Ms J Toyne Humanities Leader

Our Vision for History

History is the study of the past, in particular the changes over time that have occurred within human society.  Working as historians, children at Birchwood Junior School learn about the important places, people and events that have shaped our world and still influence us today. Our history curriculum is influenced by Forest Skies Dream Big powers.

Discover – through learning about time periods across human history and what life was like for the people who lived then

Reasoning – making links between time periods and the reason why events happened as well as the consequences of these

Empathise – understanding the motivation behind decisions and how they affect the lives of ordinary people

Ask Questions – helping to develop independent enquiry and looking for bias and balance with sources

Make mistakes – evaluating our own learning and suggesting how we could do better and thinking of mistakes made in the past and how we can learn from these

Be Resilient – challenging ourselves and others to deepen our understanding through challenge questions

Imagine and create – working together to develop ideas; imaging what it might have been like to experience the lives of others

Grow – becoming confident historians who can link our understanding and ideas across the full curriculum

Our curriculum is outlined below but please feel free to pop into school any time and ask to speak with our History lead Miss Toyne. She is always more than welcome to answer any questions.

How history promotes our golden threads:

Inclusivity for all

The history curriculum is inclusive, all children are able to participate and be successful through adapted tasks and resources, and adult support. Children with complex needs and EHCPs have a planned adapted pathway for history. This ensures that the key subject knowledge for their age group is taught and the children have experience of each unit of work. Staff know the children well and are able to adapt lessons accordingly to take into account gaps in learning and limit of previous experiences. When we know the children need to have a better understanding of the wider world beyond their environment, then we can plan our learning accordingly. Our learning journeys and approaches to planning help to build independence and resilience. We introduce new skills and knowledge in small steps and use a mastery approach to ensure that these are embedded before moving forward.

Every child a reader

Every year group across school has access to relevant books that fall in line with the unit they are teaching at the time. These books form excellent resources for pre reads within lesson. Children have access to these books for independent or grouped reads and can form linked texts within reading sessions across our curriculum. Staff are also alerted to any online reading that can be shared with classes with upcoming sessions in that unit. Units of work in reading and writing for each year group are based around a class novel,  when history is the focus of the term, the novel will reflect this. (Beowulf supporting Vikings, Odyssey supporting Ancient Greece)

Children in adapted pathways and continuing phonics teaching have access to the class read for pleasure book, which is read by the adult. They also experience some of the longer novels as part of their targetted learning.

Experiences, for deep sustained learning

Experiences are incredibly important for bring the period on history alive. The school has invested in VR headsets to further enhance experiences within the classroom. Each year group has specific immersive experiences.

Y3 - Ancient civilisations day bringing together learning from Stone Age, Bronze Age and Ancient Egypt

Y4 - Roman Army day, experiencing life as a recruit and firing Roman weapons; Roman Lincoln trail showing the remains still visible in the city

Y5 - Viking raiders day, experiencing life as Saxon or Viking; visit to Lincoln Castle to learn how the castle has changed over the last 800 years

Y6 - WWI day, experiencing life in the trenches; visit to Bomber Command to learn about the Dambusters

Mental, Physical and Emotional Wellbeing

History supports wellbeing by helping children develop a sense of curiosity and the mystery of how and why events in the past happened and raises questions as to what could have happened if events had had different results. Pupils are encouraged to explore the role played by important individuals, for good or ill, in the shaping of the world we live in. Pupils also reflect upon different interpretations of the past and how these interpretations have been arrived at. Pupils are encouraged to show compassion for people facing dilemmas and to empathise with decisions which people in the past made and the reasoning behind these decisions. Notions of right and wrong are explored in connection with events from the past, linking with the value of justice.

Community Approach

Our community is at the heart of everything we do. We have adapted our curriculum so that is relevant to our community, to develop a greater sense of being part of Birchwood and Lincoln through history, looking at how the great events have shaped the place in which we live. We have Authentic Voices history resources showing how the events of the twentieth century shaped one family living in Lincoln.