The LETTA Trust

History – A Progression of Knowledge & Skills

Year
term topic skills knowledge
group
To talk about past and present events in To know some significant events in their own
their own lives. lives
Celebrations
Families and

To select objects, photos and drawings to

help talk about memories of special events
aut
Vocabulary

now, then, first, after, before, birthday, celebrate, memory, remember

To talk about past and present events in the To know some past events in the lives of
lives of family members family members

To make a family tree To know different people have different

memories and experiences
Let’s Play and Pretend

To select objects, photos and drawings to

preserve special events and memories

spr To role play and tell stories about the

important events in their own lives and of
YR
people significant to them

Vocabulary

important, past, present, long ago, old, new

To talk about the differences between their To understand there are differences
Growing Up and Moving On

first day at school and now (physical, between their first day at school and now
learning, families/friendships)and make (physical, learning, families/friendships)
suggestions about why things change over
time

sum To place key events from a day or week in

the correct order

Vocabulary

different, similar, timetable

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Year
term topic skills knowledge
group
Historical language To know

To use historical vocabulary to describe things - a king or queen is a monarch and their
from the past job was to make rules and keep peace in
their lands (make links to our current
Queen)
Historical enquiry
- a castle was a home and protection
To explore objects to develop an against enemies
understanding of the past
- rich and poor people lived and worked in
a castle and describe some of their roles:
Chronological narrative noble/lord/ priest/cook/knight/soldier/
servants
To use historical language to describe the
passing of time - the parts of a castle:
tower/parapets/battlements/moat/drawbri
To sort objects into ‘then’ and ‘now’ dge/flag/ keep/ gatehouse/arrow
Once Upon a Time

loop/dungeon

Historical concepts To know about significant people in history

aut
To identify what is the same and different Guy Fawkes & why we celebrate Bonfire
about people’s ways of life or of objects in Night
the past compared to now - he tried to kill the king by blowing up the
Houses of Parliament
(see vocabulary bank) - his legacy is Bonfire Night, when we
celebrate the fact that his plot did not
Y1 succeed

Mary Seacole (Black History Month)

- she is special because she wanted to
nurse people who were injured at war
- her legacy is that she made it easier for
future generations of black people to
become nurses

Vocabulary

monarch, family tree, ceremony, noble, knight, lord, treason, evidence, parliament,
artefact, servant, Gunpowder Plot

Chronological narrative To know about significant people in history

Jane Goodhall
To map the life of Jane Goodhall (without - she is significant because she was the first
dates: focus on order) to learn how chimpanzees behave and
Animal Kingdom

she protected them from extinction

- her legacy is that people understand how
similar humans and chimpanzees are and
know we need to protect them
(make links to David Attenborough and DA
year 6 class)
Vocabulary

chronological, fossil, natural history

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Historical enquiry To know

To ask how and why questions to explore
historical events/people
To observe and explore buildings to develop
an understanding of the past
- that important buildings from the past are
still here today and we can learn about the
past from them (Buckingham Palace,
Nelson’s Column, Tower of London, Big Ben
and the Palace of Westminster)

Historical concepts To know about significant people in history

We Love London

To tell a story about a significant person from Dick Whittington

sum the past - he is special because his life
inspired many people to tell stories
about him (links to Robin Hood)
- his legacy is that today people still
tell stories about his legend of
becoming Mayor of London

Vocabulary

monument, landmark, palace, legend

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Year
term topic skills knowledge
group
Historical concepts To know
- Stone Age people utilised stones as tools
To explain the significant events during the to create fire (overview)
Great Fire of London
- we know about the Stone Age and how
To make simple comparisons between then people lived because of the tools and
and now (firemen and their equipment, drawings people left behind
homes and building materials)
- the past is represented in different ways
(photos, art, architecture, objects, writing,
Chronological narrative music)

To place key events in chronological order
To use historical language to describe
significant events of a period in time
Historical enquiry
To ask how and why questions to explore
historical events/people/objects
- how and why the Great Fire of London
began
-the factors that meant the fire spread
(wind/wooden houses, dry summer)
- what happened during the Great Fire of
London from the writing of others (Samuel
Pepys and diaries, recounts newspapers)

To use a range of sources; objects, images - different ways the people tried to put the
and writing, to find out what happened in fire out (buckets, water squirts, pulling down
Fire! Fire!

the past houses)

aut
- how London changed after the fire (e.g.
different building materials for houses)

To know about significant people in history

Y2
Sir Christopher Wren
- he is significant because he built a
monument to the people who died and
churches that were destroyed by the fire
- his legacy – the many buildings that remain
in London and beyond

