St Michael’s history curriculum is designed to give the children a broad understanding of the history of Britain and the world, and to help them develop a sense of identity and an understanding of Britain’s global role. We believe it is only through understanding the past that we can understand the present.
To this end, we have carefully chosen topics that allow children to build their knowledge and chronological understanding of historical eras as well as the history of Britain and Oxford, with varied opportunities to analyse sources, discuss historical questions and develop their understanding of how historical events, customs and traditions impact on our life today. Information about the curriculum is available here: history overview.
Children are taught humanities (either history or geography) in weekly lessons lasting at least an hour. Teachers plan lessons which allow children to immerse themselves in the topic using a range of primary and secondary sources, artifacts, trips, workshops, drama, discussion and stories. Children take part in a variety of activities allowing them to gain a solid knowledge of their topic, compare and make connections between historical eras, and become confident using appropriate historical terminology.
The termly or half-termly topics are balanced between geography and history lessons to ensure equal coverage and, where appropriate, link with other subjects including some of the texts studied in English. This allows children to apply the knowledge and skills learnt in history and geography to, for example, quality pieces of writing in English as well as to other areas of the curriculum.
By the end of Year 6, children will have a sound understanding of some key historical eras, events and people, be able to discuss them using historical language, and make appropriate links between their learning in history and other subjects. They will have an understanding of the influence that the past has on subsequent historical events, including our lives today, and form judgements on how events and people have been represented and why. They will be able to interpret sources and discuss their validity and historical context. Most importantly, we want our children to love history and have a thorough understanding of how it influences the present.