Being Historians

History @ Hannah More

At Hannah More we are passionate about the teaching of History. We understand studying history gives children the opportunity to develop an understanding of why the world and its people are the way they are today. Additionally, it prompts children to question as they explore the diversity of human experience, past lives and societies. Local history is important to us and our curriculum has been carefully crafted to ensure children can experience and evaluate the rich history of Bristol. As well as the history covered below, we explore the history of some of our school communities in black history week, We also celebrate Hannah More's birthday each year where we explore a little about Hannah More the philanthropist, after whom our school is named and look at clues around our school building and local area as to how life was in the past.

We are proud to hold a Gold Quality Mark from the History Association.

Year 1

Who helps who?

During this enquiry the children will learn about the life of Princess Campbell, a local nurse who arrived in Britain in 1962, and how she contributed towards the change of treatment of black nurses.

How do we play in different ways?

Children will compare and contrast the games used and played in Victorian England and Modern day England. They will also have the opportunity to discuss with elder relatives what play looked like when they were children and understand what changes have happened over the years.

Year 2

Who is important to my city?

Children will understand when Brunel’s significant achievements happened, be able to order these chronologically and compare life in Bristol before and after these. They will be able to understand the impact he had on people’s lives in the past and appreciate the significance to their own lives too.

How are schools the same?

Children will use a range of primary and secondary sources to compare Victorian school life and the life of Hannah More children today. They will learn that school was not always compulsory and explore what children did before this law was made.

Year 3

How can we find out about the past?

Within this Enquiry, children will develop their historical skills by learning about different sources and understanding how to ask relevant questions. They will to begin to understand the reliability, richness and relevance of different sources and how these can help reconstruct events in time. These skills will be developed as they move through the school. They will apply these skills to the Anglo-Saxon and Viking eras.

Why did people travel in the past?

By primarily looking at the life of John Cabot, children will understand why people risked their lives to sail into the unknown! Year 3 children will understand that the opportunity for new foods, spices and materials was too much to resist. They will explore different versions of events and view these with a Historic mind set and be able to understand which is the most reliable.

Year 4

What if the city walls could talk?

During this enquiry, children will investigate the Romans, Saxons and Scots and understand the improvements they made over time. Linking to Bristol, they will understand what was left behind and what we have been able to learn from this. They will use old maps of Bristol and encouraged to devise their own questions to drive their learning forward.

What goes on behind the scenes?

This enquiry will take place during their ‘show term’ and so children will investigate how entertainment looked in the past (specifically during Ancient Greece) and summarise how this has changed over the years. Additionally they will be exposed to some Greek Myths and build on previous knowledge to be able to explain why there might be different versions of the same events.

Year 5

Who’s trading with whom?

In Year 5, the children will explore the local trade in Bristol from the past and notice how it the industries have now changed. They will understand how important the river was to Bristol and be able to identify what goods the city could provide in the past. They will be able to explain why these things happened by developing their ability to devise historically valid questions. Additionally, they will understand the changes in Britian from the Stone to Iron age, study men and womens different roles and appreciate what factors contributed to people settling in Bristol.

What is chocolate?

Here, children will realise how important chocolate was to the Ancient Mayan society (they used it as money!) and understand what life was like during this time. Additionally, they will understand how the local chocolate factories (Bourneville and Fry’s) set the standard for the industrial revolution.

Year 6

Linnaeus and Darwin- How are they connected?

During this enquiry children will understand the impact a significant figure (Charles Darwin) has had on our modern life and use knowledge gained over the years at school to recognise how an understanding of the past is constructed.

How are lives saved?

Children will be exposed to the achievements of some of the earliest civilisations through studying how medicine has evolved since Egyptian and Greek times. Additionally they will understand how the beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians played a role in how medicine was used such as the preservation of bodies through mummification due to the belief that the dead could come back to life.