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 British Empire
This lesson focuses on the upheaval of the lives of the indigenous peoples of Australia with the coming of the Europeans.
The lesson starts by looking at their customs and traditions and how these were quickly attacked through the attitudes and settlements of the colonists. A ‘Horrible Histories’ version of events is also scrutinised and questioned on its accuracy of Australian indigenous history .
I have included some comprehension questions and source scholarship using an extract from the brilliant ‘Empireland’ by Sathnam Sanghera which explains the atrocities committed in Tasmania by the colonists.
Paintings from Governor Davey of Van Diemen’s Land can also analysed so the students are able to prioritise the most significant changes the colonists made to Australia and the legacy of the British Empire.
The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching and learning strategies, differentiated materials and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
The lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
Middle Ages
This lesson aims to examine the reasons why King John argued with his barons and ultimately was forced to sign the Magna Carta.
But on which terms was King John forced to accept?
Firstly students have to work out what the terms of the Magna Carta were.
Secondly students have to evaluate the significance of the Magna Carta in the short, medium and long term for King John, for future Kings of England as well as for our rights today.
They will use sources and video footage as well as retrieval grids and a true or false quiz to help them in their research,
They will also continue to plot the power struggle between the king, the church, the barons and the people in a sequence of lessons.
This lesson includes:
Fun, engaging and challenging tasks
Links to video footage
Printable worksheets
Differentiated tasks
Suggested teaching strategies
PowerPoint format, which can be changed to suit
AQA GCSE Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The aim of this lesson is to assess the contributions made by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch to improvements in medicine (such as vaccines and bacteriology) in the late 19th Century.
By the late 1800’s, the focus had moved away from antiseptic to aseptic surgery.
Students will learn how Pasteur made his monumental breakthrough in 1861 with his Germ Theory, aided through the factors of chance, government and scientific experimentation.
However as he was only a chemist it was the German doctor Robert Koch who applied Pasteur’s theory to human disease to convince doubters that microscopic germs could kill something as advanced as a human.
Students will rate their progress in these discoveries and make substantiated judgements on their effectiveness and performance in the development of vaccines.
There are also links to Charles Bastion and William Tyndall and their similar rivalry in Britain.
The lesson includes GCSE practice questions on factors and significance with source analysis and video links throughout.
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 comes in 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 aim of the lesson is to question if Japan was justified in attacking Pearl Harbour without a declaration of war against the United States in the Second World War.
This question is revisited later in the lesson to see if the students have changed their minds.
As this is a new theatre of war and not in Europe, the lesson sets out clearly where the war was fought in the Pacific, the location of Pearl Harbour and its significance to the USA.
Students are required to discover what Japan wanted and the reasons behind their surprise attack with a choice of options available to piece the jigsaw together.
An excellent activity of Pearl Harbour in numbers, which is an idea from KNNTeach, enables students to clearly recognise the initial damage done to Pearl Harbour by the Japanese attack.
There are video links to film footage as well as a plenary activity from which the students have to make up questions to the answers given on post it notes.
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 lesson comes in PowerPoint format is there is a wish to change and adapt.
The aim of this test is to find out how much the students know about history.
The results will give you a baseline from which you can build upon. Once they begin to study history, they will begin to show progress in all areas, particularly in the amount of detail required in answers.
The test focuses on chronology, cause and consequence, change and continuity, historical enquiry, interpretation and significance.
This is a particularly useful assessment for a history department and as a starting point and ideally for Year 7.
Most students sadly will not have studied a lot of history at their primary schools (apart from the odd day to study the Victorians or World War 2) as literary, numeracy and SATS still dominate primary school curriculum planning.
The resource comes in Word and PowerPoint formats which can be amended and changed to suit.
The Industrial Revolution
This lesson aims to examine and assess factory conditions during the Industrial Revolution.
The poor conditions and punishments are explored through the eyes of a pauper apprentice, whose story tells us the harsh discipline, rules and punishments for factory workers.
Students have a chance to complete a diary entry and evaluate if life was bad for everyone including using causation equations in the plenary.
The lesson alludes to factory owners like Robert Owen who built quality houses, schools, shops with cheap goods and parks for his workers (although factory reform and reformers is dealt with in another lesson).
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 comes in 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 aim of this lesson is to challenge the Government’s claim that during World War II, a Blitz spirit of togetherness emerged across the country in defiance of the bombing of Britain’s cities.
This lesson takes students on a journey through archive video footage, government announcements and source information to determine if there was indeed a Blitz Spirit during the Second World War.
Students are given details of what the Blitz entailed using some contextual evidence and a thinking quilt.
They then have to analyse and evaluate a variety of sources and statistics before they conclude and justify which sources best suit the driving question of the lesson.
