Walsham le Willows Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School. Humanities Policy

Walsham le Willows Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Humanities Policy Introduction At Walsham-le-Willows CEVC Primary School, Humanities is taught through a topic approach. This policy is a statement of the aims, objectives and strategies for the teaching and learning of Humanities. The implementation of this policy is the responsibility of the Head teacher, all teaching staff and the governors. Geography teaches an understanding of places and environments. Through their work in geography, children learn how to draw and interpret maps and they develop the skills of research, investigation, analysis and problem-solving. Through their growing knowledge and understanding of human geography, children gain an appreciation of life in other cultures. Geography teaching also motivates children to find out about the physical world and enables them to recognize the importance of sustainable development for the future of mankind. History teaching focuses on enabling children to think as historians. We place an emphasis on examining historical artefacts and primary sources. In each key stage we give children the opportunity to visit sites of historical significance. We encourage visitors to come into the school and talk about their experiences of events in the past. We recognise and value the importance of stories in history teaching and we regard this as an important way of stimulating interest in the past. We focus on helping children understand that historical events can be interpreted in different ways and that they should always ask searching questions, such as how do we know?, about information they are given. In our school, history makes a significant contribution to citizenship education by teaching about how Britain developed as a democratic society. We teach children to understand how events in the past have influenced our lives today; we also teach them to investigate these past events and, by so doing, to develop the skills of enquiry, analysis, interpretation and problem-solving. Aims GEOGRAPHY Our aims in teaching Geography are that all pupils are given the opportunity to:- 1. Develop an understanding of the features and conditions that make up the physical environment. 2. Appreciate how human beings have used that environment with positive and negative effects. 3. Enable children to know and understand environmental problems at a local, regional and global level. 4. Encourage in children a commitment to sustainable development and an appreciation of what global citizenship means 5. Increase children s knowledge of other cultures and, in so doing, teach a respect and understanding of what it means to be a positive citizen in a multi-cultural country. 6. Develop the geographical skills of:- a) Observing and comparing places and geographical features, through undertaking studies and fieldwork. b) Communication using appropriate geographical vocabulary. c) Measuring and recording accurately. d) Interpreting and using maps, atlases and globes. e) Using secondary sources (photographs, books, films) f) Using ICT as an additional information source and for assisting with presenting findings. 1

g) Learn to ask questions and propose solutions to environmental problems. h) Understand how places fit in to a wider geographical context. HISTORY The aim of history teaching at Walsham-le-Willows Primary School is to stimulate the children s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past in Britain and the wider world. We teach children a sense of chronology, and through this they develop a sense of identity and a cultural understanding based on their historical heritage. Thus they learn to value their own and other people s cultures in modern multicultural Britain and, by considering how people lived in the past, they are better able to make their own life choices today. We achieve this by: Setting common tasks which are open-ended and can have a variety of responses; Setting tasks of increasing difficulty. Not all children complete all tasks; Grouping children by ability in the room and setting different tasks for each ability group; Providing resources of different complexity depending on the ability of the child; Using classroom assistants to support children individually or in groups. Objectives When teaching humanities, the intention is to:- 1 Involve the children in active learning, by giving them fieldwork skills and experiences. 2 Encourage children to ask questions about their immediate environment. 3 Develop this interest to enquire about the world in a wider context. 4 Foster a sense of understanding and sensitivity for the world in which we live. 5 Help pupils to develop use of geographical instruments, by reporting and recording findings in appropriate ways. 6 Develop pupils ability to work individually, in groups, or as a class. 7 Ensure the pupils experiences meet the requirements of the National Curriculum. Implementation GEOGRAPHY Key stage 1 Pupils should develop knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality. They should understand basic subject-specific vocabulary relating to human and physical geography and begin to use geographical skills, including first-hand observation, to enhance their locational awareness. Pupils should be taught to: Locational knowledge name and locate the world s seven continents and five oceans name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas Place knowledge understand geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a small area in a contrasting non- European country Human and physical geography identify seasonal and daily weather patterns in the United Kingdom and the location of hot and cold areas of the world in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles 2

use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to: o key physical features, including: beach, cliff, coast, forest, hill, mountain, sea, ocean, river, soil, valley, vegetation, season and weather o key human features, including: city, town, village, factory, farm, house, office, port, harbour and shop Geographical skills and fieldwork use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language [for example, near and far; left and right], to describe the location of features and routes on a map use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks and basic human and physical features; devise a simple map; and use and construct basic symbols in a key use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of their school and its grounds and the key human and physical features of its surrounding environment. Key Stage 2 Pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America. This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world s most significant human and physical features. They should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge. Pupils should be taught to: Locational knowledge locate the world s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries, and major cities name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones (including day and night) Place knowledge understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region within North or South America Human and physical geography describe and understand key aspects of: physical geography, including: climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle human geography, including: types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water 3

