History

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

In our school the teaching of history inspires curiosity about the past and how it has shaped the world in which we live today. History teaching at St John’s focuses on enabling children to think like historians. Our curriculum is planned to ensure historical knowledge is taught alongside the development of subject specific skills including; chronology, interpretations of evidence, changes within a time and across time periods and cause and consequence.

We want pupils to be able to ask pertinent questions about the past, analyse evidence, think critically, appreciate different perspectives and develop informed judgements. Pupils consider how the past influences the present, what past societies were like and what beliefs and cultures influenced people’s actions. As they do this, pupils develop a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people.

History at St John’s is taught through broad, challenging and inspiring topics, which are used to deliver the content within a meaningful context and wherever possible make connections to learning in other subjects. The topics have been designed to complement and build on one another with clear progression and links so that in subsequent year groups, they will be able to explore concepts deeper, applying their knowledge in different contexts.

Our History curriculum helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups. Within the teaching of history, we promote our school values and the character development of our pupils. For example, in the Year 6 topic on War and Peace, the pupils learn about the lives of evacuees in World War Two, before considering the plight of modern-day refugees, highlighting discrimination and emphasising resilience.

Click the links below to download the long term plan and progression documents:

Long Term Plan and Knowledge Progression

Progression in Disciplinary Concepts and Historical Enquiry

Click below to download  the year group History Learning Journeys:

Year 1 Autumn Term - A Trip Down Memory Lane

Year 1 Spring Term - Kings and Queens

Year 1 Summer Term - Seaside Holidays in the Past

Year 2 Autumn Term - Travel and Transport

Year 2 Spring Term - Explorers

Year 2 Summer Term - The Great Fire of London

Year 3 Autumn Term - Tomb Raiders

Year 3 Spring Term - Stone Age Boy

Year 3 Summer Term - Roman Britain

Year 4 Autumn Term - Anglo-Saxon Britain

Year 4 Spring Term - The Quest for the Kingdom

Year 4 Summer Term - Crime and Punishment

Year 5 Autumn Term - The Space Race

Year 5 Spring Term - Carter's Town

Year 5 Summer Term - Meet the Greeks

Year 6 Autumn Term - War and Peace

Year 6 Summer Term - The Mayans