I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
The Holocaust
The aim of this lesson is to understand why we should remember the Holocaust and its significance today
Some misconceptions are given at the start, such as what the Holocaust actual means and the differences between concentration and extermination camps.
Throughout the lesson the students build up their ideas and add them around a lightbulb to focus on the central aims of the lesson.
Students are also given numbers and have to decide the significance of each from 6 million to 2 minutes and 2 seconds or 90cm by 90cm for example.
The final part of the lesson refers to the powerful and moving story of Erica, thrown off the train by her parents before she reached Auschwitz and therefore knowing very little about herself.
The plenary focuses on some odd ones out exercises and recent genocides to emphasise the importance of remembering the Holocaust.
There is some excellent video footage to accompany the lesson.
The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.
These eleven lessons are designed to meet the needs of the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum and cover the development of the Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509; the Norman Conquest.
All the lessons are differentiated and come with suggested teaching and learning strategies and link to the latest interpretations of the conquest from the BBC and other sources.
This bundle addresses key historical skills from the outset, from a baseline test to track the students’ starting points, questioning what is history and how to use historical sources.
Furthermore key questions are asked in this period; Who was Alfred the Great? What did the Romans leave in Britain? Why was England a good place to invade in 1066? What were the causes and consequences of Edward the Confessor dying? What were the similarities and differences in the claims of contenders to the throne, from Harald Hardrada, William the Conqueror, Harold Godwinson and Edgar the Atheling? What was significant about the Battle of Stamford Bridge and how was William the Conqueror able to win the Battle of Hastings with his feigned retreat from the Anglo-Saxon shield wall on Senlac Hill?
These skills are addressed in each of the lessons and allow students to be able to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends and be able to create their own structured accounts and written narratives.
The lessons are broken down into the following
L1 Baseline Assessment Test
L2 What is History
L3 Historical Sources
L4 Roman Britain
L5 Alfred the Great
L6 The Anglo-Saxons (free resource)
L7 Contenders to the throne
L8 The Anglo-Saxon and Norman armies
L9 The Battle of Stamford Bridge (free resource)
L10 The Battle of Hastings
L11 Why did William win the Battle of Hastings?
( + Key Word History Display)
All the resources come in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
These lessons are designed to meet the needs of the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum and cover the development of the Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509; the Norman Conquest.
This bundle addresses key historical skills from the outset using historical enquiry and evidence:
Why was England a good place to invade in 1066 after the fall of the Roman Empire? What was the significance of Alfred the Great? What were the causes and consequences of Edward the Confessor dying? What were the similarities and differences in the claims of contenders to the throne? What was significant about the Battle of Stamford Bridge and how was William the Conqueror able to win the battle of Hastings?
Who was William the Conqueror and how did he establish and maintain his rule in England? What were the causes and consequences of Castle building throughout the British Isles? What were the similarities and differences between the role of the Church, monks and nuns and Doom Paintings? What was significant about the Black Death and its effect on the population of Britain and Europe and how dangerous and unhygienic were Medieval towns?
These skills are addressed in each of the lessons and allow students to be able to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends and be able to create their own structured accounts and written narratives.
The lessons are broken down into the following
L1 Baseline Assessment Test
L2 What is History
L3 Historical Sources
L4 Roman Britain
L5 Alfred the Great
L6 The Anglo-Saxons
L7 Contenders to the throne
L8 The Anglo-Saxon and Norman armies
L9 The Battle of Stamford Bridge (free lesson)
L10 The Battle of Hastings
L11 Why did William win the Battle of Hastings
L12 William the Conqueror
L13 Castles
L14 The Domesday Book
L15 The Feudal system
L16 The Church (free lesson)
L17 Doom Paintings
L18 The Medieval Church (free lesson)
L19 The Bayeux Tapestry
L20 Medieval Towns
L21 The Black Death
L22 Crime and Punishment
L23 The Crusades
Due to restrictions placed on bundle resource, please download The Battle of Stamford Bridge, the Medieval Church and Monks and Nuns separately (which are free resources.)
These lessons are designed to be fun, challenging, interactive and engaging. The resources come in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
All the lessons are enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start and revisited at the end to show the progression in learning.
They are differentiated and come with suggested teaching and learning strategies and link to the latest interpretations of the conquest from the BBC and other sources.
This lesson focuses on the factors which allowed William the Conqueror to win the Battle of Hastings.
The aim of this lesson is for the students to recognise how the factors link together (embedding GCSE skills) and how William could just have easily lost the battle.
The students have to first decide who might have said or did what in the battle before completing a card sort activity with various statements which they order into the different categories.
The learning tasks culminate in writing a narrative account of the events which is differentiated and key skills and prompts advise on how best to answer this.
The plenary checks understanding with a true and false quiz.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West, c 1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the Homestead Act of 1862.
