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.

The Holocaust The aims of this lesson are to explain how the extermination camps were liberated such as Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen by horrified allied soldiers whose shock quickly turned to anger. Students are placed in the liberators shoes and have to decide how they would react, from cleaning up, to taking pictures and leaving things untouched to of course more violent extremes. There is some excellent video footage to accompany the lesson, but please again treat with caution and care. The second part of the lesson is a case study of Herta Bothe, a German camp guard who was convicted of war crimes by a British military tribunal. Students are given certain facts about her and have to decide if the sentence was justified or whether as in the previous lesson she was an unfortunate victim of circumstance and just an ordinary woman completing the job required of her. 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 and is differentiated. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.

The Holocaust This lesson explores the significance of two shoes found at the Auschwitz extermination camp. Students begin to ask questions about them, relating to their state, gender, laces and condition to finally decide what we know for sure about the owners. There are differentiated questions to accompany the task. Students are also given the testimony of Rudolf Hoss, the camp commandant of Auschwitz and have to decide which parts of it are the truth or not as the case may be. They are also given the chance to learn why badges were given out to certain inmates or why Primo Levi testified as to how he was able to endure and survive the brutality of Auschwitz until its end. Richard Dimbleby also gives his harrowing account of his first impressions of entering Bergen- Belsen extermination camp. A prioritisation exercise at the end will check recall, retention and understanding at the end of 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 English Civil War The aim of this lesson is to understand why James II lost his crown in the Glorious Revolution and how and why the lessons of his father were not learned. Students will define what they think a Glorious Revolution might be, before learning about the reign of James. They will have to judge how seriously Parliament saw him as a threat to the stability of the monarchy and how they could avoid turning the world upside down yet again. They also have to assess the impact of the Magna Carta on the Stuart dynasty as well as completing a thinking quilt, defining key terminology such as Whigs and Tories under James II. The plenary requires students to find and fix statements which will consolidate their learning 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 suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

The English Civil War This lesson aims to analyse the personality of King Charles I and questions how and why this might have implications for his reign. Following in his father’s footsteps, his vanity and obsession with the Divine Right of Kings are major causes of concern for those in Parliament. Students learn about his fragility in his younger life to eventual arrogance as he became King and will link a number of reasons together as to why this was to lead to Civil War. Video footage and sourcework are used to gather the evidence and the students will have to think outside the box to understand his motives and actions and link ideas together. The plenary is a literacy challenge to help evaluate his personality using key words 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 suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

The English Civil War The aim of this lesson is to question if James I was the most ‘suitable’ candidate to succeed Elizabeth I as monarch of England, Scotland and Wales. The lesson begins with the death of Elizabeth and the suggestion of the enormity of the task that lays ahead for the new monarch, with the transition from Tudor to Stuart rule. James I puts down his own marker quite forcibly from the start in a letter to her chief advisor, Robert Cecil. Students have to sift through the evidence provided to make up their own minds. They are then required to report back to Cecil with their findings with scaffolding and key words provided if required. The plenary uses the blob playground for students to make links to James and his ‘characteristics’. 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 suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.