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.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the extent to which the Nazis created a totalitarian state
Students learn how the Nazis ‘reformed’ the police system, increased the activities of the SS, SD and Gestapo and controlled the courts and judicial system.
They will complete group work, with detailed information provided, ready to present their findings to the class and justify the extent of totalitarianism in Nazi Germany.
The plenary will require the students to make newspaper headlines from their learning.
The lesson is quite literacy heavy and may have to be delivered over two lessons. There is some exam practice to be completed at the end, with a focused markscheme provided if required.
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 to evaluate the success of Nazi policies towards its workers in creating a volksgemeinschaft.
Students are introduced to the DAF and its leader Robert Ley. They analyse its aims and policies in encouraging workers to increase production.
They are then given a number of statements which they will RAG rate (Red, Amber, Green) which will enable them to evaluate the successes or failings of the organisation.
They also learn about the Strength Through Joy programme and again have to analyse its strengths and weaknesses.
Some source analysis and skills at the end of the lesson will prepare the students for some source exam practice with help and guidance given if required.
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 assess how much of a threat early opposition to the Nazis was.
From the off, students have to decide and give reasons why there would be political, worker, Church and youth opposition.
They then have to complete some source scholarship from an SS article, promoting total allegiance and devotion of the state.
The main task is to analyse the different forms of early opposition giving reasons for why and how resistance was shown, as well as the Nazis reaction to it
A headline plenary will aid the consolidation of learning from the lesson.
There is some source exam practice to complete if required, with help given together with a generic markscheme.
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 question whether the Nazi economic miracle between 1933-9 was merely a propaganda myth.
The exam practice question is introduced from the start and revisited throughout to check judgement and understanding.
Students are introduced to the economic policies of Hjalmar Schacht and how he managed to stimulate the economy through for example building homes and autobahns, mefo bills and tax concessions.
Students soon discover how Hitler’s meddling and appointment of Hermann Goering to the Four Year Plan, spelt disaster for the economy. Through a variety of tasks including a true or false quiz, a positive or negative challenge and plotting on a graph, they soon build up a picture of what the reality was for the economy despite the contrary messages from propaganda.
The plenary requires them to describe, explain, list,correct or erase the learning from the lesson.
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.
American Civil RIghts
This lesson analyses and evaluates the part Rosa Parks played in the Civil Rights Movement.
Modest to the end, her one action inspired a generation and she is still talked about with reverence in American society today. (NB - Oprah Winfrey’s Golden Globe speech on 7th January, 2018.)
Students learn about Rosa Park’s background and events leading up to her refusal to move seats on a bus, brilliantly shown through some video footage as well as documentary evidence.
The learning tasks and the accompanying resources are differentiated to suit all abilities as students reflect and evaluate her most important significance to American society today.
Students also have the opportunity to use a bus to show in the windows the problems she faced (at the front and in the doorway) and what she achieved (in the back windows).
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.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to assess the short and long term impact of the Night of the Long Knives for Hitler and the Nazis
Students begin by analysing a speech by Hitler and his thoughts on a ‘Second Revolution’
They learn about the rise of the SA and are given the profile of Ernst Rohm and his increasing power.
Students have to decide through a number of choices as to why the SA were a growing threat to Hitler
There is a colour coding task to complete on the events of the 30th June together with its aftermath.
Finally students have to justify the most important reasons and significance of the events before tackling a source based practice question, with help given if required.
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 assess how much of a threat early opposition to the Nazis posed.
From the off, students have to decide and give reasons why there would be political, worker, Church and youth opposition.
They then have to complete some source scholarship from an SS article, promoting total allegiance and devotion of the state.
The main task is to analyse the different forms of early opposition giving reasons for why and how resistance was shown, as well as the Nazis reaction to it
A headline plenary will aid the consolidation of learning from the lesson.
There is some source exam practice to complete if required, with help given together with a generic markscheme.
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 evaluate the impact the Great Depression had upon Germany.
Students are given the context to the Wall Street Crash and then have to decide if Germany’s problems throughout were the sole consequence of the Wall Street Crash.
They are given further details of the effects of the slump in Germany, from which they answer some differentiated questions.
Various scenarios are also put forward, from the social, political and economic effects, to who suffered more - the young or the old and the rise of extremism. These can be debated and discussed in groups or individually.
The plenary further challenges which particular groups suffered in the Depression and why.
Some source exam practice can be completed, with help and structure given to answer the question if needed.
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 GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the consequences of Schleicher’s scheming.
Students begin the lesson with a chronological quiz, recapping the events of the unit of work so far.
They are then introduced to Hindenburg inner circle and how he was influenced by them in his decision making. Students also learn about Schleicher’s tactics to bring the Nazis under his control. They subsequently have to put themselves in Schleicher’s shoes and unpick his decision making.
With Schleicher’s ultimate failure to govern effectively, students conclude by finalising the reasons why Hitler was to become Chancellor.
Students can complete some exam question practice at the end of the lesson, 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 aim of the lesson is to question if Japan was justified in attacking Pearl Harbour without a declaration of war against the United States in the Second World War.
This question is revisited later in the lesson to see if the students have changed their minds.
