Resources and ideas about children's understanding of
Time
"They know who Queen Victoria was, but they have no idea what century
she lived in. They know Napoleon was a general but they have no idea what is
meant by the Napoleonic era. Today, few students have any idea what came before
or after what." Anthony Beevor, author of the best selling book, Stalingrad.
(Sunday Times, 20 June, 1999)
There has recently been a popular debate about children's grasp of time
after an ICM survey revealed that only 4% of 14 year olds in the UK know the
date of the Battle of Trafalgar. Does this matter? Is it a disgrace? Is it the
fault of bad history teaching? Or have history teachers more worthwhile things
to do than stuff children's heads with dates?
This part of the site contains some information, ideas
and materials about children's understanding of Time.
A suggested framework for developing children's
understanding of Time
Why an understanding of Time and Chronology is
important in the study of history
Some possible exercises to develop pupils'
understanding of Time
Web links to sites which address time and
chronology
Summaries of recent research and writing about
children's understanding of Time
References for reading about children's understanding
of Time
A historical perspective: some previous models for
progression in children's understanding of Time
Materials for classroom
display
Is it important that children should
learn "key" dates in British history? The view of some people involved in
History Education
John
D Clare on the teaching of time
Back to History PGCE
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