History Curriculum at Mengham Junior School
At Mengham Junior School, we strive to develop an interest in the past and the role that it plays in both the present and future. The children learn to analyse key periods of history and through this, learn how civilisations and cultures have grown and adapted throughout the world. Children build an accurate and in depth understanding of the chronology of historical events and periods of historical importance, preparing them to be enthusiastic history scholars in secondary school.
History lessons at Mengham allow children to develop their skills and understanding in a variety of ways. They are able to have first-hand experience of primary resources such as artefacts, art, letters, diaries and photographs, which pique their curiosity about a time period and lead them to enquire about why, when and how important events occurred. The children are then encouraged to extend their thinking in ways that are meaningful to them, from creating their own Parthenon from the ancient Greek period to designing their own top trump cards to show how they would rate monarchs according to different categories such as big achievements and peace in their reign! The children often bring their learning in History to class assemblies and invite parents and other classes to ‘pop up’ museums. This helps them to consolidate their understanding through communicating what they know to others and also gives them the buzz of performing and generates a high level of enthusiasm for the subject.
The children become successful learners through researching, recalling and evaluating key historical events. They develop the confidence to ask informed questions, show an understanding of whether sources are reliable or unreliable and make educated judgements in response to questions about History. These skills are transferrable to all other areas of learning and provide the children with a solid foundation in building and justifying opinions about a wide range of topics.
The children are able to reason with increasing confidence about causes and effects of particular events and to understand the impact that influential individuals had on society and the wider world. Understanding that the impact of actions can be wide-reaching leads the children to become responsible members of the community and also to develop an awareness of other cultures, religions and traditions. This in turn builds tolerance, acceptance and curiosity and gives the children a firm grounding as ‘citizens of the world’.