Author: onebighistorydepartment

GCSE and A level, historical scholarship, KS3, substantive knowledge, teacher knowledge, websites and publications

What do we know? How do we know? What do they say? Knowledge for history teachers and students!

The name Richard Brown is probably unfamiliar to many people reading this blogpost. But Richard taught for many years, was an editor of Teaching History and is a Fellow of both the HA and the RHS. He has been creating websites for many years and the purpose of this blogpost is to make more history teachers aware of them. They are very much worth exploring … Continue reading What do we know? How do we know? What do they say? Knowledge for history teachers and students!

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beginning teacher, CPD, curriculum and planning, subject leadership, teacher knowledge

NEW! Support for beginning history teachers

The HA has launched resources to support beginning teachers and those who work with them. Are you thinking of becoming a history teacher? About to train as a history teacher? In your training year? In your first year in post? In the first three years of your history teaching career? Working with beginning teachers? If the answer to any of these Qs is ‘YES!’ than … Continue reading NEW! Support for beginning history teachers

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beginning teacher, CPD, local networks, subject leadership, teaching history

Using the new normal to better support new teachers

Thank you to Tom Pattison (Director of the Humanities Faculty at Greensward Academy, Hockley, Essex) for this new blogpost about supporting beginning teachers. In the toughest of years it offers a model for building community for new colleagues in a way that is professionally supportive for the new and old(-er!) alike. If you would like to build a similar community then look out for these … Continue reading Using the new normal to better support new teachers

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CPD, curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, historical interpretations, historical significance, KS3, subject leadership

Decolonisation in the history classroom: wider perspectives and more critical questions

Thank you to Sarah Jackson, Head of Department at Sawston Village College in Cambridgeshire for this blogpost. Sarah has been imbibing the wealth of CPD on offer to history teachers. Here she explains how this has shaped her thinking, her experience of trying out ideas to reveal the constructed nature of the curriculum with her own pupils, and her current thinking about best ways forward … Continue reading Decolonisation in the history classroom: wider perspectives and more critical questions

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curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, historical interpretations, KS3, teaching and learning ideas, teaching history

3-Dimensional history teaching for inclusion and diversity

Here, Anne Hudson and Gabrielle Reddington, who have taught pupils and trained teachers for decades, continue their reflections on teaching history well. In the first part of our blog, we shared our conversation about the importance of a rich diversity to our history curriculum. We have continued talking and, in this blog will share some of our conclusions based on our work as, with and … Continue reading 3-Dimensional history teaching for inclusion and diversity

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curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, KS3, substantive knowledge, teaching and learning ideas

How can we foster students’ understanding of the Industrial Revolution, the British Empire and the Transatlantic Slave Trade as interconnected?

Thanks to Sian Ayling (@MsAylingHist), history teacher at Blackfen School for Girls in Sidcup for this blogpost. Sian has wrestled with the need to enable students to see the inter-connection between Britain’s industrial revolution, Empire and transatlantic slave trade. She describes the way that she has planned and developed this work in a way that will be very helpful to colleagues planning the same journey. … Continue reading How can we foster students’ understanding of the Industrial Revolution, the British Empire and the Transatlantic Slave Trade as interconnected?

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curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, historical scholarship, KS3, subject leadership, teaching and learning resources

Decolonising the curriculum one step at a time: lessons on race in the early British Empire

In this blogpost, Jen Thornton (@jen_a_thornton), Head of History at Loreto Grammar School, shares her recent work to improve the history curriculum. Jen started by listening to students, she has gone back to the scholarship to gain the knowledge she needs, she has consulted and worked with colleagues, and she is clear that this is work in progress. Her description of this work and her … Continue reading Decolonising the curriculum one step at a time: lessons on race in the early British Empire

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subject leadership, teaching history

Dealing with the issues from lockdown in the history classroom. Thoughts and perspectives from the HA secondary committee.

This post accompanies the webinar that took place on Friday 5th March 2021. Members of the HA’s Secondary Committee addressed issues from lockdown in the history classroom. This post summarises their ideas, provides the links they referred to and picks up the main themes that emerged in the Q&A. The terms ‘catch up, ‘recovery’ and ‘lost learning’ are negative and don’t capture everything. There are … Continue reading Dealing with the issues from lockdown in the history classroom. Thoughts and perspectives from the HA secondary committee.

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curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, GCSE and A level, historical enquiry, local history, local networks, sources and evidence, teaching and learning ideas, teaching and learning resources

Amazing archives: working with local history at GCSE and beyond

Heather Sherman (@HeatherLaws88) teaches history at York College. In this blogpost, Heather persuades us to use local archives to improve our teaching of GCSE topics and to prepare students for further study. Heather argues that local archives challenge, diversify and humanise broader narratives, she explains how to go about contacting your local archives, she generously gives a link to a workbook you can take and … Continue reading Amazing archives: working with local history at GCSE and beyond

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GCSE and A level, KS3, speaking and listening, subject leadership, teaching and learning ideas, teaching history

What could Lemov’s ideas for Remote Learning look like in History?

Thanks to Alex Fairlamb (@lamb_heart_tea), member of HA Secondary Committee and  coordinator of TMHI, for sharing her work with Lemov’s ideas in the history classroom. You might have come to this post through hearing her on Teachers Talk Radio too! (Apologies – to load Alex’s lovely tables in time, they are screenshoted and the links given underneath – Ed!) Doug Lemov’s ‘Teaching in the Online Classroom’ … Continue reading What could Lemov’s ideas for Remote Learning look like in History?

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