communication). b Recognize features of a period (Characteristic Features).

Assessing Children in History

What needs to be remembered here is that these activities should avoid ‘low-level work’ such as ‘recall of factual information, colouring pictures, comprehension work, copying text from topic books, completing cloze exercises and worksheets’ (Turner-Bissett 2005:156). Cloze procedure (where children fill in blank spaces within a text) is still used in many classrooms as an individual response. This is a pointless activity in relation to demonstrating historical understanding. It will not show you that children understand cause and consequence, can recognize characteristic features, identify historical bias, select and combine information or timeline significant events. It is, at best, a lowlevel comprehension activity. It should be avoided.

Record keeping A range of record keeping methods should be deployed here. While you may want to have some form of grid method against statements this should be specific to the tasks undertaken rather than generic. As we have already seen children may need to demonstrate ability within the same concept a number of times before you can judge that concept to be secure; as Andreetti observed, ‘All teachers know, however, even if our political masters do not, that what a child can do today, and what they will remember tomorrow are not always the same thing’ (Andreettti 1998:84). Simple ‘box-ticking’ is not the best guide to a real appreciation of a child’s strengths, weaknesses and the approaches that are most successful with individuals. Teachers will learn more from written observations and from examples of work. Both sorts of evidence will be most informative when they relate to more open tasks, where individuality can be expressed. It is suggested that a folder or envelope could be kept for each child in which are kept. ●●

ticked boxes showing assessment of level achieved.

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dated written observations, with context, often referring to things like ability to work in groups, special interests, special difficulties.

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selected examples of work, for example, a piece of historical writing, a picture, a photo of a model. These will mean more if accompanied by a sentence of commentary.

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self-evaluation sheets from the children.

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‘before’ and ‘after’ mind maps showing factual information and how it might be linked.

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Summative ‘tests’ with open-ended tasks/questions.

Do not forget that class teacher and other adults will need to know what sorts of activities the children have experienced, and the examples of work will help with



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this as well. Reports will need to be written at the end of the year, usually including observations on each subject. The most informative reports will not just include a cut-and-paste account of what has been covered or even a list of different concepts but indications of what the child has enjoyed within the subject or where they have experienced difficulties.

Pause for thought What sort of record keeping or data collection have you seen used in school? What is it kept for and how is it used? What feedback is given to parents on reports? How useful do you think this is? What would you like to know about a child’s skill level, understanding in and attitude towards history?

Summary Within this chapter we have considered the purposes and nature of assessment in history. We have seen that assessment is linked specifically to historical understanding in the form of concepts and skills but that it also requires a historical context or framework of historical fact. Within primary history formative assessment, in all its many forms, is key as it provides breadth and depth of historical understanding providing activities are linked to challenging enquiry-based learning. In recognizing the importance of formative assessment we are also aware that ‘any form of assessment is only ever a snapshot of a particular moment in time’ (Russell 2016:92) and that multiple examples of evidence are needed to make effective judgements. Learning in history is not simple or necessarily systematic. Mastery in historical understanding is not something that is linear or hierarchical but constantly evolving.

Recommended reading Byrom, J. (2015) ‘Progression in History under the 2014 National Curriculum – A guide for schools’, Historical Association. Cooper, H. (2012) History 5-11: A Guide for Teachers. Abingdon: Routledge. Ericikan, K. and Seixas, P. (Eds) (2015) New Directions in Assessing Historical Thinking. Abingdon: Routledge. Historical Association (2017) Survey of History in English Primary Schools 2017 https:// www.history.org.uk/primary/categories/455/news/3454/history-is-popular-in-primaryschools (accessed December 2017)

Assessing Children in History

Lomas, T. (2014) ‘Key Principles for Assessment in Primary History’ https://www. history.org.uk/primary/categories/312/module/7616/assessment-in-primary-historyguidance/7618/a-key-principles (accessed August 2017) McIntosh, J. (2015) ‘Final report of the Commission on Assessment without Levels’ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/483058/ Commission_on_Assessment_Without_Levels_-_report.pdf (accessed August 2017) Turner-Bisset, R. (2005) Creative Teaching; History in the Primary Curriculum. London: David Fulton.



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Chapter 8 Practical Issues Chapter objectives By the end of this chapter you should ●●

be aware of the main considerations when planning primary history

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know why careful selection of material and content is important

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know how conceptual understanding is developed in children learning, achieving ‘mastery’ in the history curriculum

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know how to access relevant and rich primary material

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know how the subject leader can support and develop teaching and learning to ensure a rich and inspiring history learning environment for children and teachers

Introduction As we have seen throughout the book, the importance of history within the primary curriculum is not to be underestimated; it provides children with a rich and exciting element to their learning. Primary history prepares them for their place in society, gives them the skills and knowledge to understand the ever-changing world in which they live and allows them to make informed decisions about their future. It brings the past forward to meet and make sense of the present and provides a framework and vision for shaping the future. The national curriculum aims state: History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. (DfE 2013)

Claire in her seminal text ‘Reclaiming our Pasts’ offers a concise summary when she says: ‘The practice of history is truly educative because it develops human powers, concepts, skills, knowledge and reflexivity’ (1996:2).

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This chapter will look at the practical issues a teacher within the classroom may face when considering the ‘what’, ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of primary history. It will consider why careful selection of material and content is important to children’s learning and offer essential starting points for planning a rich and relevant curriculum using innovative teaching approaches. Providing ideas of how to access a range of primary sources will help a non-specialist include inspiring resources in teaching and learning and will illustrate how such teaching and learning develops conceptual understanding and mastery of primary history. The importance of history in the early years will be emphasized within this as a precursor to learning, offering practical ideas as a basis for early curriculum planning and the development of future conceptual understanding. Finally it will discuss the role of the history subject leader, highlighting the importance of such a role in achieving good primary history within the classroom and the wider school context. It will offer an ‘essential subject leader toolkit’ for successful middle leadership and continued professional development.

What we need to consider and why ●●

The curriculum

Primary education is in a state of transformation. We have seen the rapid expansion and growth of multi-academy trusts, free schools and federations arguably giving more variation and choice of schools and specialist provision. Curriculum changes, including the introduction of mastery and changes to assessment, have necessitated a need for schools and universities partnerships to come together to bring the best practice in research-led teaching and learning. Without the ‘one-size-fits-all’ mantra, it is argued that schools have more flexibility than ever to pioneer innovative teaching approaches and be creative with old and new curriculums to ensure that children’s learning is relevant, exciting and purposeful. The primary history curriculum itself is in exciting times. Despite initial reservations the national curriculum for history (2013) has led the way for greater challenge and flexibility. There has been a resurgence of creativity and innovation in our schools, with themed history days/week, history-led assemblies, re-enactment days and innovative approaches to teaching and learning. There is also renewed discussion about the way in which the content can be taught, for example through the combining of units, delivering discrete lessons or taking a cross-curricular approach. The revised units, particularly in KS2, brings more clarity in the overall picture of history learning; there is now a more logical and coherent feel having ‘a balance between developing enquiry skills and acquiring important historical knowledge, and an emphasis on understanding and developing critical analysis’ (Taylor 2013).

