Planning and resources for primary teachers from http://www.ks2history.com. Our history topics include Stone Age to Iron Age, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Victorians, Shang Dynasty etc and the list is expanding each month, with literacy units to link to the topics too.
Our popular resources have been tried and tested in hundreds of classrooms.
Planning and resources for primary teachers from http://www.ks2history.com. Our history topics include Stone Age to Iron Age, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Victorians, Shang Dynasty etc and the list is expanding each month, with literacy units to link to the topics too.
Our popular resources have been tried and tested in hundreds of classrooms.
Download our popular Easter Performance Poetry unit for KS1. One week’s worth of literacy planning!
A five-lesson literacy unit of poetry planning for Years 1 and 2, based on performing Easter poetry and built around the KS1 English objectives.
In this unit, pupils will read a classic Easter poem about a fast white rabbit and they will consider how the sounds and language patterns come alive when the poem is read aloud, particularly reflecting on the use of verbs and similes. Children will work towards creating their version of the Easter poem and turning it into an effective performance, which could be used for an Easter assembly or celebration.
The aims of the unit for pupils are:
• To listen to a classic Easter poem being read aloud
• To identify verbs and similes
• To prepare a poetry performance including actions
• To perform a poem to an audience
The PDF file contains 5 full literacy lesson plans, copies of the poem and all accompanying pupil resources.
You may also like our other KS1 resources
Y2 English Bundle
Y2 SPAG Questions
Going to Sea Poetry Pack
KS1 Sentence Types Poetry
Summer Performance Poetry Pack
Download our popular two-week unit of work for Years 3/4 based on the book ‘How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth’, with a focus on instructional texts. Perfect for linking the Stone Age topic in literacy!
This unit gives children the opportunity to understand the features of instructions as a text type. In the first week, children will engage with the text through research, a hands-on toy washing challenge and the opportunity to create their own ‘Woolly Mammoth Cleaning Kit’. They will become familiar with the text type by following instructions to make their own milk bottle mammoth models and identifying features of the text. There is a grammar focus on using prepositions and imperative verbs.
In the second week, pupils will use drama to develop ideas and extend vocabulary. They will then plan their own set of instructions and they will draft, edit and present their final written outcome.
The literacy objectives covered are:
To retrieve and record information from non-fiction
To participate in discussion about a text
To use a range of imperative verbs
To use prepositions
To read and follow written instructions
To identify the features of instructions
To identify how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning
To prepare a group performance
To use a rich and varied vocabulary
To make a plan for my writing
To write my own set of instructions
To edit and evaluate my writing
To integrate visual devices
The PDF file contains 10 full lesson plans and accompanying pupil resource sheets.
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Stone Age Boy Literacy Planning
Stone Age to Iron Age Resource Pack
Stone Age to Iron Age planning bundle of all 3 packs
A full lesson for KS2 exploring the types of historical evidence that tell us about the Stone Age. The resource includes a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
What kind of sources tell us about the Stone Age?
This lesson addresses the question of how we can know about a period of British history with a lack of written primary sources of evidence. Pupils will be introduced to the concept of making deductions from evidence and they will use an information table to record what different artefacts tell us about the Stone Age.
Objectives:
To examine non-written sources of evidence about the Stone Age
To make deductions from primary sources
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
This is the fourth lesson in the popular Stone Age to Iron Age Unit for KS2..
This primary history resource was created by KS2History.
You may also like:
Prehistory Timelines (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Hunter-Gatherers (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Cave Art (Lesson for KS2)
Stonehenge Mysteries (Lesson for KS2)
Bronze Age (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Boy Literacy Planning - 2 Weeks
Stone Age to Iron Age Planning Bundle for KS2
Go for gold with our new Summer Sports Poetry Pack!
This is a five-lesson English unit of poetry planning for Years 3 and 4, based on creating shape poetry themed on the summer olympic games.
In this unit, pupils will research different olympic sports and work on developing vocabulary to describe the different movements involved. Pupils will investigate shape poetry and begin to understand the relationship between the language used in the poem and the shape of the words on the page. There is also a grammar focus on adding suffixes to form comparative adjectives. At the end of the unit the pupils will work towards a visual performance of a poem that is created in the shape of the olympic rings.
The objectives of the unit for pupils are:
• To investigate shape poetry
• To retrieve information from non-fiction
• To apply grammar rules for adding suffixes
• To prepare a group poetry performance
• To create a shape poem
The PDF file contains 5 full literacy lesson plans and all accompanying pupil resources. This unit would work really well with topics about summer, sports, olympics, going for gold or healthy bodies.
