History at Excalibur

" I liked learning about the stone age because it dates back to what we used to do."

"I liked looking from back then and seeing how much we have evolved."

"I loved learning about toys and playing with the old toys from the past."

"I love doing drama in History"

"I like to compare what people did in the past to what we do now"

"I like seeing what is different now"

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

During the autumn term, Year 1 have been learning all about the history of Bonfire Night! They shared how they celebrate, before journeying back in time to explore what happened on the 5th November 1605. Year 1 acted out the events, including Guy Fawkes hiding in the Houses of Parliament. They then compared their own Bonfire Night celebrations to those in the past, exploring the difference between past and present.

Year 2

During the autumn term, year 2 learnt all about the Great Fire of London! They looked at how we know that the fire happened, exploring lots of different historical sources. They investigated why the fire spread so quickly and burned down so many houses, as well as finding out about how they fought the fire. It was very different to today's fire brigade's equipment, especially their fire engine! They were lucky enough to handle artefacts from Nantwich Museum to learn about what life was like in Nantwich at the time of their great fire in 1538. They enjoyed a visit to the museum to learn more about the Great Fire of Nantwich and visit places which were affected all those years ago!

Year 3

During the spring term, Year 3 have enjoyed travelling back in time all the way to the time of the Ancient Egyptians. They learnt when abouts in History the Ancient Egyptians lived and considered the how important the River Nile was to them. Year 3 took on the role of archaeologists, exploring different artefacts to see what they could tell us about Ancient Egyptian life. It all got a bit gruesome when learning about mummification, a lesson which Year 3 will not forget! They learnt that there were three other, major civilisations existing elsewhere in the world at the same time: Indus Valley, Sumer, Shang Dynasty and they considered how they were similar and different. To celebrate their learning, they went on an exciting visit where they got to handle real-life artefacts.

Year 4

During the spring term, Year 4 have learnt all about the next group of people to come to Britain, the Vikings! Their learning started by exploring where they came from and how they reached Britain from their homelands. They were interested to learn about the different ways that Vikings have been portrayed by different people such as the monks and they considered whether their bad reputation was fair or not. Year 4 used archaeological evidence to give them clues to enable them to learn more about the Vikings and how they lived. They also completed a study of place names to learn about Viking settlements. To finish their topic in style, Year 4 enjoyed a visit to Delamere to experience what life was like for the Vikings.

Year 5

During the spring term, Year 5 have been learning all about the Mayans. Their first lesson involved placing the Mayan civilisation on a timeline and learning about the other civilisations which were concurrent with them such as the Romans and the Vikings. They thought about why the Mayan civilisation grew and used a variety of sources such as archaeological remains, artefacts and hieroglyphs to learn more about what life was like during this time. Year 5 enjoyed learning about the different Gods that the Mayans believed in and how they offered them blood through sacrifices. Their learning journey ended with a consideration into all of the reasons why the Mayan Civilisation came to an end so quickly.

Year 6

During the spring term, Year 6 once again took a journey across a number of different time periods, focusing on how historical interpretation can be affected by the images and recounts of historical events, some of which may not be entirely accurate. They also learnt how some images were purposefully altered or changed in order to present a certain viewpoint. Year 6 learnt about the impact of propaganda as a tool for persuasion during the second world war, as well as how censorship meant that people did not always know the full story.