Humanities (Geography and History)

At Boughton-under-Blean & Dunkirk Methodist Primary School our humanities curriculum aims to develop and inspire pupils’ curiosity of the world around them and an interest in how events from the past help shape our world in the modern day.

Why do we learn geography and history? (Pupil Voice comments 2022)

“So we know about different cultures, environments and places.”

“Because our earth is important.”

“Because history is our past and it is important to acknowledge that and how humans have developed.”

“It’s about what has happened before and how it has had an impact on the present day".

 

Aims

The national curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes
• understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time
• are competent in the geographical skills needed to:
  • collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
  •  interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
  • communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

The national curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:

• know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
• gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

Planning and topics

Our long-term plan for humanities has been devised to provide our pupils with a range of history and geography topics from Year 1 to 6 that cover a balance of local, national and international studies and periods of history through the ages. ‘Understanding the World’ is where much of EYFS historical and geographical thinking and learning takes place. Our topics are carefully balanced and planned to be age appropriate across the years. History units are not taught in chronological order but placed where they seem most appropriate for the content. Links are made by teachers to ensure children understand where periods of history are placed chronologically in relation to other previously taught units. In Key Stage 1 each class studies three geography and three history topics per year with each unit being approximately 6 weeks long. In Key Stage 2 at least one topic per year group is taught across two terms allowing for a more in-depth study, for example the Victorians in Year 4 and World War II in Year 6.

The majority of humanities is taught by class teachers with some units of work being delivered by PPA cover teachers. Lessons are taught once a week for approximately one hour. Where appropriate, cross curricular links are made to other subjects for instance making Roman shields, Spitfire models and canopic jars in art, use of the text ‘Street Child’ linked to work on the Victorians and a unit of music ‘Sounds of Africa’.  

Our progression maps show knowledge and skills covered in each year group. This ensures that each year builds on previous learning. Rather than using a purchased scheme, teachers ‘cherry pick’ resources and ideas taken from a wide range of sources to create bespoke, individualised medium-term plans for each topic.

 

Trips and fieldwork

Teachers ensure the children have a range of trips to enhance their learning in humanities. Using the local environment enables them to learn through direct experience and first-hand investigation, as well as placing their learning in a personal context. Some examples of our trips include:

Reception – Dover Transport Museum (history of vehicles)

Year 1 – Village walk (Where do we live? School and local area)

Year 2 – Leeds Castle (Henry VIII & Elizabeth II); Tankerton Beach (Seaside Holidays)

Year 3 – Roman Museum, Canterbury (Roman Empire and its impact on Britain)

Year 4 – Victorian Day at Kent Life (The Victorians); Village walk (Study a region of the UK)

Year 5 – Local beach visit (Coasts)

Year 6 – World War II Day at Kent Life (WWII: Battle of Britain & Kent at War)

Geography fieldwork and enquiry-based learning gives children the opportunity to ask questions and gather information to answer them. It engages children in real-world learning and encourages critical thinking. Examples include traffic surveys to look at the impact of a village road closure and a parent survey about village amenities and how they could be improved.

 

Assessment

Children are assessed by teachers at the end of each unit of work to show whether they have met the expected standard in ‘Geographical or Historical Skills’ and also ‘Knowledge and Understanding’.