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Summer Performance Poetry KS1
Jabberwocky Poetry Planning Pack
Stone Age Boy Literacy Pack
The Egyptian Cinderella Literacy Pack
A full lesson for KS2 introducing the story of Cleopatra VII and her legacy as the last main Ancient Egyptian pharaoh. The resource includes a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
Who was Cleopatra and how is she remembered?
In this lesson, pupils will learn about Cleopatra VII and her legacy as the last main pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Pupils will act out her story, including the defeat of the Ancient Egyptian civilisation. Pupils will read a range of opinions about Cleopatra from historical sources and be encouraged to form their own conclusions about her character.
Objectives:
To explore the story of Cleopatra VII
To investigate Cleopatra’s legacy and some of the different opinions about her.
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
This lesson is part of the KS2History Ancient Egyptians Planning Pack for KS2.
This primary history resource is created by KS2History.
A full lesson for KS2 that engages pupils in a series of historical questioning about the pyramids of Ancient Egypt. The resource includes a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
4. Why did the Ancient Egyptians build the pyramids?
In this lesson pupils will think about the why, what, how and where of pyramid building. They will investigate different types of pyramids in a hands-on modelling challenge and then they will learn about some of the logistics behind building these gigantic structures, as well as exploring their key purposes. Pupils will present their findings in a 3D pyramid fact file.
Objectives:
To explore what the pyramids looked like
To discover why and how the Egyptians built the pyramids.
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
This lesson is part of the KS2History Ancient Egyptians Planning Pack for KS2.
This primary history resource is created by KS2History.
A lesson for KS2 exploring the legacy of the Romans in Britain - including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and printable activity sheets.
This lesson is part of our popular Roman Britain unit.
Lesson: What lasting impact did the Romans leave in Britain?
Pupils will consider what kind of legacy the Romans left in Britain. They will find out about everyday things that the Romans introduced to Britain and will analyse the significance of different legacies in a card sorting activity ready for a balloon debate. Pupils will finish by recording selfies of modern everyday activities made possible because of the Roman legacy.
Objectives:
To evaluate the impact of the Roman Empire on modern Britain
To debate the most important Roman legacies
This primary history resource is created by KS2History.
You may also like our other Romans topic resources:
Roman Britain Planning Pack
Escape from Pompeii Literacy Planning Pack
Romans Literacy Pack (Instructions Unit)
A full lesson for KS2 exploring some of the evidence and artefacts that tell us about the Bronze Age. The resource includes a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
What do grave goods tell us about the Bronze Age?
In this lesson pupils will find out about how people in the Bronze Age were buried alongside some objects that were important to them. Pupils will reflect upon how artefacts found in Bronze Age burial sites can give us information about what life was like in this period. This lesson also introduces the idea that not all artefacts survive over time and invites pupils to sum up their learning by exploring the grave of the Amesbury Archer.
Objectives:
To understand how grave goods can give us information about the past
To think about what type of objects survive over time
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
This is the eighth lesson in the popular Stone Age to Iron Age Unit for KS2..
This primary history resource was created by KS2History.
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Bronze Age (Lesson for KS2)
Iron Age Hillforts (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Hunter-Gatherers (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Cave Art (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Artefacts & Evidence (Lesson for KS2)
Stonehenge Mysteries (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Boy Literacy Planning - 2 Weeks
Stone Age to Iron Age Planning Bundle for KS2
Download this popular two-week unit for Year 3 based on classic performance poetry.
A two-week literacy unit of work for Year 3, containing lesson plans and pupil resources, looking at some of Carroll's funny poems and nonesense verses including the famous 'Jabberwocky'.
In these lessons pupils will:
- read and listen to classic poems by Lewis Carroll
- use comprehension skills to tackle nonesense poetry
- engage imaginatively with classic narrative poems
- create their own Jabberwock creatures
- write their own versions of the poems
- make props for a dramatic performance
- prepare and give a performance to an audience
The poems include 'The Walrus and the Carpenter', 'A Strange Wild Song' and 'Jabberwocky'.
The performance at the end of the unit would be perfect for World Poetry Day or to use in a poetry performance or assembly.
Check out our other resources for Year 3 in our store
A full lesson for KS2 introducing the British prehistoric period covering the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
What does prehistory mean?
This lesson introduces the period of British history from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. Pupils will make a timeline to set this period into the wider context of British History and they will discover how we break up this period into distinct ages.
Objectives:
To put events in chronological order
To understand how the period from the Stone Age to the Iron Age fits into a wider picture of British history
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
This is the first lesson in the popular Stone Age to Iron Age Unit for KS2..
This primary history resource was created by KS2History.
