History

At Middle Barton School we follow the Kapow scheme of work for History.

Intent 

Kapow Primary’s History scheme of work aims to inspire pupils to become curious and analytical thinkers with a broad understanding of the past – in other words, to think like historians. The intention is for pupils to develop the confidence to question and investigate evidence, explore different perspectives and build informed interpretations of events, people and societies.

The scheme aims to build pupils’ awareness of how History shapes identities, cultures and communities over time. The goal is to inspire them to become reflective, active citizens who can draw on historical understanding to make sense of the present and contribute thoughtfully to the future.

The scheme supports teachers in developing their subject knowledge and skills, enabling them to confidently deliver engaging, well-informed lessons. The curriculum is designed to be both accessible and ambitious, ensuring all pupils’ participation and achievement.

Implementation

In every year group, history is taught for half of a term alternating with geography. Children will receive one history lesson each week during that half of the term lasting for at least one hour.

Lessons are structured following the format below: 

Prior learning: to check that children have embedded knowledge from the previous learning, often from a previous year.

Revisit: recapping knowledge and skills, and addressing misconceptions from recent lessons within the current block.

New learning: introducing new concepts, skills and knowledge following the structure below: 

1. Attention grabber: a short, engaging activity designed to hook pupils into the new learning in the lesson.

2. Main event: The core part of the lesson, where pupils engage in activities that develop their understanding of the learning objective. This includes a mixture of teacher modelling, guided practice and independent or collaborative tasks tailored to support all learners.

3. Wrapping up: A final reflective activity that consolidates learning. This could involve reviewing the success criteria, discussing key learning or applying knowledge in a different context to assess understanding and encourage deeper thinking. This could be a thought-provoking question, a quick investigation or an interactive discussion to spark curiosity and enthusiasm for the topic.

All classes will have up-to-date working walls which will scaffold children’s learning, provide children with relevant vocabulary and model examples of work being taught.

Where possible, children will be given experiences within and out of the classroom to create memorable learning experiences and a rounded understanding. Each class will have relevant and accessible resources where appropriate.

Vocabulary 

Vocabulary is purposefully planned, taught and revisited across the scheme.

Each lesson has a vocabulary section with child-friendly definitions, covering the year group’s key words and other lesson-specific words.

Vocabulary is embedded in retrieval tasks, modelling, discussions, lesson outcomes and assessment, ensuring repeated practice and secure understanding.

Impact

Clear learning sequences ensure knowledge builds over time.

Lessons are aligned with the National curriculum.

Evidence of pupil progress

Formative 

Kapow Primary History lessons include ongoing assessment opportunities, such as questioning, retrieval practice and interactive activities.

These enable teachers to assess understanding in real time and adapt their teaching accordingly

Summative

Each unit provides an Assessment quiz and Knowledge catcher, which allow teachers to measure pupils’ understanding at key points.

These tools help gauge how well pupils have retained key knowledge and skills over time

Written outcomes and pupil voice show engagement, understanding and the ability to recall knowledge.