Thorn Grove Primary School

History

Studying history gives children the opportunity to develop an understanding of why the world and its people are the way they are today.  They begin to ask questions as they explore the diversity of human experience, past lives and societies.  By the end of their primary education, children will have a chronological understanding of British history from the Stone Age to the present day and will be able to draw comparisons and make connections between different time periods and their own lives.  Interlinked with this is the need to look at world history.  At Thorn Grove the children will explore life in the ancient civilisations, including the Maya civilization and Ancient Greece, developing their understanding of trends over time and across concurrent civilisations. They will learn about the history of Bishop’s Stortford and surrounding areas.

 At Thorn Grove, children develop an understanding of how History has had an impact on our lives today both locally, nationally and internationally. Whilst it is important for children to learn facts, we wish to encourage independent and critical thinking which will foster an understanding of ‘why’ as well as ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘where’.

Children study a number of History topics throughout the year. Each topic is carefully planned to ensure children gather knowledge about the historical period while also developing the essential characteristics of historians. Each History topic builds upon the knowledge learned in previous years and topics so that pupils develop a deep understanding of the key 'big ideas' in History. These are: 

• Investigate and interpret the past.

• Build an overview of world history.

• Understand chronology.

As pupils develop their understanding of these 'big ideas' in a range of contexts, so too will they develop the ability to be independent learners, using the key historical skills they have gained to analyse, question and compare sources of evidence to form their own judgement about the past.

History at Home

Living in the historic market town of Bishop’s Stortford and its closeness to London and Cambridge provides our children with a great opportunity to discover more about the past. Children can also learn a lot from our own personal stories of the past which allow them to understand that the world changes with each generation. We actively encourage children to continue their research at home. Below are some websites you might find useful:

Knowledge Organisers

Knowledge organisers are a summary of the key facts and essential knowledge that your children will learn during each unit.

Skills of a historian