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.
Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The aim of the lesson is for students to understand why penicillin was seen as a wonder drug and how it was discovered and then developed during World War 2
Students first of all learn about the role played by Alexander Fleming in the story of penicillin from his chance discovery and the acclaim that eventually followed.
The lesson therefore leads the students inadvertently to celebrate his attributes and significance.
The second part of the lesson devotes itself to the parts played by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain in the development of penicillin during World War 2.
Questions and sources are used to analyse why they were unhappy with Fleming and how they had tremendous problems initially producing enough to treat patients effectively.
Students have to now question their original assumptions and finally evaluate the most significant of the three in the story of penicillin.
There is also some source analysis for exam question practice.
The lesson is accompanied by video footage and other documentary evidence as it establishes the part played by factors such as individual genius, science and technology as well as chance.
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 Industrial Revolution
This lesson aims to examine and assess factory conditions during the Industrial Revolution.
The poor conditions and punishments are explored through the eyes of a pauper apprentice, whose story tells us the harsh discipline, rules and punishments for factory workers.
Students have a chance to complete a diary entry and evaluate if life was bad for everyone including using causation equations in the plenary.
The lesson alludes to factory owners like Robert Owen who built quality houses, schools, shops with cheap goods and parks for his workers (although factory reform and reformers is dealt with in another lesson).
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 British Empire
The aim of this lesson is to discover who the Zulus were and how and why their fighting left a lasting legacy on the British Empire.
Students will also find out why the British army, allegedly the best and most disciplined fighting force in the world at the time be defeated and humiliated at the Battle of Isandlwana?
They will also analyse how within hours they were heroically defending their lives at Rourke’s Drift in one of the most unlikely ‘victories’ in British military history.
Students evaluate both battles, creating headlines and writing articles, using argument words and second and third tier vocabulary.
They finally appraise the events of 1879, concluding how both battles should be viewed overall in history and their legacy.
The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching and learning strategies, differentiated materials and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
The lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
Why was the slave trade finally abolished in Britain and her Empire and why did it take so long to achieve?
Why were arguments in the eighteenth century challenged so rigorously and overturned in the nineteenth?
Which people inspired its abolition and who was against this?
Students decide which arguments were being put forward to the plantation owners, racists, people who were ignorant and law makers to end the slave trade.
They then prioritise the most important arguments in challenging these peoples’ staunch perceptions.
The second part of the lesson is a case study of William Wilberforce. Through video, audio and source work, students build up a history of the great man and decide how and why he is significant (this is a differentiated task dependent upon ability).
The final part of the lesson uses an interactive spinning wheel with key words used throughout the course, which the students have to define and explain their links to slavery.
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.
The aim of this lesson is to analyse life in a slave plantation.
What was a typical day like? How hard was the work? Was it made easier by the invention of the cotton gin? How did they relax if at all in the evening and what were their living quarters like?
Learning tasks include comparing a day in their school life with the day of a plantation slave and recognising the hardships endured.
Students also have to use a number of sources, which are differentiated according to ability and challenge a statement which suggests a slave’s life wasn’t really that bad.
The plenary asks them to use four letters and come up with as many associated words as they can from their learning.
The lesson comes with a retrieval practice activity, suggested teaching and learning strategies and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
This bundle is the first part in a series of lessons I have created for AQA GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People, c.1000-present.
I have taught this course for more than 20 years now and have again decided to completely overhaul my lessons to bring them up to date with the latest teaching and learning ideas I have picked up and with a focus on the new 9-1 GCSE.
Furthermore I have dispensed with learning objectives to focus on specific enquiry based questions which address the knowledge and skills required for the GCSE questions.
As well as focusing on GCSE exam practice questions, the lessons are all differentiated and are tailored to enable the students to achieve the highest grades.
The lessons will allow students to demonstrate (AO1) knowledge and understanding of the key features and characteristics of the period studied from the impact of Hippocrates and Galen on medieval medicine to the power and control of the Christian Church.
They will study (AO2) second-order concepts such as change and continuity in the development of ideas about disease and the causes and consequences of the Black Death and the Plague on Britain.
