History is written every moment

This is certainly true of the current times that we are living in. In history lessons across the school children are constantly asked to evaluate the significance and importance of historical sources and artefacts, and to consider the role these artefacts play in helping us to decode the past. Now it is our turn to record events for the children of the future.

At Norman Pannell we will be creating a time capsule so the pupils of the future will have an understanding of how world events of 2020 impacted on the people of Netherley.  

Whilst your children are at home, here are some activities they could complete to be added to our time capsule on returning to school:

• Keep a diary of what is happening and how they are feeling, how their lives have changed and what they hope for the future.
• Write a letter to Norman Pannell pupils of the future - writing about themselves and how the current events have impacted on their lives.
• Draw a picture of what they can see from the window
• Take pictures of themselves and their family and how they are spending their days at this time.
• Create a timetable of a typical day (this could be coloured in and pictures added)
• Interview family members
• Create a poster detailing the advice given by the government to help us all to stay safe.
• Record news headlines - this could be done by collecting newspaper articles, keeping a notebook of what is being reported on Newsround. 

Please don't feel limited by the list above and feel free to come up with your own activities (the Norman Pannell community are very creative so I anticipate lots of great additions!)

Stay safe everyone and I look forward to seeing what you all create!

Mrs Size

History Co-ordinator

Intent for History

Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, Healthy Futures.

In History, we encourage children to explore and question events and people from the past. By approaching History with a focus on investigation and interpretation children are able to identify and empathise with their past, building an understanding that allows them to reflect on life in modern Britain.

We develop children with the following essential characteristics to help them become historians:

§ An excellent knowledge and understanding of people, events and contexts from a range of historical periods, including significant events in Britain’s past;

§ The ability to think critically about people and events and communicate ideas confidently to a range of audiences;

§ The ability to support, evaluate and challenge their own and others’ views using historical evidence from a range of sources;

§ The ability to think, reflect, debate, discuss and evaluate the past by formulating and refining questions and lines of enquiry;

§ A respect for historical evidence and the ability to make critical use of it to support their learning;

§ A desire to embrace challenging activities, including opportunities to undertake high-quality research across a range of History topics;

§ A developing sense of curiosity about the past and how and why people interpret the past in different ways.

Implementation for History

We do the following in order to deliver our curriculum in History:

• We do not follow a set scheme of work, instead choosing to draw from a range of resources to create series of lessons that are tailor made for the children.

• Teachers are provided with medium term plans with skill progression built in.  These plans also consider key vocabulary and quality assessment. As part of this planning process, teachers need to include the following:

  • A knowledge circle to record ideas and possible enquiry questions.
  • A vocabulary starter for each lesson with at least one recorded in books for each topic.
  • Each cycle of lessons will include a focus on chronology and an opportunity to conduct a historical enquiry.
  • An extended writing task to allow children to communicate understanding and explore a topic. Examples are then added to a whole school display.
  • Trips and visiting experts who will enhance the learning experience;
• Frequency - History is taught in a half termly rotation with Geography.
• History is linked and made relevant to a range of other curriculum areas throughout the school, with all classes exploring chronology, key features and characteristics of a range of time periods outside of set History lessons.
• Each History unit is ended with an assessment task that allows all children to display understanding of historical skill set despite writing ability.  These assessment decisions are then moderated both internally as well as at local authority moderation meetings.

Impact of History

At Norman Pannell we provide high quality assessment tasks that allow all children to demonstrate their historical skills and understanding. At the beginning of every topic children are encouraged to self-assess their starting point and consider what they know. Throughout their topic, children will be provided with opportunities to prove their knowledge and skills in written, spoken and practical tasks .  Subject and school leaders monitor the impact of our curriculum provision through completing regular monitoring, including pupil voice.  Class teachers also take part in cross-moderation with local schools.