History
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LAT Narrative Over Time
Introduction
Creating a sense of ‘Here and There’ and ‘Then and Now’ provided the basis for the LAT History curriculum overview. A clear vision that History should be one of the predominant drivers beside the curriculum alongside the LAT ‘We Will’s’ ensures that all of our children have the opportunity to find out about the world around them and explore their place within it.
Intent | Why do we teach what we teach?
A sense of rigour and clear structure means that the National Curriculum is set as the minimum expectation for all schools within the LAT. A sense of chronology as well as the development of key historical concepts were also used to create flow within the history curriculum. Local context is vitally important to give our children an idea of Plymouth and the South West’s role in local, national and world history.
Our aim is to develop clear knowledge and understanding of a wide range of historical contexts and ideas and for our children to be able to use these to make links to the 21st century world that they live in today.
Implementation | What do we teach and when?
Our curriculum is underpinned by knowledge and understanding of five key historical concepts:
- Continuity, Change and Chronology
- Historical Interpretation
- Similarities and Differences
- Cause and Consequence
- Significance
Early Years
In the very early stages of their learning journeys, our children begin to find out about the world around them. Through story telling, play and drama our children will begin to build a foundation of understanding of the five key historical concepts. Carefully chosen texts will begin to develop children’s understanding that over time some things have changed, some have remained the same. They will begin to develop an understanding that actions have a consequence, that events in their life (such as birthdays, first day at school) are significant, that toys, games and stories have similarities and differences. All of this aims to build a foundation of understanding for our children when they reach Key Stage One.
Key Stage One
Children at KS1 develop an idea of their own lives as well as those close to them. The curriculum allows this to be the main focus for the youngest children, before moving onto topics that give them an early awareness of both life beyond Plymouth and beyond living memory. The language of the historical concepts is introduced as children learn about their local and personal history. As the children begin to study historical subjects away from Plymouth and themselves, complex historical ideas are introduced – the idea of Empire (e.g. through explorers) and changes in society (e.g. through their own history) whilst a sense of chronology and timelines are also being developed (e.g. The Great Fire of London).
Key Stage Two
As they move into KS2, the content and development of key concepts changes. British History is taught in chronological order, whilst other key topics (Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt and Islamic Civilization) ensure that the children develop a clear knowledge of how other civilizations and nations have created key elements of today’s world. Before their History journey is complete, our children return to a focus on Plymouth, studying the impact of the Victorian era and World War II on the city.
As the children journey through Key Stage Two, their knowledge-base for developing skills to question the historical concepts becomes wider. Children will revisit historical content previously taught so that they can compare, contrast and analyse different periods of history through the five historical concepts. They will become knowledgeable in the eight periods of history taught, being able to:
- Recall knowledge of significant people and events.
- Discuss the continuity (legacy) of different periods of history, the significant changes and the chronology of the events studied.
- Identify the reliability and usefulness of a range of historical resources.
- Discuss the similarities and differences between different periods of history, drawing upon a breadth of historical knowledge.
- Identify common themes in the causes of events over time and discuss the consequences of these events.
Impact | How do we assess pupil outcomes?
History follows the LAT assessment framework that informs the schools about the impact of two main aspects of the Teaching and Learning process:
- The depth of a pupil's knowledge, understanding and ability to make links in learning
- The ability for pupils to apply procedural knowledge to skill-based activities.
Within a context of History, the following methods of assessment are used:
- Recall Knowledge: Children will demonstrate an ability to recall facts, information, significant events and chronology using online quizzes. An assessment of children’s knowledge in these areas will be used to inform future topics.
- Question and Explore: Using graphic schema, children will be challenged to demonstrate an ability to use their knowledge by being asked rich, varied questions relating to the subject matter. Children will be able to use a rich vocabulary to communicate their own thoughts and interpretations of questions relating to the subject.
- Share and Communicate: Each of the subject studied will require children to create an outcome using their acquired knowledge and understanding. The outcomes of their studies will focus on a child’s historical skill and will not discriminate against children who have challenges in skills that are not history. Teachers will choose tasks that will allow children to express their historical understanding in a way which suits the learner.