Practical Issues

Exciting new elements such as ‘Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age’ and ‘The achievements of the earliest civilizations’ (see Chapter 3) have been included enabling children to explicitly learn about the origins and impact of early man and how they have shaped our past and present. While we have to be mindful of the statutory content and to ensure coverage, the national curriculum is flexible enough for teachers to execute choice and variety within the units as well as to expand where necessary. Dixon and Hales (2014) points out that any statutory curriculum is only ever the minimum content and should certainly not be seen as maximum, meaning teachers have the autonomy to include and expand on other exciting materials as they feel appropriate. The importance here is for teachers to deepen and enrich historical content and knowledge through meaningful links to the curriculum. The national curriculum (2013) requires children to have a secure knowledge base of our ‘Island History’ and this is exemplified in the statutory content. Children must have a coherent picture of and be proficient in key knowledge in order that they accommodate and assimilate new learning (Kholb 1976, cited in Garner 2000; Bage 2000). They need to know and have an understanding of the great stories, the turning points in history, the problems and innovations of past and present civilizations, and it is the consideration of teachers of how to do this. This focus on knowledge might at first present itself as a challenge but it is important for children to be able to access key information quickly and efficiently. Depending on other demands, it might be considered necessary to equip children with essential knowledge quickly through direct teaching or discreet lessons giving them a toolkit of facts which they can work with quickly and efficiently when applying to deeper or more complex learning. However on its own, the recall of facts or dates is not enough. When considering an approach to planning and teaching, we do need to ensure that we find a balance between information giving and child-led enquiry. As Egan (2008) warns we must ensure that we do not return to a history curriculum of facts, reading, colouring pictures and narrative recalling; it is a vital consideration to keep in mind if effective learning is to happen.

Pause for thought What was your experience of the approach to primary history in school? Did this change as you moved through primary school and into secondary school? What was most memorable and why?

The aim for children is to have a mastery of knowledge, to be able to discuss, apply and transfer learning from one context to another.



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Subject knowledge Ofsted reported in 2011 that despite children having a good knowledge base with detailed knowledge derived from well-taught studies of individual topics of key events, by the time they reached the end of Key Stage 2, they were less sure of how these events were placed in the longer term narrative (DfE 2011). Children need a broad sense of chronology. They need to be able to talk about the main periods of history and events, for example the Romans or the Victorian and know where they are situated in time. They need to have an understanding of what happened before and an understanding of the impact they had on the time following. This is covered in-depth in Chapter 5. Teaching of units do not have to be in chronological order (though this might be appropriate in some instances), but children do need an understanding of history as a ‘coherent, chronological narrative’ (DfE 2013). There is little research that suggests teaching in chronological order develops a child’s sense of chronology beyond the ability to sequence, but it is necessary to make links to a meaningful historical overview (De Groot-Reuvekamp et al. 2014). This understanding gives teachers the freedom to focus on different periods of history at different times, appropriate to their children’s year group and needs. The argument being, if children have the opportunity to study in-depth the concepts of chronology, such as duration, cause and consequence or sense of place, in different contexts, and have the opportunity to explore and discuss in detail, they will be able to apply their knowledge and understanding to other historical events or periods in history. With explicit teaching of historical links, they will develop a broad chronological framework in which to work. Teachers need to ensure that they themselves are fully conversant and secure in subject knowledge for effective teaching and learning to happen and this should be a priority, though sometimes a difficult task to consider when faced with such a vast amount of content.

Pause for thought Complete the following audit so that you may begin to assess your own knowledge and identify gaps. This will help you prioritize opportunities for further professional development – your subject leader can help you with this.

It is recommended for practitioners to complete their own timeline of national curriculum content to help them see the narrative and identify where (if any) gaps might be. This can become a useful teaching tool as well as an aid memoire. The timeline can be enriched by putting other known events from personal, local, national and global history which will develop teachers’ own understanding, build confidence and widen knowledge.

Practical Issues



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History subject knowledge and sense of chronology Table 8.1  Teacher subject knowledge Audit

Subject Audit for NC History Content

Comments on your knowledge: What do I know? When in history was this?

What do I Where need to find I might out look?

Key vocabulary and its meaning

What is its significance/why am I teaching this? What aspect within it will I choose? (For suggested examples refer to the NC) KS1 Content changes within living memory events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. significant historical events, people and places in their own locality KS2 Content changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain (Continued)

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Table 8.1 (Continued)

Subject Audit for NC History Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots the Viking and AngloSaxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor a local history study a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066 the achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: ●●

Ancient Sumer;

●●

The Indus Valley;

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Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China

Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the Western world

Pause for thought How did you feel completing the audit? Was it useful? Were there any surprises you encountered?

Practical Issues

The national curriculum now includes the choice of overview and depth studies which allows chosen content to be used in different ways: to deepen conceptual understanding through in-depth study or using an overview study as a vehicle for children to gain knowledge and understanding quickly and/or develop necessary skills. Both are essential for deeper historical enquiry which is at the heart of primary history. More importantly, if we are confident to move away from a prescribed time frame we can give children ownership to initiate and lead learning, allowing them to take learning in directions appropriate to their needs, naturally moving it along and then bringing it to an end (Haynes and Murris 2013). While it might be argued that the foundation curriculum is continually being marginalized at the expense of the core curriculum, teachers must ensure history is visible, has high status and is valued; letting children own their learning and express their understanding in a way which is appropriate is one way for this to happen.

Pause for thought What are your thoughts on the marginalization of the foundation curriculum? Is this true in your experience? What are your priorities?

Piaget’s staged learning theory (in Aubrey and Riley 2016) and other developmental theories from the last century has left us with what Walker et al. (2011) and later Murris (2013) refer to as the ‘epistemic injustice of hearing children’s voices’ in their learning (p.248). They discuss the notion that teachers subconsciously fail to recognize or acknowledge children’s learning and understanding if they are outside their predetermined developmental stage of learning. It is argued that this issue needs to be addressed if effective, high-quality learning is to happen; children need to be agents of their own learning.

