Thanks to Martyn Bajkowski, Head of History at Pleckgate School and member of Secondary Committee, for sharing work on assessment at Key Stage 3. Martyn shares how his department have read, thought and discussed their way to a manageable system that is focused on secure historical learning. Pupils find it engaging and it is providing the department with useful data to use to work on … Continue reading Where do marks on KS3 assessments come from?
As we near the end of the long autumn term, subject leaders may be starting to think about preparation for INSET time at the start of January. The HA is here to help with a range of CPD guides that SLs can use to structure learning together as a department. You can find the currently available guides here. The most recent guide focuses on literacy … Continue reading Literacy and Oracy in History – a new HA CPD guide
Thanks to Ruth Lingard (@YorkClio), Head of History at Millthorpe School in York for this blogpost. Ruth is laying down a challenge to us all to refocus on oracy. Our primary colleagues do this in history. Our colleagues in independent schools do this in history. How might we be short-changing our students if oracy is not at the heart of all historical learning in schools? … Continue reading Time to bring back oracy!
Thanks to Hugh Richards, Head of History at Huntington School and course leader of the HA’s Subject Leader Development Programme, for this blogpost. In it Hugh walks us through the process of planning a GCSE History Unit. From that he draws out GCSE planning principles. This blogpost is useful for anyone also planning GCSE units and to discuss in departmental CPD. I have recently planned … Continue reading Curricular implementation at Key Stage 4: Anatomy of a GCSE History Unit.
Richard Kennett (@richkbristol), of Gatehouse Green Trust in Bristol, shares recent rethinking of KS3 assessment in his school in response to recent discussions on history edutwitter. This may be incredibly obvious to many of you but given the number of tweets I keep seeing about assessment I thought I would share what we have been doing and thinking at my school in Bristol. I am … Continue reading The return to formal assessment at KS3
We are delighted to feature a blogpost from an A Level student that offers an insight into history learning beyond the classroom and how it raises achievement… While 2021 saw other people spending their ‘staycation’ at campsites or British beaches, one pupil spent several weekends camping inside a castle and on a battlefield! Melissa started doing Living History events in 2019, as part of the … Continue reading A Medieval Holiday
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’!
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?
How can History departments lead the way in closing the progress gap for disadvantaged students? The progress and attainment gaps for disadvantaged students are a source of much soul searching in our profession, and almost the only sure answer we have is that there is no easy solution. However, despite the stubborn and depressing national picture, I can testify from my own experience that there … Continue reading Closing the gap for disadvantaged students – can history lead the way?
Trying to help your students to learn all that ‘stuff’ for GCSE? Here’s a great idea from Ben Taylor (@BenTaylor_CSS) … The memory palace technique originated in Ancient Greece and has endured down the centuries. Yet recently it has been made to seem beyond ordinary folk due to its use by Sherlock in the BBC series. Nothing could be further from the truth; it is … Continue reading Memory palaces – the ancient idea that could be the future of history teaching?
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