History at Cotsford
At Cotsford Primary School it is our intent that through the teaching of History and learning about the past we will help our children to gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We want to inspire the children’s curiosity to know more about their personal past and their place in the world. Our teaching will help the children to understand what chronology is as our History curriculum is designed in chronological order. The children will learn some similarities and differences in order to make some comparisons about how people lived in different time periods, including their own. They will focus on how civilisations change over time and become more aware of how diverse societies are and the relationships between different groups. Therefore, helping our children to have respect for other cultures and traditions. We believe that the best way to do this is to provide our children with appropriate trips and experiences in each unit in order to deepen their knowledge of each topic.
Please click on the link for History National Curriculum Information
Summer 2
This half term, Reception had a fantastic visit to the Sea Life Centre in Tynemouth and they talked about their experience. They found it surprising what people would wear to the beach all those years ago when they looked at past photographs. The photographs were black and white and the people had their best suits and dresses on. There wasn’t a single pair of shorts, t-shirts or sunglasses!
Summer 1
This half-term, we all celebrated the very special occasion of the King’s Coronation. Reception read ‘The Kings Pants’ by Nicolas Allen. As you can see in the pictures below, they designed their own pair of royal pants. Everyone had lots of fun on the lead up to the coronation, we made bunting, paper chains, crowns, castles and wrote fact files. The whole school enjoyed a royal picnic buffet, craft and sport activities with parents and carers invited too.
Year 1 looked at the life of Norman Cornish, what he did and why he is a significant figure in our community. They looked at pictures and information texts to infer information and identify key facts about his life and job. As a class, the children placed significant events from the past like the moon landing and England winning the world cup on a timeline in chronological order and looked at where Norman Cornish fitted in chronologically. They compared life from then to now, looking at how houses and home life have changed over time (linking it to their previous History work) and how children used to play.
This half term Year 2 have loved exploring the seaside holidays in the past. They looked at transport, where to stay, what to do at the beach and the clothing. The children could not understand why people weren’t allowed to wear what they want and that the rich girls had their own bathing machines to get changed into and having a horse take them into the water. They discussed how life has changed and that people now are allowed and can afford to do a lot more. They liked the idea of going on holiday to the seaside as many could relate to going on seaside holidays now and that many things are the same i.e. fairgrounds, hotels and ice-cream. The class had a discussion about why Victorian people weren’t very good swimmers which led to talking about different opportunities available now. The children created a diary entry and a poster promoting 1950’s holidays.
Year 3 have been studying Ancient Greece. The children added the time to a wider timeline and ordered events chronologically. They learned about Alexander the Great and his Empire discussing what life may have been like under his reign. The children loved looking at the very different experiences of men, women and slaves in the Ancient Greek city states and the effects it has had through the ages.
While Year 4 have been considering the history question, ‘What happened when the Romans left?’ The children loved learning about the Anglo-Saxon era. They found out about where they settled in England and what daily life was like for them. The children even compared the Anglo-Saxons to the Romans, especially the houses that they lived in. The children also enjoyed learning about the rulers and kings of the Anglo-Saxon era!
This half terms History has been very close to home for Year 5. The children have been focusing on the History of Horden and in particular, mining. To start, the children went on a walk around the local area to spot signs of mining. The children loved completing extra homework around this topic, they have interviewed grandparents, visited Beamish Museum and even made their own mining tools. Once they returned to school, the children used the timeline in the Welfare Park to create their own which led them to create their own investigation questions. They used these questions to research their local area and even looked at Tommy Armstrong, who is a famous pitman in County Durham. The children also used maps to show how Horden has changed over time.
Year 6’s history topic could not have come at a more opportune moment! They looked at monarchs throughout British history, focusing on the eras and reigns. King Charles very kindly had his coronation during this period, so they created a Clips presentation for the school to teach everyone about his life. The children researched monarchs from different periods and compared on early king with King Charles. They finished by investigating the Tudor Era and learning about their fascinating period of history!
Spring 2
This half term, the children in Reception have been thinking about events from the past. This included writing about how Christians remember a long, long, long time ago, the Easter story and International Women’s Day.