How? And why content choice is important Children’s interest can and should be sought to determine which content over and above statutory content might be relevant. Statutory content is broad enough to allow for innovative interpretation and choice over what aspects we might include within the content of the orders. For example, we might include firm favourites such as the Second World War, the Tudors or Victorians in the local history element or a study in British history beyond 1066. Significant events and people in KS1 and local study unit in KS2 can include those events or people who might be very significant to an area or community but not necessarily be a part of the perceived ‘big history stories’. This flexibility enables children to take ownership of the curriculum as well as enable them to have a more rounded and inclusive view of history. The question begs then as to what content beyond the statutory should we be covering in primary history? Why is chosen content so important when we are planning a unit of work?



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It is not the intention or indeed the room in this chapter to suggest specific content material or provide schemes of work – there are many examples and suggestions which can be freely accessed online or through the many available resource books (see the end of the chapter for suggestions). The HA also suggest ideas for mapping the statutory content in order that it ‘allows children to make comparisons and connections across both time and space’; the reader is urged to make use of the many good suggestions and idea offered by Melanie Jones (2015) (see recommended reading). Instead this chapter will share successful examples, through its case studies, and suggest starting points for content choice, which will engage, inspire and go some way towards achieving mastery in learning. Statutory content is usually built in to the school’s overall long-term planning for history and a teacher’s first stop should be to identify specific learning for his/ her year group and class (Table 8.1 – identifies statutory content). If you are a subject leader and are reviewing your school’s long-term planning, then do refer to the subject leaders’ toolkit at the end of this chapter for starting points for this. Teachers will need to identify key knowledge and skills for any planned learning by looking at the progression in history for an overview but also reviewing prior learning of the class, groups and individuals. As discussed, it is important to reiterate that a teacher’s subject knowledge is crucial here; they will need to have an idea of the ‘what’ ‘why’ and the ‘when’ of any learning. Howorth (2015) offers a very quick and comprehensive guide to key facts, dates and issues covering all the statutory and non-statutory history content which can be used in the classroom. Along with completing the suggested audit, there are other very good subject knowledge guides for which teachers might wish to access (see recommended reading). Within the given topic, area or theme, teachers and children need to decide on their starting point for any historical study. Identifying a creative ‘hook’ into learning will capture children’s interest and sustain learning; there are several suggestions in Chapter 5 which can be utilized. We have included and emphasized the importance of the children’s ideas here as the starting point for any content and learning, as they will be the driver of a topic which inspires and excites them. Content based on the child’s interests is paramount but it will be the skill and knowledge of teacher to know how particular learning can be incorporated into existing planning so there is synergy between the children’s ideas and planned content. This is explored in greater depth in Chapter 5 and the reader is used to use the ideas offered as a starting point. The following case study examples, taken from current practitioners, illustrate how spontaneous content was decided and how it was built into existing planning:

CASE STUDY: Exemplars Within a year 1 class the planned history coverage was ‘changes over time’. The class teacher was aware of a child who was fascinated by trains (the boy was autistic), and the rest of the class had been inspired by a visit by local firemen

Practical Issues

and fire engine. She decided to follow this theme using ‘transport’ to enrich and develop the historical learning for all children in the class. ●●

●●

Within a partner class, also ‘covering changes over time’ a spontaneous but excited conversation with a child wanted to tell his teacher all about his grandad who made bespoken wooden toys. This sparked conversations about the toys with the children in the class and what they played with. The teacher used ‘toys’ as a starting point for changes over time. The children’s questions led to questionnaires being sent home to parents asking them to share and discuss toys that they had played with. It led to some fascinating insights into different family cultures and backgrounds of parents and the toys they had. The teacher decided to invite the grandad into the class to see both the toys that he made, many of which were replicas of toys from his past and to hear his stories; this being an excellent example to use oral history as a way find out about the past, ask and answer questions, build community links and thus deepening understanding for the children. A lovely example was given recently in a year 2 class in a local partnership school. The class have been reading ‘Little Red’, a contemporary take on the classic Little Red Riding book. The class were fascinated and excited by the main character, a black African girl who outsmarts the hungry lion who wants to eat her.

Following several readings of the book and the many questions that ensued, the class teacher decided to use this as a way into looking at strong black women in history. ●●

A year 6 visit to a local aviation museum pathed the way for an in-depth local history topic on the Second World War. The children were so fascinated and inspired by the local history focus that the museum gave; the history theme was extended and developed to include the impact that the Second World War on their town. The learning went across a number of weeks including a Second World War day where children and staff dressed up and spent the day as being in the 1940s.

Pause for thought Can you recall specific examples from your own classroom where learning has taken a different course or where the children have been particularly engaged? Did you follow this up? If not how might you do so now using the suggestions in this book?

A local study approach offers a very appropriate way in to any given period. This may be through an already given theme or topic area in which they will need to determine the content or may be through a specified local study approach. Dixon and Hales (2014) introduces the idea of the teaching through local people and places placing



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the child at its centre. They coin the phrase ‘the child as the local’ inferring that every child has connections with ‘a local’ either directly or through family/personal links; for some it may not be the immediate local environment of the school but further afield (p. 14). This is a good way to study local environments in the wider UK or the world, bringing in opportunities for history of other cultures and societies – past and present. They advocate that a child’s link to a locality and the people within it creates real and tangible learning, giving it meaning and relevance. For many, local history is seen as parochial, an isolated study which sits outside the ‘wider narrative’. A history curriculum with the local as a starting point not only instantly includes the child but helps them see how their environment relates to wider national and global world – something which is emphasized in the current curriculum and in the drive for global citizenship. Dixon and Hales (2014) offer a comprehensive guide for teachers, as to how teachers might go about this. The local provides a rich source of primary resources which is easily accessible and free. Teachers need to consider and have a good understanding of the children in their class, their backgrounds and how they might tap into the personal histories of their families, culture and connections. Here we highlight the importance of a child-led curriculum. Starting from the child’s interest makes for a more exciting content and relevance-based learning. Content can be determined by simply asking children what they know, like, are inspired by or want to find out. Very young children are also able to do this and will be more than willing to discuss things that interest them. While they may not realize or give specific historical examples, they are often eager to talk about themselves, their family and their experiences. Teachers can draw out the appropriate learning from the discussion and move this into history-related learning. When it has been decided upon the ‘what’ of the primary history curriculum, we need to consider the approach that we may use and ensure that we drive the learning based on prior assessment of children needs and next steps, therefore considering not just the what (content/subject) but also the how and why.

How do we approach primary history? ●●

Cross-curricular or subject based?

