Do you want to find out what your child will be learning in Key Stage 1 history? We take a look at some of the themes, projects, and lessons which your child will experience in the Key Stage 1 history curriculum.
Claim your Free "Engaging with English Pack" containing everything you need to improve your child's reading and writing skills with a
cheap trial membership of My Child VIP.
How did people live in the past and who were the key men and women that helped shape society as we know it today? These are some of the questions that children focus on in history at Key Stage 1. They continue to build on learning from the Foundation Stage exploring changes in their own lives and the way of life of their family or others around them.
In Key Stage 1 history they will learn about people who lived in the local area or elsewhere in Britain. And they will learn about significant people in their roles as artists, engineers, explorers, inventors, pioneers, rulers, saints, scientists and so forth. Some of the significant topics studied at this stage include the Gunpowder Plot, the Olympic Games and other events that are commemorated.
Some history Key Stage 1 lesson examples
After looking at a poster of a castle and noting the key features, such as the windows and drawbridge, Year 1 pupils draw pictures of their own castle highlighting its special features. Cameron's castle highlights the drawbridge, small windows and thick walls as features that make it strong.
A Year 2 class is given the task of finding out information about toys from the past. They then have to share their findings with each other and use the information to place the toys in a chronological order, starting with the oldest. Once the pupils have agreed on the correct placement of the toys, they then move onto adding approximate dates, completing an illustrated timeline.
Help your child at home:
- First, get your child to see that history is all around them, where they walk, where they live, where they go to school - ask questions about the type of people that may have lived there and the kind of lives they may have lived. How did children keep themselves entertained?
- Help your child to find answers to questions... take them to a local history museum, the library or a historical event, especially one that may be staging a re-enactment of an event
- If you are going on a long journey play games with them that are historical based. Give them clues or ask them to spot buildings that have timber frames and see how many they can point out
- Watch history programmes - anything hosted by Tony Robinson is good for learning
- The best way to teach questioning skills and using their imagination is to ask ‘What if' questions. Encourage them to question, not accept. If they didn't invent the wheel what would have happened? History is the best lesson for asking and answering questions.
