Category: curriculum and planning

curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, historical enquiry, historical literacy, KS3, substantive knowledge, substantive knowledge, teaching history

Empire blogpost 3: the thorny issue of literacy when teaching the British Empire

Thanks to Richard Kennett for continuing his series of blogposts about teaching the British Empire… The difficulty of literacy and the teaching of the British Empire Teaching any historical topic is hard as it requires a lot of disciplinary vocabulary. Those pesky words that enlighten a subject, bring it to life and really allow you to get your teeth in. Revolution, peasant, autocratic, industrial, agricultural, … Continue reading Empire blogpost 3: the thorny issue of literacy when teaching the British Empire

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curriculum and planning, GCSE and A level, historical literacy, KS3, subject leadership, substantive knowledge, substantive knowledge

Developing substantive thinking: a project to create connections through a KS3 curriculum

Thank you to Sarah Jackson, Head of History at Sawston Village College in Cambridgeshire, for this blogpost sharing some more of the work of the department… As a department we have often talked about the huge impact that cultural literacy has on the achievement of our pupils. Students who don’t have ‘pictures of the past’ find it hard to understand new content as it doesn’t … Continue reading Developing substantive thinking: a project to create connections through a KS3 curriculum

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CPD, curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, sources and evidence, subject leadership

Empire blogpost 2: visualising Empire a bit differently

Thanks to Richard Kennett, Assistant Headteacher at Gatehouse Green Trust in Bristol, HA Fellow and member of Secondary Committee, for this second post in his series about Empire. In my last blog I tried to suggest some practical ways to improve our teaching of Empire by focusing on asking different questions about Empire. In this blog I would like to continue with the same theme … Continue reading Empire blogpost 2: visualising Empire a bit differently

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curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, historical scholarship, substantive knowledge, teacher knowledge

Empire blogpost 1: asking different questions about Empire

This blogpost is the first in a series written by Richard Kennett. He is a member of HA Secondary Committee, assistant headteacher in Bristol and co-author of the new MShed published book: “Bristol and Transatlantic Slavery”. Like many of you I have been thinking a lot about how we teach the British Empire this year. The Black Lives Matter protests and reflections that followed it … Continue reading Empire blogpost 1: asking different questions about Empire

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curriculum and planning, subject leadership, teaching history

New year narrative of ‘strengthening’ not ‘catching up’ and ‘building back better’ not ‘lockdown gaps’!

Thanks to Alex Fairlamb @lamb_heart_tea for this new academic year OBHD blogpost. Alex is an Assistant Headteacher (T&L), Historical Association Secondary Committee Member and National Coordinator of TMHistoryIcons. As schools start to go back this week and next, I think it’s perhaps useful to write again about reframing the narrative of ‘catch up’ and ‘lockdown gaps’.  Nationally, teachers have worked hard to ensure that students … Continue reading New year narrative of ‘strengthening’ not ‘catching up’ and ‘building back better’ not ‘lockdown gaps’!

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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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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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