Do we teach history as a discrete subject or should we consider a more cross-curricular approach? Catling (2017) in his study of the insights of the UK’s school inspectorates found that very effective and high-quality learning was reported when cross-curricular approaches were adopted, particularly when drawing on aspects of the humanities. The research shows that when using overarching conceptual themes this ‘enables primary children to begin to make sense of the places, times and societies in which they and others live, today and in the past, and in possible futures’ (p. 357). Planning the teaching and learning will very much depend on the content and focus of the learning but teachers may also need to take into consideration school

Practical Issues

policy, timing of taught sessions and the children in the class. There are clear advantages for both approaches, though it is important to remember that historical learning objectives focusing on enquiry should be at the heart of all planning and teaching particularly if a cross-curricular approach is being adopted; as Walters (2012) suggests this is crucial ‘if history is to make a meaningful contribution to the cross-curricular exploration’ (Walters in Driscoll, Lambirth and Roden 2012:87). She also reminds us that children need the opportunity to collaborate, question, explore and think when working in such a way and there teachers need to build in time within planning if meaningful learning is to take place.

Approaches to planning and mastery ●●

What is mastery?

The recent concepts of mastery stem from the work of Benjamin S. Bloom (1968). His ideas derived from the work of Carroll (1963) are based around the premise that nearly all children can master what we have to teach them and it is the task of teachers to find the most powerful ways in their application of teaching and learning, and in creating the best learning experiences for this to happen. Bloom recognized the individualistic nature of children’s learning but asserts that this did not mean that children should vary in their results, levels or attitudes to learning. It is based on deep conceptual understanding and application of a subject facilitated by consistent and meaningful assessment by teachers to analysis learning and to personalize next steps. In recent times we have seen the concept currently being applied in the mathematic curriculum following a push for the mathematics teaching to mirror the Shanghai system. However there is an implicit move to apply the principles of mastery throughout the curriculum, particularly since the national curriculum 2013. Consider the following summary of principles outlining mastery characteristics:

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Sustained and shared community of learning;

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Active participants in the learning and processes of learning;

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Reflection and

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Deep understanding evident by ❍❍

application and transference of knowledge.

❍❍

articulation of knowledge and processes.

Here we can see some correlation to the work of Hattie (2012). Hattie’s work focuses on the concept of visible teaching and learning, suggesting that learning occurs when there is a deliberate practice aimed at attaining mastery of a goal – the goal



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being transparent and the learning explicit and appropriately challenging, shared between the teacher and the child. Hattie stresses that teachers seeing the learning through the eyes of the student and enabling students to become their own teachers is paramount to the understanding and mastery of this learning. The visible aspect also refers to making teaching visible to the student, such that they learn to become their own teachers, which is the core attribute of lifelong and self-regulation learning (Hattie 2012). Within primary history it has always been considered important to achieve depth in understanding in order for children to discuss, hypothesize, apply and transfer learning, so this is nothing vastly different from the approach that good mastery teaching advocates. We can celebrate that the principles of good history teaching and learning is already at the forefront of mastery across the curriculum.

Examples of innovative approaches to planning the curriculum develop deep conceptual understanding and enquiry We have discussed particular starting points in history and how content might be derived from various sources. Below is a brief overview of some approaches that teachers might want to adopt as a planning format for history. This is by no means an exhaustive list but will give teachers alternative models to add variety and innovation. Creativity and innovation are strong features of the approaches discussed and this is not to be underestimated. Creativity is integral to historical enquiry. Cooper (2017) emphasizes features of creativity, illustrating how ‘creativity and history are essentially interdependent’ (p. 90). If we consider the following characteristics of creativity we can see how these could lead to creative learning and draw the correlations with the principles of mastery, which Bloom first talked about.

Doing history: Creative activity for teaching (CRAFT) – Jon Nichol This approach is discussed by Nichol (in Cooper 2017) who stresses the importance for ‘doing’ history with creative activities (hooks into learning) to engage and inspire children; it echoes the work of Bage (2000) Turner-Bissett (2005) and Cooper (2017). In his account, he gives examples of how children learn history through recreating the role of the historian or archaeologists through active practical activities such as role-play, hot seating, re-enactments and drama. He provides teachers with eight useful steps that teachers need to consider when planning CRAFT and to review it.

Practical Issues Table 8.2  Characteristics of creativity (adapted from Cooper 2017, Steel 2017)

Characteristics of Creativity ●●

Possibility thinking

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Making connections

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Hypothesizing

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Imagining

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Applying

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Thinking outside the box

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Divergent thinking

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Dialogic talk

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Asking and answering questions

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Risk taking

Table 8.3  Nichol’s eight steps of CRAFT (in Cooper, 2017)

Step 1: What do I need to know? What do the children already know? Step 2: What do I want the children to know? What do the children want to know Step 3: Questions and questioning? What questions will I use and how will ensure children have the opportunity to ask questions? Step 4: Getting ready to teach (what CRAFT will I use)? What do the children enjoy doing? Step 5: Modes of learning (aural, symbolic, enactive, iconic) Steps 6: Planning and resourcing the craft. How can I involve, or have I involved, the children in the planning, have they identified the problem or learning and how they might go about finding out? Step 7: Implementing. Is there opportunity for children to adapt the learning/activity as it evolves? Step 8: Review and revise the craft – modifying it for future use. Are the children involved in the review and evaluation of the learning?

Table 8.3 maps out the steps (in bold) that Nichol lays out, with further added suggestions to include/consider the children in the approach as discussed at the start of the chapter.



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●●

Thinking actively in a social context (TASC) – Bell Wallace

Bell Wallace promotes an approach to teaching and learning through a collaborativeand enquiry-based model defined as TASC – Teaching Actively in a Social Context. It is structured around the TASC wheel and encompasses the elements of historical enquiry systematically and logically which is easily navigated by children and teachers. Figure 8.1  The Tasc Wheel (© Bell Wallace 2000, with permission) Learn from experience

Gather/Organise

What have I learned? How have I changed? What do I think and feel now? How can I use what I learnt? How would I do this again?

What do I know about this? Where have I met this before? What information do I have? How much do I understand? What questions can I ask?

TASC

How well did I do?

ua ple

What is the task?

How many ideas can I think of?

Let’s do it!

Which is the best idea?

m ent

Dec

te

Im

Let’s do it How do I check my progress? Am I doing it correctly? Is my plan working? What do I do next?

Identify

ate

E val

Implement

What do I know about this?

ner

Let’s tell someone!

Evaluate

What have I done? How well did I do? How could I do better? Did I solve the problem? Did I work well in my group?

What have I learned?

ntify Ide

Who can I tell? How can I tell or present? What should I say? How can I explain? How do I interest others?

Ga Org ther/ ani se

Ge

from arn nce Le xperie e

Communicate Comm un ica te

174

ide

What is the task? What are my goals? What are the obstacles What do I need to know? What do I need to do this?

Generate How many ideas can I fine? Who can help me? Where can I find out more? What do other people think? Is there another way?