The analysis and evaluation of sources (AO3) are used in for example surgery whilst substantiated judgements are made (AO4) on the progression or regression of medicine from new ideas from the Islamic world as well as the Christian Church .
The lessons are as follows:
L1 An introduction to the course
L2 Hippocrates and Galen
L3 The influence of the Christian Church
L4 Islamic Medicine
L5 Doctors and surgeons in the Middle Ages
L6 Public Health in the Medieval towns
L7 The Black Death and the Plague
Please note that setting a full mock examination in class after completing this unit is strongly recommended.
All the examination resources and markschemes are subject to copyright but can easily be found on the AQA website.
World War II
The aim of this lesson is to question Britain’s policy of appeasement in the 1930’s, but also defend the decision Chamberlain took.
Students have to make up their own minds through a variety of learning tasks which include gathering evidence from video footage of the time, completing a card sort activity, creating causational chains and analysing sources from the time.
Some higher order questions at the end are aimed at getting them to think and challenge the perceptions they have made about appeasement.
This lesson is ideal as preparation for GCSE if you are embedding source skills or teaching the interwar years or WWII at Key stage 4.
It 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 includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
World War II
The aim of this lesson is to understand how the British Government prepared for war and if they were successful in doing so.
The lesson begins by analysing a source and making inferences about the precautions to be taken in times of war.
Furthermore students will also have to decide the Government’s priorities by making judgements as to whether they are low or high, from ideas such as rationing to aid raids or war work to conscription.
They will then complete some research focusing on four areas: warning people of air attacks, the Homeguard, the use of gas masks and the blackout.
Students will plot what the government did or didn’t do on a grid and then after analysing and processing the evidence, justify their conclusions using a colour coding evaluation table as well as completing an extended written task.
The plenary requires students to answer differentiated questions to check their understanding.
It 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.
World War II
The aim of this lesson is to understand how the British Government prepared for war and why it introduced rationing.
The lesson begins by deciding which foods were rationed and why. Students will also have to work out which foods also became unavailable and the reasons for this.
There has always been an assumption that as foods were rationed and restricted, people on the Home Front therefore struggled to make ends meet.
Students are given information on all the goods rationed and compare this to the recommended weekly healthy intake per person today. As they will soon find out, rationing did not always mean everyone suffered as a result.
Students will also be required to analyse the effectiveness of some posters at the time, encouraging people to grow their own food and well as a comprehension task and a challenging thinking quilt on clothes rationing.
The plenary uses flashcards to question their understanding of the lesson.
The lesson comes complete with embedded videos and a lesson plan on how to use the activities.
It 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.
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.
The French Revolution
The aim of this lesson is introduce the types of Government that existed within Europe in 1780.
Students are given a map of Europe in 1780, from which they learn the various rulers and how they each individually ruled their countries, making links and connections between them as well as recognising their differences.
They will also study contemporary accounts of France and evaluate the reasons why the seeds were sown already in France for a revolution.
The plenary requires students to use their knowledge from the lesson to complete a multiple choice quiz.
The lesson comes with differentiated materials, suggested teaching and learning strategies and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
The lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to question if Mary I was fit to rule as a queen and as a woman.
Students are given the context to Mary’s succession as Queen Regnant and are challenged in some differentiated questions to predict what will happen in her short reign.
Using evidence from her background, some guided reading and source extracts, students have to evaluate how and why the historiography of Mary has changed over time.
They are also introduced to her key people and advisors and decide who would have said what in talking heads plenary.
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.
Norman Conquest
The aim of this lesson is to judge how powerful Doom Paintings were in Medieval Britain.
Students will be posed questions to answer, such as why was the Church so important in medieval society and why did people find it so hard to ignore its messages of doom and gloom?
Students will learn how Doom paintings were a powerful propaganda tool in the Church’s message over its illiterate masses.
Students will examine various paintings and video footage to give an in-depth analysis of their messages.
They will then be required to transport themselves into the medieval era and create an extended written piece to express the impact these Medieval Doom paintings were having on their way of life.
There is a peer assessment activity to complete and success criteria to help them if required.
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 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.
What happens at a slave auction? How are the slaves prepared? Who attends the auction? Who is chosen and why?
This lesson attempts to answer these questions and more; from branding to advertisements and the auction itself.
