History

 #foxhillhistory

History at Fox Hill

Intent

At Fox Hill Primary School, we:

• Have the belief that all pupils can achieve
• Aim to deliver inspiring, engaging and exciting history lessons
• Keep the class working together so that all children can explore the past as a team
• Embed a rich vocabulary within every lesson to deepen children’s understanding of past events and key figures
• Revisit key vocabulary and concepts to ensure all children have a strong understanding of them and can provide examples from a range of units
• Aim to provide a wider picture of British and worldwide history through the use of an on-going timeline that is carried up with each class from year 3 to year 6.
• Encourage children to explore the links between different periods of study and countries in the world
• Spend a longer time on unfamiliar concepts, judging the needs of all children and classes individually and adapting our planning appropriately
• Demonstrate the skill of debate and how to assess the reliability of evidence thus allowing our children to become true historians
• Provide opportunities for children to ask their own questions and research potential answers independently
• Insist children show respect to others during any historical debate or discussion
• Expect a high level of literacy skills to be used within history lessons
• Encourage children in Upper KS2 to explore and compare the opinions of key historians, preparing them for KS3 History     

Implementation

What might you typically see?

• An introduction lesson at the beginning of each new topic that explores ‘Meanwhile, Elsewhere’ around the world and why the period is said to start at that point in time.
• An opportunity to carry out a ‘Knowledge Harvest’ at the beginning of each topic which then informs future planning
• Children accessing a range of materials- reports, artefacts, photos, websites, appropriate books, off site visits and visitors
• A ‘Big Question’ being posed to the class at the beginning of the study, which will guide the overall direction of teaching
• Whole class direct teaching with lots of opportunities to discuss and explore concepts, events and key figures  
• Talk partners of mixed ability (with lots of opportunities to talk and reason)
• Teachers using AFL to assess children’s understanding
• Children speaking in full sentences
• Children working in small groups to investigate, record and present their findings to their peers and teachers
• Children engaging in a respectful and informative debate
• The unit ending with a written answer to their overall ‘Big Question’ of that particular period of history
• The unit ending by exploring why it is said to end when it does and what comes next in British or worldwide history
• A class timeline displayed clearly within the room, including key dates, figures and vocabulary.
• Children ‘note-taking’ from resources rather than copying large amounts of text

What won’t you see?

• Children left behind due to a lack of understanding
• Children using unreliable internet websites when researching

How we provide additional support to those struggling and stretch and deepen the learning of the ‘rapid-graspers’:

• AFL will be used throughout lessons to determine a child’s level of understanding; class TAs may be used to support discussion for those children who need extra help.
• Teachers may plan short ‘pre-teaching’ sessions for those who need help understanding key concepts, events or vocabulary
• Children who have demonstrated that they have a secure understanding are challenged further through pre-planned deeper questions or by being asked to demonstrate their understanding of a key concept by finding examples from a previously taught period of history and discussing the similarities and differences e.g. trade, empire, invasion.
• Misconceptions are addressed to the whole class promptly
• Parents are kept up to date on their child’s progress and given ideas to support at home if necessary.

Impact

Formative assessment

• Immediate feedback and mini plenaries are used throughout lessons so that teachers can intervene swiftly to help pupils having difficulties
• Peer to peer feedback where appropriate
• Individual stamping or verbal feedback to any written pieces of work

Summative assessment

• Photographic evidence on the school P drive or in children’s learning logs
• Written pieces of work, particularly at the end of the unit addressing the ‘Big Question’