Decide Which ideas are important? Which is the best idea? What will happen if...? What is my plan? What else do I need to do?

Originally designed to support gifted and talented children, it was quickly recognized that using this as a vehicle to learn benefited children of all learning abilities but particularly suited those with special educational needs. This method or approach to ‘doing history’ provides a very effective way for differentiation when teaching and learning. This is particularly effective in ‘self-differentiation’ as the child is able to establish their own role within the group in the problem-solving process and work to their strengths.

Pause for thought How do you differentiate in history? Consider moving just beyond the level of difficulty of activities to one activity where children can take the learning as far as they want How do your children communicate what they know? Do you give them different options or let them choose?

Experience has shown that this is an effective and engaging model to use with children, particularly to deepen understanding as children are forced to consider, hypothesize, question, resource, make connections and reflect critically. It is child-led,

Practical Issues

collaborative and very active in its nature thus promoting the idea of ‘doing history’. TASC runs alongside BLOOMS taxonomy and gives children a really clear process to follow when engaging in enquiry or problem-solving activities. Because they are required to use both lower- and higher-order thinking skills, they experience more of the thought process; therefore have greater ownership of the task in hand which means they have a more complete learning experience. ●●

The enquiry-based curriculum/approach

There are many commercially bought schemes on the market and similar ‘free’ approaches that offer a curriculum model based on enquiry. For example, focus education offers the ‘Learning Challenge Curriculum’; while comprehensive and offers effective ideas for starting points, they are often expensive to buy into but are easily replicable. An enquiry-based approach begins with a problem or question – this could be teacher generated but ideally children will pose their own questions and then plan to identify how they might begin to answer it. The following case study illustrates how a year R class set about finding answers to a problem. This could be developed using the Learning Challenge Curriculum:

CASE STUDY: An enquiry project promoting asking and answering question about the past (Hales 2015) As part of ‘understanding the world’ and ‘enquiry’ within history, the children were presented with a ‘history mystery’ – an old coat that had been found in the playground. The children were instantly engaged and wanted to know who it belonged to. When nobody knew or claimed the coat, they were asked how we might find out who it belonged to. Their responses moved from the simplistic ‘ask the site manager’ to ‘let’s see if there are any clues in the pockets?’ Items to prompt questions and curiosity had been placed in the coat and the children explored each artefact in groups developing a range of questions and hypothesis of who the mystery person might be and how it became abandoned in the playground. The children built a picture of the owner along with some suggestion of the history that surrounded it, coming to the conclusion of it belonging to an older person, possibly a man. One child said her granddad lived with other older people in a big house (which turned out to be a sheltered housing accommodation in the immediate vicinity of the school). The children thought it might be a good idea to go along to see if the coat belonged to anyone there or if they knew who owned it, so a trip to the local sheltered housing was planned! We wrote a class letter to the residents outlining the purpose of our visit and later the children made their way to the sheltered housing. The local residents were both delighted and appreciative of having the children visit. Stories were shared, some specifically about the coat and others more general about their past, jobs and families. Some residents produced memorabilia and shared stories about them and why they were special to them. Did we ever solve the mystery of the abandoned coat? No, but we don’t always have the answers to questions in history though we can find out much of the story.



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When children work in the learning challenge way, they work in groups researching and developing the learning as it evolves, often coming up with additional questions and areas of research. The teacher guides the learning with modelling, questions and challenges to thinking by offering alternative ideas and resources. The children can present their work through a group Learning Challenge book or in a similar way, for example an interactive display or working wall. The format and depth are appropriate to age and phase of learning. The underlying principles, approach and structure is very similar to those of TASC. ●●

Practice into theory (Mastery) – a considered approach?

Often an approach is not categorized or named; it is pedagogy adopted based on values and ideals of what is known or considered to be effective in teaching and learning. All of the above approaches have characteristics in common, creativity, enquiry at the heart of learning and children at the forefront. The exampled approaches (and others not mentioned here) include similar characteristics but may be driven by a specific pedagogical approach such as theory into practice method, that is we give or tell the story (learning often set as learning objectives and success criteria) and then the children experience/explore the story in a practical way in order to understand it. It is proposed here that we might think of a reversal of this: where children experience the practice or practical – through creative, active, experiential activities – and then unpick the learning to discover the theory – the why and how, the purpose of learning and the concepts after – ‘a practice into theory or mastery’ approach. Lave and Wenger (1991) first explored this concept through their theory of situated learning, suggesting that being immersed in situation, community or practice first develops deep conceptual understanding. It is through such an approach that we can achieve mastery in historical learning. This is an approach adopted by the University of Greenwich after an evaluation of its primary history teaching and learning in the undergraduate initial teacher education programme; the following case study exemplifies the approach:

CASE STUDY: Developing an understanding of historical concepts Practice into theory – a way to develop conceptual understanding Undergraduate students begin their history curriculum training in the second year of study. They have limited exposure to history within teaching practice in years 1 and 2. It has been noticeable over the years that students came in with little or no understanding of historical concepts or skills. Questions such as ‘How do we find or know about history?’ often led to very basic answers such as ‘the Internet’, ‘Google’ or ‘books’. They assumed history was a sequence of facts/stories which they could be told and in turn they could tell the children. Traditional lecture and seminar type workshops consisting of: ‘This is what we are going to learn’ followed by a lecture on ‘theory’ and ‘let’s do an activity to see how that is applied’ didn’t

Practical Issues

seem to be raising standards in terms of students’ understanding, confidence or competence in learning and teaching history. Evaluation and analysis of the course found that the introduction of key historical concepts at the onset of a workshop confused and, in some cases, worried students. This led to them switching off early in the session and then not being able to gain an understanding during the practical application. This called the way for a rethink of pedagogy and a different approach – practice into theory. What we did As an introduction and for students to gain a basic understanding of historical enquiry, students were presented upon arrival into their workshop with a number of ‘history mystery bags’. These were based around different time periods and fictional owners, including a bag made up of discarded rubbish. Without criteria or learning objectives, the students were set the task of trying to find out who the bag belonged to and what might the story be around them. The students straight away engaged with the contents, observing, discussing, hypothesizing and ‘doing history’. Skilled questioning from the tutor elicited further questions and knowledge and using Cooper’s (1995) trio of questions: ●●

What do we know for certain?

●●

What can we make a good guess at?

●●

What do we want to find out?

