History intent

By the time children leave Croftlands Junior School, they will think like historians, curious as to what has gone before them and how it may shape what is to come.

Our history curriculum has been designed as a journey through time which allows them to see how our country and the wider world was shaped – bringing it closer to home in discovering where Ulverston (and lots of Furness) gets its name in our Anglo-Saxon topic as well how the town boomed during the industrial revolution.

We build enquiry skills throughout the children’s time in Key Stage 2, giving them opportunities to explore historical evidence and see how it can present contrasting arguments, with the aim of creating resilient learners.  Through the promotion of our school values and exposure to a rich, ambitious curriculum, our children will tackle engaging and challenging substantive concepts – such as religion and lifestyle - with respect and compassion.   We make cross-curricular links wherever appropriate to strengthen and widen our children’s understanding of the past.

Implementation:

At Croftlands Junior School our History teaching is underpinned by United Curriculum, with adaptations to meet our children’s needs. Our History progression map sets out the objectives taught in each year group, on a two-year cycle for our Lower School and Upper School. The design of our topic progression provides opportunities for retrieval of previous learning and the explicit teaching of links between old and new material to build understanding.

Content is always carefully situated within existing schemas. Every unit always begins with the chronological and geographical contexts, so that pupils can situate new knowledge in their broader understanding of people and places in the past.

Vertical concepts are used within lessons to connect learning about one civilisation to another. For example, when learning about Ancient Maya step-pyramids, pupils will review the stone structures of Stonehenge, Egyptian pyramids and Greek temples.

The children record their work in geography/history books. Each unit starts with a pre-learning quiz and finishes with a post learning quiz to help us assess children’s retention. In lessons, teachers use questioning, and provide opportunities for discussion to support the development of vocabulary, which is explicitly taught and modelled in every lesson.

Opportunities for extended, scholarly writing appear throughout the curriculum. These have a clear purpose and audience and, crucially, allow pupils to write as a historian. For example, after considering the subjective nature of historical significance, pupils write to the head teacher to explain why they think it is important for all subsequent Lower School classes to learn about the Early Islamic Civilisation.

We have a whole-school approach to working walls, featuring key vocabulary and concepts which are reviewed periodically throughout the topic, is designed to aid retention.

Impact:

Our curriculum intent is supported by rigorous monitoring from the geography subject lead: recording pupil voice conversations, checking children’s understanding and adapting teaching based on findings.

The careful sequencing of the curriculum – and how concepts are gradually built over time – is the progression model. If pupils are keeping up with the curriculum, they are making progress. Formative assessment is prioritised and is focused on whether pupils are keeping up with the curriculum.

In general, this is done through:

• Pre-learning quizzes at the start of each unit. These assess pupils’ understanding of the prior knowledge that is required to access the new content in the unit. These are used to identify gaps to be filled prior to teaching the new unit. For example, in a unit about the Roman Empire, pupils need to recall knowledge about the Ancient Greek gods and apply this to new knowledge about religion in Rome. This knowledge is assessed in the Pre-Learning Quiz, and teachers can plan to fill any identified gaps.
• Questioning in lessons. Teachers check understanding so they can fill gaps and address misconceptions as required.
• Post-learning quizzes at the end of each unit. These give teachers an understanding of the knowledge that pupils can recall at the end of the unit, and can be used to identify any remaining gaps to be filled. These are generally simple recall questions, such as key features of belief systems in prehistoric Britain, or some of the reasons why people, places and events may be seen as significant.

By the end of their time at Croftlands Junior School, children will:

• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of a range of historical vocabulary
• Use their skills, as historians, to pose questions, evaluate evidence and draw conclusions