Planning and resources for primary teachers from http://www.ks2history.com. Our history topics include Stone Age to Iron Age, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Victorians, Shang Dynasty etc and the list is expanding each month, with literacy units to link to the topics too.
Our popular resources have been tried and tested in hundreds of classrooms.
Planning and resources for primary teachers from http://www.ks2history.com. Our history topics include Stone Age to Iron Age, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Victorians, Shang Dynasty etc and the list is expanding each month, with literacy units to link to the topics too.
Our popular resources have been tried and tested in hundreds of classrooms.
A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Stone Age to Iron Age topic. This KS2History planning pack includes 10 detailed lessons plans, each with accompanying pupil resource sheets and Powerpoint slides.
The ten sessions in this unit aim to give an overview of the period from the Stone Age to the Iron Age in Britain and to highlight some of the major changes during this period. There is an emphasis on allowing pupils to consider the sources of evidence that form our understanding of this period of British history.
The aims of the unit for pupils are:
To gain an overview of the major changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age
To consider how we know about a historical period without written sources
To research what it might have been like to live in Britain during this period
This pack contains everything you need to teach this unit, including differentiated activity ideas so that it can be adapted to the needs of your class. The Powerpoint text is also editable.
The planning pack covers the following lessons:
What does prehistory mean?
How did hunter-gatherers survive in the Stone Age?
What was Stone Age cave art?
What kind of sources tell us about the Stone Age?
What was Skara Brae?
Why are there so many mysteries about Stonehenge?
How did bronze replace stone in the Bronze Age?
What do grave goods tell us about the Bronze Age?
What was life like in an Iron Age hill fort?
What was Iron Age art like?
This pack is brought to you from KS2History resources.
This resource includes 1 x PDF file (containing all lessons and resources) and 10 x separate PPT files.
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A full lesson for KS2 about King Alfred the Great, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Who was Alfred the Great?
In this lesson, pupils will find out why Alfred was a significant figure in Anglo-Saxon history. Pupils will listen to Alfred’s story and consider why he left a legacy as a ‘great’ king. They will then design a commemorative statue and be challenged to think about why historians sometimes doubt the truthfulness of the historical sources that tell us about King Alfred.
Objectives:
To explore the story of Anglo-Saxon King Alfred
To consider why Alfred is remembered as ‘The Great’
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
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Anglo-Saxons Unit for KS2: A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Anglo-Saxon topic.
What was it like in an Anglo-Saxon village? A complete lesson for KS2
Where did the Anglo-Saxons come from? A complete lesson for KS2
A full lesson for KS2 about Sutton Hoo (an Anglo-Saxon burial site discovered in England), including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
What was the mystery of Sutton Hoo?
In this lesson, pupils will learn about the mystery of Sutton Hoo. Pupils will go on a treasure hunt to find out about some of the grave artefacts discovered at Sutton Hoo and they will discuss what deductions can be made from them. Pupils will look at the evidence and decide what kind of person was at the heart of the burial.
Objectives:
To explore the significance of the Sutton Hoo discovery
To investigate artefacts from an Anglo-Saxon grave
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
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Anglo-Saxons Unit for KS2: A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Anglo-Saxon topic.
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A full lesson for KS2 about the Industrial Revolution, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
What was the Industrial Revolution?
In this lesson, KS2 pupils think about the impact of the Industrial Revolution in Victorian Britain. Pupils will engage with historical sources to make observations about a British city before and after the Industrial Revolution. Pupils will learn about changes to cities, employment, living conditions and the landscape and will play a game to reflect on whether the effects of the various changes brought about were positive or negative ones.
Objectives:
To find out what the Industrial Revolution was
To explain how Victorian Britain was changed by the Industrial Revolution
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
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Introduction to the Victorians: (FREE): A full lesson for KS2 introducing the Victorian period, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Who Was Queen Victoria?; A full lesson for KS2 exploring the life and significance of Queen Victoria, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Inventions: A full lesson for KS2 about famous Victorian inventions, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Railways A full lesson for KS2 about the introduction of the railways, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Working Children A full lesson for KS2 exploring the topic of jobs for Victorian children, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Schools A full lesson for KS2 about Victorian schools, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Clothing A full lesson for KS2 investigating Victorian clothing, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Crime and Punishment A full lesson for KS2 about crime and punishment in the Victorian period, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets…
A full lesson for KS2 about how Anglo-Saxon Britain was organised, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
How was Anglo-Saxon Britain ruled?
This lesson looks at five major kingdoms from Anglo-Saxon Britain. Pupils will learn about the social hierarchy and will use character cards to rank different people in order of importance. Then they will look at how their local area relates to the kingdom structure and investigate the meaning of local place names that originate from Anglo-Saxon times.