What was the Homestead Act and who could apply? How did the US
Government make it easier for US citizens to become Homesteaders from what had happened previously?
Students will also be required to think and judge who really benefitted from it. Was it all US Citizens who benefitted or did anyone else? Were the Plains Indians considered when this Act was passed and how did it affect them? There are notes on the slides to help.
Students are required to complete a GCSE ‘importance’ practice question and are challenged to think why each specific term was significant.
The plenary requires connecting and linking key words and dates.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice is also included using an odd one out activity.
It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
This bundle follows the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum - challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world, 1901 to the present day with a focus on the conflicts of the Second World War.
The aims of this bundle are to know and understand significant aspects of World War II on a global scale and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by this conflict.
I have created and used these lessons to challenge and engage students, but also to show how much fun learning about this part of history really is.
Students will learn and understand key historical skills throughout such as change and continuity in the types of warfare used in World War II, the causes and consequences of the evacuation of Dunkirk and the similarities and differences of Hitler’s invasion of Russia as compared to Napoleon.
They will also learn about the significance of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan,VE Day, collaborators and refugees in World War II as well as interpretations as to whether Sir Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris should be considered a war hero.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Overview of World War II (free lesson)
L2 Invasion of Poland
L3 Evacuation of Dunkirk
L4 The Battle of Britain (free lesson)
L5 The Battle of the Atlantic
L6 Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union
L7 Sir Arthur Bomber Harris
L8 D-Day landings
L9 The attack on Pearl Harbour
L10 Dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Japan
L11 The role of Collaborators
L12 Refugees in World War II
L13 VE Day
This bundle includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials.
All lessons come in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
I have also included two free lessons in the bundle to give an idea of what is being offered.
This bundle follows the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum - challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world, 1901 to the present day with a focus on the conflicts of the Second World War.
The aims of this bundle are to know and understand significant aspects of World War II on a global scale and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by this conflict.
In the first 12 lessons, students will learn and understand key historical skills throughout such as continuity and change in the role and use of propaganda in World War II, the causes and consequences of the policy of appeasement, breaking the Enigma Code or the evacuation of children, the similarities and differences of life on the Home Front, the significance of Winston Churchill and VE Day and interpretations about whether there really was a Blitz spirit.
In lessons 13 to 23 students will learn and understand key historical skills throughout such as change and continuity in the types of warfare used, the causes and consequences of the evacuation of Dunkirk and the similarities and differences of Hitler’s invasion of Russia as compared to Napoleon. They will also learn about the significance of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan, refugees in World War 2 as well as interpretations as to whether Sir Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris should be considered a war hero or not.
I have created and used these lessons on the Second World War to challenge and engage students, but also to show how much fun learning about this part of history really is.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Causes of World War II
L2 Appeasement
L3 Winston Churchill
L4 The Home Front - preparations
L5 The Home Front - propaganda
L6 The Home Front - rationing
L7 The Home Front - women (free lesson)
L8 Evacuation of children
L9 The Blitz
L10 The Enigma Code
L11 Prisoners of war (free lesson)
L12 VE Day
L13 Overview of World War 2 (free lesson)
L14 Invasion of Poland
L15 Evacuation of Dunkirk
L16 The Battle of Britain (free lesson)
L17 The Battle of the Atlantic
L18 Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union
L19 Sir Arthur Bomber Harris
L20 D-Day landings
L21 The attack of Pearl Harbour
L22 Dropping the of Atomic Bombs on Japan
L23 Refugees in World War 2
Unfortunately due to TES restricting bundles to 20 resources, the free lessons of 7, 11, and 16 will need to be downloaded separately.
This bundle includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials.
All lessons come in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
This bundle has been designed to meet the National Curriculum requirements at Key Stage 3 History for women’s suffrage as part of the theme, ’challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day.’
It can however be used as a springboard for teaching at GCSE, particularly if you are teaching AQA Power and the People or OCR Explaining the Modern World.
Each year I cannot wait to teach this fascinating topic. It also never fails to ignite the excitement and interest of the students studying this part of history.
From the controversy of universal suffrage and the franchise, to how women were treated in society in the 19th century, the questionable suicide of Emily Davison to the militant actions of the Suffragettes including the Cat and Mouse Act, the use of Propaganda and their involvement in World War 1.
Moreover this bundle addresses key historical skills. How did World War 1 show change and continuity for women? What were the causes and consequences of the industrial revolution on universal suffrage? What were the similarities and differences in the actions of the Suffragists of Millicent Fawsett and Suffragette ‘Deeds not words’ of Emmeline Pankhurst? What was significant about the imprisonment of the Suffragettes and force feeding or the death of Emily Davison?
These skills are addressed in each of the lessons and allow students to be able to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends and be able to create their own structured accounts and written narratives.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Dying for the vote
L2 An introduction to the Suffragettes
L3 Suffragists and Suffragettes
L4 Emily Davison – martyr or fool?
