Short lessons: exemplars of teaching approaches

Here are a large numbers of short lessons – exemplars of teaching methods.

Some of these short lesson exemplars are based on the Teaching Primary History book which is now out of print although available in libraries.

The photograph shows a Roman road which our Year 1 class built after researching how to do it. It would be easy to adapt this to something else.

These short lesson exemplars are classified by teaching method. For full lessons classified by History Study Unit see Nuffield Primary History lessons.

Disussion and debate, speaking and listening
Columbus: was he a hero?
Questioning and discussing a World War II photograph

Questions and questioning
Questions and questioning: finding out about life in Roman Britain
Questions and questioning: studying the school building
Using objects: questioning a Victorian doll
Questioning a famous person at KS1

Reading documents and writing accounts
Children reading documents and writing accounts: the Battle of Trafalgar
Reading historical documents: Victorian school advert
Victorian trade directories
Scott and Amundsen

Using maps and place names
Using maps and place names: finding out about Roman settlements

Reading books
Using topic books for research: building a Roman road
Topic books blitz: asking and answering questions about Tudor life

Using objects and learning about time
Using pictures of Sutton Hoo objects
Learning about time, using Victorian artefacts and timeline
Questioning a Victorian doll
Toys and games
Old and new telephones at KS1
Learning about time, using a timeline for Britain since 1930
Finding out about the teacher

Story-telling and simulations
Socrates, Alcibiades, and Athenian democracy
Romans attack Maiden Castle
Saxon farming year: simulation exemplar
Columbus the explorer (KS1)
Story-telling and simulations: The Great Exeter Fish War 1309
Victorian chimney-sweep
Victorian trade directories

Drama
Queen Victoria and the trains at KS1
Victorian chimney-sweep
The Thing and Viking migration
Ancient Egypt: Akhenaten

Using sites and the environment / The visual image
A visit to Petworth House and looking at the paintings

The visual image
Questioning and discussing a World War II photograph
Boxing boys from Ancient Greece

Assessment
Children questioning artefacts (pots)
Magdalen Road