The students were able to come with a reasoned narrative around the bags. We then scrutinized what they had actually been doing unpicking the skills – observing, discussing, asking and answering questions, and so on – and more deeply the application of concepts. Many hadn’t realized this was ‘doing history’ being a ‘historian’. We then applied the theory around the learning and having already had experience and engagement in it, they were able to make connections, ask and answer further questions, hypothesis and could see the relevance in the activity. This learning was then applied to using the local built environment as evidence as well as using the local archives to find out about the lives of a significant local Victorian family. Books and the Internet were banned, but the students were able to put the picture together using the evidence around them. The students’ satisfaction in such engagement and approach was evident throughout and the level of understanding and retention of knowledge was noticeable. This approach was used to lead more complex historical conceptual learning such as the impact of the family on local and national history but also how changes in society impacted on them.

Pause for thought Could this approach be adopted with children? Have readers experienced this approach? Could they think of material to use within a topic to try this?



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Too young to understand? The importance of early years and the development of historical understanding Early years foundation stage history is embedded into the area of learning of ‘understanding the world’ of Development Matters (Early Education 2017). The curriculum is set out by ages and stages and suggests that by the time children leave their reception year they should ●●

talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members;

●●

knowing about the similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions;

●●

know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things;

●●

talk about the features of their own environment.

Historically it has been assumed that young children do not have the ability to explore complex concepts and except for a notable few (Claire 1996; Cooper 2002, Pluckrose 1991) little research has been conducted to further examine young children’s conceptual understanding, particularly in history. We have instead accepted and relied on Piagetian theories of early conceptual development and for too long have arguably underestimated the ability of young children considering them too young to understand! History in the early years is often piecemeal and tokenistic rather than it being seen as an essential element to future learning.

Pause for thought Have you considered undertaking a small research investigation to find out young children’s ideas in history? What questions could you ask? What activities might you provide and observe?

Young children are naturally curious about the world around them and this is a vital time to begin to capitalize and develop the important aspects of historical learning such asking and answering questions, observing, understanding and applying vocabulary such as past, present, a long time ago, different, similar, because. The following table gives some activities and resources that can be used in the early years setting. Below is not an exhaustive list of possible essential resources to include in your early years setting but a few ideas to get you started. Boot sales and charity shops are often the best place to shop and find cheap but wonderful artefacts which can be used with young children. Parents/Carers are often happy to donate useful things too, so don’t be afraid to ask!

Practical Issues Table 8.4  Early years’ activities and resources

Resources

Activity

Key concepts/Skills

Kitchen equipment such as irons, scales, wash boards, pots, bottles

Used in the role-play areas to promote questions, speaking and listening – observe what they do, encourage to handle.

Historical enquiry, empathy, using artefacts, questioning

Phones – including different mobile phones

Collect different types of phones, for example, dial phones, push button phones (or other sets of objects, for example, irons) from different time periods and styles.

chronology, similarities and differences, observing, promoting questions

Dressing up clothes

old, new and those from different cultures

Observing, interpreting, asking and answering questions

Photographs, postcards historical as well as modern. Most seaside areas have these, so start collecting!

Ask what you can see, compare old and new places, what is the person saying/thinking/doing in the picture?

Comparing, sequencing, observing, questioning, hypothesizing

Map different types including older maps

Finding places, tracing roads, discussing areas on maps, comparing old and new

Observation, interpretation

Music/media sources – LPs, tapes compact discs, video tapes, iPods, tape recorders, an old LP player

Listening to songs, looking at how media was played, recreating dances. Sequencing

chronology, similarities and differences, observing, promoting questions

Teddies, toys, baby toys

Good for addressing misconceptions as well as getting children to consider changes to their lifetime: what did they play with or use as a baby, what do they use now?

chronology, similarities and differences, observing, promoting questions

Radios, or other small items

children can look inside – good for observational skills

chronology, observing, promoting questions

Bags, including older style handbags

to use for mystery bags, holidays and so on.

Chronology, similarities and differences, observing, promoting questions.

Old suitcase – children love exploring photos and so on that you may put in it!



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Pause for thought Have a go at some of these activities. What responses do you get? What does it tell us about young children’s understanding?

The role of the subject leader Strong subject leadership is essential if effective primary history teaching and learning is to take place. Subject leaders are pivotal in the making of successful schools as many successive research studies has shown (Harris et al in Bennett, Crawford and Cartwright 2003). Effectiveness extends beyond the senior level alone but interweaves with other teams/levels within the school. Davies and Redmond (1998) highlight the importance of knowing yourself as a curriculum leader, looking honestly at yourself, your values and your beliefs about how you view history, its importance and pedagogy. This is essential if you are going to lead the subject successfully and ensure that children are inspired and learning.

Pause for thought Does your school have a history policy? If so, is there evidence that the policy is working with the school? Is it used to guide whole school history teaching? Use the toolkit to analyse the quality of your school policy.

The following toolkit will support those new to the role to begin to consider the practical issues and where to begin in leading the subject and moving learning forward.

Toolkit 8.2  Subject leaders’ issues and strategies

Practical Issues/Checklist

Strategies

Policy:

●●

There are many good school policies which are available online for you to consider, however, do bear in mind any copyrights and professional integrity when using other school’s materials.

●●

Your other school policies will give you an idea of length (usually approximately two sides), headings and style.

There should be a history policy in place in your school and you should become familiar with this and plan to review/update annually. If there is not one in place or you are ready to review, consider the following strategies/questions:



Practical Issues

181

Practical Issues/Checklist

Strategies

Is there a mission statement which clearly illustrates the importance of history and how it is taught in your school?

●●

Consider your own views/values of primary history and try to incorporate this into a mission statement. Discuss this with other colleagues so you have an agreed and consistent view/ approach.

●●

Separate ‘expectations’ into those that are non-negotiables and those that are desirable. For example:

Are your expectations clear and transparent? For example, if it is expected that all teachers make regular and active use of timelines in their classrooms, is this clear? Available resources: What resources do you have in the school to help with teaching and learning? Things might include old maps, costumes, documents such as old newspapers, school logs, letters, artefacts such as kitchen equipment, phones and cameras. Non-fiction books – are these current and reliable? Does the school have a bank of story books which can be used for history?

❍❍

Non-negotiable: all classrooms are to display and use a timeline. Vocabulary must be displayed and referred too.

❍❍

Desirable: using the local community for oral history where possible, incorporating LOtC when possible. Ask more experience colleagues for help – even experience people need support!

●●

Audit the resources in the school to get a baseline of what is available.

●●

Check individual classrooms and try to get resources in a central place.

●●

Do you have history boxes for theme/topics? Can you make any from the available resources?

●●

Ensure all staff are aware of what is available and where it is. Provide resource list for reference. Organize a booking in/out system if appropriate.

●●

Check to see if there is any available budget which can be used to supplement the resources.

Curriculum mapping:

●●

Review what is currently in place that is long- and medium-term planning; is this consistent with the statutory documentation. If teachers are using different themes is there a broad and balanced spread without areas being unnecessarily repeated?

