This is a source activity, in which students are encouraged to consider various descriptions of medieval towns and decide what life in those places was like. The pdf includes a handout to be given to students which has extracts from both medieval and modern sources, which can be used to decide whether medieval towns were unhygienic places, or not. I always used to enjoy having the students read the sources out loud because some of them are surprising. This is followed by a suggested set of questions in which the students are asked to engage critically with the source extracts. The work in compiling these sources and writing the questions is my own. Clearly, the medieval sources are in the public domain, although I claim fair use for any copyrights in translations and in extracting from the modern sources.

This is a mapping exercise created to show how the Danelaw (the area of Viking control) represented a takeover of much of Anglo-Saxon England. There follows a handout to be given to students which has background information on the major kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England (often known as the Heptarchy) and how the Danelaw came to be in 878AD. It allows students the opportunity to display multiple pieces of information on one map, and allows them to demonstrate planning and accuracy skills.

An introduction to the concept of counting years by centuries. In my experience this is something that confuses many students. It seems odd that 2016 should be in the 21st century. This activity includes a background reading explaining the history of AD and BC, and why CE and BCE are sometimes used. It provides plenty of practice for students to become confident in assigning years to particular sentences, and also provides a lookup sheet which can be used for introduction and modification.

This document contains a writing frame for an essay, some background notes, a sample (average quality) essay, and a suggested sheet for marking the essay. It also provides a link to good online resource. This resource can be adapted to your needs.

This lesson activity provides information and resources to allow students to write a diary entry regarding a trip laid on by The Cinderella Club, an organization which provided trips and other events for working-class children.

This is a chronology in summary form of twenty of the key events in the cultural history of India with dates and key events from the last 4500 years. I think this resource is of use for a teacher's own research or to use as a student activity. At the end of the document there is a suggested activity where students can use the information to create a timeline of Indian cultural history. I have my students follow the directions as listed at the end of the chronology. The work in selecting and compiling this chronology is my own. My main research resource for this information was from India: A History by Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund. For areas of cultural history that I felt Kulke neglected, I also consulted A History of Asia, 5th edition by Rhoads Murphey.

This is a brief background overview of the rise of the Nazi Party. It traces the party's history from its roots in the First World war up until their complete takeover in 1934. This consists of a fifteen slide presentation. The third slide provides a possible question that could be asked of students, so that they are thinking critically while the presentation is given. I think this resource is of use for a lecture or to give background for use as a student activity. The work in compiling this presentation is my own. There is a note on the images used in the presentation on the last slide.

This is a diagram based exercise, in which students create a diagram of the feudal system in medieval Europe. This pdf document contains a diagram to be filled out by students, perhaps from a reading, or from teacher direction. It is followed with an example of how I have filled it out for my students, and some web resources which can be used for teacher or student research into the subject. I always used this to specifically teach about the situation in England after the Norman Invasion of 1066, and so the rough example that follows the blank diagram ties most directly to that. This example was created by capturing from a whiteboard.

This is a chronology in summary form of twenty five of the key events in the cultural history of China. There follows a four page chronology of Chinese history with dates and key events from the last 7000 years. At the end of the document there is a suggested activity where students can use the information to create a timeline of Chinese cultural history. I have my students follow the directions as listed at the end of the chronology. I think this resource is of use for a teacher's own research or to use as a student activity. The work in selecting and compiling this chronology is my own. My main research resource for this information was The Cambridge Illustrated History of China by Patricia Buckley. The download includes a pdf of the chronology itself and a suggested activity, which could be modified.

A primary source based exercise using two extracts of text and a cartoon. It includes a handout to be given to students which has background information on Night of the Long Knives in Germany in 1934, during which Hitler removed the leadership of the Sturm Abteilung or SA. There are then a set of questions asking for interpretations of the source material.

This is a chronology in summary form of twenty-two of the key events in the cultural history of Japan with dates and key events from the last 5000 years. I think this resource is of use for a teacher's own research or to use as a student activity. At the end of the document there is a suggested activity where students can use the information to create a timeline of Japanese cultural history. I have my students follow the directions as listed at the end of the chronology. The work in selecting and compiling this chronology is my own. My main research resource for this information was from Morton and Olenik's book Japan: Its History and Culture. The timeline was developed, focusing on events that help address issues of culture, transmission, and geography.

This activity includes a background essay on Beringia and the Land Bridge Theory of Migration. It also includes links to four articles and a map which provide further information. There is a suggested activity which asks the students to write a four paragraph essay in which they summarize the evidence, and come to a conclusion about the validity of the land bridge theory. The links were all checked on Dec. 4th 2015.

These “question stems” were written in order to ask questions about historical sources which would elicit answers that address each of the various standards in the Common Core Reading Standards for Literacy in History and Social Studies. They can be used and adapted for any sources.

This is a primary source based exercise using the Program of the Nazi Party, as proclaimed by Hitler on February 24, 1920. The various points of the program have been laid out in a grid format, so that students can try to categorize the Nazi party's aims. I have suggested that they can be categorized as follows: V – Opposing the Treaties of Versailles, R – Issues to do with Race and Citizenship, E – Economic (to do with how money is made), S – Making changes to society, and G – Making changes to the government. This coding appears on the grid in instructions to the students. The pdf document contains a worksheet which can be printed. Students can work through to categorize the various points according to the key I suggested. It also includes my suggestions as to the correct answers, although some of these might be open to interpretation. I always allowed my students to argue their case if they disagreed with me. I think this document is extremely valuable in demonstrating to students, that almost immediately after the loss of World War One, the Nazi Party shows its colors. This early document demonstrates their intentions very clearly, especially with regard to items 4-9, which shows that they plan to systematically remove Jews from the national life. The original text of the program can be found at: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Program_of_the_NSDAP.

This pdf includes a lesson in which the class will work in groups to decide who should be the next king of England. The pdf includes background information, a handout for students, and the names of the candidates to be distributed to the groups. Background: Edward the Confessor died on 4 January 1066 without any sons. He had previously promised two different people that they could be the next king. There were three claimants to the throne: Harold Godwineson – Earl of Wessex and the most powerful man in England. Harald Hardraada – King of Norway. William of Normandy – Duke of Normandy The students are divided into groups and each group is given the name of one of the claimants. Each group writes a speech supporting that man. They should use any of the information given in the sources. At the end, all of the members of the class will meet as the Witenagemot, (the word means council of elders and was the English parliament) and vote for the best candidate.

A two page starter which has images from the Luttrell psalter which describe the farming year on the Medieval manor. The images used are subject to fair use for educational purposes.