Year 3 History Expectations
Knowledge, Skills and Understanding breakdown for
History
Year 3
Chronological understanding
Can they describe events and periods using the
words: BC, AD and decade?
Can they describe events from the past using
dates when things happened?
Can they describe events and periods using the
words: ancient and century?
Can they use a timeline within a specific time in
history to set out the order things may have
happened?
Can they use their mathematical knowledge to
work out how long ago events would have
happened?
Knowledge and interpretation
Historical enquiry
Do they appreciate that the early Brits would not
have communicated as we do or have eaten as we
do?
Can they begin to picture what life would have
been like for the early settlers?
Can they recognise that Britain has been invaded
by several different groups over time?
Do they realise that invaders in the past would
have fought fiercely, using hand to hand combat?
Can they suggest why certain events happened as
they did in history?
Can they suggest why certain people acted as they
did in history?
Do they recognise the part that archaeologists
have had in helping us understand more about
what happened in the past?
Can they use various sources of evidence to
answer questions?
Can they use various sources to piece together
information about a period in history?
Can they research a specific event from the past?
Can they use their ‘information finding’ skills in
writing to help them write about historical
information?
Can they, through research, identify similarities
and differences between given periods in history?
Year 3 (Challenging)
Can they set out on a timeline, within a given
period, what special events took place?
Can they begin to recognise and quantify the
different time periods that exists between
different groups that invaded Britain?
Autumn
What was Victorian Warrington like?
 Local History - A study of
Local History taking account
of a period of history that
shaped the locality
Spring
Who first lived in Britain?

Can they begin to appreciate why Britain would
have been an important country to have invaded
and conquered?
Can they appreciate that war/s would inevitably
have brought much distress and bloodshed?
Do they have an appreciation that wars start for
specific reasons and can last for a very long time?
Do they appreciate that invaders were often away
from their homes for very long periods and would
have been ‘homesick’?
Can they begin to use more than one source of
information to bring together a conclusion about
an historical event?
Can they use specific search engines on the
Internet to help them find information more
rapidly?
Place the Victorian period on a class time line
Identify distinctive features of a Victorian school
List a number of aspects of daily life for poor Victorian children
Suggest what Victorian children might have done in their spare time
Find out about Queen Victoria
Where are the Victorian parts of Warrington?
What were the benefits of a water system and sewage system for Warrington?
What jobs do archaeologists do and why are they so valuable in helping us find out about history?
How did the Early Britons make shelters?
Would the Early Britons have visited a supermarket for their food?
What can you find out about the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages?
What do we know about the life styles of the early Britons through the art they produced?
What do we know about the way they moved heavy items around?
How do you think the early Britons would have communicated?
Reflection: Working in groups the children should put together a ICT presentation of the life of Early Britons taking
account of their weapons, food, ways of communicating and eating.
Summer
Why is Greece always in the
news?
:A study of Greek life and
achievements and their influence
on the western world
Where is Greece and why do so many people enjoy going on holiday there?
How do Greece’s physical features, including its climate differ from ours?
How does Greece’s climate impact on its people?
Who were the Ancient Greeks and what did we learn from them?
How would a tourist to Greece today be reminded of the power of the Ancient Greeks?
…and the Oscar goes to? (Which Greek God would you choose to receive a special award?)
Would you have enjoyed being an Olympian?
What is democracy and what part did the Greeks have in creating it?
How would you go about reproducing a clay pot in the style of the Greeks?
Reflection: Children to put on a special Greek event for parents to include features of ancient and modern Greece.
Historical Study
Use more complex sources of primary and secondary information
Use the internet for research
Choose and discriminate between a range of information, and use this to ask questions
Understand that events from the past are represented and interpreted in different ways, and that sources can confirm or contradict
Use a simple database to organise information
Interpret the past through role play – e.g. hot seating
Historical knowledge and Awareness
Guess what objects from the past were used for, using evidence to support answers
Understand that some events of the past affect people’s lives today
Summarise the main events from a period in history, using their characteristics
Give reasons for main events and changes
Begin to understand why some people acted as they did and give reasons
Chronology and Change
Sort events or objects into groups
Use dates and terms accurately, using key dates when describing events
Use some dates on a time line
Understand the concept of decades and centuries and use this to divide the past into periods of time
Use a timeline with dates, including both BC and AD
Use evidence to describe changes within a time period