Geographical skills and fieldwork use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied use the eight points of a compass, four and six-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies. HISTORY 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 know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non- European societies; achievements and follies of mankind gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as empire, civilisation, parliament and peasantry understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between shortand long-term timescales. Key Stage 1 Pupils should develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. 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. They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. They should understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented. In planning to ensure the progression described above through teaching about the people, events and changes outlined below, teachers are often introducing pupils to historical periods that they will study more fully at key stages 2 and 3. 4

Pupils should be taught about: changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries] the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods [for example, Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong, William Caxton and Tim Berners-Lee, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and LS Lowry, Rosa Parks and Emily Davison, Mary Seacole and/or Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell] significant historical events, people and places in their own locality. Key Stage 2 Pupils should be taught about: changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain Britain s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor a local history study a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils chronological knowledge beyond 1066 the achievements of the earliest civilizations an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China Ancient Greece a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world a non-european society that provides contrasts with British history one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300 Early Years Foundation Stage We teach humanities in the Early Years Foundation Stage class as an integral part of the topic work covered during the year under the umbrella of Understanding the World. We relate the aspects of the children s work to the objectives set out in the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) which underpin the curriculum planning for children aged three to five. Geography makes a significant contribution to the ELG objectives of developing a child s knowledge and understanding of the world through activities such as collecting postcards from different places, singing songs from around the world, and looking closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change in relation to places and living things. In History, children talk about events in their lives and those of family members, as well as customs and traditions of other communities. Progression Opportunities will be provided to ensure careful progression from KS1 to KS2. A topic approach will be cross curricular and incorporate the key aspects of Humanities. Pupils will work on basic skills and 5

themes, use different contexts and reinforce and consolidate previous learning. They will have the opportunity to explore differing themes at a more complex level to increase their skills, knowledge, understanding and methods of enquiry. Teaching and Learning Strategies We seek to encourage children to learn Geography and History through big question led enquiries about topics, places, themes and issues which allow them sufficient scope and time to engage in high order subject skills such as developing explanations, reaching conclusions, making judgements, evaluating, applying information learned in one context to another and generating their own ideas and questions to investigate. Each big question is split into further ancillary questions that then feed into the overall enquiry. To ensure every child has a learning opportunity the following strategies will be applied:- Teachers to plan appropriately and carefully to include activities which reflect a range of experiences Pupils to follow a range of activities, differentiated by task or outcome Pupils to be given a choice of relevant resources Pupils to be given progressively difficult tasks Safety rules must be adhered to strictly Pupils work to be assessed rigorously to ensure progression Assessment Summative assessment has some use in determining how much a pupil has learnt, understood or remembered after a period of time. At the end of each unit of work, the teacher will determine the best way of carrying out the assessment, either with a written task, a set of questions or by questioning pupils orally. Formative assessment is far more useful during lessons and teachers utilise a variety of methods (questioning, discussion, marking, feedback, etc.) in order to determine how each pupil is progressing. Within Humanities, assessment can be summarised as follows: Assessment is planned and relates to the objectives chosen in lessons or units; Assessment procedures are manageable; Assessment is a regular feature of classroom practice; Assessment is done using simple recording systems; A variety of approaches is used with 'fitness for purpose' the determining factor. It is essential that pupils are given effective feedback after assessment in order to inform them of their strengths and areas requiring further development. Resources Resources are stored in two trolleys, one for each of the two key stages. The trolleys contain a mixture of History and Geography resources and the storage crates they contain are clearly labelled with the topics. Each class also has a world map. Equal Opportunities At Walsham Le Willows Primary School we teach Humanities to all children, whatever their ability. Humanities forms part of the school curriculum policy to provide a broad and balanced education to all children. Through our Humanities teaching, we provide learning opportunities that enable all pupils to make progress. We do this by setting suitable learning challenges and responding to each child s 6

different needs. Assessment against the National Curriculum allows us to consider each child s attainment and progress against national expectations. When progress falls significantly outside the expected range, the child may have special educational needs. Our assessment process looks at a range of factors classroom organisation, teaching materials, teaching style, differentiation so that we can take some additional or different action to enable the child to learn more effectively. This ensures that our teaching is matched to the child s needs. Intervention through School Action and School Action Plus will lead to the creation of a One Page Pupil Profile for children with special educational needs. This Profile may include, as appropriate, specific targets relating to geography or history. We enable pupils to have access to the full range of activities involved in learning humanities. Where children are to participate in activities outside the classroom, for example, a field trip, we carry out a risk assessment prior to the activity, to ensure that the activity is safe and appropriate for all pupils. All aspects of Humanities in this area refer to the school s policy on equal opportunities. Review The policy will be reviewed by the co-ordinator and amendments made as necessary in consultation with staff and governors. January 2006 Reviewed and updated June 2008 Updated July 2010. History and Geography policies amalgamated into one policy. Reviewed June 2012 Updated June 2014 in line with new curriculum Updated June 2016 7