Frank Arthur Bailey

- he is special because he was the first black
fireman (Black History Month)
- his legacy is that he made it easier for
future generations of black people to
become firemen

Vocabulary

source, cathedral , government, architecture, churches, present, past, famous,

representation, recount

Historical enquiry To know about significant events and

people in Poplar
The Secret Garden

To explain how Poplar in the past is different

from Poplar today (e.g.Ragged School Dr Barnado
Museum, streets and important places - he is significant because he set up a free
spr
,docks) school to help children learn in Poplar
(Ragged School)
- his legacy is helping people understand
how to care for children

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Vocabulary

legacy, significant

To know about significant people in history

Charles Jamrach
Globetrotters

- he is significant because he collected

exotic animals from around the world and
sum displayed his menagerie in London
- his legacy is that he encouraged people
to be excited about animals all over the
world.
We know animals should remain in habitats
suited to them. (science and geog link)

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Year
term topic skills knowledge
group
Historical concepts To know

To compare distinct periods in history - where the Vikings, Romans and Anglo
including: Saxons came from and when each group of
- beliefs people arrived in Britain
- children’s lives
- food (science: diets) - why each group invaded and settled in
- clothes Britain (resources, Empire)

Chronological narrative - about each group’s settlements, beliefs,

food and culture, children’s lives
Invaders and Settlers

To use a timeline to order things that

happened in a period, using key dates - how invasion impacted people already
living in Britain
To place the periods studied on a timeline of
aut
world history - the legacy each group of invaders had on
Britain; including today (language, place
Historical enquiry names,stories/ legends, roads, food,
establishment of London)
To use primary and secondary sources to
ask/answer questions - the story of Boudicca and her uprising
(trips/artefacts/archaeological dig) against the Roman Empire
(see word bank)
- the difference between primary and
secondary sources

Vocabulary
invade, settles/settlement, migration, raid, empire, shield, spear, weapon, battle, army, AD,
BC, culture, trade, myth, legend
Y3
Historical concepts To know
Significant people in history who have
To compare an aspect of life for a group of overcome physical difficulties.
people in a period of time to now (see Class hame: Louis Braille/ Helen Keller/
significant people- treatment, education, Ludwig van Beethoven/ Stephen Hawking
attitudes, medicine) - their physical difficulties
Super Human s

- how they overcame them

describe the impact of significant people - who/what helped them
spr and great events on groups of people in
the past and now

similarities/differences in then and now

Vocabulary

Braille,disability, Resilience, inspiration, achievement

To know

- that the Mayans were an ancient

Rainforest Explorers

civilisation from Mexico & Central America

- what life was life for Mayan children

sum
(games, stories & beliefs, food)

Vocabulary

ancient, civilisation, artefacts

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Year
term topic skills knowledge
group
Historical language To know

To use dates and historical language - the five Tudor monarchs (names) and the
appropriately in my work (see word bank) order in which they ruled

Chronological narrative -how Elizabethan children lived

To summarise in chronological order the
main events from a specific period in time
To place the plays of Shakespeare on a
timeline (decades)
- What food Elizabethans ate
- about Elizabethan beliefs
- The Elizabethan Era’s legacy on Britain and
the wider world (exploration- discovery of
America, The Art’s including Shakespeare)

-the key events in the life of William

Historical enquiry Shakespeare
All the World’s a stage

To use a range of historical artefacts/sources
to make comparisons between one aspect
of the past and present
aut day(theatre/entertainment)
Historical concepts
To use my knowledge of a period in history
to explain why an event
happened(Armada)
To compare an aspect of life for different
Y4 types of people, in the same period(clothes
of rich and poor, entertainment)
- what theatre and Shakespeare plays can
tell us about life in Elizabethan times(values,
culture and entertainment)
-the reasons why King Phillip of Spain
wanted to invade England with the Spanish
Armada
-the defeat of the Spanish Armada lead to
queen Eliazbeth being seen as a formidable
ruler and Sir Francis Drake a hero in England

To explain why people might give different

accounts of the same event (Armada)

Vocabulary

dynasty, protestant, catholic, sovereign, reformation, heresy, court, head of state, Pope,
persecution, fleet,

Chronological narrative To know

To sequence key events in the history of - the key events and significant individuals
computing on a timeline (decades, key throughout the history of computing
dates, across the century) (including women)
Robots

spr
Vocabulary

Inventor, invention, innovation, influence

To know
Mountains
Mighty

- about how people prevent and prepare

sum
for natural disasters in history

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Vocabulary

Expedition, pioneer, conservation

Year
term topic skills knowledge
group
Historical concepts To know

To compare distinct periods in history, - Greeks were an ancient civilisation who

including similarities and differences of
groups of people’s lives through time
To compare different aspects of life for
different types of people in the same period
spread from Greece throughout Europe
around 4,000 years ago, bringing their own
culture and laws to other countries
- Greek’s legacy on the world today-
including government and democracy

