History Subject Leader - Jane Stockton

email - jstockton@oatlands-jun.n-yorks.sch.uk

Vision for History

At Oatlands Junior School we encourage children to be curious about the past and equip pupils with the historical enquiry skills to: ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, make connections, contrasts and trends over time and gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts.

2020-2021

How history is taught and what it looks like at Oatlands

At Oatlands we believe that the story of our British isles should be built on year by year, as such British history is taught in each year group. World history is important for making links to wider society so is juxtaposed to British history.  In year 3 the Egyptians are contrasted with the British Iron Age to show that history does not develop at the same time across the world.  In year 4 the Greeks are taught alongside the Romans to highlight the legacy of these great civilisations on our town of Harrogate.  In year 5 the Saxons and Vikings are taught together to create long term chronological understanding. Year 6 learn about the impact of Islamic civilisation.  It is important for OJS children to focus on inclusion within history especially just before they move out of primary and become more independent.  This unit compares Islamic culture with Britain during the Saxon/Viking time period to show, like Y3, that this was in many ways far more advanced.  The last Y6 topic will show change through time.  All British historical time periods covered in KS2 will be touched/recapped with new knowledge for Crime and Punishment through time. 

What your child will leave OJS knowing, understanding and appreciating in history!

At Oatlands we view historical skills as vital to interpreting modern life. Our aim is to make history at Oatlands as relevant and as accessible as possible to the children’s lives, making connection between our locality and the time we live in. Oatlands children are taught to develop a love for the subject and a desire to apply critical historical thinking skills to a range of texts and sources.  

What pupils at OJS think about history

History is very much enjoyed at OJS with students across all year groups expressing positive views about the subject. 

"I like history and the UG book - it's a good book" Year 3

"I love learning about all the interesting history from the past, it is my favourite subject." Year 4

"Discovering all about the past and the people who lived in that time is interesting.  I love digging deep and discovering the facts." Year 5

"At OJS we learn about lots of different times and places around the world, I like this." Year 6

"It's interesting to find out about real and fictional characters.  I liked learning about Robin Hood." Year 6

Spring 2021

The Children in Year 3 had a fantastic handling workshop.  They learnt to recognise different materials, question what items were for and had fun finding out about mummification.  

2019-2020

Autumn Term

Lower school have enjoyed learning all about the Anglo-Saxons including the culture, archaeology and exploring different sources to understand what life was like.  Some children also made excellent models for their homework like the one in the picture below made by Ryder in Badgers class. 

2018-2019

Summer Term

Spring Term

WW2 Tea Party

On Monday 3^rd December the children from Year 5 and 6 welcomed Grandparents and relatives to a World War 2 Tea Party to share experiences and artefacts with the children. Some adults brought in artefacts like: ration books, medals, telegrams and badges. Once the stories had been shared, everyone got the opportunity to try some of the WW2 recipes the children had made using a weekly ration allowance. The children were really creative with their ideas and brought in things like: chocolate potato cake, scones, elderflower jelly, oat biscuits and carrot cookies. After the children had eaten their food, they went into the hall to sing some songs from the era. They sang ‘We’ll meet again’ and ‘Run Rabbit’, singing these songs brought back lots of memories for all of the visitors.

We really enjoyed the afternoon because it was interesting to find out about people’s lives during the war. Thank you to all of the adults who came to the Tea Party to share their stories, to parents who came to help and to the teachers who helped the afternoon happen.

Grace Brierley and Ben Green

World War One Centenary Event

Remembrance Assembly with Colonel Crossland

Year 5 trip to Eden Camp

Ancient Egypt

As part of lower schools current History topic they enjoyed a fabulous Ancient Egyptian workshop with Brian. They learned many new things, such as:

• The many uses of the River Nile

• What the first type of paper was called - papyrus, and how it was made

• How to become of Priest or Priestess

• Mummification

• The importance of the Pharaoh

• Howard Carter and his memorable find

WWII

2017-2018

The Romans

Year 5 Victorian Day

On Thursday 7th December, the Year 5 children had a Victorian Day Workshop. It was to enable us to have a better understanding about Charles Dickens and the Victorian era in English. During the morning, we were visited by Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, Mr Fairfax (mill owner who always said ‘splendid’ and emphasised the p), Florence Nightingale (a famous nurse), Mr Obadiah Pitt (headmaster), Fanny (Chambermaid), Billy Sweeney, who taught us a few songs that Victorians sang to amuse themselves. Afterwards, we had a little break and then came back inside to do some drama. Firstly, we warmed up our bodies and then, we acted out being people in higher and lower society. In the afternoon, the storyteller told the story of A Christmas Carol and chose people along the way to act out parts in the story. To finish off all the excitement, we sang a last song that we learnt with Billy called Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay. Everybody really enjoyed Victorian Day - it was SPLENDID!

What we've been learning about...

In Years 3 & 4, we are learning about the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings. 

"Did you know that Viking helmets didn't have horns?" Ben Summerson - 4H Falcons