Primary History

Bloody Mary: Did she deserve her reputation?

This teaching activity is about reputations, what they are, how we can acquire one and how we can change or lose one. The 18th February marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of Mary I, the lesser known daughter of Henry VIII and sister of Elizabeth I. History today remembers her by… Read More

From Your Valentine: Teaching the meanings of love

Very soon it will be Valentine’s Day when we get the chance to tell a special person that we love them. The story of Valentine’s Day comes from the Roman Christian martyr, St Valentine and using the story is a great way to introduce this series of activities to your… Read More

I Was There: The Fall of the Berlin Wall

25 years ago this November, one of the most despised symbols of communism and the divide between east and west; the Berlin Wall, came down. It was a momentous occasion and finally signalled the end of the Soviet era in Eastern Europe. Millions of people witnessed the occasion, either on… Read More

What is Plague?

Throughout medieval times, plague was a word that struck fear into the hearts of all that heard it whispered or shouted in their towns and cities. In this activity the pupils will find out what ‘plague’ actually is and how it was spread as well as the shocking news that… Read More

Shakespeare in his Time – for Years 3 to 6

Learning Focus: Understand the differences between theatrical entertainment in Shakespeare’s time when compared to today. Be able to write, practise and perform a play in a short time frame, much like Shakespeare and his fellow playwrights would have done in Tudor times. Shakespeare was one of the most important… Read More

The End of the World – Primary Literacy

Much has been made of the Mayan prediction that the world will end on the 21st December 2012 and, whilst we can’t be entirely sure, the chances of it are still remote but it does provide some interesting ideas for work in class. The theory revolves around the Mayan set… Read More

History Activities for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Activity One – Through The Years Year 4 to Year 6 There’s a lot of free software which is easy for children to work with and which can produce really worthwhile outcomes. One of my favourite is Windows Live Movie Maker which comes as part of the Windows 7… Read More

Primary – Using Dickens in History

Activity One – What Happened During Dickens’ Lifetime? Year 2 to Year 6 So much of history is difficult to understand because the context is difficult for children to grasp. As teachers we often try to give the children an idea by saying, ‘back when your grandparents were born’… Read More

Primary – Bread Making

As well as being great fun, bread making takes us back to the very basics of food production and to a time when a happy accident led to flour, contaminated with natural yeasts was left longer than usual on a warm day and began to rise. The cooked bread was… Read More