Introduction to Global Learning in KS2 and KS3 in History.

Key Stage 2:

The obvious place to start is the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain, which is perhaps the first real example of Globalisation. Rome came to Britain as much for raw materials - tin, copper, silver and gold - as for political power. Trade in corn, slaves and hunting dogs was equally important. Perhaps the key point is the impact of Roman civilisation on the country. Rich people built villas, drank wine, had baths, installed heating, even moved to towns and went to the theatre. In fact, after the Romans left, in around 400AD, historians now talk about Romano-British society. Christianity, too, is obviously a relic of the Roman Empire. The original settlers, the Celts, were pushed to the margins of the country and struggled to survive. The impact of Rome is a huge area of debate, but is certainly a fruitful area of study.

Click here for some HA Resources on Roman Britain...

Click here for some HA resource on the Roman Empire...

The compulsory unit of the achievements of the earliest civilisations is another place to focus. This gives an opportunity to show that parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia were not always ‘inferior' to the West and developed highly sophisticated ways of life and trade links long before Britain. The unit on a non-European society.

Also gives you the opportunity to explore Benin in West Africa, or Islam, or the Mayan culture as a success, not as a problem.

By carefully selecting an appropriate study unit it is possible to both study good history and develop a more positive role model for countries that might seem to be seen as a problem in the C20th. West Africa does not just appear in children's history as a problem, as the source of slaves, but can be seen as a powerful influence in the region and a technologically advanced nation, for the time.

Click here for some HA Resources...

 

 

Key Stage 3:

Opportunities here are legion, as most of the prescribed content is exemplars rather than compulsion. How you choose to portray first contacts with India, or the growth of Empire, for example, is crucial. Do Indians first appear in the story as mutineers, for example, or as the Mughals who built the Taj Mahal and other treasures? Are they ‘being done to' by Europeans, or a strong civilisation on their own? Why do Europeans first go to the Indies? To get some of the wealth, exotic commodities and resources they can't grow themselves.

Click here fore some HA resources on the Mughal Empire...

Click here for some HA resources on the early British Empire...

Exactly the same applies to Britain and its own Industrial Development. Wealth from the slave trade helps finance mills, factories and railways. The cotton industry depends on imports from USA, picked by slaves from Africa, and sold to India, thereby destroying an already existing highly skilled textile industry.

Click here fore some HA Resources on the textile industry...

How often do we make these connections when we are teaching about the ‘Spinning Jenny' and the ‘Power Loom?' And of course there is the question of ‘The Scramble for Africa,' colonisation and empire, as well as de-colonisation and the demands for independence. How this is portrayed in history is crucial in helping our pupils understand the world they live in today. Too often Ofsted complains about our students and their inability to see the ‘Big Picture' of history. If we focus too much on Britain - important though it is - how do we help them develop their own understanding of the world they live in and the problems facing it today. How do they begin to understand Afghanistan without some knowledge of Empire and the Great Game? How do they understand the war against terror and 9/11 if we have not explored Islam, the Middle East and the Cold War? We owe it to our pupils to help them develop their own ‘Big Picture,' but we need to give them the tools to allow it to happen.

Click here for some HA Resources on the later British Empire...

Click here for some resources on the Cold War...