I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
This lesson focuses on Weltpolitik and the dangers for the Kaiser faced with increasing industrialisation in the country and his pursuit of creating an Empire abroad so that ‘Germany could have its place in the sun’.
Included in the lesson are a number of sources and charts, links to videos and information for the students to analyse and evaluate to decide the strength of Germany under the Kaiser and its weakenesses/
Some GCSE exam question practice is included with help given to answer them if required.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
This lesson introduces students to Stresemann and his policies.
The starter is interactive as each student has a character card and will introduce themselves to each other to find out their worries and concerns with Germany between 1918-1923.
At the end of the lesson the students will judge if Stresemann has made their lives better or not and justify their reasons.
Was he a brilliant statesman who solved Germany’s problems or did he just paper over the cracks?
There are a variety of learning tasks for the students to complete which include a quiz where the students pick up points for the correct answers, source analysis, colour coding activities on Stresemann’s economic and political policies as well as a GCSE exam practice question, with help given if required.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Suffragettes
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate how much the vote gave independence to women in the roaring twenties.
Students have to assess how and why women became more confident and empowered with new technology and the introduction of the reckless flapper, shocking society with her wild behaviour.
There is video evidence, text mapping and source analysis for the students to complete to aid them in justifying their decisions.
Students will also evaluate the role of four pioneering women in a differentiated task by colour coding batteries to rate their contribution to ‘girl power’.
There is a chance to complete some extended writing using importance words as well as adding appositives to simple sentences in the plenary.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the events leading to the Berlin crisis of 1948 and the actions of the Allies to unite a divided Berlin into Trizonia with its new currency, the Deutschemark.
Students begin by analysing maps of Berlin to understand its unique position in East Germany; they also use text to find out key information and decipher key words as well as evaluating how the crisis unfolded using a dual coding and text mapping exercise.
The plenary requires the students to use causational equations to explain how and why the crisis happened.
There is some GCSE exam question practice to complete, with tips on how to answer the consequences question, with model answers given if required.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout this and subsequent lessons to show the progress of learning.
The lessons in this bundle are therefore linked together to build up a picture of how diplomacy, propaganda and spying led two Superpowers with opposing political ideologies to create tensions, rivalries and distrust as well as subsequently forming mutual understanding and cooperation over the time period in question.
The resource includes retrieval practice, suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and GCSE exam practice.
It also comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Rise of Dictators
The aim of this lesson is to decide if Castro was a callous or courageous leader of Cuba.
Students will learn about how important Cuba was to the USA geographically as well as economically, with the rule of Batista and the corruption in his Government. They will have to decipher some text mapping and dual coding to find this out.
They will also be introduced to Castro using video evidence, before given key facts about his rule.
They will then have to decide where this evidence fits in with their judgements of him being callous or courageous with the extra challenge of judging how strong or weak the evidence is.
An extended writing activity with a writing framework and key words to help will enable students to show off their judgements and new found knowledge.
The final task is a road mapping exercise with differentiated questioning to see how far they can travel in Cuba.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
This key word literacy display has been designed to be used on classroom walls (or on display boards outside) when introducing a new History topic to the students.
It is an easy resource to print and will hopefully save an incredible amount of time and effort when incorporating literacy into a new or existing scheme of work. The slides can also be laminated and used as mobiles hanging from the ceiling or used as part of an informative display.
The slides cover the following words and their definitions:
Cavalier. Commonwealth, confess, controversial, civil war, defence, ducking stool, Divine Right, evidence, interregnum, Matthew Hopkins, negotiate, New Model Army, Oliver Cromwell, Puritan, Republic, resonant, Restoration, Roundhead, Rump Parliament, scaffold, scold, ship money, Stuarts, treason, trial, tyrant, witch.
The slides come in PowerPoint format so they are easy to change and adapt.
The Tudors
The aim of this lesson to find out about the hidden messages in Elizabeth I’s portrait paintings.
Students learn about how Elizabeth manipulated her portraits and added symbols, each of which had a hidden meaning.
The introduction to the lesson looks at anachronisms and modern day symbols put into portraits to get the students thinking how pictures should not always be seen and taken at face value. Thus inference skills are high on the agenda in this lesson.
Students are then given information about each of her paintings and have to analyse and evaluate their meanings and various symbolic codes.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
The overarching aim of this and the subsequent lessons is to question and explore how Elizabeth asserted her authority and control in the second half of her reign.
This lesson aims to explain how the Spanish planning of the Armada was flawed from the start.
An analysis of the Commanders involved shows a plethora of mistakes made and how Philip decided to combine the plans of Santa Cruz and the Duke of Palma to placate the two and massage his ego as a superior naval commander.
The deteriorating relationship between Philip and Elizabeth is analysed and compared to a pressure cooker – students have to decide which events manipulated Philip’s anger between simmering, boiling and exploding.
