WiseArk Ltd which is a ‘micro-company specialising in supplying educational resources.
We specialise in resources for use in tutor time -many of which are also suitable for use in citizenship/PSHE.
We also have a range of resources to support learning in history.
I was a teacher for over 20 years so know from first-hand experience how engaged students can be when given challenges and puzzles.
WiseArk Ltd which is a ‘micro-company specialising in supplying educational resources.
We specialise in resources for use in tutor time -many of which are also suitable for use in citizenship/PSHE.
We also have a range of resources to support learning in history.
I was a teacher for over 20 years so know from first-hand experience how engaged students can be when given challenges and puzzles.
A resource to reinforce knowledge and understanding of the wider context of Holocaust Memorial Day.
This worksheet looks at some groups of victims of the Nazis: Jews, Poles, Roma, Ukrainians with a range of activities (mostly numeracy based- such as completing outline graph or pie chart) looking at the number and proportion murdered as well as the Nazi’s ‘reasons’ for their murders.
The information used makes it clear that the Jews were the main victims of the Nazis but that, in the words of the UN resolution, the victims included ‘countless members of other minorities.’
What is it? Close up
A set of 50 photo puzzles;
Each slide on the power point has a photo of an everyday object BUT taken from close-up or an unusual angle. The challenge is to guess what the object is – the next slide each time has a photo of the same object but showing what it is (from a normal position).
Ideal for use in tutor time, especially as an alternative type of challenge for those good at observation.
A set of over 50 of the popular vocabulary-based challenge.
Each ladder has a four-letter word at the top and a different four-letter one at the bottom.
Simply change the top word into the bottom one by altering one letter at a time (so creating three new words to fit in the empty ‘rungs’)
Supplied on power point (1 ladder per slide) and in a word document (with answers separately)
Ideal for use in tutor time or as a starter/time-filler -or even as a staffroom challenge!
A selection of information on a range of 40 people or events associated with Wales. There is a power point presentation with two slides for each person or event; one with a picture and the associated date(s); the second having a short pen sketch of c250-300 words. (The topics covered are largely a selection from our larger Welsh year resource): 30 people from Richard Burton to Llewelyn the Great via Gwendoline Davies and 10 events from the Newport Rising to S4C via Aberfan disaster.
Updated for April 2024 changes to MLW and NI as well as to reflect price changes.
A set of worksheets that will help students prepare for the world of work and living away from home.
The first sheet looks at income from employment –considering the main deductions that lead to net pay being less than gross pay.
The worksheet takes students though the process step by step, calculating the deductions from a national living wage job.
The second sheet considers main household expenses such as rent, council tax and insurance. Again the worksheet takes a methodical approach, allowing students to see how quickly their income will be spent.
Ideal for use in PSHE and functional maths –calculator required!; Also available as a separate resource is a pair of power point presentations which go through the same information showing students how gross income is reduced and basic spending.
Further updated for changes to MLW and NI in April 2024, as well as some price changes.
Two power points that will help students prepare for the world of work and living away from home.
The first presentation looks at income from employment –considering the main deductions that lead to net pay being less than gross pay.
The slides take students though the process step by step, calculating the deductions from a national living wage job.
The second presentation considers main household expenses such as rent, council tax and insurance. Again the slides take a methodical approach, allowing students to see how quickly their income will be spent.
Ideal for use in PSHE; also available as a separate resource is a set of worksheets for students to do their own working out – these are ideal for functional maths –calculator required!
A collection of resources that illustrate the role that Imperial forces played in WW1 -did you know that over 1m Indian troops served?
There is a power point with a map slide showing the main contributors to the Imperial forces with each linked to a brief information slide; this information is also provided in a word document.
A worksheet looks at where Imperial soldiers fought and how many there were from around the globe.
There is also a wordsearch featuring fifteen of the nations that supplied troops and labourers to the Allied war effort.
Ideal for study of the British Empire as well as ‘Black History’
A set of 40 observation challenges which require students (or adults!) to study images carefully. There are two different types of challenge:
One is odd one out – a set of three pictures, the challenge is to work out which has one difference from the other two.
The second is spot the difference -a set of two pictures , the challenge is to identify the six differences between each picture.
They are provided both on power point and in word document format.
They are suitable for use in a variety of settings -such as cover tasks, time fillers or in tutor time - even as a staffroom challenge.
A power point with 20 slides each with a picture hidden behind a numbered grid. Click on one square at a time to reveal part of the picture -how quickly can students guess what the object is? From a parking meter to a jet plane, from a pound note to a space craft.
