The national curriculum for history aims to ensure that all pupils:
know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
KS1
They should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.
KS2
Pupils should continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study.
Year 1
Chronological Understanding
Children Then & Now
Sequence events in their life
Sequence 3 or 4 artefacts from distinctly different periods of time
Match objects to people of different ages
Year 2
Chronological Understanding
Communication Now & Then
Sequence artefacts closer together in time - check with reference book
Sequence photographs etc. from different periods of their life
Describe memories of key events in lives
Year 3
Chronological Understanding
Prehistoric Britain
Describe events and periods using the words: BC, AD and decade.
Describe events from the past using dates when things happened.
Describe events and periods using the words: ancient and century.
Use a timeline within a specific time in history to set out the order things may have happened and use their mathematical knowledge to work out how long ago events would have happened.
Year 4
Chronological Understanding
British History Heroes
Plot recent history on a timeline using centuries, place periods of history on a timeline showing periods of time and use their mathematical skills to round up time differences into centuries and decades.
Year 5
Chronological Understanding
Crime & Punishment
Know and sequence key events of time studied, use relevant terms and period labels, make comparisons between different times in the past.
Year 6
Chronological Understanding
Medicine & Disease
Place current study on time line in relation to other studies, use relevant dates and terms & sequence up to 10 events on a time line.