“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This lesson is titled “What can we learn from Ancient Egyptian art?” This lesson begins with a What’s Behind the Squares Starter Activity which reveals the death mask of Tutankhamun. The PPT then explains the title of the lesson and aims and objectives are graduated into all will/most will/some will. There are then slides of background information to allow for teacher exposition. Following this the class are told they will begin their main task which is to create a piece of art inspired by Ancient Egypt. They must include the techniques and devices discussed. The class peer assess in the plenary using the template provided. This is a great lesson for some collaboration with your art department and my students love it when I take them to the art room for this activity. Before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This lesson is titled “Why was the River Nile so important to Ancient Egypt?” The lesson begins with a game of Deal or No Deal? where students have to guess three statistics related to the Nile. The Key Question is then introduced along with aims and graduated objectives (all will/most will/some will). There are then 6 slides of background information to allow for teacher exposition. The class are then take part in a dartboard diagram activity where they place 12 reasons more centrally depending on how important they feel they are (from 3 factors – cultural, political, and economic). They then write a letter explaining the Key Question (3 examples are provided). Aims and objectives are revisited and the lesson concludes with a plenary in which students place 16 Post-It notes into either a true or false trash can to test knowledge gained in the lesson. I hope your students get as much out of this lesson as mine always do. And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This lesson is titled “How did the role of women in Ancient Egypt change?” The lesson begins with a game of Truth or Dare? Which introduces students to some notions which might challenge existing assumptions. The Key Question is then introduced along with aims and graduated objectives (all will/most will/some will). There are then 3 slides of background information to allow for teacher exposition. The class then take part in a differentiated 32-piece card sort (4 factors). They are then prepared for the written task. Aims and objectives are revisited and the lesson concludes with a plenary in which students place information learned into one of 4 trash cans to test knowledge gained in the lesson. I hope your students get as much out of this lesson as mine always do. And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This lesson is titled “How similar and how different was life for Ancient Egyptian children compared to today??” The lesson begins with a starter activity where students are given a prompt and asked to explain what is happening (children harvesting, swimming in the Nile etc). They are then asked to give a modern day equivalent and to discuss the follow up question. The Key Question is then introduced along with aims and graduated objectives (all will/most will/some will). There are then 5 slides of background information to allow for teacher exposition. The class then begin their main task in which they read through 38 speech bubbles and add them to either an image of an Ancient or modern child, before making connections to explain how similar and how different (examples are provided). They are then prepared for the written task. Aims and objectives are revisited and the lesson concludes with a plenary in which students place information learned into one of 2 trash cans to test knowledge gained in the lesson. I hope your students get as much out of this lesson as mine always do. And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This lesson is titled “Why did Ancient Egypt collapse?” The lesson begins with a Starter Activity in which students look at an AI generated prompt image, in order to infer some key causes (a broken crown represents political instability, a dry river bed the Nile’s failure to flood etc). This leads to an introduction of the Key Question along with lesson aims and graduated objectives (all will/most will/some will). After this there are 6 slides of background information to allow for teacher exposition. The PPT then reveals five key factors in a starfish diagram and students are placed in ‘jigsaw’ groups of 5 and issued 1 fact-file on one of the factors. Their task is to later explain their factor and convince their peers of its importance in answering the Key Question. They then use this information to answer a piece of extended written work. The lesson concludes with reference back to the starfish diagram introduced earlier, which students label with Post-It notes to demonstrate learning. I hope your students enjoy this lesson as much as mine always do. It has been created for high school students but could be adapted to work with slightly younger students too. And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This lesson is titled “Emperor Nero - Terrific or Tyrant?” This 31-slide PowerPoint commences with a Starter Activity, inviting students to examine images of famous leaders and engage in a discussion regarding their classification as terrific or tyrannical. The lesson title and graded aims (all will/most will/some will) are then introduced, alongside two contrasting viewpoints on the subject, which are revisited in the plenary session. Background information about Emperor Nero is provided for teacher exposition, followed by a 24-piece hexagonal card sort activity, where students categorize into positive and negative columns, further dissecting them into social, economic, political and military aspects of Nero’s much-debated rule. A colour-coded version aids those needing additional support. Subsequently, students prepare for a debate, selecting a side to support, with the debate format provided and monitored by the teacher. A written task addressing the Key Question is assigned, concluding with a plenary session where students revisit the opposing views on Nero and position themselves within the classroom. And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see others’ points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This lesson is titled “Did the ‘Blitz Spirit’ really exist?” The lesson begins with a Starter Activity in which students are asked to identify which of five statements about the Blitz are not true. The Key Question is then stated. Aims and lesson objectives are graduated (all will/most will/some will). There are then slides of background information to allow for teacher exposition. Students are then placed in a pair and given one of two character cards (for and against). They work together to sift through 12 evidence cards to decide if the evidence suggests the ‘Blitz Spirit’ was real or a myth. A plain version is provided as well as a colour coded one with simpler language for those who need a little more help. Using this they then attempt the second part of the main activity which is to work together with their peer to write a two-sided newspaper report. The lesson objectives are then revisited. The lesson concludes with two plenaries. First, they are asked to come to the board and fill up an eight-petalled flower with compelling evidence. They then vote with their feet by standing to the side