Historical enquiry - Ancient Greeks told stories to help them

understand the world and show people how
To use own research to answer questions to behave and I can tell some of these
about the past myths of Gods and monsters (Thesus and the
Minotaur/ Perseus and Medusa/Ceberus,
To use evidence to support own ideas about Medusa, Cyclops, Zeus, Heracles, Hades)
the past
- Greek myths were an important part of
their beliefs and I can tell the story of one of
Meet the Greeks!

Chronological narrative these myths

aut To summarise in chronological order the
main events from a specific period in time
(see word bank)
To plot world history studied on a timeline,
(using centuries, AD, BC)
Y5
- Ancient Greek culture: the creation of the
theatre and the love of sport through the
Olympic games and crafts such as
pottery/mosaics, food
- how a significant Greek helped change
the way we think: Pythagoras’s ways to
measure and describe shape, Socrates’ and
Plato’s philosophies and Aristotle’s studies of
plants, animals and rocks

- we have found out about Ancient Greece

through archaeologist discoveries of
buildings, pottery with scenes of daily like,
first-hand written accounts and statues of
significant figures and Gods

Vocabulary

culture, mythology, philosophy, archaeology, amphitheatre, Olympic, democracy, Spartan,

citizen, emperor, slaves

Historical concepts To know

-that the USA and the USSR were in a race to
To compare two sources of the same conquer space but eventually worked
event/information (first-hand accounts, together
Space Race

newspaper reports)
spr - that people can interpret events or
To explain why there might be different people in history differently (Who really won
versions of the same event the space race?)

- there might be more than one answer to a

historical question
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Vocabulary

propaganda, super power, cold war, agencies, classified

To know about significant people in history

Wangari Maathai
Eco-Warriors

- she is significant because she was an

sum important environmentalist and the first
African woman to win a nobel prize
- her legacy is The Green Belt Movement-
people now plant trees to combat
deforestation in Africa

Year
term topic skills knowledge
group
Historical enquiry To know

To ask historical questions to help plan my - the key events that led to WWI and the
own investigation countries involved (Allies and Central Powers

To take part in first-hand research in my - the events that caused WWII and
local area based on own questions understand why Britain entered the war

To describe cause and effect of key
national and international events for groups
of people in time studied (how life changed
for children, women and soldiers)
Chronological narrative
The World at War
- what life was like for an evacuee in Britain
- what the Blitz was and explain the impact
of frequent bombing on people living in
towns and cities (Blackout, Air Raid
procedures)
-the Home Front’s role in helping to protect

To organise historical information within a
chronological framework (show events
aut happening in order of occurrence e.g
timeline in date order)
Y6
Historical concepts
To evaluate the reliability of certain sources
(propaganda, first-hand accounts)
Britain during WWII: Home Guard, Dig for
Victory campaign and rationing, Anderson
shelters, women in work
-how the first and second World War
changed the roles of women in work
-what life was like for soldiers fighting abroad
during wartime by studying different
accounts

To present my findings using different
sources of information, drawing conclusions
on particular events or significant people
Vocabulary
- the impact and legacy of World War I and
World War II on Poplar and the wider world:
changes in law, architecture, monuments,
society’s attitudes to conflict e.g.
Remembrance

evacuation, Evacuees, Blitz, artillery, international, allies, axis, conflict, surrender, armistice,
trenches, centenary, Europe, forces, front line

Historical concepts To know

Rivers of
Time

spr To compare the historical significance of The - the importance of the Thames through
River Thames to the Nile during the Egyptian history (settlement, trade, distribution of
resources)
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times (settlement, trade, distribution of
resources) - the importance of the Nile during the
Egyptian times (settlement, trade,
distribution of resources)

Vocabulary

settlement, trade, distribution of resources, Nile, Pharaoh

Historical concepts To know

To describe the impact of the migration of - that people migrated from the Caribbean
people to Britain after WWII (Windrush) to help Britain recover after World War Two
Who am I?

To explain why people/societies from the - about the challenges and opportunities
sum
past might hold different views to people people who migrated to Britain faced (work,
today, using a variety of research to support racism, homes)
conclusions (racism, Empire)
- my own family history
Vocabulary
migration, generation, society, racism, immigration, immigrant, empire, Windrush

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