History · Year 3

Active learning ideas

How Our Settlement Began

Active learning helps Year 3 students grasp early settlement patterns by making abstract ideas concrete. When children investigate names, simulate choices, and compare past and present, they connect geography to human decisions. This builds spatial awareness and historical curiosity right from the start.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS2: History - Local History Study
• KS2: History - Settlement and land use

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Name Game

Groups are given a list of local village names and a 'decoder' of Saxon, Viking, and Roman endings. They must figure out what each name means (e.g., 'The farm by the bridge') and draw a picture of what it looked like when it was named.

Analyze the geographical factors that influenced the founding of our local settlement.

Facilitation Tip

During The Name Game, provide a short list of local place name meanings (e.g., '-ton' means farmstead) before students start decoding road signs.

What to look for

Provide students with a blank map of the local area. Ask them to draw and label three geographical features (e.g., river, hill, forest) that might have attracted early settlers. Then, ask them to write one sentence explaining why each feature was important.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 40 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: The Settler's Choice

Place a large map of the local area (without buildings) on the floor. Students are 'First Settlers' and must place their 'house' (a block) on the map. They must explain their choice: 'I'm near the river for water' or 'I'm on the hill to see enemies'.

Explain how the name of our town or village might reveal clues about its early history.

Facilitation Tip

In The Settler's Choice simulation, give each group a map with only rivers, hills, and forests marked—no modern features—to focus their decision-making.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If our town's name was 'Riverton', what does that tell us about why people first settled here?' Facilitate a class discussion, encouraging students to connect the name's meaning to geographical features and potential historical reasons for settlement.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Then vs. Now

Students think of one thing the first settlers needed (like a spring) and one thing we need today (like a supermarket). They share with a partner and discuss if we still need the same things as the first people who lived here.

Hypothesize about the lives of the first people to settle in this area.

Facilitation Tip

For Then vs. Now, project two maps side by side and ask students to point to one change they notice before sharing with a partner.

What to look for

On a small card, have students write down one possible job or activity that the very first people in our settlement might have done. They should also write one sentence explaining why they chose that activity, based on the local geography.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by letting students experience the reasoning of early settlers firsthand. Use maps as tools, not just illustrations, so children see how geography guided choices. Avoid overloading with dates; instead, focus on patterns like why water sources matter across centuries.

Successful learning looks like students explaining why a river, hill, or forest mattered to early settlers. They should use local names and maps to show how geography shaped where people lived. Discussions and written work demonstrate their growing understanding of continuity over time.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The Name Game, watch for students who dismiss place names as random words.

  Pause the activity and display a simple list of suffixes like '-ford' (river crossing) or '-bury' (fort). Ask students to guess meanings before revealing the codes, turning confusion into discovery.

• During The Settler's Choice simulation, watch for groups that ignore geographical clues.

  Circulate with a guiding question: 'What would happen if your settlement ran out of water?' Redirect their attention to the river or spring on their map.

---

Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Simulation Game
• Think-Pair-Share