Objectives:
To find out how Anglo-Saxons kingdoms were organised
To investigate Anglo-Saxon place names
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
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Anglo-Saxons Unit for KS2: A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Anglo-Saxon topic.
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A full lesson for KS2 introducing the story of Cleopatra VII and her legacy as the last main Ancient Egyptian pharaoh. The resource includes a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Who was Cleopatra and how is she remembered?
In this lesson, pupils will learn about Cleopatra VII and her legacy as the last main pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Pupils will act out her story, including the defeat of the Ancient Egyptian civilisation. Pupils will read a range of opinions about Cleopatra from historical sources and be encouraged to form their own conclusions about her character.
Objectives:
To explore the story of Cleopatra VII
To investigate Cleopatra’s legacy and some of the different opinions about her.
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
This lesson is part of the KS2History Ancient Egyptians Planning Pack for KS2.
This primary history resource is created by KS2History.
A full lesson for KS2 that engages pupils in a series of historical questioning about the pyramids of Ancient Egypt. The resource includes a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
4. Why did the Ancient Egyptians build the pyramids?
In this lesson pupils will think about the why, what, how and where of pyramid building. They will investigate different types of pyramids in a hands-on modelling challenge and then they will learn about some of the logistics behind building these gigantic structures, as well as exploring their key purposes. Pupils will present their findings in a 3D pyramid fact file.
Objectives:
To explore what the pyramids looked like
To discover why and how the Egyptians built the pyramids.
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
This lesson is part of the KS2History Ancient Egyptians Planning Pack for KS2.
This primary history resource is created by KS2History.
Download our popular two-week unit of work for Years 3/4 based on the book ‘How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth’, with a focus on instructional texts. Perfect for linking the Stone Age topic in literacy!
This unit gives children the opportunity to understand the features of instructions as a text type. In the first week, children will engage with the text through research, a hands-on toy washing challenge and the opportunity to create their own ‘Woolly Mammoth Cleaning Kit’. They will become familiar with the text type by following instructions to make their own milk bottle mammoth models and identifying features of the text. There is a grammar focus on using prepositions and imperative verbs.
In the second week, pupils will use drama to develop ideas and extend vocabulary. They will then plan their own set of instructions and they will draft, edit and present their final written outcome.
The literacy objectives covered are:
To retrieve and record information from non-fiction
To participate in discussion about a text
To use a range of imperative verbs
To use prepositions
To read and follow written instructions
To identify the features of instructions
To identify how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning
To prepare a group performance
To use a rich and varied vocabulary
To make a plan for my writing
To write my own set of instructions
To edit and evaluate my writing
To integrate visual devices
The PDF file contains 10 full lesson plans and accompanying pupil resource sheets.
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A full lesson for KS2 introducing the Bronze Age, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
How did bronze replace stone in the Bronze Age?
This lesson looks at the changes between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age, including the implications of the discovery of bronze and the process of how bronze was made. Pupils will find out why bronze was so important and they will create their own flowcharts to record the ‘smelting’ process of how it was made.
Objectives:
To know how the Bronze Age was different to the Stone Age
To explain how the smelting process was used to make bronze
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
This is the seventh lesson in the popular Stone Age to Iron Age Unit for KS2..
This primary history resource was created by KS2History.
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A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Maya Civilization history topic. This KS2History planning pack includes 10 detailed lessons plans, each with accompanying pupil resource sheets and Powerpoint slides.
The ten sessions in this unit aim to give an overview of the history of the Maya Civilization, with a particular focus on the period leading up to the height of the civilization in AD 900. As with all KS2History.com units, there is an emphasis on allowing pupils to consider the sources of evidence that form our understanding of this period of world history. The unit also takes the opportunity to draw contrasts with comparable themes from British history.
The aims of the unit for pupils are:
To gain an overview of significant people, places and events from the Maya Civilization
To explore how the geography of the Maya area impacted trade, daily life and the growth and decline of the civilization
To consider broader historical context and draw links with British history and other familiar aspects of world history
To become familiar with historical sources and debates, to address misconceptions and to use accurate vocabulary relating to the Maya Civilization.
This pack contains everything you need to teach this unit, including differentiated activity ideas so that it can be adapted to the needs of your class. The Powerpoint text is also editable.
The planning pack covers the following lessons:
What was the Maya Civilization?
How did the landscape of the Maya area affect trade?
How did Maya settlers survive and thrive in the rainforest?
What do Maya ruins tell us about city-states?
How useful are the pictures of Frederick Catherwood as a source of information about the Maya?
Did the Maya invent football?
