Historical Stories to support GCSE History

Pete Jackson from Ryedale School in North Yorkshire and Ben Bassett from Villiers School in London have been working on writing historical stories to support the GCSE Curriculum. Here is their findings and examples of their work The thinking behind the project Inspired by the growing momentum around historical storytelling in the classroom, we’ve spent the past year crafting narrative-rich resources to support the OCR … Continue reading Historical Stories to support GCSE History

The power of a ballad vs the power ballad

By Meggie Hayes, History Teacher at The Crypt School in Gloucester. If you ask students what a ballad is today, they will go straight to the talents of Adele and Lewis Capaldi – perhaps some of the more cultured of the class will recite the greats of the 80s like Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’. But these answers – whilst bangers – are … Continue reading The power of a ballad vs the power ballad

Building a coherent history curriculum: why it matters and how to achieve it

By Catherine Priggs Curricular coherence is a vital element of effective curriculum design. When a curriculum coheres, it unfolds as a logical narrative, ensuring that content is not a collection of isolated topics. In a coherent curriculum, topics are woven together through overarching ideas, reinforcing pupils’ chronological and conceptual understanding. So, what does curricular coherence look like in practice? The power of sequencing A vital … Continue reading Building a coherent history curriculum: why it matters and how to achieve it

Diversifying the Second World War

This article is written by Philip Arkinstall, Curriculum Leader for History at Hardenhuish School. It compliments an earlier blog post about how to teach the Second World War (https://onebighistorydepartment.com/2023/04/25/cracking-the-enigma-a-new-approach-to-teaching-all-of-world-war-two/) Here I have reflected upon our department’s wider work on rewriting our Key Stage Three curriculum. It sits within a greater appreciation of diverse histories in the Tudor period, British Empire and the First World War. … Continue reading Diversifying the Second World War

Planning enquiries: five rules of thumb

Thanks to Mike Hill, Head of History, Ark Soane Academy, and a member of HA Secondary Committee, for this blogpost to help with the planning of enquiries. Over the last term, I planned seven new enquiries and I am currently working on an eighth. I feel out of breath typing this. Planning these enquiries has sometimes felt like trial by ordeal, but it’s also been … Continue reading Planning enquiries: five rules of thumb

You might want to rethink your teaching of 1381!

Thanks to the teachers and academics of the HA Fellowship ‘The People of 1381’, the resources have now started to go ‘live’. Here is a short introduction and links to the resources. Downloadable classroom resources with teacher guidance Support for teacher knowledge, curriculum and teaching ideas The importance of The People of 1381 Why make time for the people of 1381 in a crowded curriculum? … Continue reading You might want to rethink your teaching of 1381!

Active history to make history memorable and accessible

This blogpost accompanies the launch of a new webpage on the HA website. The ‘knowledge turn’ of recent years has been very welcome in many ways. There is inspiring work and success in evidence across the country in relation to developing coherent curricula. There are wonderful examples of historical enquiry and the use of historical narratives weaving disciplinary and substantive knowledge effectively. And yet, there … Continue reading Active history to make history memorable and accessible

Unsilencing Welsh History in Schools

This blogpost shares with OBHD readers a short article published in Public History Weekly on 8 June 2023 by Rhonwen Bruce-Roberts. Our students in our history lessons are living in the UK. Rhonwen suggests that ‘anglocentrism poses a risk of denying separate histories and separate identities that are a part of its story’. She challenges us to ‘tease out forgotten narratives through ‘multiperspectival history’’. Abstract: … Continue reading Unsilencing Welsh History in Schools

Calling all history ECTs! Subject specific CPD just for you!

Thanks to Liz Stevenson, ECT at St Mary’s Catholic High School in Croydon, for this blogpost in which she shares how she is applying her learning from the HA’s Early Career Development Programme. What did you enjoy most about your PGCE? What do you miss from that time? Perhaps as we start our first ECT year, we focus on building our confidence in the classroom, fostering relationships … Continue reading Calling all history ECTs! Subject specific CPD just for you!