7th lesson in the French Revolution scheme of work -begins with key words and asks pupils to judge what they think of Napoleon based on his painting. What does he want people to think of him? -Task to introduce his background -card sort which will ask pupils to judge whether each piece of information suggests Napoleon was a ‘saviour’ or ‘tyrant’ (both of these words are the key word list. There is a HA and LA version of this card sort. A final summary statement, asking pupils to use evidence from the card sort to support their view, and add an explanation (PEE/PEA)

A fun project that is a great addition to in-class castle or learning, so to introduce the topic in a practical way. Activity presents students with 4 decisions on castle material, shape, location and materials, and then gives them suggestions of how they can create the castle. They must also include detailed information about which choices they made, and why. This works best a homework project, and I’ve always had REALLY great results from it (the cake castles might have been my favourite…) Also includes a feedback form for both the teacher feedback, and pupil reflection on said feedback and their work. Really hope your groups enjoy it as much as mine always have :D

The first lesson looking at the Tudors, designed to give a brief overview of all the monarchs. Includes a homework. Beings with a fun activity to establish what the class already knows about the Tudors; then there is a timeline task complete with information on each monarch. Two different timelines are available - a blank one, and one with prompts/headings. You can choose which best suits the level of support/stretch and challenge you’re looking for. Finishes with a recall/prompt game. Also included are some spellings that make for a great literacy-based first homework, to help learn the spelling of some of the key topic words.

1st lesson in a series on the English Civil War. This lesson is quite challenging. wordsearch starter -key words Tracks where the new monarch/ruling family came from after the death of Elizabeth I Venn diagram task where students looks at the long/short term causes of the Civil War, and catagorise them according to power, money and religion Opinion line plenary Very detailed lesson (probably takes 2 lessons)

Second lesson in the English Civil War SoW This lesson defines what a civil war is, introduces the two sides of the war, the leaders, who makes up each side, why they chose that side, and what they looked like. Challenges conceptions such as the idea that all of Parliament supported the parliamentarians, and that the aim of the war was to get rid of the King. A task prompting students to make two recruitment posters leads them towards looking at exactly what each side disliked about the other, and where the specific conflict points were. Ends with a class source analysis.

A lesson looking at the development and impact of the growth of the canals and railways in Industrial Britain. Focuses on 2 case studies: Bridgewater Canal and the Liverpool to Manchester line. Finishes with some utility source work about the impact of the railways, and a summary PEE paragraph. All resources included, no text book needed.

An introductory lesson to World War One at KS3, looking at the different types of government and political alliances in Europe in 1914. Could also be useful for lower ability GCSE classes. Provides a map to be annotated, and lots of discussion questions. Really good way to set the scene for the outbreak of conflict - students can find it difficult to understand how some of the causes of WW1 came about without this information. All resources provided, no textbook needed.

Lesson 1 of Topic 1: Conquered and conquerors. Has a good overview of the course, highlighting it’s thematic approach. Each lesson is colour coded to also show which sub-topics it covers: economic and commerce, religion and ideas, War, and Government. Lesson introduces the Vikings and where they came from, including an overview of the Anglo Saxon Heptarchy, and the effect of the establishment of the Danelaw. Students make notes on Viking York, Viking raiders and the great Heathen Army. They then look at/compare the kings Alfred and Aethelred. One part of the lesson requires the blue Hodder ‘Migrations, Empires and the People’ textbook (by Mohamud and Witburn), but you can also sub this for pages 182-183 in the Oxford AQA history Thematic Studies text book.

This lesson is for the AQA GCSE: Conflict and Tension in Asia 1950-1975, Part 2: Escalation of conflict in Vietnam. Lesson 1 - focuses on the impact that French colonial rule - and it’s withdrawal - had on the escalation of war in Vietnam. Lays out the geography of Vietnam in relation to Korea, USSR and China, and the changing geography of the country itself during the conflict. Then focuses on the subsequent Japanese occupation during WW2, and how that lead to the divide of the country. Finishes with an 8 mark practice ‘write an account’ question. Includes a research homework on Ho Chi Minh and Ngo Dinh Diem

A lesson on the propaganda used by the British government to convince men to sign up. Designed for KS3 but could be used for LA GCSE. Has a great task that teaches students how to work through purpose/message questions relating to pictorial sources. They can then apply this to some other examples of propaganda posters, looking at the different methods being used to encourage British people to support the war effort. Finally - why do they think it was successful? Also includes a homework task to create a poster of their own.

This lesson is for the AQA GCSE: Conflict and Tension in Asia 1950-1975, Part 2: Escalation of conflict in Vietnam. 2nd lesson - Looking at why the USA became involved. Introduces the domino theory, before a detailed look at reasons for US involvement (inc. a video). Student time line task, with accompanying maps, to look at initial involvement, before a final source question (can be completed for homework), complete with instructions. Lesson requires the use of the Hodder AQA Understanding the Modern World textbook

This is the first lesson for the Edexcel A level Germany and West Germany 1918-89: Political and Governmental change 1918-89 course. PPT and accompanying worksheet that students can fill in and add extra annotations to. Begins with a bit of source analysis to get them back into the swing of things, and also includes a 20 mark essay question which could be completed or just planned. Worksheet also contain some suggested reading and watching on the topic.