Pictures: Airplane (jet plane -Boeing 747), Audio tape (cassette), Bicycle (‘Penny Farthing’), Car (Model T Ford), Coin (2 shilling piece) ,Computer (Commodore 64), European Union (flag), Fighter plane (Hawker Hurricane), Integrated circuit, NATO (symbol), Parking meter, Pound note, Record (45rpm single), Space lander (Apollo 11), Stamp (Postage), Telephone, Train (Steam locomotive), Typewriter, Union Flag, Video tape (for VCR)
Two activities to help students improve their knowledge and understanding of the chronology of history -in a different, more ‘game’ based approach than a traditional worksheet.
Both of which involve matching events to dates: (the same as on the power point resource on Ancient Greek history) from the First Olympics in 776 BCE to the Romans taking control of Greece in 146 BCE
The first is a set of printable ‘cards’ which can be used for sorting or matching tasks (such as the matching pairs game) – each event is on a separate ‘card’ from its date, organised in sets of 10 -there are two sets, but each can be used separately or the two combined to increase the difficulty level.
The second is a set of ‘domino cards’ to provide a more supported matching challenge; these feature the same events and each ‘card’ links to another forming a ‘domino’ like chain (which again can be used as a set of 10 or both combined for greater challenge).
A resource to help students improve their knowledge and understanding of the chronology of Ancient Greek history.
This resource is designed specifically to help students in particular with the concept of chronology.
To help with understanding the passage of time there is a power point presentation that shows the intervals between events, from the First Olympics in 776 BCE to the Romans taking control of Greece in 146 BCE.
This has a range of 27 selected events and is designed to convey a sense of the passage of time by having the transition between slides vary in length depending on how many years actually passed between events.
Each slide has a date, event and appropriate illustration. (Each event slide is on show for five seconds and the whole presentation lasts for approximately five minutes).
There is also a ‘click through’ version of the slide show (same events) to enable the teacher to pause to give additional information or discuss the event with students.
The selection of events is not meant to be definitive for the study of that period (it’s a selection not a comprehensive timeline). It is also a compilation from a range of different sources this allows for an extra activity/challenge of students deciding what is missing/what could be left out?
Ideal for promoting debate and discussion.
This resource challenges students to think about what being British means, through being critical of aspects of democracy in the UK.
The UK is one of the world’s few full democracies but how well does the current system reflect voting and society?
This resource encourages students to consider a range of ways in which the UK falls short- including the gender make up of representatives and how election results do not reflect votes cast. It provides opportunities to work and discuss co-operatively - developing team working and listening skills which supports democratic methods.
For each aspect there is some information –including that which is critical of common perceptions of the nation (especially in the past but also today as with gender inequality).
Most of them also have a selection of discussion points to stimulate debate e.g. Should voting be compulsory in the UK (it is in Australia)?
Topics covered:
What is democracy?
The system in the UK
Representative democracy? Do results reflect votes?
Votes and results –by party
Women in politics
Ethnic minorities in politics
‘Fairer’ voting systems
Local Authorities
Who are the councillors?
This is ideal for promoting discussion in citizenship or tutor time as well as politics etc.
Provided in both word document and power point formats.
Information and comprehension tasks on a range of 12 Prime Ministers who in some way were a ‘first’ (or last in the case of Douglas Home!).
There is a one page summary sheet with their image and for what they were ‘first’.
There are two sheets with some outline information on each of the selected PMs- along with a set of comprehension tasks. These come in three formats: ‘5,4,3,2,1’ ; ‘True or False’ and simple questions (same information each time).
There is also a crossword -and a support version with the first letter of the answer- and a word search.
Ideal for developing knowledge and understanding of British political history.
Helps to show how political parties have had varying fortunes over the years – as well as putting the 2024 result into context (especially in terms of the government having less than half the votes).
An information sources on who has governed Britain since the late 19th century with two components:
1: A power point information presentation:
34 slides- one per election to 2024; each having a slide with two pie charts showing the percentage of vote and share of MPs elected for the main parties at each election plus a picture of the winning PM.
There is also a set of slides with line graphs showing votes for the main parties over time,
A pie chart showing the amount of time spent in power.
2: A word document
34 tables -one per election-with the data used for the pie charts on the power point (seats and votes)
A set of line graphs showing the votes for the main parties since 1918 (the first when all men-and most women-could vote).
A table showing the turnout in each election since 1918-plus a line graph.
A table showing the winners of elections and a pie chart showing time in office.
*1892 was when Keir Hardie was the first ‘Labour’ MP elected.
Of particular use to those now old enough to vote – a brief guide to key elements of the voting process for General elections from the electoral register to the count.
A power point presentation (7 information slides) covers the various stages of the process including:
Registering to vote;
At the polling station including voting;
The count -and how the winner is decided.
Reminder that are choosing MP not PM.
