History at Excalibur

"My teacher always gets excited to teach history. It makes me excited to learn all about it."

"I really like history! I love learning all about the past."

"I love it when we do activities where we get to move around the classroom and learn from each other."

"I like being able to tell my parents all about what we have learnt."

Pre-School FS1

During the autumn term, pre-school have been exploring their own personal history. Each child brought in a 'well-being box' into school. inside the box, the children chose photos of their family and special events, as well as special objects which mean something to them. They then shared their boxes with their peers, giving details of their family, holidays, days out and favourite objects. It gave the children a fantastic opportunity to recall events from their past.

EYFS - Reception

During the autumn term reception class have been developing their historical thinking and vocabulary. 

In chronology: They have used the language of time when talking about past/present events in their own lives and in the lives of others including people they have learnt about through books. They use a simple timeline to show dates such as when they were born.

In Enquiry: They found out about key historical events and why and how we celebrate today. Events this term have been; Bonfire Night, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day, Diwali. They asked questions, looked at artefacts and used different sources to find answers including books.

Year 1

We have been learning all about Bonfire Night and why we celebrate it each year. As part of our learning, we looked at how Bonfire Night is celebrated now and how it was celebrated in the past. We sorted photos and images into past and present and discussed how we had made our decision. We also talked about how we know what Bonfire Night was like in the past - we use sources! These can be photos, pictures or quotes from people who celebrated at that time. 

Year 2

We have absolutely loved learning all about the Great Fires of London and Nantwich in year 2! We couldn't believe that there was a great fire so close to home! We used lots of different sources to find out as much as we could about the Fire of London, including when it was, where and why it started and who by. We talked a lot about how we know about both fires with them happening such a long time ago and we learnt the importance of historical sources to help us find things out about the past. 

We ended our learning with a trip to Nantwich Museum to find out all about what life was like for people during the time of the Fire of Nantwich in 1583. We looked at artefacts such as plates, cutlery and toys, as well as trying our hand at using a quill and ink to do some writing. It was a lot trickier than using a pencil!! To really immerse ourselves into what life was like during the fire, we walked around Nantwich and found important places from the fire such as St Mary's Church where people went to keep safe. 

Year 3

Year 3 have enjoyed travelling back in time all the way to the Stone Age! They investigated whether or not people from the Stone Age were simply hunter gatherers and learnt all about how their lives changed once they began to farm. Taking on the role of archaeologists, they explored Skara Brae and looked for clues as to what the artefacts told them about Stone Age life. Also, they learnt about the different theories to explain the existence of Stone Henge and discussed which theory they thought was the most likely. Their learning moved to the Iron Age and they discovered how life changed and developed during this time period. 

Year 4

In Year 4, after learning about the Romans in Year 3, we looked at the next people to live in Britain - the Saxons! We learnt all about where they came from and what made they come to Britain. To help learn more about Anglo-Saxon life, we looked at the role of archaeology and investigated what the grave at Sutton Hoo told us and we considered who it may have belonged to using the artefacts discovered as clues. One of the main changes for life in Britain during the Anglo-Saxon rule was the change to Christianity and we learnt all about the impact this had on their daily life. One of the most interesting lessons was learning all about Anglo-Saxon justice. We learnt all about the different punishments that were used and considered how effective they were. To conclude our learning, we debated whether or not the Anglo-Saxon period should be viewed as the dark ages, coming up with reasons for both sides of the argument. 

As part of Black History Month, we also had a visitor who spoke to us about different important people in History. 

Year 5

In Year 5, we have been learning all about the Second World War. To begin our learning, we learnt all about the events that led up to the start of the war to help us answer the question, "Why did Britain go to war in 1939?". Our learning enabled us to learn all about the impact of World War 2 on British people, including evacuation, rationing and how people protected themselves during the Blitz. We were interested to learn all about how local areas such as Crewe were targeted during air raids and why this might have been. We learnt about the use of propaganda and how this was used by the government to keep people's spirits up and gain support. 

Year 6

In Year 6. we have taken a journey through a number of different historical periods exploring the theme of 'Black and British'. We looked at the first black people in Britain during the Roman times and we learnt that there was then a period of absence until the Tudor times when black people settled in Britain with some holding positions of responsibility. We looked at a number of historical sources to find out more about the positions that they held. We learnt all about the slave trade and the huge suffering that black people experienced during their lives as slaves. Our journey took us to the world wars and we learnt that black people had a role in both wars but that, due to discriminatory views, their roles were restricted. We learnt about the impact of the arrival of SS Windrush in 1948 and then considered how life has changed for black people over recent years since introduction of laws to prevent discrimination of black people.