History
History Vision Statement.
At Grove Wood Primary we believe a high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. The history topics covered should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching will develop skills that equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. 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. Children will be able to remember information because they will group information based on the concept thresholds of;
- Investigate and interpret the past
- Build an overview of world history
- Understand chronology
- Communicate historically
At Grove Wood, all of the above will be enriched through visitors, trips and a range of artefacts and experiences to make history fun and memorable.
At Grove Wood, we aim to deliver an enriching and memorable history curriculum to our pupils from when they start with us in Reception and build upon their knowledge and experience until they leave us in Year 6. We believe it is important for children to develop an understanding of the past and how it developed the future.
History is taught in each year group via theoretical and practical approaches. We aim to make our history teaching as cross-curricular as possible, often embedding it into our English lessons, our Art lessons and often our DT lessons. Where possible, we also bring history into other subjects such as Dance, Computing and Science.
Each year group endeavours to include enrichment activities for the children such as days out, special visitors in school and Theme Days, in order to build historical knowledge and life-long memories.
In Key Stage 1, the children develop an awareness about the past. They learn about significant individuals who have contributed to the world, including Queens and Explorers. The children look back at changes within living memory such as how toys, transport and housing have changed, as well as events beyond living memory such as the Gunpowder plot and the History of Pirates.
In Key Stage 2, some history topics are taught chronologically through each year group, as well as other historical events throughout each school year. Within a chronological context, Year 3 learn about The Romans, Year 4 learn about The Tudors, Year 5 learn about The Victorians and Year 6 learn about WWI and WWII. Ancient civilisations are also explored throughout KS2, with lower KS2 covering the Stone Age, Anglo-Saxons and Ancient Greece, while in upper KS2 they study China and Egypt.
As they advance through each year group, the children build upon their historical skills, from comparing and sequencing events from the past, to ordering events on a timeline to being able to use a range of sources to find reliable information.