You may also like:
Stone Age Hunter-Gatherers (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Cave Art (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Artefacts & Evidence (Lesson for KS2)
Stonehenge Mysteries (Lesson for KS2)
Bronze Age (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Boy Literacy Planning - 2 Weeks
Stone Age to Iron Age Planning Bundle for KS2
Download our popular Stone Age to Iron Age lesson planning bundle containing 10 full lesson plans for KS2.
This resources contains a bundle of history lessons that make up a complete unit covering the topic ‘Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age’. Each file contains a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint slides and pupil resource sheets. There are also there extra comprehension resources included.
Lessons in this unit include:
Prehistory Timelines (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Hunter-Gatherers (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Cave Art (Lesson for KS2)
Stone Age Artefacts & Evidence (Lesson for KS2)
Skara Brae (Lesson for KS2)
Stonehenge Mysteries (Lesson for KS2)
Bronze Age (Lesson for KS2)
Bronze Age Grave Goods (Lesson for KS2)
Iron Age Hillforts (Lesson for KS2)
Iron Age Art (Lesson for KS2)
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Stone Age Boy Literacy Planning - 2 Weeks
Stone Age to Iron Age Planning Bundle for KS2
A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Maya Civilization history topic. This KS2History planning pack includes 10 detailed lessons plans, each with accompanying pupil resource sheets and Powerpoint slides.
The ten sessions in this unit aim to give an overview of the history of the Maya Civilization, with a particular focus on the period leading up to the height of the civilization in AD 900. As with all KS2History.com units, there is an emphasis on allowing pupils to consider the sources of evidence that form our understanding of this period of world history. The unit also takes the opportunity to draw contrasts with comparable themes from British history.
The aims of the unit for pupils are:
To gain an overview of significant people, places and events from the Maya Civilization
To explore how the geography of the Maya area impacted trade, daily life and the growth and decline of the civilization
To consider broader historical context and draw links with British history and other familiar aspects of world history
To become familiar with historical sources and debates, to address misconceptions and to use accurate vocabulary relating to the Maya Civilization.
This pack contains everything you need to teach this unit, including differentiated activity ideas so that it can be adapted to the needs of your class. The Powerpoint text is also editable.
The planning pack covers the following lessons:
What was the Maya Civilization?
How did the landscape of the Maya area affect trade?
How did Maya settlers survive and thrive in the rainforest?
What do Maya ruins tell us about city-states?
How useful are the pictures of Frederick Catherwood as a source of information about the Maya?
Did the Maya invent football?
Why was maize so important to the Maya people?
Who was Pakal the Great?
How did the Maya keep track of time?
What is the mystery of the abandoned Maya cities?
This resource includes 1 x PDf file (containing all lessons and resources) and 10 x separate PPT files.
Download our complete unit of work for primary history including lessons plans, pupil resources and teacher’s guide. The Shang Dynasty is now a study unit for KS2 on the new curriculum for history.
This ten-lesson unit is designed for upper KS2 and it covers the following questions:
1. What was the Shang Dynasty?
2. What was it like in settlements around the Yellow River Plain?
3. How did Shang farmers provide food for their society?
4. What were the religious beliefs of the Shang Dynasty?
5. What was the Shang system of writing like?
6. What did the rulers of the Shang Dynasty do?
7. What do archaeological findings tell us about the Shang Dynasty?
8. Why is Lady Fu Hao’s tomb significant to historians?
9. Why did the Shang Dynasty fall in 1046 BC?
10. What have we learned about this period of history?
#lovehistory
A lesson for KS2 investigating the evidence around whether the Ancient Greek story of the Trojan Horse was based on real events, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and printable activity sheets.
This lesson is part of our popular Ancient Greece Pack for Key Stage 2.
Lesson: Did the events of the Trojan Horse story really happen?
In this lesson, pupils will learn about the tradition of oral storytelling in Ancient Greece. Pupils will listen to the Trojan Horse story and analyse the evidence to decide which parts of the story are likely to be based on true events. Pupils will use their analysis to form a structured response to the question Did the story of the Trojan Horse really happen?, before being left with a challenge to imagine their own trick to break through the walls of Troy.
Objectives:
To draw my own conclusion about the Ancient Greek story of the Trojan Horse
To evaluate stories from history by examining sources of evidence
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Ancient Greeks Lessons Pack for KS2: A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Ancient Greece topic.
This primary history resource has been created by KS2History.
Back to School - a fun activity for primary classrooms. This Recipe for a Great School Year activity pack (including full lesson Powerpoint and all templates) makes a fun welcome project for a new class and creates a classroom display to put up for the new school year. Updated for Back to School 2019.
A super first week back/getting to know you activity!
The aim of this fun activity is to help your new class think about what will make the next school year a successful one.
