If you need a quick boost to how you provide for your students for whom English is an additional language (EAL/ESOL) this 50-page PDF is for you. 50 of the most popular subject specific words in History translated into the world’s 8 most popular language. Each poster includes a visual clue also. Simply print them off and stick them around your classroom. English words are in UK-English but are almost (!) the same in US English (just civilisation and industrialisation that we spell differently in these 50 words). I hope this resource is of use to you and your students. Wishing you a great day.

I take great pride in leading my students to the Manila US military cemetery every year. Now you can purchase my 27-page pack which focuses on the areas of background, civilians, POWs, war crimes, the Battle of Manila, resistance, technology, the fallen, the chapel, Leyte Gulf and much more. This pack is designed to complement in-class studies and comes with a staff copy with answers. It has been designed specifically for this historic site and is of use only to teachers leading a trip to the cemetery. Please let me know if you have any questions and I wish you a wonderful day.

This lesson begins with a starter activity in which students are asked to sequence four key events of American history in the correct order, the last of which is Ruby Bridges’ first day at an all-white school in Louisiana. The class are then introduced to the lesson title with graduated criteria (all will/most will/some will) and the PPT has some background information for teacher exposition. The class then begin their main activity in which they cut out 24 cards. The start and end cards are labelled but all the others need to be placed in the correct order using the heads and tails sentences. This then tells the story of Ruby Parks. The class then use this information to create a rollercoaster map. Examples are given and this enables students to consider which aspects would have been most distressing or dangerous. The lesson then concludes with a plenary in which the class are asked some comprehension questions on a famous Norman Rockwell painting about the incident to consolidate their knowledge and understanding. Lesson aims are revisited and a two-paragraph homework task is set. This lesson on Ruby is one that students always connect with and I hope your students appreciate her as much as I do. I don’t normally include URLs in my lessons because they expire but I’ve put in a link to a great segment from a chat show in which Ruby explains her role in history.

In this lesson, students are introduced to the concept of Jim Crow in a ‘What’s Behind the Squares’ starter activity. Once the squares are revealed, they witness a white American pouring acid into a swimming pool which had previously been a whites-only pool. There is then background information for teacher exposition in which students become aware of Plessy V Ferguson and the nature of segregation and discrimination in the USA at this time. Examples are given of various Jim Crow Laws with images before the main task is introduced. Lesson aims are graduated (all will/most will/some will), and the class is asked to create their own ‘museum’ of Jim Crow artefacts. They are only allowed a maximum of 8 objects (examples are given, but they are encouraged to research their own). Students then present and explain their choices as presentations. The lesson concludes with a plenary where they are asked to find one photograph by Gordon Parks online (from his Segregation Story series) and to create dialogue between the people featured based on their knowledge and understanding acquired in the lesson. There is also a homework task at the end of the 49-slide PPT. I hope your students get as much from this very important lesson as mine do. As with all History lessons about Civil Rights, it is important it is taught sensitively but head-on. I hope the materials here allow you to do just that.

This lesson is a 25-page PowerPoint presentation in which students are introduced to the topic with two divergent opinions on the impact of sit-ins (which are revisited later) and a Starter Activity in which the teacher asks them to close their eyes as they are read information about a typical Southern diner in the 1960s. Towards the end, a sit-in is described, focusing on the experiences of the participants. Students are given a choice of three options and then watch a three-minute video clip from the movie “The Butler,” which reveals the violence and verbal assaults sit-in protestors experienced (please be aware there is racially offensive language in the clip). They are asked to revisit their response. The lesson title is introduced, along with graduated aims (all will/most will/some will). The class is then provided with background information on teacher exposition slides before beginning the main activity, which is a two-page source analysis activity (5 sources, 15 comprehension questions). There is then a written activity inviting students to respond to the Key Question using the knowledge they have acquired and the sources. Following this, there is an opportunity for group discussion before the conclusion of the lesson. The class listens to the lyrics of the song “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke (or if you prefer “A White Man’s Heaven is a Black Man’s Hell” – also good but harder to make out the lyrics) and relates this to today’s learning, before deciding which of the two earlier historiographical perspectives they now agree with by moving to a designated area. As always, teaching Civil Rights needs to be done maturely and head-on but with a sensitive approach. I hope this PowerPoint resource enables you to do so for this important topic and helps your students see the importance and courage of the sit-in protestors.

