The National Archives History Toolkit for Primary Schools

The ultimate companion to teaching history in primary schools.With instant access to genuine historical sources that can be downloaded from a companion website, accompanied by exciting lesson plans, activities and photocopiable worksheets for both Key Stages 1 and 2, The National Archives History Toolkit for Primary Schools is the essential manual for teaching history in the primary classroom.Teaching history using original sources is crucial to developing pupils' critical thinking skills and understanding of what history is all about. Each lesson in this go-to guide is based on an original historical source from The National Archives that has never seen the light of day in standard school history textbooks. This enables a unique enquiry-based approach to teaching history that will fascinate and inspire pupils and develop their historical knowledge. The historical sources can be previewed in the book and downloaded from a companion website, allowing them to be flexible teaching tools.Covering themes across the National Curriculum, including events of national importance, the lives of significant individuals, the changing power of monarchs, aspects of social history from past to present and significant turning points, this toolkit makes it possible for all primary teachers to bring history to life throughout Key Stages 1 and 2.

“This toolkit is a superb resource for any primary teacher wanting to use genuine sources from The National Archives. The lesson plans are filled with facts, questions and creative activities, and are all based around one central enquiry question for each topic. This is an indispensable book that will provide lots of active discussion in the classroom. A must-have for your foundation subjects bookshelf!”

A superbly conceived history resource for teachers ... this book should prove to be an invaluable asset to any primary teacher. And for history addicts like me, it’s simply a fascinating resource to browse through. -- Mike Davies Teach Primary
-- Stephen Lockyer Primary Teacher, @mrlockyer
This book is a must-have resource for primary teachers. The inspiring and informative lessons plans, using historical sources from The National Archives, are an invaluable support to every teacher's pedagogy and subject knowledge. -- Jenna Lucas Primary Assistant Headteacher, @JennaLucas81
A great range of resources that is bound to intrigue and interest the whole class. Easy to navigate with ready-made lessons suited to use in any classroom setting. -- Laura Ridgewell Middle School Leader and Curriculum Leader for English
The History Toolkit is an excellent, low-cost innovative resource that will add significant value to a school’s existing history curriculum. The historical images are excellent and will save teachers searching fruitlessly using online search engines. This resource offers exceptional value for money. -- Judged by the Teacher Development Trust 3 Winner at the Teach Primary Awards *

Clare Horrie is Education Web Manager for The National Archives' education website. Together with Rachel Hillman, she has developed, written and produced a wide range of online teaching materials from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 5 for the website. Clare previously worked as a secondary school teacher and head of history in the state sector.Rachel Hillman is Onsite Education Manager for The National Archives. She has led in the development of The National Archives' special educational needs and family programmes, as well as a number of large-scale education events for history students. She has also developed creative projects for young people on different historical themes and previously worked as a primary school teacher and history coordinator in the state sector.

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