Pupils will create a recipe for a great school year (the writing activity is included in the Powerpoint lesson provided) and then they can use the templates to turn it into a fabulous transition craft, perfect for display!
This resource includes:
- A full lesson powerpoint including discussion points and a differentiated writing activity.
- A teacher instruction pack
- A template pack for making the chef craft
This is an easy-to-follow, fun activity perfect for primary classrooms and can be easily adapted for different age groups.
Please note that due to terms of use in the images used, the Powerpoint file is not editable.
A full lesson for KS2 exploring the fascinating topic of mummification. The resource includes a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
What was mummification in Ancient Egypt?
In this exciting lesson, pupils will find out all about the process of making mummies! After they have been introduced to the reasons behind mummification in Ancient Egypt, pupils will work in teams on a hands-on challenge to make their own mummified dolls following the different steps of the ancient process and then write their own instructions. They will finish the lesson with a quiz about animal mummies.
Objectives:
To find out why the Ancient Egyptians mummified people
To understand the different stages of the mummification process
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
This lesson is part of the KS2History Ancient Egyptians Planning Pack for KS2.
This primary history resource is created by KS2History.
A full lesson for KS2 about Anglo-Saxon runes, writing and manuscripts, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and pupil resource sheets.
How did the Anglo-Saxons write things down?
In this lesson, pupils will look at the runic alphabet and learn about how writing changed from runes to manuscripts after the Anglo-Saxon conversion to Christianity. Pupils will work in groups to research famous Anglo-Saxon manuscripts and then they will have a go at reading and writing secret messages written in runes.
Objectives:
To discover what runes looked like
To explore how writing changed during the Anglo-Saxon period
To find out about some famous Anglo-Saxon manuscripts
The lesson plan includes differentiation ideas to adapt the activities for the needs of your class.
You may also like:
Anglo-Saxons Unit for KS2: A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Anglo-Saxon topic.
What was it like in an Anglo-Saxon village? A complete lesson for KS2
Where did the Anglo-Saxons come from? A complete lesson for KS2
A lesson for KS2 about key Ancient Greek philosophers and their influence, including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and printable activity sheets.
This lesson is part of our popular Ancient Greece Pack for Key Stage 2.
Lesson: What were the Ancient Greek philosophers famous for?
This lesson allows pupils to find out about key thinkers from Ancient Greece. After getting into some philosophical debates of their own, pupils will compare three famous Greek philosophers and choose one to focus on in detail for a museum exhibition, with an optional clay modelling challenge. Pupils will finish the lesson by performing a song about famous Ancient Greek thinkers.
Objectives:
To find out about famous thinkers from Ancient Greece
To explore key ideas and questions from Ancient Greek philosophy
You may also like:
Ancient Greeks Lessons Pack for KS2: A fully-resourced unit of 10 history lessons for KS2, covering the Ancient Greece topic.
This primary history resource has been created by KS2History.
A lesson for KS2 comparing types of houses in Roman Britain - including a detailed lesson plan, Powerpoint and printable activity sheets.
This lesson is part of our popular Romans unit for Key Stage 2.
Lesson: What were houses like in Roman Britain?
Pupils will learn about the different houses found in Roman Britain and what sort of people might live in each house type. After comparing house types, pupils will consider what sort of evidence survives today from Roman building, with a focus on floor mosaics. Pupils will then design their own floor mosaic fit for a wealthy Roman villa.
Objectives:
To compare different types of houses from Roman Britain
To give examples of evidence that survives from Roman buildings
This primary history resource is created by KS2History.
You may also like our other Romans topic resources:
Roman Britain Planning Pack
Escape from Pompeii Literacy Planning Pack
Romans Literacy Pack (Instructions Unit)
Download this popular two-week Victorians English planning for Year 5 / Year 6, based on studying and performing Victorian poetry. This Victorians poetry planning can be used alongside a Victorians topics or as a standalone unit covering classic poetry.
In this unit, pupils will read and listen to the dramatic poems 'The Kraken' and 'Charge of the Light Brigade' by the Victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, and they will consider how the sounds and language patterns come alive when the poems are read aloud. Children will work towards creating their own poems in the same style and will prepare to perform them aloud.
The aims of the unit for pupils are:
• To listen to classic and narrative poems by a Victorian poet
• To identify poetic devices and to explain their effects
• To research the literary influences of classic Victorian poetry
• To prepare and perform a poem to an audience
• To engage with a poet’s use of imaginative language to create monsters and battle scenes.
The PDF file contains 10 full literacy lesson plans, copies of the poems and all accompanying pupil resources.
SPECIAL OFFER: new TES buyers can use code OUTSTANDINGOCT at checkout to download for free!
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The Listeners Poetry Planning Pack
Year 6 Performance Poetry Pack
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