Chronological Understanding
KS1HI-KS1-D001
Developing awareness of the past and its relationship to the present, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time, and placing events and artefacts in order.
National Curriculum context
Chronological understanding is foundational to historical thinking: without a secure sense of how the past is ordered in time, pupils cannot make sense of historical change, continuity, cause or consequence. At KS1, pupils develop their temporal awareness through the vocabulary of time - words and phrases like old, new, before, after, long ago, recently - and through practical sequencing activities with artefacts, photographs and events. The curriculum requires pupils to work with their own personal histories and family experiences as well as broader national and world history, connecting the abstract concept of 'the past' to their own lived experience. Understanding that the past is different from the present, and that things change over time, is the core conceptual achievement of this domain at KS1.
2
Concepts
1
Clusters
1
Prerequisites
2
With difficulty levels
Lesson Clusters
Understand chronology and how things change and stay the same over time
introduction CuratedTime/chronology (C001) and change/continuity (C002) are linked by co-teach hints and form the conceptual bedrock of historical thinking at KS1 — pupils use the vocabulary of time, sequence events on timelines, and begin to notice what has changed and what has stayed the same within living memory.
Teaching Suggestions (6)
Study units and activities that deliver concepts in this domain.
Changes Within Living Memory
History Study Topic StudyPedagogical rationale
This is the most accessible entry point for historical thinking at KS1: pupils can interview grandparents, compare photographs, and handle real objects from different decades. It grounds the abstract concept of 'the past' in their own family experience and develops chronological understanding through personally meaningful content.
Christopher Columbus & Neil Armstrong
History Study Topic StudyPedagogical rationale
The NC explicitly pairs these two explorers to compare 'aspects of life in different periods'. The 500-year gap is the largest of any paired comparison, developing a deep sense of chronological change. Both were explorers, but the technology, motivations and consequences of their explorations were vastly different.
Elizabeth I & Queen Victoria
History Study Topic StudyPedagogical rationale
This pairing is explicitly specified in the NC as a vehicle for comparing 'aspects of life in different periods'. The 300-year gap between them makes the comparison powerful for developing chronological understanding. Both are significant figures, but the comparison reveals how much Britain changed between the Tudor and Victorian periods.
The First Aeroplanes
History Study Topic StudyPedagogical rationale
The first aeroplane flight connects technology, engineering and human aspiration in a narrative accessible to young children. It develops the concept of change (from a world without flight to one where flight is routine) and significance (why does this invention matter?). Comparison with modern aviation develops chronological understanding of scale of change.
The Great Fire of London
History Study Topic StudyPedagogical rationale
The Great Fire is the most widely taught KS1 event beyond living memory because it offers a dramatic, visually engaging narrative with clear cause and consequence, rich primary sources (Pepys' diary, contemporary illustrations), and connection to modern fire safety. The chronological distance (over 350 years) is ideal for developing a sense of historical depth beyond personal experience.
The Moon Landings
History Study Topic StudyPedagogical rationale
The Moon landings capture children's imagination and develop the concept of significance through an event whose scale is awe-inspiring. The event is within grandparents' living memory for many pupils, bridging the 'beyond living memory' requirement with accessible oral testimony. It develops chronological understanding (1969 is both 'a long time ago' and 'within Grandma's lifetime').
Prerequisites
Concepts from other domains that pupils should know before this domain.
Concepts (2)
Time and Chronology
Keystone knowledge AI DirectHI-KS1-C001
Chronology is the ordering of events and periods in time. Understanding chronology requires both the vocabulary of time (before, after, then, now, long ago, recently, past, present) and the ability to place events and people in sequence relative to each other. At KS1, pupils develop chronological understanding beginning with their own life histories and moving outwards to family memories, local history and national events. Placing events on timelines, sequencing pictures and comparing 'old' and 'new' versions of familiar objects are key activities that develop chronological awareness.
Teaching guidance
Use personal timelines (birth to present) to establish the concept of time sequence. Extend to family timelines using photographs and oral histories. Compare old and new versions of familiar objects (telephones, transport, clothing) to develop understanding of change over time. Use simple timeline displays that show where KS1 history topics fit within a longer span of time. Teach and use time vocabulary consistently. Connect specific dates (Great Fire of London, 1666) to the timeline to develop a sense of historical scale.
Common misconceptions
Young pupils often have a very compressed sense of historical time, placing all 'old' things at the same distance from the present. Using timelines with scale helps develop a more calibrated sense of historical depth. Pupils may conflate 'old' with 'worse' or 'primitive'; a balanced approach that acknowledges both the challenges of the past and its achievements is needed. The concept that events happen in a fixed sequence that cannot be changed is important; some pupils believe history could have been different.
