History

Intent

At The Rosary Catholic Primary School, we believe that history provides us with context; it provides us with a rich sense of who we are and enables us to see that the place that humanity has come from is just as important as where it hopes to go.

History is a knowledge-rich subject. Our aim is for our children to get better at history by demonstrating substantive knowledge (emphasised facts and events) of time periods, events and figures; by developing disciplinary skills (how historians find out about the past and form their arguments); and by using transferable knowledge (using previous knowledge to make links and to gain a better understanding of new learning).

Our aim is for our children to know more and to remember more in history. We aim for them to know more by making the core knowledge for each topic explicit.

We aim that they will be well prepared for history study at Key Stage 3.

We aim that our children will:

develop a broad range of historical vocabulary, particularly relevant as 84% of our children speak English as an Additional Language
have a sense of curiosity and enjoyment

to be curious about and enjoy discovering the individuals, events and civilizations of the past, understanding how people lived. We want them to understand both the wonder of human achievement and the impact of human error

have experience of Cultural Capital in a variety of different forms

to be inspired by the experiences and achievements of past individuals and civilizations; to know and appreciate the significance of buildings in our wider locality and the part which they have played in our nation’s history e.g. Hampton Court (The Tudors); The Houses of Parliament (The History of Democracy); to experience the rich learning opportunities provided by London’s museums

be resilient, independent and self-motivated pupils

by participating in class debates and discussions on historical themes where they are able to express themselves and boost their confidence and self-esteem

ask questions

to understand that evidence sources helps us to understand the past and learn from it

to interpret the past and to interpret the past from a modern perspective i.e. to understand why people in the past acted as they did

be global citizens of the twenty first century

to make comparisons socially and culturally within a time period e.g. the difference in social conditions for the wealthy and poor in Victorian England; to make these comparisons with life in modern Britain

Implementation

We follow the National Curriculum.

As not all class teachers are history specialists, we have designed a clearly sequenced curriculum that is rich in knowledge and that asks questions of our children as they study each topic. This encourages deeper thought and reflection. In our programme, these questions are denoted by the term Rosary Historian. Teachers can however include their own ‘take’ on a topic and adapt the delivery to a way that suits their own class.

Topics have been developed that fulfil the requirement to study national (British) and world history and that fulfil the requirement to provide pupils with an understanding of their locality and its place in history: The Windrush Generation (Year 4); The Tudors (Year 5 - due to the school’s location close to Hampton Court Palace), and The Great Fire of London (Year 2).

Where relevant we have linked our curriculum with British Values: democracy; the Rule of Law (Magna Carta); tolerance and mutual respect (The Windrush Generation; the American Civil Rights Movement; Black History month).

Every year group studies an aspect of British history and world history. We ensure that more recent aspects of British and world history are covered i.e. the Suffragette Movement (The History of Democracy in Year 5); and the Second World War, the Moon Landings and Civil Rights Movement in 1960s America (Events That Have Changed Our World - Year 6).

Common learning strands enable our pupils to make connections between civilizations: beliefs and attitudes, empire and legacy and achievement.

We have designed our own Learn, Recall and Remember fact sheets which contain key historical information. These are revisited throughout a topic to enable our children to know more and remember more.

We enrich our curriculum offer. We ensure that our children have the opportunity to visit museums and buildings of historical significance. We use London and its museums to our advantage. Our children also participate in Experience Days – these can either embed previous learning or be used as the ‘springboard’ into a new topic.

We use Humanities Working Walls in every classroom to encourage our children to refer to key vocabulary, to make links with previous learning, and to have clarity about the skills they are learning in a particular history topic.

An important part of our history curriculum is the development of historical vocabulary. We aim to ensure that our children develop a rich vocabulary that enables them to articulately recall events, time period features, as well as to express opinion.

We use quality questioning techniques: a variety of open and closed questioning. We believe that the ‘second question’ encourages depth of thought and the development of reasoning and opinion

Impact

We measure the impact of the history curriculum in the following ways:

In-Class Feedback

Teachers provide immediate verbal feedback to pupils in class and identify misconceptions as they occur.

Assessment

Teachers assess against the historical skills taught in their particular year group.

History is a subject that embraces discussion and reflection. Teachers therefore assess oral contribution in lessons i.e. the confidence and ability of a pupil to express ideas based on historical fact or based upon opinion and perspective.

Our children complete a Big Question at the end of each history topic to show their understanding of key historical knowledge.

Teaching Assistants and Interventions

Teaching assistants may be used in history lessons in the following ways:

to support the writing/language element of a task
to assist in role play/re-enactment i.e. to prompt and listen to ideas
to assist in creative tasks such as the making of Greek theatre masks in Year 5 (Life and Legacy – the Ancient Greeks)

School reports

Attainment in history is reported to parents at the end of the school year.

At The Rosary Catholic Primary School we believe that history is an integral part of understanding our place in the world, knowing that we build upon the story of past individuals and civilizations, and that we pass our successes and failures on to future ones.

Aspire, Believe, Achieve: Together in Christ.

21^st Century World; 21^st Century Learners

Useful History Websites

History

Intent

Implementation

Impact

Useful History Websites

Year 1: Exciting Explorers

Year 2: The Great Fire of London

Year 2: Communication

Year 2 Transport

Year 3: Stone Age - Bronze Age - Iron Age

Year 3: Sacrifice and Ceremony: The Mayans

Year 4: The Fascinating Egyptians

Year 4: The Romans in Britain: Invasion and Impact

Year 5: Life and Legacy: The Ancient Greeks

Year 5: Britain’s Invaders

Year 5: The History of Democracy

Year 6: The Victorians: Society and Innovation

Year 6: Remembrance: 1914 – 1918

Year 6: Events That Have Shaped Our World: 1939 - 1970