This lesson is titled “Did Akbar the Great deserve his nickname?” The lesson begins with a Starter Activity in which students are asked to place identify which of four statements 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 Akbar). They work together to sift through 12 evidence cards to decide if the evidence suggests he was or was not deserving of the epithet ‘the Great’. A plain version is provided as well as a color coded one 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 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 or was not deserving of his nickname Akbar the Great). I hope your students get as much from this lesson as mine do. Wishing you a terrific day.

This product is titled “Trash by Andy Mulligan – 18 lessons covering the whole book.” This is an 85-page PowerPoint which includes 18 lessons on the excellent children’s novel Trash, by Andy Mulligan. Based in Manila, three dumpsite children embark on a journey once they discover a wallet, a key and a map. Along the way they are chased by police and the authorities in a bid to reveal Vice President Zapanta’s corruption. It is beautifully written and perfect reading material for high school English students. Themes covered include social justice, poverty, and corruption. Each lesson I have put together includes a starter activity, comprehension questions, extension thinking activities, a main activity, and a lesson plenary. Everything is in one PowerPoint so its easy for you to follow and reading homework is set at the end of each lesson. Every lesson comes with clear aims and objectives too. I created this series of lessons whilst teaching English in Manila and so it means a lot to me to share it with fellow teachers. Please note you do need to purchase a class set of the books (or a digital copy of the book) to accompany this set of English lessons. The novel is now a major motion picture also. Wishing you a terrific day.

The title of this lesson is “What can we learn about Native America from the 1995 Disney movie Pocahontas?” NB: To use this lesson you need to have a copy of the 1995 Disney movie Pocahontas. Students are given graduated learning objectives (some will/most will/all will). The lesson begins with a starter activity to engage your students in which they are invited to guess which of four facts is incorrect. There is then some background information about the story of Pocahontas. The class then work through 30 different bingo cards as they watch the movie and are invited to tick those which they see (some they do not, as the movie is not completely accurate). There are two versions of this card sort, one for students who like a challenge and a differentiated version for students who need a little help. It is a nice end of term type activity - but not simply watching a movie for the sake of it. From this the class then complete a movie review exercise using the template given and vote with their feet to establish how many stars (1-5) they would rate the movie for historical authenticity (i.e. they now answer the essential question). This lesson was written for high achieving high school students and is written in UK English. Wishing you a terrific day.

This lesson is titled “Why did Wellington defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo?” The lesson begins with an Odd One Out Starter Activity in which the class are invited to consider some truths and one mistruth about the battle which ended the Napoleonic Wars. The Key Question is then introduced along with aims and graduated objectives (all will/most will/some will). There are then slides of background information to allow for teacher exposition as well as a slide which features the key theories (weather, Napoleon’s errors, Wellington and his allies’ strengths, and health issues). The class are then take part in a 24 piece gallery walk and divide the information into these categories on a mind map. The lesson objectives are revisited and the lesson concludes with a plenary activity in which they are invited to come to the board and add information to a ladder of importance. They then answer the Key Question by reviewing the evidence/knowledge acquired. 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.

This product is titled “Animal Farm by George Orwell – 20 lessons covering the whole book.” This is a 108-page PowerPoint which includes 20 lessons on the excellent allegorical novel Each lesson I have put together includes a starter activity, comprehension questions, extension thinking activities, a main activity, and a lesson plenary. Everything is in one PowerPoint so it’s easy for you to follow and reading homework is set at the end of every lesson. Every lesson comes with clear aims and objectives too. Please note you do need to purchase a class set of the books (or a digital copy of the book) to accompany this set of English lessons. Wishing you a terrific day.

This lesson is titled “What happened to the defeated powers in the other post-WWI Peace Treaties?” The lesson begins with a Starter Activity which is a series of anagrams to introduce the students to the four defeated nations which will be studied. The Key Question is then made clear along with aims, and lesson objectives are graduated (all will/most will/some will). There are then slides of background information to allow for teacher exposition. The main activity takes the form of a jigsaw classroom approach. Students are given one of four fact files on the Treaties of St. Germain, Trianon, Sevres, and Lausanne (each of which includes information about military, territory, economy, and social impacts). The students then break away and research their respective area of expertise using the fact file given (as well as a library book box/internet) before rejoining the group. The challenge is for them to then inform the others in their ‘jigsaw’ in the form of a speech, PPT, model, or any other way they feel is appropriate. They are also asked to produce a handout. Versailles is always taught very well but these other treaties less so, and so this is a great addition to any History teacher’s toolbox. The lesson objectives are revisited, and a piece of written work is set in which they collaborate their research to arrive at a fuller answer to the Key Question. The lesson concludes with a trash bin plenary in which students are asked to add post it notes to the correct bin. I hope your students enjoy it as much as mine always do. It is pitched toward high achieving post-16 high school students and the lesson requires them to have some research skills. Please note this lesson does not cover the Treaty of Versailles. 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 justified was Nat Turner’s Revolt?” The lesson begins with a Starter Activity in which students are invited to spot which of four statements about Turner’s Revolt is untrue. This then leads into the lesson title which is introduced along with aims and graduated objectives (all will/most will/some will). There are then slides of background information to enable teacher exposition. Following this, students are placed in a group of three and given character cards about (one who sees it as justified and one who sees it as unjustified. One is the host). They then need to create a TV chat show segment arguing the Key Question (an example is given for them to act out for inspiration.) The lesson then concludes with a plenary activity in which the students stand up and vote with their feet to explain how justified they feel Turner’s Revolt was. This lesson was written for high achieving high school students and is written in UK English. 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 was the most significant weapon of the First World War? Dragon’s Den Project.” This is a great project-based lesson designed 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 weapons was invented during the First World War (the other three were very important, but invented previously). This leads on to a second activity in which they see how many inventions which were widely used in the First World War 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 fighting, and T = turning point. For the main task students are placed in groups and given a card with three different weapons on with some background information. 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). Students can use the internet, class texts, or library to help them research. The lesson concludes with a peer assessment class voting plenary on which they felt was the most important weapon and why. This lesson has been designed for high school students. 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.