The plenary is a take on the television programme, ‘Would I lie to you?’ and the idea is to again challenge assumptions.
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 retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials.
It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Cold War
The aim of this lesson is to explain how Germany was divided post 1945, as agreed at the Potsdam Conference and analyse the subsequent Berlin blockade and airlift which followed.
Students learn the intentions of both the USA and USSR and how this played out in the Cold War theatre of Europe.
This is a great opportunity for students to be creative as they plot the preceding events on an airport landing strip, using symbols and signs found in every international airport.
They will track the obstacles thrown up by Stalin and the immediate problems this caused in Berlin as he attempted to prevent any further western moves in Germany and with his aim of starving the West Berliners into submission.
Therefore this is intended to be a fun, challenging and engaging lesson to suit all abilities.
The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons is to ask why did civilians fear for their lives? 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 the key question) and build up a picture of how these and different countries in the world responded and acted in this new nuclear age.
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.
This lesson poses the question ‘How much of a threat did Mary, Queen of Scots pose to Elizabeth I?’
Students are taken through Mary’s life from becoming Queen of Scotland to the controversy of her husbands and her eventual house arrest in England.
Through sources, visual and video evidence, students have conclude how much of a threat Mary posed to Elizabeth, after pleading their case through the eyes of Mary herself.
There is some help to write an extended answer using key words which help mention cause and effect, to sequence events and to emphasise judgements.
There is also analysis of the Babington Plot and a deciphering exercise to work out on how Mary was implicated.
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, 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.
AQA GCE A Level 2O: Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-1945
This 49 page Revision Guide is broken down into two main sections: Weimar Germany 1914-1933 and the Nazi Dictatorship 1933-1945
This Revision Guide includes practice exam questions on both types and gives examples and tips on how to answer each.
I have been inspired to write this Guide by my students after they had complained about the difficulty of accessing and understanding the content provided by other Revision Guides and resources.
The Guide is therefore clear, concise and content driven. It will enable all learners to achieve the higher grades with clear guidance on how to achieve them.
The information is also broken down into an easy to use format to aid the students. The Guide can be used for revision, interleaving, home learning as well as class teaching.
This Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and can be edited and changed to suit, It comes in both Word and PDF format.
Any reviews on this resource would be much appreciated. This Guide also compliments the lessons I have put on TES for the delivery of the whole course.
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. My email address can be found by visiting my shop at TES: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/PilgrimHistory
This lesson has two aims; to discover if medieval towns were dangerous places to live and to question how dirty and unhygienic they actually were.
Students learn how Medieval towns grew up through Charters and Guilds and how shops and their names and surnames became intertwined. An exercise tests their ability to interpret shop signs.
They analyse a number of statements about the dangers facing townsfolk and evidence this on a road map (or dirt track) using danger symbols and accompanying road signs.
The second part of the lesson focuses on the filth and dirt of Medieval towns and questions how much the local authorities did.
Students evaluate how hygienic towns were, colour coding thermometers and rating each step taken by the local authorities (or not as the case may be).
This lesson is therefore designed to be interactive, fun, challenging and engaging and could be used over two lessons.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end using a rate ‘o’ meter to show the progress of learning.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
How did we establish ourselves as a world power in the 19th Century? Who were Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins and Sir Walter Raleigh and who deserves a place in the seafaring hall of fame?
These questions and more are answered in this lesson as students analyse how new navigational techniques and the brilliance of these men established unbridled wealth and power for Elizabeth at a time of great danger with her excommunication from the Catholic Church.
Students learn through source and video footage and a play your cards right activity how new trading companies sprung up such as the Muscovy, the East India and Levant companies opening up English markets to good such as spices, tea, porcelain and silk.
A choice of two GCSE questions for exam practice are given at the end of the lesson where students can peer assess and understand how to answer the ‘importance’ question for 8 marks.
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, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Cold War
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the moon landings during the Cold War and the subsequent conspiracy theories which suggest it was faked and not real at all.
Students have to decide why it was so important for the USA and NASA to be the first to put a man on the moon with Apollo 11 and prioritise their reasoning using their knowledge of the Cold War.
They analyse footage from the time and are introduced to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to emphasise this audacious achievement in 1969.
However they also analyse sources from the time and different interpretations making their own sustained judgements as to whether the moon landings were fake or fiction.
They finish with writing an extended piece on the evidence they have selected and are given some argument words to help if required.
The plenary required them to judge if further facts are fake or authentic news.
The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons is to ask why did civilians fear for their lives during the Cold War? 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 the key question) and build up a picture of how these and different countries in the world responded and acted in this new nuclear age.
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.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to assess the impact of humanism and the arts upon the reign of Henry VII and Tudor England.
Students begin with some source scholarship on the Renaissance before assessing the significance of three humanist scholars as well as the invention of the printing press.
