Primary sources - objects and documents from periods in the past, either in original or reproduction form - are the key resources to enable primary pupils to "behave like historians".

• With careful prompting by the teacher, pupils can begin to ask and answer questions about the past and, most importantly, begin to make their own interpretations based on evidence.
• Primary sources should always be used in context, however, with the teacher using explanation and story-telling to help pupils to make sense of source material.
• Decisions about which sources to use will depend on the period being studied and the age and abilities of pupils, e.g. objects and visual images are the most obvious sources to use with EY foundation stage and key stage 1 children.

Task 1

Teachers' questioning and the development of pupils' questioning skills are central to the productive use of primary sources - read advice on questioning from the Nuffield Primary History Web site before exploring the links from the picture below.

Click on a source below to go to background information and ideas for classroom activities. Some links go to local documents and others to advice on the Nuffield Primary History Web site. Make notes on the use of each type of source.

Research the other types of sources and approaches outlined on the Teaching Methods page and make notes on, at least, on other source or approach.

For next week's session, find a picture that you could use in the teaching of a history unit in foundation stage, key stages one or two - see the National Curriculum or EYFS Websites - and identify a set of questions you could use with a chosen age-range of children. The questions should encourage children to observe and then interpret the picture.

Your questions (ten, at most) should include 

• closed questions to encourage observation followed by 
• interpretive and evaluative questions to foster interpretation, e.g. What do you think the person in the picture is saying? What lesson is going on in this Victorian classroom? How would you feel if you were in this picture? How do you know this picture is old?