PDF lesson plan on local history for KS1.
KS1
Years 1-2
Instead of far-flung places, try engaging pupils in the through their own familiar spaces, says Bev Forrest.
Local history is still the Cinderella of the subject in many primary schools. It’s frequently completely forgotten at KS1, and in KS2 (if included at all), it’s often just a brief reference in a more general topic on the Victorians or Tudors.
Teachers seem to think they need to introduce their pupils to ‘wow’ places like castles and stately homes, overlooking the amazing potential for learning right on their doorstep.
This lesson will support you on how to enable your KS1 pupils to successfully explore their immediate locality. Based on a study of Small Heath Park near the centre of Birmingham, the suggested approaches provide a model for you to adapt the learning opportunities to your own local park.
What they’ll learn
- To identify features that have changed and those that have stayed the same since the park was first opened
- To suggest reasons why these changes occurred
- To begin to understand why the park is a significant place in their locality
- To use visual sources of evidence to reach conclusions about their area in the past
