“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 My students love this activity. 160+ questions based on the following categories: USA & her allies Soviet leaders The People Wars Words & Phrases Statistics It takes a little while to cut out the cards and the board and works best once laminated but your students will love this revision activity. The questions are designed to boost subject knowledge and focus on precise historical detail which in turn helps student examination performance. I hope your classes enjoy this activity as much as my IGCSE and IB classes always do.

“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 This lesson is a 40-slide PowerPoint presentation with graduated lesson aims (all will/most will/some will) and begins with some images and quotations to illustrate why bus segregation was such an important issue. The lesson then includes a “What’s Behind the Squares?” Starter Activity, which reveals two images: one of Rosa Parks on a bus in Louisiana and a photograph of an injured Freedom Rider. The main activity consists of an 18-piece card sort, in which students are invited to identify strategies, challenges, and impacts of both events (they’re colour coordinated), and then divide these into similarities or differences. Both were non-violent and led to desegregation, but there are also some key differences in terms of participants, scale of impact, and how they are remembered. The lesson concludes by referring back to the lesson aims and asks students to write a three-paragraph piece of work addressing the Key Question. I hope your students find it as useful as mine always do. I haven’t included any YouTube links because the links often expire, but there are many terrific documentary clips you can use. You may also wish to play the Joan Baez song “We Shall Overcome” during the plenary.

“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 49-slide PowerPoint begins with a Starter Activity in which students are asked to close their eyes while the teacher reads them a story about a crime in Anglo-Saxon England. As they do so, encourage them to perform some of the actions underlined. When they are told to open their eyes, they see a number of visual prompts on the board and are asked to come up with a punishment for the offender. This links to the lesson title, which is introduced alongside graduated lesson aims (all will/most will/some will). There are then some slides of background information describing the main aspects of law and order in this period from tithings to trials by ordeal, and the role of the Witan, the reeve, and other key aspects are discussed. From here, students are asked to create their own ‘museum’ in only 8 objects (examples are given, but they are encouraged to find their own). For each museum piece, they need to explain their choice and how it was used to keep law and order in the period. The lesson aims are revisited, and students present their findings. The lesson plenary invites students to consider the key aspects of the period and to make comparisons with modern equivalents/evolutions (such as hue and cry to telephone). There is an extended written task set as homework at the end if required. This lesson has been pitched at high-achieving high school students and is written in UK English. I hope your students get as much out of it as mine do.

“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 32-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 Qin is provided for teacher exposition, followed by a 24-piece hexagonal card sort activity conducted in pairs or groups, where students categorize factors into positive and negative columns, further dissecting them into social, economic, and military aspects. 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 Qin and position themselves in agreement, or in the middle, within the classroom. This lesson, crafted during my tenure teaching History in China, holds personal significance and is tailored for Key Stage 3 high school students, presented in UK-English.

“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 is a 43-slide PowerPoint presentation designed for Key Stage 3 high school students, composed in UK English. It begins with a Countdown-style Starter Activity where students unjumble letters to key things related to the period, such as paper and acupuncture. An introduction to the period is provided, followed by graduated lesson aims (all will/most will/some will). The slides delve into four different ways the period can be judged: government, culture, technology, and trade. The main activity involves students working in teams to cut out a 32-piece hexagonal card sort, provided in plain hexagons and color-coded ones for differentiation. They sort these into positive and negative columns and then arrange them into four categories. The lesson aims are revisited, culminating in a plenary where students fill in the quarters of a four-leaved clover labelled with the factors to answer the Key Question: Was the Han Dynasty the Golden Age of Ancient China? Crafted during my tenure teaching History in China, this lesson is adaptable for younger audiences.

“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 Welcome to “Exploring Ancient Chinese Philosophy”, where we delve into the rich tapestry of thought from ancient China. In this session, we embark on a journey through the philosophical influences that shaped ancient Chinese society, including Legalism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Our class begins with a stimulating Starter Activity, prompting students to engage in discussion with a friend about images which stemmed from these philosophies, using three-word prompts. As we progress, our Graduated Aims guide us: all will/most will/some will. Through teacher exposition, we provide background information on Legalism, Confucianism, and Daoism. The main activity, introduced thereafter, takes the form of Blind Date Style Responses, where students, grouped in threes, prepare and share responses embodying one of the philosophies. Example responses serve as inspiration. It’s a creative way to develop real understanding on a complicated topic. A revisit to our objectives precedes the plenary, where students engage in a lively vote on the most compelling ‘date’. I’d be so grateful if you can find time to add a positive review if you enjoyed this lesson.

