Why we teach history

In order for us to make sense of what is happening in the world today, we need to know how and why the past has influenced the present.  That is where the teaching of history comes into play. Luckily, history is one of the most popular subjects amongst our children at Fleetville. Who can resist the opportunity to dress up as a Roman soldier and march in battle formations or pretend to be a Victorian schoolchild with a very strict teacher for the day? Not our children!

At Fleetville Juniors, our aim is to bring history alive and make it fun. Many of our history topics involve either a school trip to living museums like Celtic Harmony, or we invite professional re-enactment companies into school, so we can immerse ourselves in the period being studied. Having the opportunity to see artefacts from the past, watch old video footage or look at photos allows the children to make a direct comparison between their own lives and those from the past. The gory, nasty or slightly mad details may be the ones that capture their interest, but our aim is to inspire our children to become lifelong lovers of history.

Studying events or significant people from the past allows us to discuss morals and ethics. For example, is it okay for one country to invade another? In addition, through learning about the historical context of problems that continue to exist in society today, such as racism and sexism, we can begin to look for solutions.

By the end of Year 6, our children will understand what chronological order is and have a good understanding of some of the major historical periods from the Stone Age up to WWII.

Some quotes from our children:

"Learning about how people used to live is really interesting."

"It's non-fiction and I prefer that to stories."

"I like looking at it (the period being studied) from a fun point of view. Finding out what they ate or did for fun. I also like learning random facts that I can share with my friends."

"I love dressing up, finding out what jobs they did, and we made olive oil lamps.  Our guest brought in lots of things for us to look at."