They also begin to plan an exam practice question on cultural developments by evaluating the importance of education, drama, music and the arts upon England and giving each an impact percentage rating.
Some scaffolding, hints and tips as well as a generic markscheme enable students to answer the exam question in detail.
The plenary checks the understanding and how much they can remember of the lesson completing the sentences given.
There is an enquiry question posed and revisited to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work.
The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit.
The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to question preconceived ideas of Henry being a strong and successful Tudor King.
Students will need to analyse video and source evidence as well as complete some multiple choice questions to decide how much of a strong and successful king he really was.
They will also study the Tudor family tree and explain why he might have had a more secure and legitimate claim to the English throne than his father did.
Students also complete some source analysis, using two conflicting interpretations about his qualities and skills in kingship.
There is a missing word activity for the plenary as students work out the correct answers to what they have about his accession to the throne.
There is an enquiry question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work.
The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit.
The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The Weimar Republic 1918-1928
I have produced this bundle of resources on Weimar Germany 1918-1928 to help A Level students access the course and help them to gain a deeper understanding of Germany’s past through political, social, economic and cultural perspectives.
The enquiry question throughout these lessons will be to question how weak or strong Germany was politically, economically or socially.
Students will learn how the impact of war had a profound effect on the establishment of the Weimar Republic and the significance and consequences of the Peace Settlement at Versailles.
They will also learn about political instability, with extremism from the left and right, the problems of coalition government and the state of the Weimar Republic by 1923 with the invasion of the Ruhr and hyperinflation.
Finally students will assess the issues facing Germany from 1924 and the role of individuals such as Gustav Stresemann and his impact on the Golden Age of Weimar Germany in his domestic and foreign policy.
The resources provided include detailed lesson plans and suggestions, case studies, source documents for analysis, chronological tasks and exam practice questions.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Introduction and pre-war Germany
L2 Political crisis of 1918
L3 The German Revolution
L4 The Weimar Constitution
L5 Treaty of Versailles
L6 Hyperinflation
L7 Invasion of the Ruhr (free resource)
L8 Political instability and extremism
L9 100 Days of Stresemann
L10 Economic miracles
L11 Weimar Women
L12 Weimar Youth
L13 Jewish people in Weimar
L14 Weimar Culture
L15 Weimar Politics, 1924-8
L16 Germany’s international position
The lessons include the two types of exam question used, with examples of how to tackle them, using model answers, helpful hints and tips, structuring and scaffolding as well as markschemes. However, please refer to the AQA website for further assessment materials as they are subject to copyright.
The lessons are also differentiated and fully resourced and allow students to reach the very top marks.
If you have any questions about the lessons, please email me via my TES shop, or any other information about the course. I would also welcome any reviews, which would be gratefully appreciated.
The British Empire
This lesson aims to find out whether we should be proud or ashamed of gaining an Empire and how the indigenous peoples we conquered ‘benefitted’ under British rule.
This lesson will best be delivered over 2 lessons . The opening slides give some context to the debate and define what an Empire is and which countries Britain owned by 1900.
Through video and source analysis, the students have to explain their choice of being proud or ashamed or both and as the lesson progresses justify whether they are sticking to their decisions.
Analysis focuses on Victorian propaganda, the recent views of British Prime Ministers as well as how museums refuse to engage about how they have obtained their imperial artefacts.
The second part of the lesson examines a number of countries acquired by Britain and focuses on the ‘benefits of Empire’. Students then make their final decisions at the end before drawing conclusions on the legacy of the British Empire.
A homework task is to design an Empire plate (photographic examples given) to celebrate Empire day from 1902.
The lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies, differentiated materials and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
The lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
The aim of this lesson is to understand why children were evacuated to the countryside in the Second World War.
However, it also questions the success of evacuation through government propaganda, audio records of evacuees and from written sources of evidence.
Students are led through the evacuation process, which on the surface looks amazingly planned and executed by the British Government.
But, using primary evidence of the time, they realise how the Government failed to prioritise the needs of the children over the need to evacuate large numbers.
Students will also learn how other vulnerable groups in society were also evacuated without due consideration of their needs.
By the end of the lesson the students will evaluate the biggest problems faced by the children during World War II and learn some sad facts about the reality of war on the Home Front.
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 retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the reasons behind Hitler’s invasion of Poland starting the Second World War and to evaluate if his actions were justified.
Within this lesson, students learn about Blitzkrieg, making comparisons with the static and attritional First World War and understanding how the German Army had learnt from their previous mistakes.
Students have to also complete a thinking quilt to test their comprehension and literacy skills as it requires them to explain and justify these initial German successes in 1939 and 1940.
The plenary finally asks the students to predict what is about to happen in the future through conjecture and formulation their opinions using the information 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.
