History

Subject Leader: Mrs Clarke

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Marcus Garvey

The strands of the History National Curriculum

  • know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
  • know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
  • gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
  • understand historical concepts 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
  • understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
  • gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

 

Our Vision for History…

At Eaves, we equip children with the knowledge and skills to become critical and evaluative historians. We aim to offer a history curriculum that is coherent and will support children in gaining a high-quality understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world.  Our historians will elicit a natural curiosity for the past which will inspire them to ask perceptive questions, think critically, sift arguments and develop their own perspective and judgement. The history curriculum at Eaves is carefully mapped to ensure learning is progressive, sequential and relevant to our children’s personal journey.  Each topic has been thoroughly developed to ensure our historian’s chronology, interpretation and understanding is developed and integrated within their learning. Through their understanding of the past, our historians will consider how the past has influenced the present, including their own identity and the challenges of their time.

 

Why is History important?

At Eaves, we encourage our children to recognise that history is constantly being made all around them. Children at Eaves will be able to talk confidently and knowledgably  about the past using historical vocabulary that is age appropriate. As historians, they will become increasingly critical and analytical within their thinking. Children will develop their awareness of how historical events have shapes the world they currently live in. We will equip our children with the historical skills to be able to make connections and comparisons between different periods of history. Children will feel confident to continue their history journey into the KS3 curriculum. Most importantly, we want children to have enjoyed learning about history.

 

What History looks like…

At Eaves, we ensure that history is being taught to a high standard across school. To do this, we implement a curriculum that is progressive and excites the children to develop their own skills as historians. The children at Eaves study a range of significant people, periods and events in British and international history. Children are always encouraged to recall previous learning to allow them to integrate new knowledge into larger concepts. Teachers are clear of their topics and we ensure that we have a solid subject knowledge that is reinforced to the children. Staff explicitly identify key knowledge and skills that equip children with the confidence to draw comparisons and make comparisons between different time periods and their own lives. At Eaves, we consider the needs of all historians, including those who are greater depth. Each lesson is inclusive and ensures all learners are appropriately taught and challenged. Outcomes of work are regularly monitored to ensure that they accurately reflect a sound understanding of the key identified knowledge.

History in the local area and wider world are a prominent feature of our curriculum. Where applicable, children will be given the opportunity to encounter or participate in high-quality visits to further appreciate the impact of history. Children will explore a range of primary and secondary sources to support their thinking and evaluation of different discussions.

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