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Many history teachers are taking the opportunity of the new standards to introduce new topics. Various schools will now be studying: exploration, colonisation, medicine through time, crime and punishment, the 1980s etc.

The intent of the new curriculum is to introduce inquiry based learning and some schools are making progress with this in the junior school but adapting inquiry learning to the senior school has different challenges. Inquiry learning involves teachers 'frontloading' information to 'set the scene' as it were and then allowing students to inquire into aspects of the topic that are of interest to them. With NCEA we are constrained that although students can inquire into the topic they must all arrive at the NCEA exam with appropriate information for the exams.

Schoolhistory has liaised with a neighbouring school over the list of preferred topics generated for 2011. To engage students we will frontload the 'Black death' and the 'Peasants' Revolt' and lead into a compare/contrast of the causes and consequences of the 1918 Flu epidemic for the 1.1 (carry out an investigation of an historical event or place of significance to New Zealanders); 1.2 (Demonstrate understanding of an historical event, or place, of significance to new Zealanders); and the information will lead nicely into the 1.6 (Describe how a significant historical event affected New Zealand society).

School history will have appropriate assessments available shortly.

Put the 1.4 into your school mock exams and mark as you did this year but next year you can allocate credits! We are dropping the 1.3 but covering 'French Revolution' (equality, social justice etc) for the 1.4 or the 1918 Flu Epidemic as a choice. For the 1.5 we are developing the Charles 1st (Tudors) topic and front loading back to Henry VIII [no connection identified (yet) in the Matrix for NZ connection]. 1.6 will be 1918 Flu again as an historical event affected NZ society.

SchoolHistoryNZ will be developing assessments for 1.1, 1.2 and 1.4 and uploading onto the site.