of the classroom they mostly agree with (i.e. it did or did not exist). I hope your students get as much from this lesson as mine do. Before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking.” Dan The resource is titled “Stalin’s USSR Revision Card Game Activity.” Teeming with precise and carefully selected evidence my students love playing this game to boost subject knowledge. There are 61 cards (which work best when cut out and laminated) and they are colour coordinated into categories: rise to power, purges, WWII, industry/agriculture, and culture. These cards include all the main figures you would expect such as young Stalin, Trotsky, Beria and so on but also some lesser known figures such as Maria Yudina (Stalin’s favourite musician), Vasily Blokhin (notorious WWII executor), and Mikhail Gelovani (actor who played Stalin 13 times in various Soviet movies). On each card there is a key date/event for that person, two precise statistics, and a quotation. Students simply call out a category and the person with the highest card ‘trumps’ the other, winning their card. The objective is to strip your opponent of their cards to win the game. This is a resource I am very proud of and which has received many accolades from students and lesson observations alike and which will really boost your students’ subject knowledge of Stalin’s Russia. This activity works really well as a stand-alone activity, revision tool, or starter/plenary to any lesson on Stalin’s Russia. I hope you enjoy it as much as my students do! And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This resource is titled “Weimar & Nazi Germany Revision Card Game Activity.” Teeming with precise and carefully selected evidence my students love playing this game to boost subject knowledge. There are 132 cards (which work best when cut out and laminated) including figures such as the only Jewish representative of the 1936 German Olympic squad Helene (Meyer) and Hitler’s British wartime dog (Fuchsl), as well as more obvious characters such as Vienna-period Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler etc. On each card there is a key date/event for that person, two precise statistics, and a quotation. Students simply call out a category and the person with the highest card ‘trumps’ the other, winning their card. The objective is to strip your opponent of their cards to win the game. This is a resource I am very proud of and which has received many accolades from students and lesson observations alike. And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan The title of this lesson is “What were the causes of the First World War?” Students are given one of the 26 different character cards ranging from Kaiser Wilhelm to Gavrilo Princip to lesser known players such as Leopold Lojka. Once students have got to know their character they then get into teams of fellow countrymen and attempt to find evidence to answer the question as to why the war began. There are 31 pieces of evidence for them to sift through, all greatly detailed and colour-coded for differentiation. This is one of the lessons I’m proudest of and it always leads to powerful debate and empowers students with extremely high levels of subject knowledge from which to begin extended written responses to one of the biggest questions in History. I hope you enjoy it as much as my students do. It has been designed for high school students. And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This lesson is titled “Was William Calley a war criminal or a scapegoat?” I designed this activity to encourage my students to be reflective Historians capable of textured debate. Students divide 39 pieces of evidence (textual and photographic) into columns which suggest the leader of Charlie Company during the My Lai massacre in Vietnam was a war criminal or a scapegoat. The cards are colour-coordinated to allow for differentiation. I ask students to lie down on some large paper to draw around each other to make mannequins. They then place evidence for him being a war criminal on one side and evidence that he was a scapegoat on the other. This then provides the perfect large scaffold for a debate or piece of exended written analysis. This is a hard-hitting lesson which always provokes historical reasoning but please be aware many of the images and text are graphic in content and should be taught to students with the emotional tools to deal with sensitive issues. Students will learn Ron Weber, the ‘and babies?’ photograph, Captain Medina’s role, and the ‘black blouse girl’ and much more. My hope in sharing this resource is that more students will learn about the heartbreaking tragedy which took place in My Lai. It has been designed for older high school students. And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day and please let me know before purchase if you have any questions about this card sort activity.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This resource is titled “USA 1920s Revision Card Game” Teeming with precise and carefully selected evidence my students love playing this game to boost their subject knowledge. There are 71 cards (which work best when cut out and laminated) and they are colour-coordinated into categories: gangsters & prohibition, arts & culture, immigrants & African Americans, sports & entertainment, industry & economic boom. These cards include all the main figures you would expect such as Babe Ruth, Rudolf Valentino, and Al Capone but also some lesser known figures from the period such as the ‘IT’ girl Clara Bow, the Harlem Renaissance’s Countee Cullen, and Felix the Cat! On each card there is a key date/event for that person, two precise statistics, and a quotation. There is also a ‘bonus’ research question on each card to encourage students to delve into each character further. To play, students simply call out a category and the person with the highest number in that category ‘trumps’ the other, winning their card. The objective is to strip your opponent of their cards to win the game. This is a resource I am very proud of and which has received many accolades from students and staff alike and which will really boost your students’ subject knowledge of 1920s USA. This activity works really well as a stand-alone activity, revision tool, or starter/plenary to any lesson on 1920s USA. I hope you enjoy it as much as my students do! And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This resource is titled “Weimar & Nazi Germany Revision Card Game Activity.” Teeming with precise and carefully selected evidence my students love playing this game to boost subject knowledge. There are 132 cards (which work best when cut out and laminated) including figures such as the only Jewish representative of the 1936 German Olympic squad Helene (Meyer) and Hitler’s British wartime dog (Fuchsl), as well as more obvious characters such as Vienna-period Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler etc. On each card there is a key date/event for that person, two precise statistics, and a quotation. Students simply call out a category and the person with the highest card ‘trumps’ the other, winning their card. The objective is to strip your opponent of their cards to win the game. This is a resource I am very proud of and which has received many accolades from students and lesson observations alike. And before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.