History

History Leads - Miss Whiteside and Miss Heneghan

“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” Martin Luther King Jnr

History Subject Statement

We believe it is essential that our young historians have a firm grasp on how historical events have shaped modern societies. Within our history curriculum, our pupils consider how the past influences the present and they develop a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people.

It is important that our children recognise there were many different key periods of time that were occurring at the same time in different parts of the world e.g. Ancient Maya and Ancient Egyptians and our timelines in classes are reflective of that.

Our curriculum is carefully sequenced and progressive. It allows children to revisit themes throughout different periods of time enabling them to make comparisons and links within their substantive knowledge.

Pupils are provided with rich curriculum enhancements through trips, workshops and historical experiences such as a workshop from the only female Maya archaeologist in the country, completing the Roman experience in Chester and experiencing what life would have been like during the Industrial Revolution at Quarry Bank Mill.

Children are given opportunities to recognise how historians study the past and consider how historical accounts have been constructed. History is all around us and it is our intent to fire pupils’ curiosity to ask questions and know more about Britain’s past and that of the wider world.

The knowledge of our history curriculum is provided by teaching the children and giving them opportunities to develop substantive and disciplinary knowledge.

What's the difference between substantive and disciplinary knowledge in history?

Substantive knowledge

In history, substantive knowledge is the factual content of the past. For example: Queen Victoria died in 1901 and Neil Armstrong was the first man to land on the moon in 1969. Substantive knowledge is established fact that is not open to debate.

At St.Margaret's we teach our children key substantive knowledge through common themes throughout school. These are:

Religion
Daily life
Writing
Invasion and settlement
Legacy

Foundations for these themes are first laid in Reception as part of the EYFS curriculum and continue to be built upon throughout Key Stage 1. Children then begin to explore these themes progressively and in more depth from Year 3 to Year 6 as they are taught chronologically about different periods in time starting from the Stone Age in Year 3 and ending with the Battle of Britain in Year 6.

Disciplinary Knowledge

Disciplinary knowledge is an understanding of the concepts that organise facts into substantive knowledge. These concepts are used to make use of the facts that are learned. Disciplinary knowledge includes how historians investigate the past and shape their arguments.

At St.Margaret's, we teach disciplinary knowledge through the following key concepts:

Chronology
Historical significance
Cause and consequence
Continuity and change
Similarity and difference
Historical evidence

Disciplinary knowledge ensures that pupils appreciate the context in which substantive knowledge was generated. This helps pupils to appreciate context and the perspective from which knowledge was created, different standpoints and how views have changed as time has moved on.