History

History is a fascinating subject, but it can be a bit remote for young children.

Help your child understand history by starting with the changes that have taken place in her own lifetime, and work outwards from there.
  • Explore and discuss how things change over time (for instance, the way your child's body grows; changes in the local area such as shops closing down and new ones taking their place; additions to the family such as new brothers, sisters or cousins - or even pets!) Use words like "before" and "after", and "earlier" and "later".

  • Make a timeline. This could include events in the child's life such as when she was born, when she started school and when she got pets or special toys. Later, you can include other events - other people's birthdates, family events such as births and marriages, holidays, and so on; you can also include events from outside the family, such as sporting occasions. With older children, you can extend the timeline back, and include world events such as changes of government, the dates of wars and so on.

  • Encourage your child to keep a diary, including dates of important events during the year such as family birthdays and holidays.

  • Use books, videos and pictures to explore the differences between past times and life today, including the way people lived, dressed and ate.

  • Point out buildings in different styles of architecture and encourage your child to think about when they might have been erected.

  • Investigate famous people from the past, such as Guy Fawkes, using books and CD ROMs.

  • Visit museums and discuss what you see there - and take advantage if they run workshops or "hands on" days.

  • Encourage your child to talk to older members of the family about the differences between when they were young and life nowadays.
Snapshots for history in Key Stage 2

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