History Overview
History is a popular and important subject here at Thomas Jones. It is a central strand
of our integrated curriculum, driving many of the units taught. In addition to the
opportunity to study key periods of British and world history through specific units,
they are many opportunities for pupils to gain a sense of historical perspective
through the texts studied in English and the elements of history embedded across
different units.
Over the course of their school career, pupils will have the opportunity to make
numerous educational visits to places of historical interest. Details of some of these
can be accessed through the integrated curriculum section. Below are some key
objectives that Thomas Jones pupils will study as they move through the school.
Year One and Year Two
To use common words about the passing of time, e.g. old/new/before/after etc.
To use a simple timeline to organise historical information chronologically
To ask and answer questions about past events
To begin to sequence people and events chronologically
To recognise differences between ways of life at different times
To use stories and eyewitness accounts to extract and evaluate information
To study significant types of buildings and dwellings in which people have lived in
the past
To know significant events in the lives of at least one king or queen
To know that the past is represented in different ways such as pictures, diaries, letters,
maps and books
To recognise differences between ways of life at different times
To use stories and eyewitness accounts to extract and evaluate information
Year Three and Year Four
To identify some of the different ways the past is represented; ask and answer
questions about the past by using a range of sources
To communicate their learning, making appropriate use of specialist terms
To use dates and vocabulary relating to the passing of time
To recognise that the past can be divided into periods
To make comparisons between life in the past and life now
To identify and describe reasons for, and results of, historical events, situations, and
changes in the periods studied
To use a range of sources of information to find appropriate information about the
past (for example, stories, eye-witness accounts, pictures and photographs, artefacts,
historic buildings and visits to museums, galleries and sites, the use of ICT-based
sources)
To communicate their learning, making appropriate use of specialist historical terms
To understand that different historical sources can contradict each other
Year Five and Year Six
To identify and describe reasons for, and results of, historical events, situations, and
changes in the periods studied
To be able to employ a range of methods for conducting historical research
To make comparisons between life in the past and life now
To learn about the lives of people living in other places and times, and people with
different values and customs
To consider and discuss the differences between ways of life in post-war and modernday Britain
To learn to use a range of sources including film footage, newspaper reports,
photographs, literature and non-fiction books to ask and answer questions about postwar Britain
To make historical deductions from physical evidence
To sequence a series of pictures and identify changes in image
To place events in a chronological sequence and use appropriate vocabulary to relate
these events to markers of time
To locate and consider key periods within British history
To identify some of the different ways the past is represented
To ask and answer questions about the past by using sources in ways that go beyond
simple observations
To answer questions about the past by selecting and combining information from
sources and giving reasons for their selection
To learn that the type of information available depends on the period of time studied
To learn that Britain has connections with other places in the world and to learn the
location of some other places
To make a reasoned judgement about the validity of different representations of the
past
To locate and consider key periods within British history
To identify some of the different ways the past is represented; ask and answer
questions about the past by using sources in ways that go beyond simple observations
To answer questions about the past by selecting and combining information from
sources and giving reasons for their selection
To learn that the type of information available depends on the period of time studied
To make a reasoned judgement about the validity of different representations of the
past