Stone Age
to Iron Age
History Lessons
The Stone Age to Iron Age Lessons Pack contains a complete 10-lesson unit of work for Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11), with detailed lesson plans, Powerpoint slides, teacher guides and printable activity sheets.
Lessons in this unit:
1. What does prehistory mean?
This lesson introduces the period of British history from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. Pupils will make a timeline to set this period into the wider context of British History and they will discover how we break up this period into distinct ages.
Objectives:
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To put events in chronological order
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To understand how the period from the Stone Age to the Iron Age fits into a wider picture of British history
2. How did hunter-gatherers survive in the Stone Age?
In this lesson pupils find out who the ‘hunter-gatherers’ were and how they survived in Stone Age Britain. Pupils will learn the difference between threats and assets provided by the natural habitat and go on their own survival treasure hunt around the school grounds.
Objectives:
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To find out about how hunter-gatherers lived in Stone Age Britain
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To explore how Stone Age people survived against threats
3. What was Stone Age cave art? (FREE)
This lesson gives pupils the opportunity to examine images of cave art from the Stone Age. Pupils will identify common images in the cave paintings and consider what they tell us about life in the Stone Age. After learning about how Stone Age artists created their cave paintings, pupils will have the chance to get creative with their own versions of prehistoric cave art.
Objectives:
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To explore the style of Stone Age cave art
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To find out how cave paintings were created
4. What kind of sources tell us about the Stone Age?
This lesson addresses the question of how we can know about a period of British history with a lack of written primary sources of evidence. Pupils will be introduced to the concept of making deductions from evidence and they will use an information table to record what different artefacts tell us about the Stone Age.
Objectives:
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To examine non-written sources of evidence about the Stone Age
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To make deductions from primary sources
5. What was Skara Brae?
In this lesson pupils will find out how things changed in Britain in the Stone Age when people began to settle in farming communities like Skara Brae. This lesson allows pupils to conduct their own research online about the discovery of Skara Brae and helps them to systematically organise their notes so that they can make a presentation.
Objectives:
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To research the history of Skara Brae
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To find out about the way people lied in the Neolithic period
6. Why are there so many mysteries about Stonehenge?
In this lesson pupils take a virtual tour of Stonehenge and suggest answers to some related questions that still puzzle historians today. Pupils will explore different theories about why Stonehenge was built and then they will construct their own models of Stonehenge using biscuits, clay or boxes.
Objectives:
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To understand what Stonehenge looks like
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To explore different theories about the building of Stonehenge
7. How did bronze replace stone in the Bronze Age?
This lesson looks at the changes between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age, including the implications of the discovery of bronze and the process of how bronze was made. Pupils will find out why bronze was so important and they will create their own flowcharts to record the process of how it was made.
Objectives:
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To know how the Bronze Age was different to the Stone Age
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To explain how the smelting process was used to make bronze
8. What do grave goods tell us about the Bronze Age?
In this lesson pupils will find out about how people in the Bronze Age were buried alongside some objects that were important to them. Pupils will reflect upon how artefacts found in Bronze Age burial sites can give us information about what life was like in this period. This lesson also introduces the idea that not all artefacts survive over time and invites pupils to sum up their learning by exploring the grave of the Amesbury Archer.
Objectives:
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To understand how grave goods can give us information about the past
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To think about what type of objects survive over time
9. What was life like in an Iron Age hill fort?
Pupils will discover what life was like in an Iron Age hill fort in Britain. This lesson encourages pupils to engage imaginatively with this historical setting and reflect on how life in this period might have been different to life today, making a storyboard to record their ideas. As an extension activity pupils are challenged to find out about archaeological sites like Maiden Castle.
Objectives:
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To understand how British society changed in the Iron Age
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To imagine what life might have been like in an Iron Age hill fort
10. What was Iron Age art like?
Pupils will consider what kind of artefacts tell us about life in the Iron Age. They will investigate the distinctive designs found in Celtic art and use these ideas to make their own Celtic brooch design.
Objectives:
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To describe some of the features of Iron Age art
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To use design ideas from Celtic art to make an Iron Age artefact
