History

 

The main aim of history at Hazelwood is to fire pupils’ curiosity and imagination and inspire them to learn about the past. We try to make the subject as relevant to the lives of the children as possible by getting them to consider ways in which the past has influenced the present.  At Hazelwood how history is taught is just as important as what is taught.

  

History should be an exciting and sparkling adventure into the past and children should be actively involved in their learning. To be intrinsically motivated to learn the classroom has to be brought to life and children have to be able to empathise with the period and the people being studied.  With this in mind children are frequently asked to take part in role play, re-enact turning points and put famous people from history on trial. This approach to teaching is supported by a range of field trips and history days.

  

In Year 3 children become citizens of Athens for a day, experience what life would have been like in an Iron Age village and explore the culture and arts of the Celts.
In Year 4 children have a dedicated Romans day where they get the opportunity to dress as Romans and spend the day with a Centurion and his wife.
In Year 5 they re-enact the battle of Hastings and hold World War II cooking and evacuee workshops.
In Year 6 the children visit Hampton Court Palace and ask questions to the Tudor guides.
In Year 7 the children visit Chatham and investigate working conditions in industrial Britain.

  

From an early stage great emphasis is placed on developing key subject skills such as evaluating evidence and writing essays. In year four they start to familiarise themselves with different types of evidence and by year five they are developing their essay writing skills with newspaper reports, diaries and letters.  By the time your children come to leave Hazelwood, their study of history will have taught them how to think, question and seek out knowledge for themselves and hopefully their passion for the subject will continue to their next school and beyond.


Jonathan Jarvis
Head of History