History
Intent
The value that Discovery Primary Academy places on History is clear the moment you enter the building, with historical murals, year groups named after historical periods and classrooms reflecting these themes. The purpose of History is to help children understand how the past shapes the present and to build a strong sense of identity through a clear chronological framework. Pupils develop essential knowledge, vocabulary and disciplinary skills such as questioning, explaining and interpreting, supported by the key concepts (change, continuity and cause). What they learn influences their choices, attitudes and values, aligning closely with our school values. We ensure all pupils, including those with SEND, can access the curriculum through explicit vocabulary teaching, scaffolding, chunked tasks, visuals and high-quality knowledge organisers.
Implementation
At the start of every academic year, each year group learns about the period of history that their classes are named after.
Knowledge organisers have been written for each unit and have been adapted to identify the core knowledge that pupils who are new to English or SEND should acquire and an aspirational section that extends the knowledge that more able pupils should acquire.
We follow the CUSP History units to support us in planning our History Curriculum. Every lesson starts with a review that helps the children to recall previously taught facts. As part of our Cultural Capital, Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary is taught as part of every lesson; visual support is given to pupils who are New to English or have SEND to ensure access. Lessons begin with a question that all pupils should be able to answer by the end; the unit culminates in an independent activity that assesses the children’s knowledge and understanding.
The key concepts and big questions are revisited throughout the year to ensure that pupils’ knowledge and understanding is committed to their long-term memory.
Impact
At the end of each unit, we expect that children will be able to:
- Use the tier one and two vocabulary correctly and in context.
- Answer each of the questions posed at the start of every lesson.
- Make links between units taught that year and in previous years.
- Make links between key historical concepts and concepts taught in other subjects.
By the time pupils leave the academy at the end of Year 6, it is our intention that they will have a secure chronological understanding and a good grasp of four key concepts:
- Cause and consequence
- Continuity and change
- Similarity, difference & significance
- Perspectives