Spring 1
This half term, Reception have looked at things from the past including traditional stories and also kings and queens from the past. The children have enjoyed looking at all the different clothes and how they are different to ours today. As you can see in the pictures below, the children explored castles and even made their own. Reception’s favourite part was having a Fairy tales day, where they dressed up and designed their own crowns.
Year 1 have been detectives. The children investigated a range of items from over 100 years ago and tried to guess what they were. They guessed some correctly. The children enjoyed comparing houses, rooms and items from the past to those we have now and were shocked at how different things were in the past, especially the outside toilet and the fact there was no electricity! Then, they created timelines to show how things had changed over the years. Also, the children looked at Horden and what it looked like 100 years ago (before they were born) compared to now and they were amazed! They looked closely to observe differences and find clues. The children were surprised to find that some things hadn’t changed at all, in fact they could see that some of the bungalows near the bandstand in the park looked exactly the same. Next, the children went on a virtual history hunt, again looking for clues on streets, houses and features from the past or the present, saying whether they thought they had changed or stayed the same and talked about how they knew. Finally, the children then used this information to examine the similarities and the differences.
This half term Year 2 loved exploring fantastic firsts! They began by putting fantastic firsts in chronological order with many discussions on life before things were invented. It was great fun watching the first film and learning how it was made. From this the children showed great interest in creating their own film. They used the app, ‘Stop Motion’ and quickly realised that over 100 photos taken would only give them 12 seconds worth of film. They read about the first flight by The Wright Brothers and answered several questions. The telephones from Durham Learning Resources were mind blowing! The majority thought that phones that were just for talking were a bit boring compared to modern day mobile phones.
Space travel was their Literacy focus and they were lucky enough to have a visit from author Adam Bushnell. The children watched the Mars mission and explored the different parts of the spacecraft needed to complete the journey. They sequenced the life of Neil Armstrong and wrote a newspaper report of the first lunar landing.
During a visit to the Hancock Museum the children learnt lots of new knowledge as well as recapping on our previous knowledge of Hadrian’s Wall, local area and wider world.
As an introduction to the Ancient Egypt topic, Year 3 began by mummifying tomatoes. The children studied the mummification process and mimicked this on their tomatoes leaving them for 28 days so they could assess how well they had been preserved. The pictures and some of their reactions look fantastic! Alongside this, the children placed events from Ancient Egypt in chronological order and studied some artefacts from this period of time such as canopic jars, sphinx and some of their jewellery. Year 3 even worked with author Adam Bushnell to develop their understanding of this era.
While Year 4 have continued their learning about the Romans. They have been able to deepen their understanding of the way that they used to live. The children looked at daily life, including jobs, food, leisure activities and homes. The children’s favourite fact was that the Romans used mouse brains to brush their teeth. Yuk!
The Historians in Year 5 have looked at different civilisations around the world this half term and where they fit in with the chronology that they have already learnt about. Then, they focussed on the Mayans and who was making history in faraway places in the year 1000? The children added the Mayans to the timeline. As you can see in the pictures below, the children had a wonderful time exploring some primary sources and discovering what they might tell us about life for the Mayans. Their favourite was the cocoa beans and the idea of chocolate! The children then used interpretations to complete some more research about the Mayans including; their buildings, food, farming, beliefs and any problems they faced which ultimately led to their demise.
Year 6 have really loved learning about World War One. They started with the history of the War, why and when it started as well as who was involved. Next, the children looked at life on the front line, looking at life in the trenches and how terrible life was for soldiers. They then turned their attention to life in Britain, using the census to gather information about the Bradford family and how their situation changed from before the war, to after. It was a real shock to see how much one family changed because of the situation. Finally, the children learned about rationing, which was first introduced in Britain in early 1918 and why this was an important to support the war effort. They really enjoyed looking at artefacts from the war, especially the ones bought in and shown to us by author Bushnell – they were from his Great-Grandad, who fought at Vimy Ridge.
