What's included in the Stone Age to Iron Age History Stem Sentences resource and why is it useful?

LKS2 Stone Age to Iron Age History Stem Sentences is a set of sentence stems that give children a clear starting point for discussion and written answers about the topic. The content includes 24 stem sentences across 6 pages, covering the three periods of Prehistoric Britain, life in the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and trade with Europe, Iron Age hillforts and tribes, how farming changed and the influence of the Romans.

Each stem gives children the first part of a sentence, so they can focus on the history rather than how to begin. Children practise using topic vocabulary, explaining causes and consequences, and giving reasons with "because". This builds the oracy and extended writing skills they need to show what they know.

Life in Prehistoric Britain

Stems about how people lived and survived in the Stone Age, such as "Hunter gatherers survived by..."

Bronze and Iron

Stems about trade, settlements, hillforts and tribal societies, such as "Hillforts were built to..."

Change and Continuity

Stems that help children compare the three periods and the arrival of the Romans, such as "A similarity between the three periods is..."

How do our history stem sentences work?

Our stem sentences sit alongside our history scheme. Display a stem on the board or print the pages for tables, and children finish the sentence aloud or in writing. You can also use them:

• as a lesson starter to recap learning from the previous lesson
• with talk partners, who finish a stem together and then share their answer
• as a writing frame for extended answers in books
• on a working wall, so children can refer back to them across the topic
• at the end of the unit, to see what children can explain on their own

Stretch confident learners by asking them to add a second reason or a piece of evidence. Support others by modelling a complete sentence first.

Teach the full unit with our six Stone Age to Iron Age lessons.

Supporting Children with EAL and SEND

Stem sentences reduce the language load of a task, so every child can take part in the discussion. Read stems aloud together, point to the photo on each strip and give a word bank of key vocabulary from the topic. Children can answer with a single word or a drawing before building to a full sentence.