Difficulty levels
Recognising and using basic time vocabulary (before, after, now, then, long ago) to describe the order of two events.
Example task
Look at these two pictures: one shows a baby, one shows a grown-up. Which happened first? Which word tells us: before or after?
Model response: The baby picture happened first. The baby came before the grown-up.
Sequencing three or more events or objects on a simple timeline, using vocabulary such as 'first', 'next', 'then', 'finally', 'a long time ago'.
Example task
Put these three pictures in order on the timeline: a horse and cart, a modern car, a steam train. Which came first? Which came last?
Model response: First the horse and cart, then the steam train, then the modern car. The horse and cart is the oldest.
Placing events, people and objects from different periods on a timeline and explaining how they know the order, using evidence from sources.
Example task
Here are five objects: a candle, a gas lamp, a light bulb, an LED light, and a torch from Victorian times. Place them on the timeline and explain how you decided the order.
Model response: I put the candle first because people used candles before they had gas. The gas lamp came next, then the light bulb was invented. The torch is modern and the LED light is the newest. I know because the materials and design look more modern as you go along the timeline.
Using chronological understanding to explain that different periods of time varied in length, and that some changes happened quickly while others took a long time.
Example task
People used candles for hundreds of years, but we have only had LED lights for about 20 years. What does this tell us about how quickly things change?
Model response: Things used to change very slowly — people used candles for a very long time because there was nothing better. Now things change much faster because people are always inventing new technology. The gap between each invention on the timeline gets shorter.
Delivery rationale
History knowledge concept — factual content about periods, events, and civilisations deliverable digitally.
Change and Continuity
knowledge AI DirectHI-KS1-C002
Historical change refers to the ways in which people's lives, beliefs, institutions and the world around them have transformed over time. Continuity refers to aspects that remain the same over long periods despite other changes. Understanding change and continuity requires pupils to identify what has changed, what has stayed the same, and to consider why some things change while others persist. At KS1, pupils explore change through comparing everyday objects, homes, transport and daily life across different time periods within living memory and beyond.
Teaching guidance
Use paired comparison activities: show an old and a new version of the same type of object and ask pupils to identify what has changed and what is similar. Explore change in everyday life by comparing their grandparents' childhood with their own (food, transport, entertainment, school). Look at photographs of the local area from different time periods. Distinguish between fast change (a technology like mobile phones) and slow change (landscape, traditions). Avoid presenting change as simple improvement or progress; discuss what is lost as well as what is gained.
Common misconceptions
Pupils may assume all change represents progress or improvement. Discussing examples where change has involved loss (community customs, local buildings) develops a more nuanced understanding. The concept of continuity can be harder for pupils to grasp than change; using familiar examples (stories, celebrations, family customs) that have remained constant across generations helps.
Difficulty levels
Identifying one thing that has changed and one thing that has stayed the same when comparing old and new versions of a familiar object or setting.
Example task
Look at this old photograph of a classroom and this photograph of our classroom. Tell me one thing that is different and one thing that is the same.
Model response: The old classroom has wooden desks in rows — that is different. Both classrooms have a board at the front — that is the same.
Describing several changes and continuities between past and present in a familiar context, using comparative language.
Example task
Compare how children travelled to school in your grandparents' time with how you travel to school. List things that have changed and things that have stayed the same.
Model response: Changed: grandparents walked or cycled more, there were fewer cars, no car seats. Stayed the same: children still walk to school sometimes, school is still in the morning, parents still take children to school.
Explaining why some things have changed while others have stayed the same, giving reasons linked to people's needs or new inventions.
Example task
Telephones have changed a lot since they were invented, but people still use them to talk to each other. Why has the telephone changed, and why do people still want to talk to each other?
Model response: Telephones changed because people invented better technology — first they had wires, then they became mobile. But people still want to talk because they need to share news, ask questions and stay in touch with family. The need stayed the same but the way we do it changed.
Recognising that change can involve loss as well as gain, and that not everyone experiences change in the same way.
Example task
When cars replaced horses for transport, was this change entirely good? Think about what was gained and what might have been lost.
Model response: Cars are faster and can carry more, so people could travel further. But horses didn't cause pollution, and people who worked with horses lost their jobs. Some people in the countryside still preferred horses. So the change was good in some ways but not in every way.
Delivery rationale
History knowledge concept — factual content about periods, events, and civilisations deliverable digitally.