Mrs K Eyre – History Lead
At Liskeard Hillfort we are passionate historians. We believe that studying history is vital in developing a better understanding of the world. Knowing how society, technology and government worked in the past helps us to understand it now. History also helps us to develop a sense of self and understand how our personal stories fit in to the narrative of history. That is to say, where do we all fit into the big picture! It also helps us to understand and develop a greater appreciation of other cultures and the influence they have had on our lives today.
When we study history at Hillfort, we seek to understand change, questioning why things changed, how they changed and the consequence of those changes. This will make our children better decision makers: those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. We also show our children the importance of the individual: how one person stood up for what they believed in or worked hard to make their dreams come true.
We aim to inspire our children and facilitate awe and wonder (and sometimes shock and despair) as we investigate the achievements and follies of humankind.
When children leave Hillfort, they will have:
- a chronologically secure understanding of Britain to 1066;
- an understanding of the key events in the struggle for power between the monarchy, the government and the church from the absolute monarchy of William I to the constitutional monarchy of Elizabeth today;
- an overview of how our justice system has changed over time, including how our rights as citizens have changed and what our rights are today;
- an understanding of local history, both of Liskeard and of Cornwall;
- an appreciation of ancient cultures: Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Baghdad;
- a suite of historical skills including an understanding of how we know what we know and how certain we can be.
Hillfort Specific
| Embody the school’s values Kindness, resilience, challenge, courage, aspiration | Cultural isolation Embracing multiculturalism and fighting the corrosive effects of intolerance. | Closing the vocabulary gap Plan for reading to improve tier 2 words |
Historical Concepts
| Chronology and time When and for how long? | Context: Local – National – Global Where – was it the same everywhere? What else was happening at the time? What was it like at that time? | Evidence How do we know? How sure can we be? | Historical concepts such as… continuity and change; cause and consequence; similarity, difference is it significant | Understand abstract historical terms (Note 1) Eg Empire, Civilisation, Parliament |
Historical Skills – enquiry
| Using sources Think critically: Weigh evidence, sift arguments, | Interpreting the past Make connections Draw contrasts develop perspective and judgement, understand the complexity of people’s lives analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions | Organisation and communication Create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses Understand historical task words (Note 2) |
Curriculum Maps:
Year 1| Children’s play 7 lessons | Poppies 3 lessons | Phones 6 lessons | How we used to live 100 years ago 11 lessons | Who changed how we live? Inventors 6 lessons |
| Victorian Liskeard 7 lessons | G’powder Plot 3 lessons | The Great Fire of London 6 lessons | Explorers: Compare Magellan and Armstrong Sir Francis Drake: hero or villain? 7 lessons | Castles 8 lessons (trip) | Significant People in History 8 lessons |
| Stone Age 7 lessons | Bronze Age 4 lessons | Ancient Egyptians 12 lessons | Iron Age Britain and the Roman Invasion 9 lessons |
| How did the Romans change Britain?* 10 lessons | Anglo Saxon Britain 9 lessons | The Viking Invasion and the struggle for the throne 9 lessons | 1066 11 lessons |
| Ancient Greeks 12 lessons | Power & Monarchy 18 lessons | Cornish History: mining, fishing, smuggling and tourism. Includes Voyage of the Mystery. 9 lessons |
| WW2 (including Local History Study)** 14 lessons | Law and Retribution 13 lessons | Early Islamic Culture 12 lessons |
Changes for 2021/22 (due to changes in the order of some taught content)
Y4: Roman Unit will include the invasion as this hasn’t been covered in Y3. This means that this unit will extend to 12 lessons with the following 2 units reducing by 1 week each.
Y6: Children will have already studied WW2 in Y5 but have not yet covered the Ancient Greeks. Therefore, in place of the WW2 topic, they will do the Ancient Greek unit (now in Y5).