“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 25-slide PowerPoint begins with an odd one out Starter Activity in which students pick out one misconception about the Han Dynasty. They are then introduced to the lesson title and graduated aims (all will/most will/some will). There is then some background information to enable teacher exposition. This is followed by a series of slides in which 12 people offer reasons for the collapse, some of which relate to internal problems (taxes, loss of traditional values, etc.) and some of which relate to external pressures (bandits on the Silk Road, attacks by nomadic tribes such as Xiongnu, etc.). Students act as journalists and jot down notes from these characters before using the information to create a newspaper to answer the Key Question. The lesson objectives are revisited, and the lesson concludes with a plenary in which the class is asked to come up with eight reasons for the collapse of the Han Dynasty and to write them on a flower with eight petals. I created this lesson while I taught History in China, and it was designed for high school students. It is written in UK English.

“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 “What impact did women have on the Civil Rights movement?” This lesson begins with a What’s Behind the Squares Starter Activity which reveals a work of art entitled ‘The liberation of Aunt Jemima.’ It is an assemblage piece created by Betye Saar, a female artist, and features Black Power symbols. It introduces the class to the importance of the role women played in the Civil Rights movement. 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. These include examples of women in terms of leadership, activism, media and communication, protest songs, grassroots work, legal cases, as well as inspiration for the future. Following this the class are told they will begin their main task which is to research one important woman and create a speech explaining their importance and impact to the class. They must include and analyse at least one source relating to them, and examples are provided. They are told to try to include 5 x people/places, 4 x dates/events, 3 x statistics, 2 x quotations, and 1 x opinion. The class peer assess using the template provided. The lesson concludes with a plenary in which they are invited to place a post-it note on a pentagon on the board – the more central they place their notes denotes how important they feel each groups’ person was. I hope your students get as much out of this important topic as mine always do. It has been designed for older high school students with good research skills but can be adapted to meet the needs of younger learners.

“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 “How similar and how different was the treatment of Conscientious Objectors in the First and Second World Wars?” The lesson begins with an Odd One Out Starter Activity which invites students to pick out Elvis Presley (the only one of the three who picked up arms to fight for his country). This then introduces the lesson’s Key Question/title and aims are given along with graduated objectives (all will/most will/some will). After this there are slides of background information to allow for teacher exposition. The class are then allocated roles within teams and begin a Gallery Walk which they use to fill in their grids to show similarities and differences. After this they complete a piece of written work to answer the Key Question. Lesson objectives are revisited, and the lesson concludes with a plenary activity where they are invited to come up to the board and to add a similarity or difference to one of the two categories (trash cans) given. 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 The title of this lesson is “What was the most important invention of Ancient Egypt? Dragon’s Den Project.” This is a great project-based lesson designed to introduce students to the topic of Ancient Egypt and to promote the second-order concept of significance and includes graduated learning outcomes (all of you will/most of you will/some of you will). The lesson begins with a starter activity where students are asked to identify which of the given inventions was not invented in Ancient Egypt. This leads on to a second activity in which they see how many inventions which originated in Ancient Egypt they can identify. From this the class are then introduced to the idea of how historians decide what makes an event or discovery significant and they explore the acronym GREAT: G = ground-breaking, R = remembered, E = extent of importance to people at the time, A = affected the future, and T = turning point. Lesson objectives are introduced (all will/most will/some will). For the main task students are placed in groups and given a card with three different inventions on. They need to choose one of their inventions and explain in presentation form why they feel it is so significant. They can make models and sales pitches to accompany their explanations to the ‘dragons’ (get senior teachers to come in to act as these if they’re good sports). The lesson concludes with a peer assessment class voting plenary on which they felt was the most important invention and why. This lesson has been designed for high school students but can work with slightly younger classes too. 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 Maximilien Robespierre a hero or a villain?” The 25-slide PPT begins with a Starter Activity in which students are asked to look at four facts about Robespierre and to identify the one which is not true. The Key Question is then stated. Aims and lesson objectives are graduated (all will/most will/some will). There are 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 Robespierre). They work together to sift through 24 evidence cards to decide if the evidence suggests he was a hero or a villain. A plain version is provided as well as a colour coded one with simpler language for those who need a little more help or for whom English is an additional language. Using this they then attempt the second part of the main activity which is to write a two-sided newspaper report. The lesson objectives are 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. he was a hero, or he was a villain). I hope your students get as much from this lesson as mine do. I’d be so grateful if you can find time to add a positive review if you enjoyed this lesson. 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 is one of my absolute favourite lessons. Students read through the background knowledge/notes before working their ways through a 21 piece evidence sort to answer the question ‘Who killed Kirov?’ Students then place the card sort information into piles which suggest Stalin was guilty of the murder and evidence that suggests he was not, before arriving at an opinion abotu why the 1st December Law and the subsequent purges and period of Yezhovschina occured. My students truly love this lesson and I really hope yours do too!

