History

We are all historians

At St Michael’s Academy, our history curriculum aims to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people. Our history programmes of study have been developed to provide pupils with a comprehensive knowledge of Britain’s past and develop their understanding of significant events in world history. In the Autumn term, all year groups cover parts of British History, from the Stone age, through the Roman Empire, the Anglo-Saxons and the power struggle in 1066. Later in the year, we focus on key historic times in other parts of the world, including the Ancient Egyptians, Kingdom of Aksum, Ancient Greeks and Indus Valley.

The programmes of study in history at St Michael’s Academy have been designed to equip pupils with the skills to ask perceptive questions, think critically about historical sources and evidence, and develop a rounded perspective and judgement on past events and how they may affect how we live now.

At St Michael’s Academy, history provides an excellent stimulus for cross-curriculum activities, particularly in writing and reading and also provides the link for many different learning opportunities through a varied and creative range of activities from art, drama, poetry and design technology. Theme days and trips, and many other events all provide excellent experiences that enrich the children’s learning in history.

Curriculum documents

How history is taught at St Michael's

How is history taught at St Michael’s Academy?

History is taught for one hour every week, for three half terms of the year. In half terms where geography is taught, history will be taught for a minimum of one hour. In addition, 10-minute history recap sessions will be fitted into the weekly timetable, focusing on chronological knowledge.

History lessons should begin with a hook: for example, a story or a primary source. This should be followed or preceded by (depending on how it fits) a recap of key vocabulary and key knowledge from the previous lesson.

All history lessons should include: 

   • Repetition of key vocabulary 

   • Key knowledge 

   • Opportunities to look at primary and secondary sources (and question their reliability in Year 5 and 6) 

  • A mixture of quick-fire and discussion questions 

   • Ensuring children can place any dates on a timeline of wider history

History can be recorded in a number of ways, e.g.:  

• Full sentence answers to questions

• Cloze text paragraphs

• Mind maps

• Timelines

• Labelled sources

• Family trees

• Stem sentences

• Comparison tables

• Use history for writing objectives (e.g. non-fiction reports, diary writing)

Examples of history at St Michael's