There is also a one sheet word document that summarises this information
A set of four crosswords to help reinforce knowledge of Ancient Egyptian Gods, people(s) and places.
One on Gods, one on people(s), one on people(s) and places, one of places.
To provide a differing level of challenge each crossword comes with a support version with the first letter of each answer.
This resource features most of the same Gods, people(s) and places as covered in our other resources on Ancient Egypt.
The Gods covered are: Amun, Anubis, Bastet, Bes, Geb, Hathor, Horus, Isis, Khnum, Khonsu, Montu, Nut, Osiris, Ptah, Ra, Sekhmet, Seth, Tefnut, Thoth
The people(s) covered are: Alexander, Amenemhet, Amenhotep, Cleopatra, Djoser, Hyksos, Khufu, Narmer, Persians, Ptolemy, Rameses, Sheshonq, Sobekneferu
The people(s) and places covered are: Ahmose, Assyrians, Egypt, Hittites, Libyans, Lower, Mentuhotep, Nubians, Octavian, Romans, Tutankhmaun, Upper, Xerxes
The places covered are: Africa, Alexandria, Euphrates, Giza, Karnak, Libya, Lower, Mediterranean, Nile, Nubia, Pelusium, Saqqara, Thebes, Upper, Valley
They are suitable for use in class -both as a main activity and as an extension task- as well as for homework / independent study
Two activities to help students improve their knowledge and understanding of the chronology of Ancient Egyptian history -in a different, more ‘game’ approach than a traditional worksheet.
Both of which involve matching events to dates: (the same as on the power point resource on Egyptian history from 3100 BCE-start of the First Dynasty- to 30 BCE when the Romans annexed Egypt.).
The first is a set of printable ‘cards’ which can be used for sorting or matching tasks (such as the matching pairs game) – each event is on a separate ‘card’ from its date, organised in sets of 10 -there are two sets, but each can be used separately or the two combined to increase the difficulty level.
The second is a set of ‘domino cards’ to provide a more supported matching challenge; these feature the same events and each ‘card’ links to another forming a ‘domino’ like chain (which again can be used as a set of 10 or both combined for greater challenge).
A set of two linked resources to support knowledge and understanding of Ancient Egypt.
This resource features the 20 deities (+Karnak) that are covered in our other resources on Egyptian Gods and Goddesses.
The first resource is a set of printable ‘cards’ with one half having the name of either a God/Goddess associated with Ancient Egypt and the other half a sentence on their role etc. These can be used for matching pairs activities (Answers provided!)
The second resource is similar but set out as a set of dominoes to allow for greater variety and a degree of support.
Ideal for use as a challenge that covers knowledge in a different way to a conventional worksheet.
The deities covered are: Amun, Anubis, Bastet, Bes, Geb, Hathor, Horus, Isis, Khnum, Khonsu, Montu, Nut, Osiris, Ptah, Ra, Sekhmet, Seth, Tefnut, Thoth (+ Karnak)
A resource to help support the development of knowledge and understanding of Ancient Egypt.
A power point presentation featuring a range Ancient Egyptian gods/goddesses For each one there is a slide with a picture and their main ‘responsibility’. This is a ‘click through’ presentation with a contents slide so that if preferred the teacher can select a specific deity.
The 19 deities (+ Karnak) covered are Amun, Anubis, Bastet, Bes, Geb, Hathor, Horus, Isis, Khnum, Khonsu, Montu, Nut, Osiris, Ptah, Ra, Sekhmet, Seth, Tefnut, Thoth (+ Karnak) -the same as those featured on our other resources designed to support learning about Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses.
A resource to help students improve their knowledge and understanding of the chronology of Ancient Egyptian history.
This resource is designed specifically to help students in particular with the concept of chronology.
To help with understanding the passage of time there is a power point presentation that shows the intervals between events, from 3100 BCE (founding of the First Dynasty) to 30 BCE (Roman annexation of Egypt).
This has a range of 22 selected events and is designed to convey a sense of the passage of time by having the transition between slides vary in length depending on how many years actually passed between events.
Each slide has a date, event and appropriate illustration. (Each event slide is on show for five seconds and the whole presentation lasts for approximately five minutes).
There is also a ‘click through’ version of the slide show (same events) to enable the teacher to pause to give additional information or discuss the event with students.
The selection of events is not meant to be definitive for the study of that period (it’s a selection not a comprehensive timeline). It is also a compilation from a range of different sources given the lack of unanimity over Egyptian history- this allows for an extra activity/challenge of students deciding what is missing/what could be left out?
In addition there is also a power point showing the main periods (the ‘kingdoms’ etc-again ‘run through’ to show how long each period lasted in relation to the others.