In this 41-slide PowerPoint presentation, the lesson begins with a Starter Activity inviting students to examine pictures of 18th Century England and comment on transportation at the time. They write their observations on post-it notes and stick them on the board, outlining how these features might facilitate highway robbery. The lesson title is provided, along with graduated criteria (all will/most will/some will), followed by background information on Turpin for teacher exposition. The main activity is introduced, during which students sift through a 13-piece hexagonal card sort and categorize reasons for the growth of highway robbery into social, economic, and political factors. A written task is assigned, and students are encouraged to share their thoughts with the group. Before concluding, the lesson revisits its aims, and students participate in a ‘Have I Got News For You’ style lesson plenary, where they fill in the blanks to test their acquired knowledge. This lesson is tailored for Key Stage 4 students in mainstream settings, written in UK English.

This lesson is a 27-slide PowerPoint which begins by asking students to place various methods of execution into chronological order, from ancient beheadings to modern lethal injections. Then, students are invited to read two opposing viewpoints on Derek Bentley’s death, to be revisited later in the plenary. Graduated lesson aims are introduced (all will/most will/some will), along with background information for the teacher’s exposition. In the main task, students divide 18 pieces of evidence from the card sort (there is a color-coded version too if needed) into two columns: things that suggest he deserved to be hanged and things that suggest this was a miscarriage of justice. This leads to a class discussion and a written task, utilizing evidence maps. The lesson concludes with a plenary, featuring links to the death scene from the movie ‘Let Him Have It’ and a song entitled ‘The Ballad of Derek Bentley’, prompting students to vote on which earlier viewpoint they agree with. This is obviously a delicate and sensitive subject, and I hope this fully-resourced lesson helps you achieve this with your high-achieving Key Stage 4 high school students, written in UK English.

In this 39-slide PowerPoint, the lesson begins with a starter activity designed to introduce students to Henry through one of his portraits. The lesson title and graduated lesson aims (all will/most will/some will) are introduced, and there are some slides of background information for teacher exposition. The class then begins the main activity, which is a 26-card hexagonal evidence sort. Students are encouraged to break the cards down into domestic and foreign policy issues and also personal qualities (there is a color-coded version for purposes of differentiation). They then decide for each column if the evidence is positive or negative. This evidence mapping exercise prepares the students for a piece of extended writing to answer the Key Question. There is time for class discussion, and the lesson aims are revisited before students vote on how good a King Henry was in the plenary. This lesson was written for high achieving high school students and is written in UK English.

I have designed this lesson as part of a local History unit on the Philippines but it works just as well as a stand alone lesson if you are teaching war in the Pacific. It is titled ‘What was life like for Filipinos under Japanese occupation?’ The lesson begins with a starter activity about a Primary school teacher, Miss Fernandez. Students are asked to say what they see as squares are revealed. Ultimately it shows her as a guerilla fighter with 200 Japanese scalps to her name. This invites the question why her life took such a change and this in turn introduces us to the graduated learning objectives (all will/most will/some will). The main task is outlined - to create a museum exhibition which answers the key question. There is then very detailed information given on 7 areas of life under Japanese rule. These are the Bataan Death March, the Battle of Manila, Japanese war crimes, resistance movements, rule and government, Kamikaze fighting, and the Leyte landings. After information on each area there are suggestions for possible exhibitions. Students then present these exhibitions before a plenary in which they are encouraged to review over 40 pieces of vocabulary they have been introduced to as well as a homework task in which they write a letter as Miss. Fernandes explaining her actions to future generations. I hope your students get as much from this lesson as mine do. Have a great day, Daniel