L5 Propaganda and the Cat and Mouse Act of 1913
L6 The impact of World War 1 on women’s rights
L7 The Roaring Twenties
L8 How far have women gained equality?
(+ Key Word History Display)
Each resource comes PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson and there are differentiated materials included.
The Suffragettes
The aim of this lesson is to assess the impact of World War I on the Suffragette movement.
The lesson analyses the changing perceptions as women took on the jobs the men left behind to fight on the Western Front in France.
Students prioritise the most important roles women took as well as discovering through source analysis what they did.
There are some excellent case studies of four women and what they did during the war, which provide a great insight into many of the roles women undertook and the resistance and prejudice they faced.
The final part of the lesson looks at the main reasons why women gained the vote and judge if the impact of the war was the main and fundamental reason for this.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
This bundle is the first part in a series of lessons I have created for AQA GCSE 9-1 Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship.
As well as focusing on GCSE exam practice questions, the lessons apply the skills necessary to enable the students to achieve the highest grades.
The lessons will allow students to demonstrate (AO1) knowledge and understanding of the key features and characteristics of the period studied from the Kaiser and the problems he faced as well as the implementation of the Treaty of Versailles and the challenges faced by the Weimar Government.
They will study (AO2) second-order concepts such as change and continuity in the new Weimar Constitution and the causes and consequences of Stresemann’s policies.
The analysis and evaluation of sources (AO3) are used in for example the Treaty of Versailles and the Munich Beer Hall Putsch lessons whilst substantiated judgements are made (AO4) on political and economic problems of the Weimar Republic as well as questioning whether the later 1920’s really were a Golden Age.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Kaiser Wilhelm II (free resource)
L2 The Kaiser’s Government and Weltpolitik
L3 The impact of World War 1 on Germany (free resource)
L4 The Weimar Constitution and Political Parties
L5 The Treaty of Versailles
L6 Political Uprisings – the Spartacists and the Kapp Putsch (free resource)
L7 The Ruhr Crisis and Hyperinflation
L8 The Munich Beer Hall Putsch
L9 Gustav Stresemann
L10 The Golden Age of Stresemann
Please note that setting a full mock examination in class after completing this unit is strongly recommended.
All the examination resources and markschemes are subject to copyright but can easily be found on the AQA website.
The resources all include suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and come in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Any reviews would be gratefully received.
Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
This lesson is a study of the impact war had on peoples’ lives in Germany between 1914-1918.
Students have to evaluate the main changes in Germany during the war and if they were positive or negative changes
For example, the Kaiser being forced to share his power could be seen as a positive thing to many, but there was also a terrible shortage of food as the allied naval blockade really began to bite.
Worksheets are supplied to use for evidence, as the students box up their findings ready to tackle a timed question for GCSE question practice.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The aim of this lesson is to understand how the British Government prepared for World War II and if they were successful in doing so.
The lesson begins by analysing a source and making inferences about the precautions to be taken in times of war.
Furthermore students will also have to decide the Government’s priorities in the Second World War by making judgements as to whether they are low or high, from ideas such as rationing to aid raids or war work to conscription.
They will then complete some research focusing on four areas: warning people of air attacks, the Homeguard, the use of gas masks and the blackout.
Students will plot what the government did or didn’t do on a grid and then after analysing and processing the evidence, justify their conclusions using a colour coding evaluation table as well as completing an extended written task.
The plenary requires students to answer differentiated questions to check their understanding.
It is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Conflict and Tension 1918-1939
This is the final lesson in exploring the causes of World War II.
As Hitler invades Poland, students reflect upon the main reasons why Europe descended into war.
Students are required to colour code the main causes of World War II by linking them to five main categories.
They also have a chance to demonstrate their understanding by providing evidence and qualifying their judgements.
The final part of the lesson is geared towards preparing them for a GCSE assessment by analysing and tackling typical GCSE questions with help given if required.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, some retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Conflict and Tension 1918-1939
This series of eight lessons introduce the third part of the AQA Conflict and Tension course 1918-39 and focus on the origins and outbreak of World War II. Lessons come complete with suggested teaching strategies and differentiated learning tasks.
I have included many of the typical GCSE questions AQA have so far supplied, from source analysis, write an account to the longer 16+4 mark questions. The last lesson also gives some GCSE practice questions and examples of how to answer them.
The lessons are broken down into the following:
L1: Hitler’s Aims
L2: Reactions to Hitler’s Foreign Policy
L3: The road to war and German rearmament
L4: Reoccupation of the Rhineland (free resource)
L5: The Anschluss
L6: The Sudeten Crisis
L7: The Nazi-Soviet Pact
L8: Why did World War II break out?
Lessons also include some retrieval practice activities and come in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Any reviews would be gratefully received.
