The aim of this lesson is for students to analyse and evaluate the winning tactics used in by William in the Battle of Hastings Students commence by analysing the Bayeux Tapestry, sources of the battle and information on the leadership qualities of the two combatants. They then complete a differentiated task using a storyboard to map out the events of the battle before completing a summarising pyramid on William’s skills. There is also a chance to recreate the battle with suggestions of role play before the plenary requires some recall and retention skills. An optional homework suggestion is also provided. The resource is therefore differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.

The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel This lesson aims to explore the conflicts between the US Government and the Plains Indians in the 1860’s. It is split into two parts. The first part analyses Little Crow’s War of 1862 and the second part analyses the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864. Students are required to place themselves in the shoes of Little Crow and have to choose which decisions he took against the US Government as a result of the Dakota Sioux’s plight, which became more and more desperate. This is completed in the form of a quiz where points are allocated for the right decisions taken by the students. Answers are given throughout if wrong choices are made with accompanying explanations. There is a printable worksheet included on which they give information about his early life and the reasons for growing tensions with the US Government. The sheet also tracks the decisions made by the students and the points awarded for each decision. At the end of the task, students will be keen to hear that the results are in and a winner announced! In part 2 of the lesson a chronological exercise as well as questions around the impact of the Sand Creek Massacre will be posed to the students. The plenary requires some critical thinking skills around causal equations. There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘write a narrative account’ worth 8 marks, with help given if needed. The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some recall retrieval practice is also included linking key words together. It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.

AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603 The aim of this lesson is to assess the success of Mary’s marriage to Philip of Spain and the significance of the Wyatt rebellion. Students begin by deciding the pros and cons of marrying Philip and what Mary should consider before entering a union and alliance with a powerful Catholic ally. Furthermore they will be given details of the marriage and all its clauses and evaluate who benefited more from it both personally and politically. Students will also analyse the consequences of the marriage with the subsequent Wyatt rebellion and decide how significant and threatening it really was by plotting their thoughts on a grid. The plenary uses some differentiated questioning to check understanding and challenge their understanding in the wider context of the political situation at the time. There is an enquiry question posed at the start 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 GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603 The overarching aim of this and the subsequent bundle of lessons is to question and explore how Elizabeth asserted her authority and control in the second half of her reign. In this lesson, students learn how much Elizabethan society was changing due to this increase in status, wealth and power. The foundations of the Great Chain of Being were being shaken as there was a rise in status of the gentry class, making their money through land and trade and being given jobs of responsibility by the Queen such as JPs, MPs and Privy Councillors. With this new money came the desire to build new houses and a case study of Hardwick Hall is used as an example of how to show off your wealth and power, Students analyse how these new houses demonstrated that their inhabitants were cultured and fashionable people. Students are shown the latest ideas from the BBC and have to analyse and colour code text before demonstrating their knowledge in a ‘how important’ GCSE practice question. After completion they peer assess their answers to check they have included the correct evidence and answered the question properly rather than a given a narrative description which can be a common error. 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 Britain: Health and the People, c.1000 to present ** This lesson aims to find out why the public health in Medieval towns was so poor. Some local councils tried their best, but the laissez-faire attitude of many including the government of the day proved a major hindrance. Students have to decide the most important issues, both short and long term, causing the poor public health conditions by putting and prioritising the main ‘ingredients’ on shelves ready to put into a cauldron. There are some fabulous links to video footage as well as a true or false quiz and a game of noughts and crosses to finish. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning. The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson and there are differentiated materials included.

The English Civil War The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the reign of Charles II who was determined to stamp his authority and bring back some sense of ‘normality’ to the country. Students will be given the context of his return with a Head and Tails activity and an excellent video, in which they will have to justify his cautious return. As well as reassessing how his brought back ‘partying’ to the country, some source scholarship requires students to summarise paragraphs and create images and headings to show and clarify understanding. Students will also have to put themselves in the shoes of Charles to sort out some of his problems in the restoration. A ‘talk like an expert’ activity for the plenary will show off their new found knowledge and skills from the lesson. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning. The resource includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603 The aim of this lesson is analyse how Henry used propaganda to cement his hold on power. Students are given a number of sources to analyse from which they have to identify the type of propaganda used, the messages given, the target audience and how effective it really was for Henry VII. The plenary required students to link numbers to what they have learned in the lesson. There is an exam practice question to complete. Help is given here with a planning sheet, suggested topics to focus on if required and a generic markscheme. 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 as well as a number of tasks for some retrieval practice.