In this 56-slide PowerPoint, the lesson begins with a ‘What’s Behind the Squares’ starter activity. This reveals a woodprint of a witch being interrogated and asks students initial questions to get them thinking about the topic and period. The lesson title is then introduced along with graduated criteria (all will/most will/some will), and there are some background information slides for teacher exposition. The main tasks then take place. Students are asked to read three sources and to attempt comprehension questions on them before attempting a Diamond 16 activity, in which they identify social, economic, and political reasons for the rise of witchcraft (and Hopkins) before then prioritizing them in order of what they consider their importance to be. This then leads to a written task. The lesson plenary is a ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’ activity in which students test the knowledge they have acquired by filling in the blanks. This lesson was written with a desirable difficulty level for Key Stage 4 high school students and is written in UK English. I hope your students get as much from it as mine always do, and please message me if you have any questions.

This 36-slide PowerPoint begins with a starter activity that encourages students to consider modern police methods and techniques and then to consider which of these would be available in 1829. The lesson title and graduated aims (all will/most will/some will) are introduced, and there are a few slides of background information for teacher exposition. The class then begins its main activities. These begin with some comprehension questions on three sources outlining issues with early Peelers. They then complete a 16-piece diamond card-sort before using this information to create a job advert for an early Peeler (an example is given). The lesson’s aims are revisited, and the lesson concludes with a fill-in-the-gaps, Whose Line is It Anyway-style plenary to test knowledge gained. This lesson has been designed with the desirable difficulty of Key Stage 4 high school students in mind and is written in UK English.

This 29-slide PowerPoint presentation is a fully-resourced lesson. Students are introduced to the topic in the form of a Starter Activity in which they are asked to chronologically sequence three big screen adaptations of Cleopatra VII. This leads to a conversation about her appearance (one is white, one is black, and one is Middle Eastern) and why this became such a big issue in Egyptian media in particular. The title and graduated lesson aims are then introduced (all will/most will/some will) and there are some slides of background information for teacher exposition. The main task is an 18-piece card sort (a colour coded differentiated version is also provided for those who need it) and students place the cards into two columns, those that suggest she would have looked Greek-Macedonian and those that suggest she would have looked Nubian/African. When they have completed this the class design their own cut out version, labelling their choices. In the plenary they explain their answer to the Key Question by revealing their collages/drawings. This lesson was designed for high achieving Key Stage 3 high school students and is written in UK English. I created it when I taught in Cairo and hope your class get as much enjoyment from it as mine always do.

This 45-slide PowerPoint begins with a Starter Activity in which students are encouraged to close their eyes and mime along to a story in which they play the role of Hasan, a merchant on the Silk Road during its heyday. They are then introduced to the lesson title and the graduated lesson aims (all will/most will/some will). Following this, there are background information slides for teacher exposition before the main task is set. Students are given some ideas of things they might find (exotic animals, fruits, incense, religious ideas, new languages, ivory products, etc.) and are asked to create their own museum about the Silk Road with only 8 objects. For each item, they need to explain its significance. Once students present, the lesson aims are revisited, and there is a lesson plenary in which the class writes an account that answers the Key Question using the knowledge they have acquired. An additional homework task is set (they are asked to photograph items in their household that have been discussed in the lesson). This lesson is pitched at high-achieving Key Stage 3 high school students and is designed to promote independent learning, research, and presentation skills. It is written in UK English.

This 49-slide PowerPoint begins with a Starter Activity in which students are asked to close their eyes while the teacher reads them a story about a crime in Anglo-Saxon England. As they do so, encourage them to perform some of the actions underlined. When they are told to open their eyes, they see a number of visual prompts on the board and are asked to come up with a punishment for the offender. This links to the lesson title, which is introduced alongside graduated lesson aims (all will/most will/some will). There are then some slides of background information describing the main aspects of law and order in this period from tithings to trials by ordeal, and the role of the Witan, the reeve, and other key aspects are discussed. From here, students are asked to create their own ‘museum’ in only 8 objects (examples are given, but they are encouraged to find their own). For each museum piece, they need to explain their choice and how it was used to keep law and order in the period. The lesson aims are revisited, and students present their findings. The lesson plenary invites students to consider the key aspects of the period and to make comparisons with modern equivalents/evolutions (such as hue and cry to telephone). There is an extended written task set as homework at the end if required. This lesson has been pitched at high-achieving high school students and is written in UK English. I hope your students get as much out of it as mine do.

