History

Vision

Studying history at Moss Hall helps children make sense of the present. It provides them with an understanding of how to answer this question: how do I fit into this place? The content of our history curriculum gives our students relevant cultural context and capital. It also helps them understand how to make a difference and change their world for the better.

The skills Moss Hall historians learn through practice are crucial to their study of other subjects, but also to their lives outside school. Asking relevant questions, treating information with healthy scepticism, using evidence to justify opinions, employing vocabulary accurately - these are just some of the skills learnt by studying history at our school.

Substantive knowledge

Which events, people and periods (and associated vocabulary) will the children know about?

Our children learn about British and world history (as laid out in the National Curriculum) in chronological order. This journey begins with some local history - anchoring the children’s understanding of what history means. The clock then starts ticking, as the students set off for the Stone Age, continue through the Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilisations, turn towards Medieval Britain, take a detour via 9th-century Baghdad and culminate with a series of thematic British history units such as the changing power of the monarchy and the history of immigration in the UK.

Disciplinary knowledge

How do historians study and interpret the past?

Our historians learn through practical enquiry: they examine a wide range of sources, come up with their own questions and answer those posed by others. They compare and make connections between different historical events, people and periods. In doing all this, they can learn how historians work, how they attribute significance and - ultimately - how competing views of the past have been constructed. These competing views will sometimes be explicitly taught.

Sources

At Moss Hall, children explore a variety of primary and secondary sources including photographs, artefacts, art, stories and music to:

develop their thought and enquiry processes
build a picture of the past
inspire curiosity about the past and how it links with the modern world.

Vocabulary

At Moss Hall progression of historical terms is carefully mapped out to ensure children:

learn how to use historical words accurately and in context to express the passing of time
express orally and in writing the connections, contrasts and trends over time using the appropriate vocabulary
gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’ and ‘parliament’

Assessment

At Moss Hall we...

are able to talk and write about people and events from the past confidently and using appropriate vocabulary
answer big questions in order to draw our learning together
use knowledge organisers to revise facts and complete quizzes
assess in a variety of ways to allow children to demonstrate their abilities in chronological understanding; knowledge and interpretation of events, people and changes in the past; historical enquiry

Long Term Overview

	EYFS	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Year 6
Autumn 1	Community: All About me - Me, my family and my friends, important people to me and people who keep us safe in school	Migration/Diversity: All About Us Big Question - Why do people move to new places?		Migration/Diversity: Finchley Now & Then (Transport) Big Question - How has Finchley changed over time and how do you know?	Democracy: Ancient Greece Big Question -Should the Parthenon Marbles be in the British Museum?	Civilisation: Early Islamic Civilisation Big Question - What's the biggest achievement of the Early Islamic Civilisation?	Migration/Diversity: The History of Immigration into Britain - Kindertransport and Windrush Big Question - What were the push and pull factors of immigration?
Autumn 2			Society: Great Fire of London Big Question - How has London changed since the Great Fire?			Empire/Invasion: The Vikings/Anglo-Saxons Big Question - Vikings: Ruthless killers or peaceful settlers?
Spring 1	Society: People who help us- People who help us in our community / home - teachers, doctors, vets, police officers, fire service			Society: Stone Age to Iron Age Big Question - Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age: Which period would you prefer to live in and why?	Empire/Invasion: The Roman Empire Big Question - How successful was the Romans' invasion of Britain?		Society: The History of Pandemics - Great Plague (1665-6) to Coronavirus (2020-2) Big Question - Is Covid 19 the worst pandemic in history?
Spring 2		Community: Transport Big Question - How have changes in transport improved our community?	Empire/Invasion: Explorers Big Question - Why do explorers travel to other places?			Power/Monarchy: The Changing Power of the Monarchy, 1215-1952 Big Question - Which monarch experienced the greatest shift in power?
Summer 1			Rights: Amazing Women Big Question - Should everyone have the same rights?	Civilisation: Ancient Egypt Big Question - Were the pyramids the greatest achievement of the Ancient Egyptians?	Power/Monarchy: Anglo-Saxons & Scots Big Question - How was the Anglo-Saxons' conquest of Britain similar/different to the Romans?		Rights: The History of Women's Roles and Rights in the UK Big Question - Have women's lives improved over time, since 1066 in the UK?
Summer 2	Settlement: Transport - The ways we move around TFL and local transport journey	Power/Monarchy: Castles, Kings and Queens Big Question - Do Kings and Queens have to follow the rules?

History Progression Map