Students also learn of the heartache and pain of those who are sold and how and why slaves are sold at different prices.
They are also challenged in a task to think who would be more expensive and why.
By the end of the lesson, students have to give examples in a true or false quiz of what they have learned in the lesson, including having to decide the worst aspects of the slave auction.
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.
The British Empire
This lesson aims to find out whether we should be proud or ashamed of gaining an Empire and how the indigenous peoples we conquered ‘benefitted’ under British rule.
This lesson will best be delivered over 2 lessons . The opening slides give some context to the debate and define what an Empire is and which countries Britain owned by 1900.
Through video and source analysis, the students have to explain their choice of being proud or ashamed or both and as the lesson progresses justify whether they are sticking to their decisions.
Analysis focuses on Victorian propaganda, the recent views of British Prime Ministers as well as how museums refuse to engage about how they have obtained their imperial artefacts.
The second part of the lesson examines a number of countries acquired by Britain and focuses on the ‘benefits of Empire’. Students then make their final decisions at the end before drawing conclusions on the legacy of the British Empire.
A homework task is to design an Empire plate (photographic examples given) to celebrate Empire day from 1902.
The lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies, differentiated materials and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
The lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
World War I
The aim of this lesson is to question how successful Lord Kitchener’s recruitment drive was in 1914 and how ‘frightening’ it might be to sign up.
The lesson shows students how the themes of heroism, patriotism, shame and anti-German feeling led to thousands of young men volunteering to join the army.
Students are led through video footage, an extract from Private Peaceful and Government posters to analyse how these four key themes were utilised.
They also learn about the success in the recruitment of Pals Battalions from the Caribbean and India, to the Footballers Battalion of Walter Tull, as well from towns across the country.
They will also learn about the horror and frightening consequences of this policy especially with what happened to the Accrington Pals in 1916.
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.
Norman Conquest
The aim of this lesson is to assess how scary the Black Death was in1348.
Students are introduced to the idea of why the Black Death was so scary, learning about the symptoms of the Bubonic Plague and Pneumonic Plague and the devastation that lay in its wake from empty villages today to paintings showing devastation and death.
They learn key words such as contagion, flagellants, humours and miasmas and how these words link to the learning objective through a thinking quilt.
They will also find out how the peasants gained in status as a result of the reduction of the workforce and how this gave them more bargaining power with their landlords over wages.
The plenary is a Black Death connecting wall which requires students to link four key phrases and to explain how and why they link together.
This lesson is therefore designed to be interactive, fun, challenging and engaging and could be used over two lessons.
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.
World War II
The aim of this lesson is to challenge the Government’s claim that during World War Two, a Blitz spirit of togetherness emerged across the country in defiance of the bombing of Britain’s cities.
This lesson takes students on a journey through archive video footage, government announcements and source information to determine if there was indeed a Blitz Spirit during the war.
Students are given details of what the Blitz entailed using some contextual evidence and a thinking quilt.
They then have to analyse and evaluate a variety of sources and statistics before they conclude and justify which sources best suit the driving question of the lesson.
The plenary is a take on the television programme, ‘Would I lie to you?’ and the idea is to again challenge assumptions.
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 includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials.
It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The Tudors
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the character and motives of Henry VII when he became King.
The lesson focuses on some crucial and important decision making for Henry VII upon his accession to the throne.
He has six decisions to make and students plot these on a grid giving their own judgements before finding out and evaluating how ruthless Henry was in charge.
The lesson hinges upon whether he was a Gangster or not (judged on the criteria at the beginning of the lesson) in an extended and differentiated written answer with a checklist for guidance.
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.
The French Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to assess the personalities and characters of King Louis and Marie Antoinette and how these contributed to the French Revolution.
Students are required to build up a picture of the French monarchy using some source scholarship and written accounts from the time.
This will enable them to decide and explain the most important reasons why they became so unpopular with the French population.
Furthermore, they will be required to chart a popularity rating for each of them and justify their choices, using some extended writing techniques.
The plenary uses a summarising pyramid to evaluate and condense what they have learnt in the lesson.
The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, differentiated materials, suggested teaching and learning strategies and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
The lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