This lesson is titled “Was Robert E. Lee a hero or a villain?” The lesson begins with a Starter Activity in which students are asked to look at the names of four schools and identify the odd one out (which is the one named after Lee, because it was renamed due to its association with the Confederacy.) This introduces the class to the idea that Lee is a controversial figure from the past. 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 Lee). They work together to sift through 12 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. 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. 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.

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 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.

This thirty-nine-page pack is the incredibly detailed and complete set of notes I have written for my students. It is basically an entire course on the I.B. Paper 1 Move to Global War in one pack! Notes are broken down into the following sections: How can we explain Japanese expansion in the move to Global War? How did Japan move to Global War? How did Italy fit into inter-war European geopolitics? Why was the international response to the Abyssinian Crisis so weak? How and why did German foreign policy develop? 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.

This forty three-page pack is the incredibly detailed and complete set of notes I have written for my students. It is basically an entire course on Twentieth Century in one pack! Suitable for G.C.S.E, AP, A Level, and I.B. students. Notes are broken down into the following sections: What were the causes and events of the revolution? How was China ruled after the revolution? How significant was the May 4th movement? Why did Mao triumph? What changes did Mao make to the economy? What was life like in China under Mao? How successful were Deng’s reforms? Why were people killed on June 4? 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.

This forty six-page pack is the incredibly detailed and complete set of notes I have written for my students. It is basically an entire course on inter-war USA in one pack! Suitable for G.C.S.E, AP, A Level, and I.B. students. Notes are broken down into the following sections: What was the impact of the First World War on the USA? What were American attitudes towards immigrants? Prohibition: causes, events and consequences How did the US economy change? How did society and culture change? What was life like during the Great Depression and how did Herbert Hoover react? Why did FDR win the Nineteenth Thirty Two US election? How did Roosevelt’s New Deal change America? Who opposed the New Deal and why? 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.

This 52-page pack is the incredibly detailed and complete set of notes I have written for my students. It is basically an entire course on Weimar and Nazi Germany in one pack! Suitable for 16+ including GCSE, AP, A Level, and IB students. Notes are broken down into the following sections: What problems did the Weimar Republic face between 1919-23? How did the Weimar Republic recover between 1923-29? Why did the Weimar Republic collapse between 1929-33? How did Hitler consolidate his power between the years 1933-34? Through what methods did Hitler control Germany? Who benefitted from the Nazi state? How did the Nazis control the economy? Who supported and who opposed the Nazi state? What was the Holocaust? 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.

This activity includes twenty detailed cards which are shaded to show the political, social and economic impact of the Black Death. Students acquire exceptionally precise and carefully selected historical detail and learn about the impact on salaries, the creation of the British pub, and the growth of the perfume industry as well as the many negative aspects of the disease. Its one of the lessons my students really enjoy because they get the opportunity to question previously held assumptions which in turn gives their ability to argue a case greater texture and resonance. I really hope you enjoy this as much as I do - makes for a great debate preparation task as well as a precursor to an extended piece of assessed written analysis.

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.

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!

After reading through the background information students sift through the 21 evidence cards provided to create columns which show how skill, luck, mistakes, and technology explain the outcome of the Battle of Hastings. This is an ideal task to help scaffold student responses to a piece of extended written work or timed assessment. Cards are colour-coded for differentiation.

Over 200 revision flash cards based on key people and events from Weimar and Nazi Germany. Simply print, cut out, and fold. These took me forever to create but they are my number one ‘go to’ revision tool for my exam classes and have had wholly positive feedback. Also works extremely well as an end of unit activity whereby students can use the cards to create a visual mind-map / layout of the course. Give them to your students before exams to ensure their subject knowledge is spot on!