History

The journey so far….

History at Canon Peter Hall is designed to ensure progression in children’s development of historical knowledge and concepts through the lens of a Historian. Children will develop a chronological understanding of; the order of periods of history and THE EVENTS WITHIN THESE PERIODS. At the end of each unit pupils will create an expert outcome and this will enable us to assess their learning and understanding. A large visual historical timeline is accessed by all pupils in a highly prominent corridor. The timeline will be the focal point during retrieval of prior knowledge and the introduction of the current historical unit. This will also give pupils opportunities to see where their unit ‘fits’ into the Big Story (chronology). The disciplinary concepts (historical lens) are promoted by core questions that underpin each historical unit of work. These enable pupils to develop their historical understanding and take a critical approach to both substantive knowledge and substantive concepts.

INTENT

What do we want our History curriculum to achieve?

To tackle social injustice by providing pupils with the cultural capital (rich bank of vocabulary, knowledge and experiences) to enable them to access opportunities equal to that of pupils living in more affluent areas.
To provide children with an understanding of, and rich and varied prototype for, concepts such as war, monarchy and democracy so that they can initiate and sustain informed discussions
To teach children about cause and consequence and that, in the same way that the past has shaped our lives today, our present will shape the future.

IMPLEMENTATION

In all history topics children will be taught to know and understand the following elements of a historical lens. It is these that will help them connect and make relationships between learning throughout school.

The historical lens will focus on the disciplinary concepts of historical enquiry:

Cause and consequence
Continuity and change
Evidence
Historical Interpretations
Compare and contrast
Chronology

It is this that will enable our children to be historians not collectors of facts.

History curriculum design intentions:

to develop pupils’ long term historical knowledge
to ensure pupils’ historical understanding is part of a developing historical chronology
to develop pupils’ understanding and use of the key historical disciplinary concepts (Historian’s lens)
to develop pupils’ critical thinking by planning opportunities for debate in order for them to build a growing understanding of historical interpretation; (understanding and debating different points of view with plausible reasons for choice)
to make purposeful historical links with local context, including the world of work e.g. docks (ABP)
to ensure every pupil has a common experience when learning a particular historical period/event
to make use of historical resources to match historical content

Pedagogy: History teaching will

build a chronological narrative of the period being studied
promote the learning of history through the lens of a historian
feature the retrieval and recall of historical knowledge through quizzing (knowledge organisers/app quizzing)
promote and teach Tier 2 and Tier 3 words as an aspect of every lesson
challenge common misconceptions in response to pre learning tasks.
ensure that every pupil has a common and consistent experience when learning a particular historical concept
enable spaced retrieval to inform assessment of what pupils have retained and can retrieve from their long term memory and apply to a new historical enquiry
require pupils to organise and communicate their findings at the end of the sequence of leaning through an expert outcome. This will require pupils to decide how to use their knowledge and understanding of history and present their ideas effectively. This will form one aspect of assessment.

Substantive knowledge – substance of history: names, dates, places, events and concepts.

Substantive concepts – concepts we encounter e.g. society, revolution, enslavement, parliament etc.

IMPACT

What do we want our children to become as a result of the History curriculum?

Informed citizens that contribute positively to local and global society.
To analyse the consequences, validity and possible bias of the words and actions of others.

What do we believe is right for our children to learn from the study of History?

To be able to access a broadsheet newspaper and hold a debate about current affairs, viewing these through the broad lens of significant historical events and figures.
In an ever evolving technical world, our History curriculum will teach children the critical and analytical discipline to “not believe everything you read” and to question validity, source and bias.

history long term plan

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History Project Overviews:

history