Having taught History across KS3, 4 and 5 for seventeen years within state education, I have built up quite an extensive set of resources! I’ve spent several years working as a head of department and also spent a year working as a university subject tutor for Schools Direct. I’m currently out of the classroom and supporting my own children through their secondary experience and keeping relevant by becoming an Edexcel examination marker this summer. Planning for fun and hopefully your benefit.
Having taught History across KS3, 4 and 5 for seventeen years within state education, I have built up quite an extensive set of resources! I’ve spent several years working as a head of department and also spent a year working as a university subject tutor for Schools Direct. I’m currently out of the classroom and supporting my own children through their secondary experience and keeping relevant by becoming an Edexcel examination marker this summer. Planning for fun and hopefully your benefit.
This KS3 lesson should take one hours to complete. The Power Point leads the students through all of the activities with accompanying resources included.
Aims and Objectives:
To know the key events after the death of King Edward the Confessor, leading up to the Battle of Hastings.
To consider which side was in the strongest position at the start of the Battle of Hastings.
To predict what may happen at the Battle of Hastings in light of these prior events.
Activities include a recap of the claimants to the throne where students quickly match the facts to the claimant. After a quick bit of context on what Harold actually did after Edward’s death, students work in pairs to discuss Harold’s options and their advantages/disadvantages using the information provided. Students then create a storyboard of the key events using the information sheet and then retell these events using only their storyboard. Finally, students analyse the advantages and disadvantages of both Harold and William pre-Battle of Hastings using what they have learnt this lesson.
This KS3 unit should take 2-3 hours to complete. The Power Point leads the students through all of the activities with accompanying resources included. Advice on writing technique is also included.
Aims and Objectives:
To know the main events of the Battle of Hastings.
To understand the main reasons why William won.
To reach a verdict on which reasons were more or less important.
To be able to write up your ideas as an essay.
Activities include a starter which asks students to draw inferences from the Bayeux Tapestry, followed by a short video which recaps prior events and then shows the key events of the battle. Students use this knowledge to cut out the jumbled events and match/stick them onto the storyboard. There is an extension on source bias using William of Poitier’s account. Initial on why William won are recorded in a thought-shower. Students then complete a card sort activity, categorising the reasons why William won into William’s strengths, Harold’s weaknesses and luck. There is an SEN version of simpler cards with a sorting grid included. Essay writing and PEEL paragraphing is then introduced with a worked example of poor-good paragraphing using PEEL. Students write their answers in essay style using the writing frame provided. A mark scheme is included.
This complete KS3 unit of study covers around 14 lessons depending upon how long you devote to the research task and how much of the work you set as homework. Every lesson includes a Power Point which leads students through the activities with support/answers and all resources referred to are included.
The unit works in a loosely chronological structure as follows:
Causes of WW1 and Schlieffen Plan
WW1 Propaganda and Recruitment
Trench Warfare (extended research unit with Trench Diary Assessment)
WW1 Christmas Truce
Field Marshal Haig and the Battle of the Somme (source study and assessment)
Why the Allies won
There are two key assessments with mark schemes included. There are also differentiated materials throughout including writing frames.
For more information please refer to individual lessons.
Students develop their understanding of both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X’s contributions towards US Civil Rights. They weigh these against their failings and limitations to reach a verdict on who achieved the most. The final activity asks students to create a persuasive piece of writing in support of one of the leaders.
There are two versions of each text- a simpler version and a more developed/advanced. There is also a table available to support weaker students. Persuasive writing is modeled as part of the Power Point.
This KS3 unit of study should take around seven hours to complete. There is a Power Point included for every lesson which leads students through the activities and provides advice and guidance where required.
In teaching/chronological order, the lessons include:
Who should be king? Claimants to the throne in 1066
Events leading up to the Battle of Hastings
Why did William win the Battle of Hastings?
How did William control England?
How far did castle design improve during the MAs?
There are a great range of activities including discussion, problem-solving, argument formation, chronological ordering, formal essay writing and comparative writing. The two formal assessments are the essay on “Why William won?” and the comparative writing on castle development. Support, advice, writing frames and mark schemes are provided for both of these. To avoid completing two asessments in quick succession, I generally teach the castles lesson a little later having looked at other medieval topics such as living conditions and religion in between. For more details, please refer to individual lessons.
This KS3 unit of study should take at least 15 hours to complete. There is a Power Point included for every lesson which leads students through the activities and provides advice and guidance where required.
In teaching/loose chronological order, the lessons include:
What was life like in the Middle Ages?
Who should be king? Claimants in 1066
Events leading up to the Battle of Hastings
Why did William win the Battle of Hastings?
How did William control England?
How far did castle design improve during the Middle Ages?
Why was religion so important to people in the Middle Ages?
Who was to blame for the murder of Thomas Becket?
How did people in the Middle Ages view the Black Death?
Did Robin Hood really exist?
There are a great range of activities including discussion, problem solving, card sorting and ranking, source analysis, comparison of continuity vs. change, introduction to explanatory essay writing and evaluative essay writing and board game creation. There are three formal assessment- the explanatory essay on why William won the Battle of Hastings, the comparative writing on developments in castle design and the evaluative writing on whether or not Robin Hood was real. Writing frames and mark schemes are included for these. For more details, please refer to individual lesson summaries.
Includes a set of revision notes for each area of the specification. These notes are used in conjunction with my full revision guide. In contrast to the full guide, they follow a more analytical structure which matches previous exam questions. The notes can be used separately or put together into one booklet. I integrated previous exam questions and mark schemes which had been sorted by topic rather than by date set. Students used the full guide and revision notes to prepare essay plans on each unit in preparation for the exam.
IMPORTANT: This Edexcel 9-1 History GCSE unit is structured around the textbook "Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History, The American West, c1835-c1895 (editor Leonard A. and published by Pearson) ISBN 9781292127309. The lessons will not be usable without a class set of these textbooks. However, if you’re looking to change course and can’t face all the fresh planning then I can guarantee that this bundle covers the entire specification with all supporting resources and assessment opportunities throughout.
For a summary of activities etc. please see individual items. Every section of the specification is supported with a Power Point which leads students through all of the activities and includes feedback/answers. Every worksheet and resource referred to is included in the bundle.
IMPORTANT: Some of these worksheets refer to the textbook “Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History, Medicine through time, c1250-present” (editor Leonard A. and published by Pearson) ISBN 9781292127378 and will not be usable without a copy of this text.
The first two lessons of Edexcel 9-1, Medicine Through Time (although in reality this work will take longer than two lessons to do thoroughly).
Aims and Objectives:
To understand the supernatural and religious explanations of the cause of disease.
To understand the rational explanations: the Theory of the Four Humours and the miasma theory; the continuing influence in England of Hippocrates and Galen.
The Power Point leads students though all activities with accompanying worksheets. It also provides feedback/answers at intervals. A 12 mark explanation question is introduced and set with a writing frame provided.