Why was maize so important to the Maya people?
Who was Pakal the Great?
How did the Maya keep track of time?
What is the mystery of the abandoned Maya cities?
This resource includes 1 x PDf file (containing all lessons and resources) and 10 x separate PPT files.
A full lesson for KS2 exploring the topic of jobs for Victorian children, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
What was life like for working Victorian children?
In this lesson, pupils will find out about the different kinds of work that Victorian children undertook. Pupils will watch videos exploring work in mines, factories and fields and will consider what these jobs would have felt like for children performing the work on a daily basis. Pupils will make a paperchain of Victorian children to present information about different jobs and have the opportunity to hot-seat in the role of a child worker.
Objectives:
To find out what sort of jobs were taken by Victorian children
To explore what life was like for Victorian working children
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
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Introduction to the Victorians: (FREE): A full lesson for KS2 introducing the Victorian period, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Who Was Queen Victoria?; A full lesson for KS2 exploring the life and significance of Queen Victoria, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Inventions: A full lesson for KS2 about famous Victorian inventions, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Industrial Revolution A full lesson for KS2 exploring the impact of the Industrial Revolution, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Railways A full lesson for KS2 about the introduction of the railways, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Schools A full lesson for KS2 about Victorian schools, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Clothing A full lesson for KS2 investigating Victorian clothing, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Crime and Punishment A full lesson for KS2 about crime and punishment in the Victorian period, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
A full lesson for KS2 about Victorian clothes, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
What kind of clothes did the Victorians wear?
This lesson is designed to help pupils to understand how clothing and class status were linked in Victorian times. Pupils will engage with historical sources to make observations about clothing, and then compare rich and poor clothing. Pupils will learn how sewing and clothes making were important skills and will have a go at making their own Victorian sewing sampler.
Objectives:
To use historical sources to make observations about Victorian clothing
To compare clothes for rich and poor people from Victorian times
To design a sewing sampler
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
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Victorians Full Unit for KS2: A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Victorians topic.
Introduction to the Victorians: (FREE): A full lesson for KS2 introducing the Victorian period, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Who Was Queen Victoria?; A full lesson for KS2 exploring the life and significance of Queen Victoria, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Inventions: A full lesson for KS2 about famous Victorian inventions, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
A full lesson for KS2 exploring the importance of the River Nile to the Ancient Egyptian civilisation. The resource includes a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Why was Ancient Egypt the ‘Gift of the Nile’?
In this lesson, pupils will play a map-work game in pairs to help them to investigate the basic geography of Ancient Egypt. Then they will learn about the important natural resources provided by the River Nile and its role in farming. Pupils will use their new knowledge to create an information poster about the Nile and an optional extension activity will challenge pupils to explore modern-day maps of Egypt to make comparisons.
Objectives:
To understand the importance of the River Nile in Ancient Egypt
To give examples of the natural resources
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
This primary history resource is created by KS2History.
A full lesson for KS2 about the introduction of the railways to Victorian Britain, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
How did the Victorians respond to the new railways?
This lesson looks at the introduction of the railways during the Victorian period. Pupils will think about their own experiences of rail travel and consider what travel was like before the railways were built. They will learn about how the new railways impacted people in positive and negative ways using case studies and role play activities, before writing a letter to explain one character’s perspective on the new railways.
Objectives:
To find out how the introduction of the railways changed travel and trade
To explain different viewpoints about the new railways
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
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Introduction to the Victorians: (FREE): A full lesson for KS2 introducing the Victorian period, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Who Was Queen Victoria?; A full lesson for KS2 exploring the life and significance of Queen Victoria, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Inventions: A full lesson for KS2 about famous Victorian inventions, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Industrial Revolution A full lesson for KS2 exploring the impact of the Industrial Revolution, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Working Children A full lesson for KS2 exploring the topic of jobs for Victorian children, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Schools A full lesson for KS2 about Victorian schools, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Clothing A full lesson for KS2 investigating Victorian clothing, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Crime and Punishment A full lesson for KS2 about crime and punishment in the Victorian period, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
A full lesson for KS2 about Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. The resource includes a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
What did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics mean?
In this lesson, pupils will look at historical sources containing Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and look closely for familiar symbols among the writing. Pupils will learn about what kind of messages were written in hieroglyphics, discuss some of the issues around translation and use a hieroglyphics key to make their own Egyptian cartouche.
Objectives:
To discover what Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs looked like
To explore the issue of translating hieroglyphics
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
This lesson is part of the KS2History Ancient Egyptians Planning Pack for KS2.
This primary history resource is created by KS2History.
A lesson for KS2 about key Ancient Greek philosophers and their influence, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and printable activity sheets.