“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 is one of the most controversial lessons on the curriculum and it always produces excellent and thought provoking history for able secondary students. Students work through detailed information on the bombing of Germany before being drip-fed 41 pieces of precise historical information. They have to compile these in groups into evidence which suggests it was morally right to bomb Germany (it took anti aircraft guns away from the Eastern Front for example) and evidence which suggests it was morally wrong (even Churchill by March 1945 felt the bombing should be reduced). This in turn leads to great student debate. I really hope your classes get as much from this very stimulating lesson as mine do.

“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 In this very detailed lesson students received clear aims and objectives (all will, most will, and some will) before being given a source starter activity which they are asked to break down using the frame provided. This introduces the idea of growing Japanese strength (its about the Russo-Japanese War). The class are then given activation material in the form of extremely detailed notes. The consolidation phase then asks IB students to sort a 25 piece hexagonal card sort into factors - domestic, economic, militaristic, and nationalistic. The lesson concludes with a chronology activity to test student knowledge acquired in a fun way. I have also made a revision video which is included as homework. I hope your IB students get as much from this as mine do and that it helps them prepare for this Move to Global War Paper 1 IB topic.

“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 “Why did the Mughal Empire collapse?” The lesson begins with a Blankety Blank style Starter Activity in which students are invited to fill in the missing word. This then leads to the Key Question and the introduction of aims and graduated objectives (all will/most will/some will). After this there are slides of background information to enable teacher exposition. Students are then placed in groups of six and given a one slide fact file on either regional fragmentation, external invasions, European powers, internal problems, weak succession, or economic decline. Their jigsaw activity is to research their topic using the cards as well as internet/library to then return to their group as an expert and convince them of the importance of their single factor. After this they are asked to work together to complete a piece of writing to answer the Key Question. The lesson objectives are revisited, and the lesson concludes with a plenary activity in which students vote on the most convincing reason. This lesson has been designed for high school students. I hope yours get as much from it as much as mine do. Please be aware this lesson is pitched to students who have reasonable research skills. 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 is one of my most popular lesson activities. Students read detailed background knowledge before completing a hexagonal card sort to divide reasons up into belief systems, technology, geography and economics. Here students will make links between their factors to create a visual map which they can use for an extended piece of written analysis. I am especially proud of the level of precision and detail in the historical content here. The eighteen cards are broken down and color coordinated for differentiation purposes. I really hope you enjoy this activity and that your students get as much from it as mine do.

“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 After reading through the background information students sift through the twenty four incredibly detailed evidence cards provided to create columns which show how power, politics and people explain the reasons Caesar was killed on the Ides of March. This is an ideal task to help scaffold student responses to a piece of extended written work or timed assessment. I hope your students enjoy this lesson as much as mine do.

“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 36-page pack is the incredibly detailed and complete set of notes I have written for my students. It is basically an entire course on Stalin’s Russia in one pack! Suitable for 16+ including GCSE, AP, A Level, and IB students. Notes are broken down into the following sections: How did Stalin come to power by 1928? How successful were Stalin’s economic policies? How did Stalin control the Soviet Union through purges? How did Stalin control the Soviet Union through the cult of personality? *What was the impact of the Second World War on the Soviet Union? I am confident you will love this resource because there is nothing on the Internet which I have found which offers the same level of breadth and detail on this topic. Your students will find the notes supremely useful and they will help them achieve examination success.

“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 Students are given character cards, some pro and some anti dropping the bomb ranging from Einstein and Churchill to Hirihito and Stalin. In groups each side then works through 36 cards which are teeming with precisely selected historical detail, some of which support the dropping of the A-bomb and some of which argue against it. This activity prepares students exceptionally well for a debate about one of the most keenly argued historical topics - the dropping of the atomic bombs - and can also be used to help students structure an extended written response to this question. The cards are colour coded for students who require additional differentiation. This is one of my best lessons year on year and I hope it gets your students talking, evaluating, and arguing - especially in this nuclear world which we live in today.

“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 My students love playing this to introduce or recap subject knowledge. Simply cut out and laminate the forty-two dominoes and ask students to match the question up with the correct answer. I hope your students enjoy the activity as much as mine do. Works really well as a starter, plenary or stand-alone activity.