As this is a new theatre of war and not in Europe, the lesson sets out clearly where the war was fought in the Pacific, the location of Pearl Harbour and its significance to the USA.
Students are required to discover what Japan wanted and the reasons behind their surprise attack with a choice of options available to piece the jigsaw together.
An excellent activity of Pearl Harbour in numbers, which is an idea from KNNTeach, enables students to clearly recognise the initial damage done to Pearl Harbour by the Japanese attack.
There are video links to film footage as well as a plenary activity from which the students have to make up questions to the answers given on post it notes.
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 lesson comes in PowerPoint format is there is a wish to change and adapt.
The aim of this lesson is to explore how historians find out about the past using historical sources.
Students are firstly questioned about how we can find out about Castles or Roman artefacts for example with usually some interesting replies.
They then have to study four historical sources with differentiated questioning to help decipher and discover their provenance.
There is an extended writing task to complete with their new found knowledge, with help and prompts given if required.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the appeal of Nazism to German voters.
Students will start by examining the lean years of the Nazi Party and how Hitler reshaped his vision of Nazi ideology while in prison. They will also learn about the significance of the Bamberg Conference in 1926, which reasserted Hitler’s control over the Party.
The second part of the lesson will focus on the broad support and appeal of Nazi ideology to the old elites, industrialists, and the Mittlestand. Hitler’s confidence in his success was evident when he ran for President in 1932, narrowly losing to Hindenburg.
In this context, students will debate, discuss, and present feedback on seven key Nazi policy ideals, explaining why these policies had such widespread appeal.
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.
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.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is evaluate the consequences of the collapse of the Grand Coalition for the Weimar Republic.
Students begin the lesson with some differentiated questioning on the reasons for the collapse of the coalition and its immediate impact on Government as well as analysing the opposition to the Young Plan and the effects on law and order.
They are also required to evaluate the impact of the decrees passed and the result of Bruning’s disastrous economic policies.
The plenary Is an odd one out activity to consolidate the learning from the lesson.
Some exam practice can be completed at the end, with help and structure given to answer the question if needed.
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.
The aim of this lesson is to understand how successful William the Conqueror was controlling England through his survey.
Students will learn how he needed to find out as much as he could about the Anglo-Saxon population.
They are encouraged at the start to answer a series of questions (a survey) of what they own; this is exactly what William did, but minus the enthusiasm shown in the class to list all their belongings!
Through a study of horrible history video footage and source analysis, students realise just how intrusive this new book was and they have to justify, whether in written form or orally, why people in medieval society began to resent it.
For homework they have a chance to find out about their own area and what it offered in 1086 with an exemplar given.
This is a fun, interactive and challenging lesson in which all the students can take part and make their own conclusions.
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.
Middle Ages
Who was Genghis Khan and how did he rule the largest land area in history?
Students learn about his early life and background and how he became such a powerful ruler.
They are required to judge two things about him; how good a leader was he and was he was unifier who brought peace and stability or did he bring chaos and destruction to his Empire?
They are required to debate and complete an extended piece of writing with argument words and a scaffolding structure to help them decide.
The plenary consolidates their learning about Genghis Khan with key words used in the lesson, from which examples must be given for each.
This lesson includes:
Fun, engaging and challenging tasks
Links to video footage
Printable worksheets
Differentiated tasks
Suggested teaching strategies
PowerPoint format, which can be changed to suit
AQA GCSE Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The aim of the lesson is to understand why and how the NHS was introduced to Britain in 1948 with the Beveridge Report and despite initial sets backs and opposition, why it is still an amazing institution and the envy of the world.
Students analyse the reasons how the NHS was introduced by the Labour government and have to explain why.
Key people are discussed such as Aneurin Bevan and Sir William Beveridge and using source analysis and GCSE exam question practice, students evaluate how some doctors were opposed to Bevan and the NHS from the start.
Video footage at the time shows how the Government tried to calm some fears and how its message on health has changed through the centuries.
There is some text analysis with colour coding and evaluation throughout as well as a focus on literacy 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 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.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to decide to what extent the Nazis achieved their aims towards women in Nazi Germany.
Students are forewarned about how views today cannot be applied back then and therefore Nazi policies towards women, as misogynistic as they were, would not necessarily have been rejected but welcomed by women.
Some source analysis using images and text begin the lesson, as students gauge what Nazi policies were towards women in 1930’s Germany.
They are questioned on policies to raise the birth rate as well as the organisational apparatus established to do this.
There is a case study of Gertrude Sholtz-Klink before students evaluate the successes or failing of these Nazi policies.
The plenary uses talking heads to decide who would have said what and why at the time.
There is some exam practice to finish focusing on the aims of the lesson, complete with a markscheme and help if needed.
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 A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is decide how much of a threat Lambert Simnel posed to Henry VII.
Students are given the information about the role Simnel played and then have to categorise his rebellion into causes, consequences and events.
They are also challenged to think and justify who would have likely joined the rebellion and why, using a number of given examples of disgruntled lords.
Furthermore, they will be required to give a number of reasons for the lack of support for Simnel.
There is some exam question practice, complete with scaffolding, key ideas and a generic markscheme supplied.
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.
AQA GCSE 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 by Fleming and then developed by Florey and Chain during the Second World War.
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 II.
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 and antibiotics.
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.