The following examples show how tasks and suggested activities in the DfES/QCA schemes of work for history can be modified to meet the needs of gifted pupils.

Unit 3: What were seaside holidays like in the past?

As part of their study of seaside holidays in the past, a teacher wanted the most able children to compare the sorts of seaside holidays that their parents/carers or grandparents might have had and holidays in Victorian times. The children were given some artefacts and pictures from the different times and were asked to put them in the correct place on a timeline. The teacher discussed the findings with the children, drawing out similarities and differences and suggesting possible reasons. The teacher then asked the children to tell the rest of the class about seaside holidays in Victorian times by producing a postcard. The children could use a framework to help with this, and some chose to use an ICT drawing package. They presented their postcards to the rest of the class and answered questions about what they had found out about Victorian seaside holidays.

Unit 17: What are we remembering on Remembrance Day?

The activity 'Who do we remember on Remembrance Day?' asks pupils to discuss the sort of information that war memorials give us. Gifted pupils could discuss the limitations of the war memorial as a source of information, consider what sources they would use to gain further information and identify some of the difficulties in using those sources, for example availability, access, damage.

Unit 20: What can we learn about recent history from studying the life of a famous person?

A teacher used this unit with a group of year 5/6 children. One way in which he provided more challenge for the most able children was through the selection of sources provided for them. For example, when examining the reaction to the death of John Lennon, the gifted children looked at a wider range of accounts and made comparisons. As suggested in 'Points to note', the teacher asked the children to consider whether John Lennon's early death has made him more famous than he otherwise would have been, and to look for evidence in the media accounts and obituaries to support or contradict this. Having discussed some of the obituaries with them to identify structural and linguistic features, the teacher asked the pupils to construct an obituary which reflected their point of view. When completing the final activity in the unit, 'What impact did John Lennon have on the history of this period?', the teacher asked the group of more able pupils to work together to make a presentation focusing on the significance of John Lennon. They were asked to draw up criteria for assessing significance, which they might use to assess the role of other individuals.

On the basis of this work, the teacher planned a follow-up activity where pupils investigated the role and significance of someone from their next history study. He used unit 22 from the scheme of work for history key stage 3 to help plan this.

Unit 11: What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?

The teacher of a mixed year 4/5 class wanted to provide an opportunity for gifted pupils to begin to develop skills of independent enquiry in history. She realised that, initially, they would need some help in structuring their enquiry. They would then be able to use this as a model for subsequent independent historical enquiry work.

The teacher used the question 'What was it like going to school in the nineteenth century?' from unit 11 from the history scheme of work for key stages 1 and 2. Working in twos or threes, the pupils were given a picture of a nineteenth-century classroom. To help them 'get into' the picture, they were asked to put a counter somewhere on the picture. Their partner had to suggest what they could see, hear or smell from that place in the picture.

After discussing the pupils' observations with them, the teacher gave the pupils a few minutes to make brief observations about the picture, for example what the children in the picture were doing and what they were wearing. They were then asked to write down questions prompted by the picture, such as what lessons the children had and what happened if pupils did not do their work properly. The teacher then asked the children to see if they could group their questions into, for example, those that had to do with lessons and those that had to do with the school building. She encouraged the pupils to identify their own categories.

This provided the structure for the pupils' enquiry. They were given access to a range of resources, including textbooks, copies of school logbooks and inspectors' reports, extracts from stories, artefacts and ICT-based resources, and their own school building. When introducing the resources, the teacher challenged the pupils to think about which sources they would find most useful and about what they might do if the sources appeared to conflict. Working in groups, the pupils were given responsibility for sharing tasks and for deciding how to present their findings.

Schemes of work

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