History

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. ~ Albert Einstein

History Curriculum Intent:

• To offer a broad, balanced & inclusive curriculum which acts as a starting point to stimulate awe, wonder & curiosity.

• Inspire children to want to know more about the past and to think and act as historians and past and develop a passion for history.

• Help pupils to develop an understanding of change, chronology, diversity and challenge.

• Develop within the children a sense of who they are locally, nationally and globally.

• Pupils will be able to communicate historically and investigate and interpret the past.

History Curriculum Implementation:

At Brownmead we follow the Cornerstones curriculum for our history lessons. This is a well planned, robust and engaging scheme that ensures all areas of the primary history curriculum has been covered in a progressive and meaningful way. Lessons are delivered by enthusiastic teaching staff who ensure they are engaging and inclusive, igniting the passion of history within our learners. We consolidate learning with immersion days and experiences that further bring history to life, including the use of our new VR whole class headsets to visit historical sites and experience historical settings.

Historical Concepts and Skills: 

Our curriculum explicitly develops the children’s understanding of  historical concepts outlined in the national curriculum such as; continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses. We revisit the concepts and skills throughout each unit and each year group, progressively building on the year group before. 

Historical Knowledge: 

It was important for us to bear in mind the cognitive load on children. Knowledge–rich content can be overwhelming if delivered en masse, so we made sure that lessons introduced new facts and concepts in manageable ways. New content builds upon prior learning, and the teaching narrative encourages the recapping and retrieval of essential facts. Below is our progression document for skills and knowledge. 

History Curriculum Impact:

How we know that we have met our History Curriculum aims: 

Children have,

• A secure knowledge and understanding of  people, events and  contexts from the  historical periods covered.
• The ability to think critically about history and communicate confidently in styles appropriate to a range of audiences.
• The ability to think, reflect, debate, discuss and evaluate the past, forming and refining questions and lines of enquiry.
• A passion for history and an enthusiastic engagement in learning, which develops their sense of curiosity about the past
• A respect for historical evidence and the ability to make robust and critical use of it to support their explanations and judgements.

Year 2 discussing significant people in their Movers and Shakers topic.