This lesson is part of our popular Ancient Greece Pack for Key Stage 2.
Lesson: What were the Ancient Greek philosophers famous for?
This lesson allows pupils to find out about key thinkers from Ancient Greece. After getting into some philosophical debates of their own, pupils will compare three famous Greek philosophers and choose one to focus on in detail for a museum exhibition, with an optional clay modelling challenge. Pupils will finish the lesson by performing a song about famous Ancient Greek thinkers.
Objectives:
To find out about famous thinkers from Ancient Greece
To explore key ideas and questions from Ancient Greek philosophy
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Ancient Greeks Lessons Pack for KS2: A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Ancient Greece topic.
This primary history resource has been created by KS2History.
A full lesson for KS2 exploring how Lord Shaftesbury worked through the Factory Act and other campaigns to improve the lives of Victorian children. This resource includes a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
How did Lord Shaftesbury improve the lives of Victorian children?
In this lesson, pupils will learn how Lord Shaftesbury campaigned to improve children’s lives. After learning about the Factory Act, pupils will write a letter from Lord Shaftesbury to the government proposing changes to the law. Finally, pupils will have the opportunity to link Lord Shaftesbury’s work to the legacy of other significant figures from history.
Objectives:
To explore why Lord Shaftesbury was an important figure
To find out how Lord Shaftesbury’s campaigns improved children’s lives during the Victorian period
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
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Victorians Full Unit for KS2: A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Victorians topic.
Introduction to the Victorians: (FREE): A full lesson for KS2 introducing the Victorian period, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Who Was Queen Victoria?; A full lesson for KS2 exploring the life and significance of Queen Victoria, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Inventions: A full lesson for KS2 about famous Victorian inventions, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Industrial Revolution A full lesson for KS2 exploring the impact of the Industrial Revolution, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Railways A full lesson for KS2 about the introduction of the railways, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Victorian Working Children A full lesson for KS2 exploring the topic of jobs for Victorian children, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
The Egyptian Cinderella Pack contains a complete unit of work for Year 3/4, with full lesson plans and pupil resources based on the book ‘The Egyptian Cinderella’ by Shirley Climo.
The ten lessons in this English unit give children the opportunity to read and listen to the story of The Egyptian Cinderella a number of times in order to become familiar with the language and structure of the story.
In the first week, children will engage with the text through fun drama, discussion and debate activities to deepen their understanding of the story and they will have the opportunity to articulate ideas about the text using an increasingly varied vocabulary. There is a grammar focus on using comparative conjunctions, feelings words and action verbs as well as a chance to develop thesaurus skills. In the second week, pupils will plan their own story and they will draft, edit and present their final narrative.
The English objectives covered are:
-To compare different versions of a traditional story
-To predict what might happen in a story
-To use comparative conjunctions
-To use a thesaurus to improve writing
-To infer how a character feels
-To use feelings words
-To identify how verbs can create an action section
-To take part in a class debate
-To make a story plan
-To write my own narrative
-To edit my writing
-To make decisions about how to present my writing
#lovehistory
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A lesson for KS2 about daily life for children in Ancient Greece, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and printable activity sheets.
This lesson is part of our popular Ancient Greece Pack for Key Stage 2.
Lesson: What was daily life like for children in Ancient Greece?
This lesson is designed to help pupils to understand more about key areas of daily life for Ancient Greek children. Pupils will play a game to compare elements of their own lifestyles to life for different children in Ancient Greece. They will research information about food, education, clothing and entertainment and then design their own version of an Ancient Greek pull-along toy. At the end of the lesson, pupils will examine how four historical sources from Ancient Greece give more clues about daily life for children.
Objectives:
To explore different areas of daily life for Ancient Greek children
To find out about popular Ancient Greek toys
To consider how we can know about what daily life was like so far in the past
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Ancient Greeks Lessons Pack for KS2: A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Ancient Greece topic.
This primary history resource has been created by KS2History.
A lesson for KS2 about Athens and Sparta, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and printable activity sheets.
This lesson is part of our popular Ancient Greece Pack for Key Stage 2.
Lesson: Why were Athens and Sparta so different?
In this lesson, pupils will learn how Ancient Greece was divided up into ‘city-states’, each with its own laws and armies. They will draw contrasts between two of the most powerful city-states – Athens and Sparta – and use their knowledge to develop a balanced argument about which one they would prefer to live in.
Objectives:
To know what city-states were
To compare the city-states of Athens and Sparta
To make a balanced argument based on historical knowledge
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Ancient Greeks Lessons Pack for KS2: A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Ancient Greece topic.
This primary history resource has been created by KS2History.