HistoryWhat is History?

The very simple answer is that History is the study of events, people or artefacts from the past.

But it’s much more than that...

People

Events

Artefacts

But it’s in the past: who cares?To make important decisions, it is essential to

understand what happened in the past.By keeping a record of past events,

achievements, and items we can keep improving on them and avoid making the same mistakes.

For example:Governments look at past laws, and reacti0ns

to those laws, before making new ones.Medicine is better than ever because it builds

upon past discoveries – Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie etc.

Very interesting, but howwill that get me a job?Museum ResearcherCurator Museum Education OfficerCharity Sector – National Trust, English Heritage etc (Tour

Guide)Archivist (Record Keeper)Archaeologist GenealogistMedia Researcher - PresenterWriter – Factual or Historical FictionTeacher/Lecturer

Treat History as a context for learning.When we write a story in school, we learn

skills.

We don’t learn to write the story of the Time Travelling Cat and the Egyptian Goddess – Year 5 and 6 – we learn how to:

Plan, predict, write descriptively, punctuate accurately, write paragraphs and use conjunctions etc.

Context for learningWhen you study History you learn to:

Locate information independently (Independent Worker)

Decide which information is relevant (Reasoning)Decide if information is biased (Analyse)Order information, and store it safely (Use ICT)Work methodically (Logical)Justify your view point using the evidence you have

found (Reasoning – articulate)Write at length accurately (Highly literate)

Transferable SkillsThese skills are sought after by many sectors

but to name just a few:PoliticsLawCivil Service – Librarians, Administration

Staff, Project Managers, Human Resources.JournalismEducation Sector/Further Study

Links to other subject areas:History of medicine – ScienceArt History – ArtHistorical Buildings – Design TechnologyReligion as a theme – eg. Protestant

Reformation – RESocial History – Politics