The Stone Age was the earliest period of human history. It is called the Stone Age because the people made tools and weapons out of stone. The period began over two million years ago and was divided into the Old, Middle and New Stone Age.
Teach your children about the Stone Age using our handy topic guide!
Teaching Ideas
- Try out our ideas for a themed Stone Age Day.
- Use these ideas inspired by the books Stone Age Boy, Ug, and Boy.
- Scroll down this Red Ted Art page to find out how to make a Stone Age axe from papier-mâché.
- Try out some cave painting!
- Create your own Stone Age webpage like this super one from Unsworth Primary School.
Resources
- Download our Early Human History Pack for plenty of information and activity / display resources.
- Use our Stone Age fact cards to find out more about this fascinating time in human history.
- Our images can be used as writing prompts and discussion starters across the curriculum.
- Our printable lettering is perfect for your classroom displays.
- This amazing resource contains resources and teaching notes. It is designed for EAL learners and is suitable for native English speakers.
Stone Age Knowledge Organiser
Members of Teaching Packs can download a comprehensive knowledge organiser to accompany this topic. It includes key information that your children can use for reference and research, along with key vocabulary and a timeline.
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Stone Age Facts
- The Stone Age gets its name from the fact that, during this time, people used stone tools. It began over two million years ago and ended when people learned how to make tools and weapons from metal.
- Dogs were first domesticated during the Mesolithic period, to help with hunting and provide protection for humans.
- The Stone Age is divided into three periods, The Old Stone Age (Paleolithic), the Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic) and the New Stone Age (Neolithic).
- The last Ice Age occurred during the Stone Age, at the end of the Paleolithic Age.
Videos
The Middle Stone Age
This BBC video follows a hunter-gatherer family through Mesolithic times.
Running time: 7:46
Life in the New Stone Age
This video from the BBC explores changes in Neolithic Britain as a family change from hunter-gatherers to farmers.
Running time: 6:39
KS2 Prehistory – Stone Age flint knapping
Join the Museum of London to learn more about Flint Napping.
Running time: 3.38
How To Make Prehistoric Pottery
This English Heritage video shows the skills and techniques used to make Stone Age pottery.
Running time: 5:18
Books
Cave Baby
A hairy mammoth takes a cheeky little baby on a thrilling ride through a moonlit landscape populated by a sabre-toothed tiger, a leaping hare, a laughing hyena and even, just maybe, by a big brown bear . . . But where are they going?
Stone Age Boy
One day a little boy is walking along when he trips, stumbles and falls … into the Stone Age! He meets a girl his own age and her tribe, and learns all about their way of life.
Ug
Ug and his parents live in the Stone Age. And that means stone blankets, stone cold food, an even colder cave and, worst of all, hard stone trousers!
Boy
Boy wants a warm and cosy place to sleep – but he doesn’t want to share it with anyone else. But in a world full of prehistoric animals and dinosaurs, how will Boy find the one place that’s just right for him?
The Stone Age
Join Marcia Williams on a journey to the Stone Age. Meet the people of Clan Woolly as they hunt mammoths and reindeer, learn how to make fire, invent stone tools and turn wild wolves into tame dogs!
Skara Brae
This fascinating book is all about Skara Brae, a prehistoric Stone Age site in the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
Stone Age to Iron Age
Find out all about the first Britons, nomadic hunter-gatherers who came from mainland Europe to settle in England bringing wooden spears, flint handaxes and animals with them.
Links
- Research the Stone Age with this resource from DK Find Out!
- Study Skara Brae, a Neolithic village on the Orkney Islands. It is older than the pyramids!
- Create amazing cave art with inspiration from these images from the Chavet Cave in southern France.
- The British Museum shows you how to teach Stone Age history through the Happisburgh Handaxe.
- This interactive timeline and accompanying resources from Historic England helps children to place the Stone Age into a timeline.
- Cook up some Stone Age treats!
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