The aim of History at St Joseph’s is to inspire children’s interest in the past and teach them about the lives of people and events, from a range of historical periods, in Britain and the wider world. We teach the children chronology so they can place these key events in context. We encourage the children to use and evaluate a wide range of historical sources and ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement.

We want History to be exciting and to come alive for them and to achieve this we endeavour to take school trips, borrow artefacts from a museum and have visitors in to bring an extra dimension to their understanding, as well as explore the history of our local area.

• Key Vocabulary
  Pupils should develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time.

• Time lines
  They should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.

• Vocabulary and Questioning
  They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events.

• Sources of information
  They should understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.

• Chronology
  Pupils should continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study.

• Connections and vocabulary
  They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms.

• Questioning
  They should regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance.

• Applying knowledge
  They should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information.

• Sources of information
  They should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.