Autumn 2
As a school we commemorated Remembrance Day by holding an assembly and taking part in the two minutes silence. We created a display in the hall of each class’s work. Reception created a poppy wreath, Year 1 looked at newspaper articles from the time, Year 2 wrote acrostic poems, Year 3 created a poppy cross, Year 4 made poppies, Year 5 thought of why Remembrance Day is important and Year 6 read Wartime poetry.
This half term, Reception have also looked at the night sky and thought about who is out at night. They looked at all the different people that still work while we are sleeping including nurses, doctors, firefighters and police.
Autumn 1
In Early Years this term the children have explored who is in their family, drawing and talking about people who are important to them and their families as well as role playing in the home corner. They have looked at people who help us within the community, school and at home. They enjoyed their walk around school, meeting and finding out all the jobs of people in our school. They also had a special visitor, Jet the Police dog! It was amazing to meet his owner Claire and talk about how the police help us, what they do and to find out all about Jet. He was a lovely dog and has a very important job to do.
Year 1 have learnt lots of new vocabulary relating to the past. They began by looking at their personal chronology and created a large timeline of significant events. The children then moved on to exploring old and new toys and thought about why they were made from different materials. Through handling artefacts, they developed their understanding of how we can discover things about the past. Year 1 really enjoyed comparing Cotsford Primary School with schools from the Victorian era and used artefacts, books, photographs and video clips to explore this. The children came to an easy conclusion as to where they would rather be!
The children have enjoyed being street detectives in Year 2! Using the locality, the children had to identify where the old railway was in Horden by looking at clues as well as exploring the small part of the remaining platform. They have looked for clues in pictures, names and labels to help them identify famous local structures. Placing the structures in chronological order proved tricky so they looked at the dates they were built. The children learnt the skill of looking for clue words when matching structures to their descriptions. They used Google to find out about the history of Horden and used old maps to begin to understand the development of Horden as a village as well as understanding the importance of the mine and train station. From this they went on a walk around the village identifying structures which are older than themselves. This led into discussions with their older family members about life through their years.
Year 3 have had an amazing Stone Age experience this half term. This began with a Stone Age experience day where they learned about life during the stone age. They learned how they made their houses, what food they ate, how they would hunt for food and how they would use what they hunted for a range of purposes such as clothing and shelters. They also know that the ‘Mesolithic Age’ is referred to as the ‘Middle Stone Age’ and can order events on a time line that shows chronological ordering through this time period.
Year 4 have been studying the Romans. The children have loved learning about how the Roman Empire expanded across Europe. They have built on their chronological knowledge of Britain since the Stone Age and have been able to explore resources to understand the impact that the Romans had on Britain. The children loved visiting Segedunum Roman fort and enjoyed lots of activities, including acting out the battle between the Romans and the Celts!
Were the Vikings really vicious? As a result of Year 5’s research, the children have decided that yes, they were. The children came to this conclusion by studying primary sources and interpretations, including the Horrible Histories book. They continued to develop their chronological understanding by creating a timeline which ran from the Anglo Saxons until the Vikings finally left the UK. Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed researching different parts of everyday life including, clothes, jewellery and homes. The children even created their own messages by using the Viking Runes.
What a fantastic Viking Day Year 5 had to start off our new topic! The children played Viking games, listened to Viking stories and dressed up in traditional Viking dress. Although as you can see in the pictures below, the children’s favourite part of the day was the battle for York between the Vikings and the Anglo Saxons. This time, the Anglo-Saxons were victorious.
Year 6 have been looking at their understanding of chronology. They were inspired by the life of Queen Elizabeth II and looked at all the monarchs from 1066 to the present day – they couldn’t believe how many there had been! Do you know how long Lady Jane Gray was Queen for? Only 9 days! The children also researched important parts of British history and bought all of this together in a huge scaled timeline. Next, they compared modern day life with that of several different eras, including the Victorians and Vikings. Using primary and secondary sources, they then compared the lives of children in their chosen eras with our lives today. Finally, they went to Raby Castle, which has wonderful examples of pictures, furniture and architecture from a range of different periods of time.