The title of this lesson is “Why did the USSR lose the Afghanistan war?” The lesson begins with an Odd One Out Starter Activity in which students are invited to review four lesser known facts about the Soviet-Afghan War and to identify the incorrect one. After this, the title is introduced as are aims and graduated objectives (all will/most will/some will) and two different perspectives on the Key Question are offered (Yousuf and Gorbachev). These are revisited later. There are then background information slides to allow for teacher exposition to introduce the topic. The main activity then begins. This is a Gallery Walk activity. The class are broken up into groups and each group is given various roles (coordinator, recorder, timekeeper, researchers, presenter, and proofreader – students can carry out more than one role). Students then walk around the room and read each of the 15 pieces of evidence in the Galleries (these need to be printed and stuck up around the room, or corridor if you want to get your class out and moving around school). As they do so they complete the grid provided and are then asked as a group to create a TV news report to answer the Key Question. Following this there is a voting plenary in which the class are asked to vote on their answer to which of the earlier interpretation they mostly agree with. They stand to the side of the room that represents where they fit into the historiographical debate and explain their position to another student. And before you leave be sure to bookmark Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

This lesson is titled “What really happened to the Princes in the Tower?” This lesson begins with a Starter Activity in which the class are invited to discuss four methods of execution which have become part of the mystery surrounding the Princes and are asked to explain which they feel is the grisliest. Most will choose the hot poker (!) and this leads to a discussion about why, if that was how the Princes died, anyone would want to kill them so brutally. There are then slides of background information to allow teacher exposition and the lesson title is introduced along with aims and graduated objectives (all will/most will/some will). The first main activity is a 20 piece card sort whereby students divide information into that which suggests the Princes’ uncle, Richard III, killed them, and evidence which suggests they may have escaped. From this they then complete the second main activity which is to create a 3-5 minute TV news report explaining what they feel happened using the evidence they have handled. The class then present these before the lesson plenary in which they are asked to stand up and walk to the side of the room they agree with in a class vote. I hope your students get as much from this History Mystery as mine do. This lesson was written for high achieving high school students and is written in UK English. Wishing you a terrific day.

In this 1-slide PPT you will find a student learning journey about Imperial Russia. The template is easily editable and provides you with an outline of a scheme of work which can be delivered. I like to ask students to glue these into their exercise books so they know exactly where on their own learning journey they are. This learning journey is broken down into inquiry units and individual lesson titles within these.

This lesson is titled “Why were so many people executed in the period known as the Bloody Code?” This lesson begins with a Deal or No Deal style Starter Activity in which students are invited to guess how many countries currently do/don’t impose the death sentence. This then leads to the Key Question being introduced along with aims and graduated outcomes (all will/most will/some will). There are then slides of background information to allow for teacher exposition. After this, students are invited to read key reasons and to map the most important five of these on to a dart board (the closer to the middle the more important). From this, students write a Letter from the Gallows to explain why people were condemned. An example is provided to inspire. The lesson then concludes with a true or false plenary about capital punishment in the 18th Century. Wishing you a terrific day.

The title of this lesson is “What was the relationship between smugglers and the authorities in the 18th and 19th centuries?” This lesson begins with a Deal or No Deal style Starter Activity where they are asked to write down what number they think is in two boxes (one is for today’s tax levels and one for 18th century). This introduces them to the Key Question and there are clear aims and graduated criteria (all will/most will/some will). From here there are slides of background information to allow for teacher exposition. Students are then placed in a pair and asked to cut out and break down 12 cards – half of these show ways smugglers tried to evade the authorities and the other half show ways the authorities tried to crack down on smugglers. There is a colour-coordinated version also for those who need a little more help. From this they work together as a pair to create a role play to demonstrate the cat and mouse interaction between criminals and the state (an example is provided). The lesson concludes with a plenary in which students are invited to come to the board and to place a post it note with an answer to the Key Question under the appropriate rubbish bin. Wishing you a terrific day.