So much history! How much do they have to remember?

[SouthernandCross]

Forgive my ignorance but I come from NZ and we only have a couple of centuries of history to deal with.
My eldest is in year 5 and is doing the Tudors this year. She's come home talking about different kings and queens and princes and dukes and keeps asking me questions about who is related to who and how. I'm helping her find the answers and tbh she seems to have a good grasp on it all but how much are they expected to know.
The sort of thing she's talking about seems quite involved but it's probably just because I'm hearing it all for the first time!

They don't actually have to remember any of it, they will never be tested on any history topic at all!

it is difficult to retain much detail when you are learning disjointed fragments of history - a project on Victorians here, something on the Tudors next year, then at some stage WW2. I don't think at primary school, she is expected to remember who is who in great detail.

Maybe you could find a nice historical overview for children. A book that puts things in chronological order so she has some idea of where things fit in as and when she covers them in school.

Common primary history studies are ...Romans, Vikings, Anglo Saxons, Normans, Tudors, Stuarts, Victorians, Britain since 1930
So basically from 43AD until the present day

www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/timelines/british/index_embed.shtml

Thanks for that MrZ. I will save that link to my favourites.

A light hearted look at the royal line. :)

I've often thought it would have been so much easier for us if we had been born before, say, the industrial revolution. So much less history to learn!

There is a fabulous reference book called The Story of The English which someone lent me for several years - I had to give it back last year, and was mightily relieved when dh gave him The Story of English by mistake which is all about the language! Sadly, we did have to give the right one back, but it'd been delayed by a week!

I'll try to find it on amazon, but suspect it's out of print now. It won't help your dd now, but it'll be a great ref for later.

O M G Panzee. My head hurts. Thanks ( I think)

I bought this history of Britain for my dd (now year 5 ) last year. It is very readable, enough detail for her age and puts all the usual topics into more of a historical perspective.
Really, don't worry, as Snowball says,they don't get tested. At this age it should be about asking questions and looking at how we know things, rather than dates.