A thinking quilt aims to challenge assumptions and evaluate the major weaknesses of these Spanish plans and their impact on overall victory.
The final challenge is to sort out the bodged names and key words used in the lesson.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to assess the impact of Albert Speer in armaments production.
The lesson begins with a recap of the policies previously mentioned of Hjalmar Schacht and Goering in his Four Year Plan. Students will assess how much of an impact their policies had preparing Germany for war and if the German economy was on the verge of collapse before from 1942.
Students will learn about the background of Speer and how he implemented reforms and efficiency to turn the economy around with his appointment as Armaments Minister and War production.
There is some source analysis to complete together with a true or false quiz at the end of the lesson.
The exam practice will allow students to evaluate the successes of Speer’s policies as well as questioning deep rooted divisions and problems within the economy, which were unreconcilable and ultimately led to its collapse with the defeat of Nazi Germany.
The lesson is quite literacy heavy and may have to be delivered over two lessons.
An enquiry question posed at the beginning of the lesson will be revisited throughout to track the progress of learning during the lesson and the subsequent unit of work.
The lesson is available in PowerPoint format and can be customised to suit specific needs.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the appeal of Communism to German voters.
The lesson begins with students evaluating the significance and inferences of a 1919 communist propaganda poster.
Students will engage in differentiated questioning linked to statements about the tactics of the Communist KPD Party. The lesson will compare the support for Communism with the rapid rise of the Nazi Party, examining the reasons behind the disparity in their electoral success.
Students will also assess and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Communism, providing reasons for their evaluations.
The plenary activity will be a hangman game using key terms from the lesson to reinforce learning.
To conclude, students can complete some exam question practice, with structured support provided to help them effectively answer the question.
An enquiry question posed at the beginning of the lesson will be revisited throughout to track the progress of learning during the lesson and the subsequent unit of work.
The lesson is available in PowerPoint format and can be customised to suit specific needs.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to assess how much of a threat Catholicism posed to Elizabeth during her reign.
The lesson begins with an analysis of the Northern Rebellion. Was it a direct consequence of the Religious Settlement or simply a Catholic uprising against Elizabeth?
Further analysis focuses on the role played by seminary and Jesuits priests who came to England to spread the word of Catholicism and reconvert the masses; students have to decide if they had little influence or posed a direct threat to Elizabeth.
Furthermore students judge how significant the measures put in place to tackle these threats were.
Some exam practice is included with help given if required.
There is an enquiry question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work.
The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit.
The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to question whether the ‘new woman’ in the Weimar Republic was no more than a myth.
The beginning of the lesson focuses on social welfare and who was entitled to what at the end of the war. However, students learn how many people felt cheated by the system and assess why so many different groups felt aggrieved.
In the second part of the lesson, students ascertain who was classed as the new woman in Weimar Germany. They also evaluate whether the new freedoms afforded to women were in fact inconsequential in areas such as politics, employment and sexual freedom.
Case studies for four women are scrutinised before students complete some exam practice, with help given if required.
The plenary requires students to compete some fragmented sentences.
There is a enquiry question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work.
The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit.
The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is decide how much of a threat the Lovell and Stafford rebellions were.
Students are given the information about the two rebellions and then have to categorise them into causes, consequences and events.
There is an odd one out activity included to check understanding where students have to justify the correct and incorrect answers.
The plenary requires the challenge and thinking of but, because and so.
Students have to opportunity to plan and write an essay on how much of a threat to Henry the rebellions were. A planning sheet, markscheme and help is given if required.
There is an enquiry question posed and revisited to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work.
The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit.
The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, 1060-87
This resource sets out the whole course in two sides of A4.
This is ideal for the student who wants a quick recap and summary before the exam or an internal assessment, as it sets out and gives all the main knowledge required.
It is also great for quickly printing and giving out for revision lessons, especially when the students claim they cannot remember anything you have taught!
It covers the main events, issues and people connected to the topic, with a focus on the exam requirements at the beginning.
I have included both PDF and word documents in case there is a wish to adapt and change.
Conflicts and conquest, The American West c.1876-c1895.
This bundle is the third part in a series of lessons I have created for Edexcel GCSE 9-1 The American West, c.1835-c1895
Students will be assessed on their knowledge and understanding of the conflicts and conquest with changes in the farming industry, the cattle industry and settlement.
Students will learn about the establishment of law and order across the period. They will recognise the significance of key people such as Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid and Benjamin Singleton.
They will study the destruction of the Plain Indians way of life with events such as the Wounded Knee Massacre as well as the Range Wars and extermination of the Buffalo.
Lessons will also target the cause and consequence of US government policy with the Dawes Act of 1887 and the declaration of the disappearance of an Indian Frontier.
I have dispensed with individual learning objectives for each lesson to focus throughout on a specific enquiry based question which addresses the knowledge and skills required for the GCSE questions and shows progression in learning required during this course.
