History
Key Stage 3 Curriculum Overview - History
Rationale
The curriculum at key stage 3 enables students to develop a deeper understanding of British, local and world history. Topics are arranged chronologically to enable Britain’s changing landscape over time to be detailed and to explore how far sites in the locality of the North East reflect aspects of national history. Year 7 begins with content covering the Romans, with key skills embedded since lesson one. The study of Medieval England and the Tudors explore the development of the church, state and society in Britain through the ages and the study of the slave trade and industrial revolution in year 8 explores the British Empire and the impacts that it had at home and abroad. The development and use of the rail network during this period provides a perfect opportunity to make links to the local area via the Darlington Railway. Students receive a detailed depiction of the challenges faced in the 20th century during the suffragette movement as well as the impacts felt locally and on a global scale during World Wars I and II.
Students are encouraged to develop their ability to think critically and throughout the study programme are invited to explore methods of historical enquiry. These include the reliability of sources and how they are used to make historical claims (source analysis followed by the question ‘What was the biggest problem facing factory workers during the Industrial Revolution?’) and the exploration of cause and consequence (Outbreak of the Black Death and how it led to the peasants’ revolt). At the end of a topic, pupils will complete an enquiry based question using the knowledge and skills they have learnt so far.
Intent
The intent behind the curriculum is to provide students with a sound and clear understanding of chronology, change and continuity, historical enquiries and historical perspective. Students will develop a well-rounded knowledge of history on a local, national and global scale. Students will explore the historical significance of developments in their own home town, namely the significance of the Darlington to Stockton railway, as well as adding depth of understanding to national and global historical events such as the industrial revolution and World Wars I and II. The course is structured to provide students with a sound grasp of key historical vocabulary and is taught through engaging content from the outset, starting with the invasion of the Romans and the Battle of Hastings, a topic which students find particularly appealing. Through careful planning and delivery of this content, students are supported in developing other aspects of subject knowledge such as explaining how power and society can change which makes links to our Core British Value such as rule of law and the key stage four curriculum of crime and punishment. By the end of the key stage, we intend to have developed learners that can identify key events within history and link that to the wider world. We hope that our students become inquisitive learners who are able to think like historians and can independently analyse and evaluate sources with clear intent, depth and understanding. Learners will understand the chronological links of changes over time and be able to offer clear insight into the causes and impacts of these. Embedded within the course are strong links with English, such as the use of inference in literature and historical content and themes which are studied through World War I poetry. Embedding these skills will allow students to establish a fluency, enabling them to showcase their skills in other elements of the academy curriculum. Students will also be enabled to express views and opinions and make judgements independently, key skills which can be transferred and applied in a variety of contexts.
Implementation
The key stage three course is chronological which allows learners to understand change and continuity through time. Content is taught in chronological order and provide increasing levels of challenge regarding the historical skills usedto acquire a solid understanding of the historical content. For example, in year seven, topics focus on knowledge acquisition, whereas later chronological units of work which are now taught in year eight are increasingly source based. This is because the learners are more mature and it is giving a greater chance of retraining these skills. Assessments are knowledge style questions with a longer written enquiry question towards the end. Pupils will be given a judgement question in lessons to become familiar with the demands at GCSE. The intention here is that students become familiar with the structure and demands of the GCSE style questioning by the time they reach year 11. All assessments are testing historical skills they have learnt that half term.
Impact
The students will be well rounded historians who are capable of sequencing events in chronological order and explain the significance of these events. The students will possess a bank of historical knowledge on local, national and international history, establishing and detailing links between each. This will allow students to explain how society and the world has changed over time. Students will be able to make informed decisions in the future using the skills and knowledge that they have developed. This will support them in processes such as exercising their right to vote and providing a secure understanding of our democratic society. They will develop a broad historical vocabulary through the study of a variety of information sources from relevant time periods. This will help them to digest information and ascertain whether or not it is relevant and/or reliable, especially in the current climate of misinformation. From here they will be equipped with the ability to form and present their own opinions and arguments.
Key Stage 4 Curriculum Overview – History
Rationale
The elements included at Key Stage 4 have been chosen in order to maximise engagement and build upon the skills acquired at Key Stage 3. In year 10, the modern world depth study includes coverage of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany which links directly to the topics covered at the culmination of year 9. The modern world depth study is covered in year 10 as it is predominantly source and interpretation based and will enhance students’ skills in these areas and enable them to apply them to future modules in year 11. The thematic study in year 10 covers Crime and Punishment which is based upon continuity and change through time. These skills are more complex than the source interpretation skills encountered in year9 and so are covered later. Crime and Punishment links to the year 10 RE curriculum which includes its own study on Crime and Punishment and so students benefit from additional exposure to topics such as the death penalty, supporting their retrieval of information in this area.
Intent
At Key Stage 4, the intention is to support students in further developing the skills acquired at Key Stage 3 so that they are able to form and present detailed historical arguments and justifications in areas such as cause and consequence and the identification of key historical turning points on both a national and global scale. The Units chosen have been selected to support engagement and as a result, provide students with a desire to explore the content in more depth as they seek to gather the evidence needed to answer the main question upon which the main enquiry is based. This is key in developing students’ ability to function as a historian, seeking out the relevant source material from that that is irrelevant and using this to draw conclusions and make informed judgements. Students will develop a more rounded understanding of British society as well as societies around the world. The modern depth studies highlight key historical events that have led to change and students will form a better understanding of how this has impacted upon individuals and society at large. The period studies encountered demonstrate to students how unfolding narratives of substantial events have shaped the world that we live in today, providing them with an improved awareness of the interconnectivity of historical events with today’s society.
Implementation
The focus in year 11 is based around GCSE papers 2 and 3. Paper 2 has historically been an area of weakness for students at St Aidan’s. The period study is based upon Super Power Relations and the Cold War. The final unit to be delivered is Cold War as the intention is to cover the content at the point where students are becoming exam ready and, as a result, able to retain and recall subject matter rapidly. The Cold War topic has been introduced as it was felt that The American West unit which was previously studied was difficult for students to relate to and therefore had a detrimental impact upon engagement. The units chosen at Key Stage 4 ensure that students are able to encounter links between them and establish common themes throughout. The Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany units link to the Cold War through the legacy of the Second World War. In turn, the study of superpowers and the Cold War can be linked to religious and ideological conflicts and state responses to challenge, something which plays a significant role in Early Elizabethan England. To complete the cycle, Crime and Punishment focuses upon a similar time period to that of Early Elizabethan England and provides opportunities to discuss British early modern history and contextualise the learning encountered previously. The scheme of work encourages students to develop the skills that will be required to tackle examination style questions at GCSE level without overburdening students with exam papers and questions and thus threatening to have a detrimental impact upon engagement. Students have been exposed to GCSE style questions through assessment at Key Stage 3 and so the structure of model solutions to these answers is already familiar and at Key Stage 4 they are offered the opportunity to build upon this and add more substantial detail. Lessons adopt an enquiry-based approach upon which students are required to gather evidence from the materials and sources available in order to justify the conclusions that they make.
Impact
Students will develop the ability to analyse and evaluate like a historian and benefit students as these skills are transferable to other areas of the curriculum. They will possess a deeper understanding of how modern society has developed and the key historical events which led us to this point. They will secure a love of historical learning and generate an interest in additional historical events, not just those that are included in the St Aidan’s curriculum. The studies of British history will enable students to identify the platforms upon which our core values are founded and understand their importance in a well-functioning society, as well as the consequences of these values not being upheld. Our students will develop their critical thinking and be able to justify their ideas with use of the written word, a skill set that is essential to support them in further studies or future employment that they should undertake.
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