This is a sensitive yet challenging collection of activities that can be used by all ages and abilities to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. They require focus on the students thinking about two key areas: 1. Why should we remember the Holocaust? 2. Thinking about the people who were killed in the Holocaust. The students have a range of practical activities available, all of which can be used in some form of display if needed.

This lesson is all about imagination and creative writing. The students are to look at traditional Christmas songs, events and customs and invert or twist them to present an alternative. This produces great discussions and some really interesting pieces of creative writing. Alternatives include the Twelve Days of Christmas; Dickens A Christmas Carol; or just the life of a Christmas Tree. The lesson encourages the students to be critical of the work and world before them and come up with an alternative. They then have to present that alternative in one of three ways. At the end of the lesson is an opportunity for the students to think about their own Christmas traditions and write about what is important for themselves at Christmas

This is a thought provoking and interactive lesson that really gets the students thinking about just what disability is and why we sometimes hold the attitudes we do. There are two fun starters and plenty of opportunities for the students to express their opinion and discuss the issues of disability. Also included is a GCSE style 5 mark question. The main aims are To understand what disability means. To investigate attitudes to disability and difference To explain Christian and Buddhist attitudes to disability in contemporary British Society

This is an excellent resource that investigates the difficult topic of modern slavery. It fits perfectly with the GCSE RE specification with Human Rights and Social Justice. The lesson covers topical issues and ask questions that really focus the students on the moral consequences of slavery. There is a brief historical aspect to put slavery into context before exploring modern slavery and the trafficking of people.

The truce within parts of the Western Front trenches is one of the defining moments of the First World War for many people. These activities seek to look at the emotion and the feelings that the men in the trenches would have been feeling as they spent their first Christmas in the Trenches. The activities take back the events from a novelty advert to the real emotion of the men in the trenches. The exercises encourage the students to empathise with the soldiers and to consider their actions in terms of what they had previously been told about the Germans. There is a link with English as the students then look at writing a poem about the events, taking influence from some of the great war poets.

This pack contains four useful activities based around remembrance week as well as the broader topic of remembering and thinking about those that have gone and died in conflicts around the world. The tasks are particularly suited to history but there are aspects that could be used in RS as well or used as a whole school activity. All are aimed at trying to get the students to really think about past conflicts and the loss that occurred. The activities encourage creativity and empathy and will be an excellent addition to any work planned. The work can be developed for wall displays and there are opportunities to expand the work to fit around other topics on the curriculum as well as extension tasks for homework.

Understanding what is being asked of you is an important skill. The average person is not expected to crack complex codes but we are meant to understand instructions and work independently in order to complete a task. Most things have a coded element, or at least an understanding of a pattern, whether its language or maths, geography or music. Code breaking forces us to see patterns and fully understand something. Too often people make mistakes or get work wrong because they do not fully understand something; they rush into a task. It is often useful to try and work with others on similar task to see if everyone’s task might be completed more efficiently. Activity Aims: 1. To develop individual and group problem solving skills 2. To encourage the students to see patterns in their work 3. To encourage the students to think differently. 4. To develop interpersonal skills

To behave deviantly is to behave differently from the norm. It is not just about breaking the rules or behaving criminally. This task is about deviance in terms of norms and expectations; Behaving and thinking differently. The students have been conditioned to behave in a certain way for most of their school life. Students are often encouraged to conform and behave passively but within higher education and business this often hinders success. Ofsted claim that an outstanding lesson should be one in which students ‘learn intuitively, encouraging each other to explore, inquire, seek clarity, take risks and think critically and imaginatively’. Having an element of deviance in your students encourages all of these skills. Activity Aims: 1. To get the students to think differently and see the merit of deviant behaviour when solving problems 2. For the students to challenge their own preconceived ideas and processes

Values are never static; they are changing all the time and are different from person to person. The values, freedoms, laws and customs that shape us today are not universal and yet they influence our views of other people, both today and in the past. The students would have a better understanding of a period if they understood the values of the people at that time. Alternatively they may be able to think of criticisms with the behaviour of people in the past if they apply today’s values. This Lesson aims to get the students to think about our values today as well as those in their period of study. The students should then be able to place the actions of the past in context. This is especially important when the students are expected to evaluate the period of study.

Sometimes students need a simpler way to explain a difficult event in history. Diagrams are good but so is the logical approach of mathematics. Students are used to being told to show their working out when doing maths but do not always transfer the same principle to other subjects, such as history. It could be argued that showing the working out in history is more important as there is rarely one correct answer. Therefore this lesson aims to get the students to show their working out and appreciate the benefits and process. Examiners want the student not only to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding but also demonstrate the difficult skills of analysis and evaluation. Showing their working, or expressing their process will enable students to achieve these skills.

This resource encourages the students to look at what they know well and what they need a little more guidance on. There are then five different types of essay plans that can be used either through the course or as part of the revision process. The essay plans are set out differently and can be easily adapted to different topics.