Moreover it allows the students to critically think for themselves to decide who was benefitting from this rapid change to America as well as how and why.
The lessons are as follows:
L21 Changes to farming on the Plains
L22 Changes in the Cattle Industry
L23 Exoduster Movement
L24 Billy the Kid
L25 Wyatt Earp
L26 Battle of Little Big Horn
L27 Wounded Knee Massacre
L28 Range Wars
L29 Extermination of the Buffalo
L30 Dawes Act of 1887
For assessment purposes each lesson is accompanied by one of the three exam questions with help and exam tips given if needed. These can be completed in the lesson or for homework tasks if required.
The lessons are all differentiated and are tailored to enable the students to achieve the highest grades.
The lessons come in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Conflict and Tension 1918-1939
This series of eight lessons introduce the third part of the AQA Conflict and Tension course 1918-39 and focus on the origins and outbreak of World War II. Lessons come complete with suggested teaching strategies and differentiated learning tasks.
I have included many of the typical GCSE questions AQA have so far supplied, from source analysis, write an account to the longer 16+4 mark questions. The last lesson also gives some GCSE practice questions and examples of how to answer them.
The lessons are broken down into the following:
L1: Hitler’s Aims
L2: Reactions to Hitler’s Foreign Policy
L3: The road to war and German rearmament
L4: Reoccupation of the Rhineland (free resource)
L5: The Anschluss
L6: The Sudeten Crisis
L7: The Nazi-Soviet Pact
L8: Why did World War II break out?
Lessons also include some retrieval practice activities and come in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Any reviews would be gratefully received.
With the National Curriculum in mind, I have created a set of resources which focus on the study of an aspect or theme in British history that consolidates and extends pupils’ chronological knowledge from before 1066.
This bundle includes significant events such as the abolition of Capital Punishment in Britain after the high profile cases of Derek Bentley and Ruth Ellis.
It makes connections between crime and punishment through the ages such as between Roman and Modern periods.
Students will be introduced to key concepts of change and continuity between Anglo-Saxon and Norman Crime and Punishment as well as the causes and consequences of the Christian Church and its influence on punishments.
Students will analyse sources in the Stuart period and analyse different interpretations of terrorism through the ages.
They will be able to use historical terms and concepts in more sophisticated ways such as retribution and rehabilitation.
Finally they will be able to provide structured responses and substantiated arguments, giving written evidence and context to their extended writing.
The 11 lessons are broken down into the following:
An introduction to Crime and Punishment
Roman Crime and Punishment
Anglo-Saxon Crime and Punishment
Norman Crime and Punishment
Tudor and Stuart Crime and Punishment
Crime and Punishment in the 18 and 19th Century
The Whitechapel Murders
Modern Crimes
Modern Punishments
The case of Derek Bentley
The case of Ruth Ellis
Each lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies, retrieval practice activities and are linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lessons come in PowerPoint format and can be adapted and changed to suit.
These lessons are ideal as a way of introducing Crime and Punishment if you are teaching it at GCSE or if you wish to add an interesting unit of work to engage and challenge the students to encourage them to take History further in their studies.
This lesson aims to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Rochester Castle and understand why it was built in such a strategic position.
It also explores the reasons why the Castle was seized by some disaffected knights in 1215 and why King John was so keen to recapture it.
Students have to evaluate the most effective ways of attacking and defending a Castle and learn how difficult medieval siege warfare was.
The second aim of the lesson is to examine how and why it was captured in the first place, as students continue to analyse the power struggle between the barons and the King.
There is a brilliant video link to the siege under Rory’s McGrath’s Bloody Britain series which the students follow and answer questions on.
Finally they plot the power struggle between the king, the church, the barons and the people in a sequence of lessons.
This lesson includes:
Fun, engaging and challenging tasks
Links to video footage
Printable worksheets
Suggested teaching strategies
PowerPoint format, which can be changed to suit
The Norman Conquest
This lesson explores the role of monks and nuns in Medieval society and questions their importance.
Students learn how people joined the monastic community and how they helped the local community.
Students also analyse their dress code and the reasons behind it, before engaging in literacy tasks such as linking their daily life to particularly headings and writing a narrative account.
There are accompanying worksheets and video links to reinforce the learning.
The plenary of ‘find and fix’ challenges the students to rewrite and correct a number of statements made.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end using a rate ‘o’ meter to show the progress of learning.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
Norman Conquest
The aim of this lesson is to challenge and question the role of the Church in Medieval Society.
On face value, the power it had over people was enormous and with power came great wealth, often at the expense and help of the population.
But was it all corrupt and how much did people willingly give over their goods in return for salvation? These questions are explored through statistics, facts and video evidence.
Students are ultimately required to justify if the Church was corrupt by colour coding and rating batteries (linked to a final post it note challenge) and evidencing their choices.
There are also introduced to a number of key words which they are required to recall in the plenary.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end using a rate ‘o’ meter to show the progress of learning.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