If this is not already a policy in your school, consider adding it to the teaching and learning policy when it is reviewed so there is an expectation that all a timeline is continually being referred to and used consistently.

●●

Help individual class teacher to identify a space and time span in which to place the timeline and add to it throughout the year.

●●

Arrange with your senior leaders to have some meeting time with each key stage class teachers to find out about the teaching and learning in their individual classes. How do they approach learning? What topics beyond the statutory subjects have they used?

Classroom resources: Timelines: It is good practice for each classroom to have an interactive/working timeline which is accessible for the children and used on a daily basis for history teaching and learning as well as across the curriculum.

(Continued)

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Toolkit 8.2 (Continued)

Practical Issues/Checklist

Strategies

Curriculum monitoring:

●●

Can these ideas be mapped onto existing planning and effective practice shared?

●●

Ensure you have time on your timetable to carry out monitoring effectively. Talk to your senior management for time to do this and plan activities in advance.

●●

Monitoring should be supportive, collaborative and enjoyable and not seen as a control measure or something that is imposed. Arrange to talk to teachers and discuss their planning needs rather than it being a remote exercise.

●●

Does the school have an effective system for measuring attainment in history? Are teachers using this? Are class teachers using Assessment for Learning (AfL) regularly in there planning and teaching to make those ongoing assessments?

●●

Is there a range of assessment methods being used? Written work does not and should not be the sole form of ‘evidence’. Help teachers recognize other forms of ‘evidence’ such as drama, recordings, pictures, child conferencing, displays.

●●

Audit staff experience and needs in the teaching of primary history. Can you pull out common themes which may be covered in a staff meeting or inset?

●●

Is there access to experience colleagues via your local authority or academy trust or federation that you can bring in.

●●

Ensure your school has subscribed to

●●

The HA https://www.history.org.uk/ which offers up-to-date research, resources and professional practice in the field.

Planning support and monitoring will need to be part of your role. You will need to monitor, advise and support teachers in the planned teaching activities as well as giving support and advice on suggested materials, topics and so on. Assessment: There is no statutory assessment to be made in history. but teachers must report on children’s progress to parents annually. However, effective and valid assessment of children’s learning must be made and ongoing if children are to progress in their learning.

Continued professional development: Subject leaders must continue to develop their own subject pedagogical knowledge if they are to effectively support others. This is not to say that they need to become an ‘expert’ but should know how to find out appropriate information and sources of support.

Pause for thought If your school does not have a history policy can you use the toolkit to develop one? If you have an existing policy are there any gaps you might need to consider?

Practical Issues

Summary In this chapter we have offered the reader to consider some of the practical issues when considering the teaching and learning of primary history. We have highlighted the importance of subject knowledge and how this may impact on the quality of the learning that goes on. Effective teachers of history do not need to know a list of facts and dates stored continually in their minds, but need effective and efficient ways of finding out and to be ready at the point of learning to answer questions or fill gaps where possible. When we don’t know – and there are often unanswered questions in history, we should model how we might find out to children so they see how and why we learn. Through its cross-curricular approaches, we have offered some innovative ways to develop children’s enquiry skills beyond the passive transfer of ‘knowledge’ between teacher and child but in a way that both children and adults learn together. Finally, the role of the history leader is explored and how they might support and develop exciting history teaching and learning to help to achieve ‘mastery in primary history’.

Recommended reading A useful book for exploring and developing a local history approach and developing subject knowledge of your local area: Dixon and Hales (2014) Bringing History Alive Through Local People and Places: A Guide for Primary School Teachers. London: Routledge. A comprehensive guide to develop subject knowledge: Howorth, M. (2015) Teaching Primary History, Everything a Non-specialist Needs to Teach Primary History. London: Bloomsbury. Jones, M. (2015) https://www.history.org.uk/primary/categories/305/info/2576/contentstone-age-to-the-present Leading in primary history, the HA provides excellent resources, planning ideas, activities and current research across the early years and primary age ranges for students, teachers and non-specialists: http://www.history.org.uk The TES also offers lots of resources/planning formats and ideas – many of which are free: https://www.tes.com/ To explore TASC in history further, please see: Wallace, B. (Ed.) (2003) Using History to Develop Thinking Skills at Key Stage 2. London: David Fulton. www. http://tascwheel.com/



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Index Ajegbo, K.  44 Akenaten  51–3 Alexander, C.  65 Amenhotep IV  51 American history  3 ancient civilizations  41 Ancient Egypt  46 Ancient Egyptian civilization  35 Ancient Greece  113 Ancient Sumer  46 Anderson, D.  66 ‘Anglo-Saxon’  87 Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Wessex  36 archaeology, importance of  54–6 archives  78–9 Ashby, R.  139 assessment concerns related to  136–8 effective  136 forms feedback  141 formative  141–2 summative  142 methods of  149–53 progression and planning for  138–40 background knowledge  137 Bage, G.  75, 119, 172 BAME. See Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) Barnes, J.  16–17 battle re-enactments  126 beach schools  79 Beames, S.  71, 72 Beamish Open Air Museum  76 ‘big picture’  88–103 Bills of Mortality  8 Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME)  43–4 Black History Month  23 ‘body of knowledge’  85 Bourdieu, P.  63, 64 Bracey, P.  35 Bransford, J. D.  62, 66 Brexit  122 British history  113 broken shards  55–6

Brown, Al.  66 Bruner  139 Butser Ancient Farm  151 Byrom, Jamie  108, 139 ‘The Cambridge Primary Review’  118 Carr, E. H.  2 case studies chocolate  12 classroom-based research  29 Ormskirk  73–5 potty timeline  97–8 re-enactment during history theme week  130 re-enactment in classroom  129 teaching controversial issues  25–6 Catling, S.  170 causality  146 children’s history  3 misconceptions  131–32 child’s ideas, for history  121–23 chronologically ordered past  98 chronology  84–8, 145 sense of  165–7 Cicero, Roman philosopher  1 citadel at Mohenjo Daro  47 civilization  34 Claire, H.  41 class dig  56 classroom-based research  28 cloze procedure  157 coherent historical narratives  98 coherent knowledge  6 ‘coherent narrative’  84 ‘collective identities’  27 Collingwood, R. G.  2, 76 ‘Commission for Assessment Without Levels’  139 contemporary media content  122 ‘content-knowledge-for-teaching’  137 Continued Professional Development (CPD)  21 Cooper, H.  18, 20, 26–7, 70, 124, 151, 172 Corbishley, M.  54 Corfe Castle in Dorset  76

