Implementation - How we teach History

• There are two EYFS units focused on each of the history-related Development Matters statements. These units consist of a mixture of adult-led and child-initiated activities which are selected by the teacher to fit in with different themes or topics.
• In key stages 1 and 2, units are organised around an enquiry-based question and children are encouraged to follow the enquiry cycle (Question, Investigate, Interpret, Evaluate and conclude, Communicate) when answering historical questions. 
• Lessons are taught weekly over a half-term period. 
• Each six-lesson unit has a focus on chronology to allow children to explore the place in time of the period they are studying and make comparisons in other parts of the world. This chronological awareness will support children in building a ‘mental timeline’ they can refer to throughout their later learning and identifying connections, contrasts and trends over time. 
• In each lesson, children will participate in activities involving disciplinary and substantive concepts, developing their knowledge and understanding of Britain’s role in the past and that of the wider world.  Children will develop their knowledge of concepts and chronology as well as their in-depth knowledge of the context being studied. 
• Knowledge organisers for each unit support pupils in building a foundation of factual knowledge by encouraging recall of key facts, concepts and vocabulary.
• Substantive concepts such as power, trade, invasion and settlement, begin to be introduced in key stage 1 and are developed further in key stage 2. These concepts are returned to in different contexts, meaning that pupils begin to develop an understanding of these abstract themes which are crucial to their future learning in history.  
• History in Action videos explain the careers and work of those in history and heritage-related fields. Historians, archivists, archaeologists, museum curators, teachers and heritage experts discuss their love of history, how they became interested in the subject, how they got into their jobs and what their jobs involve.