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to assess the roles of the two leaders of the Mormons; Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and examine the story of the Mormon migration West to Salt Lake City.
Students learn the teachings of the Mormons and how isolationist the movement became in the face of so much hostility and persecution, which led to the westward expansion of the Mormons…
Students have a choice of tasks using key questions or a story board to plot the life of Young and then annotate some text to analyse the leadership qualities of Brigham Young.
They also complete a prioritisation activity as well as a planning thinking quilt of Brigham Young to ascertain his successful migration west.
There is some GCSE exam question practice on the ‘importance’ question, with help if required and a noughts and crosses quiz at the end to reinforce the learning of the lesson.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice is also included.
The resource comes in PowerPoint format is there is a wish to adapt or change.
The Holocaust
The aims of this lesson are to explain how Jewish people rose in rebellion or resisted against Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust.
The first part of the lesson examines the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, using a thinking quilt to challenge ideas and ask key questions about the motivation and determination to succeed against overwhelming odds.
The second part of the lesson analyses resistance in the extermination camps in particular events in Sobibor, Treblinka and Auschwitz.
Students are then asked to justify the best and most effective ways to resist from passive to active resistance. Finally a find and fix activity checks understanding and the learning in the lesson.
The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons in the bundle is to ask who was to blame for the Holocaust?
Students will map out their ideas each lesson (which can be plotted in different colours or dates to show the progress of their learning and centred around a lightbulb) and build up a picture of how difficult it is to blame a single individual or event for this catastrophe.
The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to assess how positive the US Government’s early attempts were to ‘civilise’ the Plains Indians between c.1830-1851.
By adopting a westward expansionist policy, students have to question how beneficial this was and for whom?
Was America to benefit from improving the Plains, by ploughing it for farming, digging up its minerals for manufacturing or simply clearing its forests for timber?
Students are given various scenarios and laws such as the Indian Removal Act and the Indian Appropriations Act and individually rate each scenario by colour coding a battery to signify positive or negative before coming to a conclusion as to who benefited from this conflict over land.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘write a narrative account’ worth 8 marks.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice is also included using causal equations.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The Holocaust
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the reasons why Josef Mengele escaped justice for the part he played in the Holocaust.
I have been inspired to write this lesson after reading an article by Gerald Posner who spent three decades trying to track him down.
The story makes fascinating reading; but was Mengele a brilliant mastermind at escape and evasion tactics or was it pure incompetence on the part of the West German authorities and a lack of will from the Western governments to track and find him?
Students are given the context to Josef Mengele, his background and a very brief description of the war crimes he committed at Auschwitz, without going into specific details.
They complete a missing word activity, before analysing the fake passport he used to flee to South America.
The main task is to judge how believable his escape story really is, with some red herrings thrown in for good measure to get the students really thinking.
Some key differentiated questions, an extended writing piece, with some ‘believable’ words as well as a thinking quilt will give the students an accurate account of his double life.
There is also an excellent link to video footage of a documentary by Gerald Posner himself.
The resource comes in PowerPoint formats if there is a wish to adapt and change and is differentiated.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.
The English Civil War
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the reign of Charles II (and the restoration of the monarchy) who was determined to stamp his authority and bring back some sense of ‘normality’ to the country.
Students will be given the context of his return with a Heads and Tails activity and an excellent video, in which they will have to justify his cautious return.
As well as reassessing how his brought back ‘partying’ to the country, some source scholarship requires students to summarise paragraphs and create images and headings to show and clarify understanding.
Students will also have to put themselves in the shoes of Charles II to sort out some of his problems in the restoration.
A ‘talk like an expert’ activity for the plenary will show off their new found knowledge and skills from the lesson.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The Holocaust
This lesson directly tackles the overriding enquiry question throughout this sequence of lessons, namely who was to blame for the holocaust?
They will continue to map out their ideas (which can be plotted in different colours or dates to show the progress of their learning and centred around a lightbulb) and build up a picture of how difficult it is to blame a single individual or event for this catastrophe.
The lesson focuses on Police Battalion 101 who were ‘instructed’ by their Commander, Major Trapp to execute Jews in Poland and send many others to the extermination camps.
Two historians have conducted extensive research in this area and either concluded they were willing executioners or just ordinary men, victims of an extraordinary situation.
It is up to the students to make up their own minds by tracking one of the battalion’s first ‘actions’ against 1800 Polish Jews living in the village of Jozefow.
There are accompanying worksheets and grids to colour code as well as excellent links to video footage and differentiated tasks to help students of all abilities.
Other figures to blame in the lesson debate include Adolf Eichmann, the organiser of the transportation of the Jews as well as the German public, train drivers, Camp Commandants or foreign governments who failed to respond. Students have to prioritise their responsibility list in the plenary.
The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change and is differentiated.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.