This lesson is for the Edexcel A Level Politics Componant 1: UK Politics section (Democracy and participation). Two lessons included: First lesson: PPT and worksheet to fill in included - begins with a review game of of who can vote in UK parliamentary elections - can they select the correct options? Then contains extensive notes on the franchise before the 19th century, and then the changes produced by the Great Reform act of 1832. Main task asks them to produce a timeline of the development of the franchise using their notes, the additional sheets supplied and text book (requires the accompanying Pearson textbook), and then decide which event on the timeline they believe if the most important point for the growth of democracy in the UK and why. Bonus lesson: looks at the work of the Suffragettes and Suffragists in extending the franchise, including looking at lots of the propaganda they used. Great for a discussion lesson, can be used at your discretion.

Very first lesson for the Edexcel course, so also includes an introduction to the UK Government section of the course, including a brief overview of the topics, the layout of the exam etc. Lesson includes a detailed PPT and a worksheet to fill in. Lesson covers the meaning of democracy, an overview of the difference between direct and representational democracy, and an activity to address the strengths and weaknesses of both. Also provides detailed modern examples of both (Brexit and the 2017 minority government - the latter could be updated depending on the political events of the coming months!) Lesson concludes with an exam question planning session, great for a recap and to discuss essay structure.

Part of the Edexcel Politics A Level UK Politics module A lesson (or series of lessons which can include homework) that asks students to research the pros and cons (for and against arguments) for lowering the voting age to 16 in the UK. Does include that 16 and 17 year olds can vote in Wales and Scotland. Begins with outlining what you can legally do at 16 in the UK - how many of these can they guess? Good starting point to argue ‘if you can do all this, why can’t you vote?’ Provides a basic timeline of the movement, and an extensive list of websites and sources to find information for and against the argument to extend the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds. Students can use these and their own research to produce an argument for both sides of the argument. There is a final task to bring the research together, including seeing what the general view of the class is. This could very easily be turned into a debate too! Note that Tutor2U has a GREAT resource on this, which specifically provides a source question and activities that are a good follow up to this lesson. I always used it, but obviously for copyright reasons can’t include it here.

This lesson is for the AQA History GCSE ‘Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship’ course. It could probably be adapted for OCR/Edexcel too. It makes reference to the Red Oxford AQA textbook, but the lesson can be done without this as there is an information sheet provided. Lesson starts by looking at the famous Niemöller poem, asking students to think about what it means, and can they name any contextual examples from prior study that would corroborate with his claims. There is an introductory video clip for discussion, to get students thinking about why the Nazis would oppose the Church, and then a task to get them to look into why there wasn’t more opposition from the Church itself, as well as looking at the differing points of view from the different denominations, as well as a living graph task to track the relationship between the Nazis and the Church over time. Finishes with a 4 mark exam practice question which could be planned, written as a group, given for homework, or written up as a plenary activity.

This lesson is part of the AQA History GCSE ‘Migration, Empires and the People’ module, specifically section 1: Conquered and Conquerors. It uses the blue Hodder migration textbook, but if you’re using the collective textbook with all the options in you’ll just need to find the correct pages and adjust accordingly on the PPT. This is the first lesson of the course, and so gives an overview of the different topics and themes studied. It’s a good idea to stick in a copy of these themes, the lessons are colour coded to match (same thing can be added to any of your own lessons, feel free to change the colours). When I’ve taught this, it’s been in a school where we had studied the AS and Vikings in Y7. If this is not the case, change the started task to anything they might know about the period. Lesson gives a good brief overview of what happened between the Romans leaving, into the Viking invasion. There is then a task to help them familiarise themselves with the Viking invasion, Great Heathen Army etc. Second task asks them to make a comparrison between Alfred the Great and Aethelred the Unready. From experience, these lessons from the earliest period of study are the ones they find the hardest from the whole course, so go slow and make regular revisits to the content.

This lesson is part of the AQA History GCSE ‘Migration, Empires and the People’ module, specifically section 1: Conquered and Conquerors. This is the third lesson of the course. Begins by looking at the link between France and the kings of England following 1066, before introducing the Angevin Empire. But why ‘Angevin?’ - follow up task introduces the Norman, Angevin and Plantagenet family trees, and what the link is between them. ‘Annotated’ family tree provided to walk through it. Section in the text book should also be read, and then a short task to check understanding. Main task is to annotate a provided map with how the Angevin Empire was formed (important to stress that next lesson will look at the LOSS of the Empire - hence why John is included). 8 mark comparrison question between the North Sea and Angevin empires included, complete with mark scheme. Also includes a homework task to prepare for the next lesson on the Hundred Years War

This lesson is part of the AQA History GCSE ‘Migration, Empires and the People’ module, specifically section 2: Britain and the Atlantic Trade Lesson begins by looking at why people chose to emigrate from Britain to N. America. It then looks at the English/British settlement of North America, with a case study and comparrison of Jamestown and Massachusetts. Also introduces the ‘companies’ behind this (link to the British East India Company later). Worksheet to fill in included in the PPT. This will require one or both of the text books (blue singular Migration text book, or the larger textbook with all the options in). Finishes with a 16 mark exam question plan.

Lesson includes: -Important topic key words Starter looking at Henry’s 1538 Great Bible, and what the imagery can suggest about Henry’s attitude to the Church A card sort looking at the different reasons why Henry broke with the Church - differentiated for HA and LA. Numbered, so can be printed, laminated and reused. A planning sheet helping pupils to pick out the stronger evidence Two different/differentiated choices for plenary question, complete with guidance and writing frame.