194

Index CPD. See Continued Professional Development (CPD) CRAFT. See creative activity for teaching (CRAFT) Crawford, M.  19 creative activity for teaching (CRAFT)  172–7 creativity, characteristics of  173 Cremin, T.  16 cross-curricular approach  17, 162, 170–1 cross-curricular lesson concerning  13 cultural integrity  41–3 curiosity  6–9 Dawson, I.  83, 91, 92, 94, 98, 99, 104, 108 deaths of pop icons  122 deconstructing programme of study  110–15 Del La Sablonnierre  27 Dierking, L. D.  72 Dilek, D.  124 diversity agendas  43–6 Dixon, L.  24, 75, 78, 163, 169 drama re-enactments  126 ‘drip feeding’ local history  114 dustbin exercises  55 ‘Early Islamic Civilisation’  44 early years’ activities and resources  179 Educational Visits Coordinator website  67 effective assessment  136 English Heritage website  77 enquiry-based curriculum/approach  7, 175–6 Evelyn, John  8 Falk, J.  66, 72 Farriner, Thomas  5 feedback  141 ‘fictitious’ history  76 forest schools  79 formative assessment  141–2 foundation subjects  17 Fricker, M.  27 Gadd, S.  102 galleries  70–1 Garner, I.  70, 75 global terrorism  27 Great Fire of London  5, 6, 8, 105, 111 Griffin, J.  65, 66, 70 Hadrian’s wall  77 Hales, A.  24, 27, 28, 75, 78, 163, 169 ‘hands-on’ approach  76 Hanson, N.  8, 9, 54 Hattie, J.  171–2 Hawkins, K.  27 Hein, G.  64 ‘Heritage Explorer’ website  79

heritage walks  73–6 hidden history  23–6 Historic England ‘Heritage Explorer’ website  79 Historic Royal Palaces  2 Historical Association Survey of Primary History 2015  12 schools in 2017  17, 19–23 Historical Association Teacher Survey  9 historical enquiry  146–9 historical imagination  76 historical re-enactments  126 historiography  11 history aspects of  10–11 assessing children in  135–58 British  113 and challenge of teaching controversial issues  23 children’s ideas in  117–33 content and process of  4–5 curiosity  6–9 current developments and further research  26 current state of  15–16 curriculum in primary school  6 definition  1 and development  19 and education for social justice and citizenship  26–7 ‘fictitious’  76 hidden  23–6 and humanities  16–18 and multi-layered personal identities  27–8 national curriculum for  6, 33 outdoors and technology  80–1 principles and practices  11–14 skills to develop in  83–115 society and identity  18 study  2–3 subject knowledge and sense of chronology  165–7 teachers as researchers  28–31 teaching  61–2, 79 types of  3–4 value and status of  16 ‘History for All’  6 ‘History Hit’  2 History Programmes of Study  6 Hofstein, A.  66 Hoodless, P.  18, 70 Hooper-Greenhill, E.  70, 72 Housesteads Roman Fort  77 Howson, J.  99 Indus valley civilization  35, 46 integrated programme/project  12 integrated project  22

Index Jackson, E.  70, 75 Jones, H.  113 Jordan, J. R.  62 Jordanova, L.  104 Key Stage 1  56–8, 111–12 children at  5 definition  6 Key Stage 2  112–13 definition  6 Kingdom of Benin  36 KS2 history unit  91 Landers, Talbot  64 Lave, J.  176 ‘Learning Challenge Curriculum’  175 ‘learning journey’  71 learning outside the classroom (LOtC)  22, 61–2 Lee, P.  62, 139 Lemisko  76 libraries  78–9 Lipscomb, Suzannah  2, 9 local archaeology  115 local history  3 local libraries  78–9 locality  72–3 Lomas, T.  114 LOtC. See learning outside the classroom (LOtC) Maddison, M.  21–2 maps  101–2 Mason, E.  8 mastery, approaches to  171–2 McGregor, N.  41 Medved, M. I.  66 Mesoamerican communities  38 Min, B.  62 modern European history  3 multidimensional narratives  98 multi-layered personal identities  27–8 mummification process  51 Murris, K.  27 museums  70–1 Nadelson, L. S.  62 national curriculum  84–8, 167 for history  6, 33 National Library of Scotland  79 National Trust  76 natural researchers  28 Nebamun  51–3 non-European units within national curriculum  34–7 role of  37–9 of work  39–46 non-specialist primary class teacher  8, 139 Norman Castle  76

Orion, N.  66 Ormskirk  73–5 Outdoor Journey  72–3 ‘periodization’  104 personal history  3 personal identity  27 personal nostalgia  9 Petrie, Flinders  54 Pickford, T.  70, 75 planning, approaches to  171–2 polythetic narrative frameworks  99 post trip  66 post-visit consolidation  65 pre-visit consolidation  65 primary classroom  24 primary education  162 primary schools  4 history curriculum in  6 pyramids of Gaza  47 QR codes  81 radicalization  27 record keeping methods  157–8 Red Nose Day  122 re-enactment in classroom  129 during history theme week  130 Roberts, T.  79 Rogers, R.  99 Roman Empire or Ancient Greece  91 Ross, H.  71, 72 Runnymede Trust  44 Russell, C.  18, 19, 20, 28, 62, 68, 70, 72 school history  4 School Trips and Outdoor Learning Activities  66 scientific recording techniques  54 Scoffham, S.  16–17 second-order concepts  138 Seixas, P.  136, 149 Shang Dynasty  35 significant reference  1 small-scale research  29 social cohesion  18 Social Media Developments  122 Southgate, B.  24 Stone, P.  54 Storksdieck, M.  66 Story of England  75 subject knowledge  164 audit  165–6 subject leader issues and strategies  180–3 role of  180–2 subject of history  5



195

196

Index substantive concept  138 substantive knowledge  138 summative assessment  142 ‘sushi-bar history’  85 Symington, D.  65, 66, 70 Tackling the Health and Safety Myths  66 Talbot-Landers, C.  66, 67 teacher-led didactic approach  20 teacher subject knowledge audit  165–6 teaching history  79 Temple at Karnack  42 three-dimensional model  89 ‘tidings of antiquity’  2 timelines  91–8 Tim Peakes’s recent exploration in space  122 Townsend, S.  114 tracing themes, across continents and periods  46–50 ‘traditional’ school trips  65 Trofanenko, B.  27 Tutankhamun  50, 51–3

underpinning theory agents  63 field  63 game  63–5 post trip  66 trip  65–6 Ushborne, E.  27 Uzzell, D. L.  66 Vass, P.  124 ‘vitalizes memory’  2 Waite, S.  62 Wallace, Bell  174 Walters, R.  171 web-enabled tablet devices  81 Wenger, E.  176 women’s history  3 Woolley, Leonard  54 Worsley, Lucy  2 ziggurat of Ur  47