The Holocaust The aims of this lesson are to explain how Jewish people rose in rebellion or resisted against Nazi atrocities during the holocaust. The first part of the lesson examines the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, using a thinking quilt to challenge ideas and ask key questions about the motivation and determination to succeed against overwhelming odds. The second part of the lesson analyses resistance in the extermination camps in particular events in Sobibor, Treblinka and Auschwitz. Students are then asked to justify the best and most effective ways to resist from passive to active resistance. Finally a find and fix activity checks understanding and the 3 R’s. The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons in the bundle is to ask who was to blame for the holocaust? Students will map out their ideas each lesson (which can be plotted in different colours or dates to show the progress of their learning and centred around a lightbulb) and build up a picture of how difficult it is to blame a single individual or event for this catastrophe. The resource comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.

World War 1 The aim of this lesson is to question how frightening trench life really was. This lesson begins with a familiar look at trench life. An analysis of sources, audio clips and prose using higher order thinking skills as well independent learning will bring students to the conclusion that trench life was extremely tough for soldiers. A chance to write a letter home, before realising the problems of censorship, will suggest to students that soldiers had to struggle in the mud and squalor surrounding them. However historians such as Dan Snow question how long soldiers spent in the trenches and discovered that in fact 45% of their time was spent behind the lines and in relative safety. Therefore the overriding aim of the lesson of evaluating how frightening trench life was now becomes more apparent. Finally the use of historical hexagons will challenge thinking and challenge students to link ideas together. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout the lesson and this unit of study to show the progress of learning. The resource includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and 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 be able to give a narrative account of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Students may already know some of the details of this lesson from their learning at Key Stage 3. Students are given the context of the pictures taken from the U2 American spy plane and evaluate the significance of this find, studying the photographic sources and maps from the time. They then take on the role of President Kennedy and see if they can match the decisions he made, collecting points on the way. This leads nicely into the GCSE question practice of writing a narrative account of the events, making sure they link the events together coherently and in chronological order. The plenary focuses on analysing the consequences of the crisis for Soviet and American relations. 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 suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

The aim of this lesson is to assess the validity of four claimants to the English throne in 1066. It also includes a script for those students who prefer a more kinaesthetic approach to this topic. Each contender is introduced and students have to assess who has the best claim to the English throne, which on the face of it is a difficult choice, which each having a strong argument and motive. This can also be completed by colour coding thermometers and rating them out of ten before making a substantiated conclusion. There are differentiated questions to ask the students once this task has been completed. The plenary asks them to think outside the box and link pictures to the issues and contentions raised. The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.

AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603 The overarching aim of this and the subsequent bundle of eleven lessons is to question and explore how Elizabeth tried to assert and establish her authority in the early years of her reign. The lessons are therefore linked together to build up a picture of her difficulties in trying to overcome this. This second lesson on Elizabeth focuses on the workings of her government. Where did the real power lie in Elizabethan England? Students question who Elizabeth might want in her government and using a text mapping exercise find out who is who in the different establishments. The second part of the lesson examines a significance question and compares the inner workings of her government to today’s cabinet and the role of Parliament. Students have to write about the importance of the Royal Court using the information provided, which is also linked to a brilliant BBC video clip and with a model answer included. 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. The key to this lesson is to recap not only the causes of the Spanish Armada and the build up to its eventually defeat, but also to analyse the battle itself and reasons for English success and Spanish failure. Furthermore, what were the consequences for Elizabeth and her successors? How did Britain regain the initiative and establish Elizabeth as a Protestant force to be reckoned with in Europe and at home? How did the defeat change her status as a world power for the next generation of explorers and seafarers as Britain became the dominant naval power in the world by the 19th Century? Students make up and pour a toxic cocktail of causes before piecing together the reasons why the Armada failed and ran out of energy, by giving it an energy rating in a prioritisation exercise. They also have to amend a number of statements and correct them, explaining the reasons why they are incorrect as well as studying an interactive map as the events unfolded. Finally students can complete a ‘How important’ GCSE practice question worth 8 marks to consolidate their learning with hints and tips of how to answer this. 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 focuses on the change in policy towards the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis. Students have to put events into chronological order and understand why the beginning of World War II changed everything. Students also learn about the Wannsee Conference and the experimental attempts by the Nazis to murder the Jews in Europe from shooting to mobile gas vans before deciding upon the use of Zyklon B crystals. Using numbers and figures they also discover the sheer scale of the atrocities involved in this genocide and what happened in the concentration camps. There are some excellent links to video evidence to accompany the lesson, which are suitable to show. 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 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present The aim of this lesson is to determine how much of an impact the Renaissance had on Medicine. Students study and analyse Vesalius, Pare and Harvey with their individual specialisms and contributions at the time of the Renaissance. They then have to decide who has made the most important contribution to medicine and justify their decisions thinking about short, medium and long term significance. Opposition to all three is evaluated as students decide who was being criticised and why. There is a brilliant video link to bbc teach as well as learning activities to check understanding. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning. The resource comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson and there are differentiated materials included.

Edexcel GCSE 9-1, Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 This 22 page Revision Guide is tailored to the above Edexcel specification for GCSE 9-1. It is broken down into 4 main sections: Origins of the Cold War, Increasing tensions, Détente and the end of the Cold War. I have been inspired to write this Revision Guide on account of the students I teach struggling with the course content of this unit and applying the skills in how to answer the GCSE questions. This Revision Guide therefore includes 21 GCSE practice exam questions and gives examples on how to answer each, using model answers. This guide will enable all learners to achieve the higher grades with clear guidance on how to achieve them. The questions target consequence, significance and analytical narrative with a focus on analysing events and finding connections that explain the way in which the events unfolded. The information is also broken down into an easy to use format to aid the students. The guide can be used for revision, interleaving, home learning as well as class teaching. For home learning, each student taking GCSE History has a copy assigned to them on a google drive and it is used frequently when using google classroom assignments such as revision for assessments. This Revision Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and can be edited and changed to suit in Microsoft Word and PDF format. Any reviews on this resource would be much appreciated. Please email me for a free copy of any of my resources worth up to £3.50 if you do.

The English Civil War The aim of this lesson is to understand why James lost his crown in the Glorious Revolution and how and why the lessons of his father were not learned. Students will define what they think a Glorious Revolution might be, before learning about the reign of James. They will have to judge how seriously Parliament saw him as a threat to the stability of the monarchy and how they could avoid turning the world upside down yet again. They also have to assess the impact of the Magna Carta on the Stuart dynasty as well as completing a thinking quilt, defining key terminology such as Whigs and Tories under James II. The plenary requires students to find and fix statements which will consolidate their learning from the lesson. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603 The aim of this lesson is to understand how and why Wolsey rose to become Henry VIII’s chief minister. Students are at first given a quick summary of Wolsey’s rise and subsequent fall from power with some differentiated questions to answer. A more detailed and in depth study with some focused reading will require them to assess Wolsey’s character and strengths on his rise to prominence and then give an analytical written account using key evidence. The plenary focuses on some key spellings, knowledge and statistics learned in the lesson. There is some question practice to complete if required, together with a writing frame focusing on the factors helping Wolsey in cementing his position as Henry’s right hand man. 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.

Britain: Health and the People c.1000-present These key individual flashcards aim to get the students thinking of key people and their significance in medicine. I always find students have revised thoroughly for exams, but do not push their grades into the higher brackets as they focus on content rather than the individual’s impact and importance, particularly over time. There are 36 individuals listed, Students can use them in class (I use them as starters and plenaries) or to take home and use for their own personal revision programme. I also display them in the classroom (enlarged) and use when teaching this unit of study. The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.