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 aim of this lesson is to assess the validity of four claimants to the English throne in 1066 before the Battles of Hastings.
It also includes a script for those students who prefer a more kinaesthetic approach to this topic.
Each contender is introduced and students have to assess who has the best claim to the English throne, which on the face of it is a difficult choice, which each having a strong argument and motive.
This can also be completed by colour coding thermometers and rating them out of ten before making a substantiated conclusion.
There are differentiated questions to ask the students once this task has been completed.
The plenary asks them to think outside the box and link pictures to the issues and contentions raised.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The aim of this lesson is for students to analyse and evaluate the winning tactics used in by William the Conqueror in the Battle of Hastings.
Students begin by analysing the Bayeux Tapestry, the battle itself and information on the leadership qualities of the two combatants.
They then complete a differentiated task using a storyboard to map out the events of the battle before completing a summarising pyramid on William the Conqueror’s skills.
There is also a chance to recreate the Battle of Hastings with suggestions of role play before the plenary requires some recall and retention skills.
An optional homework suggestion is also provided.
The resource is therefore differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The English Civil War
The aims of this lesson are to analyse the Battle of Marston Moor and evaluate how the New Model Army under Oliver Cromwell won the battle, as well as to question if Parliament had decided to kill King Charles I from the start.
Therefore this lesson comes in two parts.
This first lesson focuses on how the two sides fought in the Civil War.
Students learn about the musketeers and pikemen, before analysing their role in the Battle of Marston Moor.
The students take on the job of Oliver Cromwell and make key decisions to win the battle, gaining points as they go along.
However they must be careful not to make mistakes and lose the battle with catastrophic consequences for Parliament and the New Model Army.
The second part of the lesson looks at an alternative view of the Civil War. Was the decision taken to kill the King early on, or did Parliament arrive painstakingly at this decision over time.
Students plot this on a graph before reaching and justifying their own conclusions, using some argument words for help if required.
A lightbulb is posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes retrieval practice, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
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.
Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91
The aim of this lesson is to assess the importance of Gorbachev’s new thinking and reforms of Glasnost and Perestroika) and evaluate the consequences of his new policies with the collapse of Soviet control in Eastern Europe
Therefore this lesson is divided into two parts and can be delivered over two lessons.
The first part of the lesson analyses Gorbachev’s problems when he became the leader of the Soviet Union.
Students will analyse sources and decide on the biggest problems he faced before prioritising these in an evaluation task.
The second part of the lesson requires the students to undertake a quiz, picking up points on the way with the correct decisions made on Gorbachev’s reforms, as Eastern European satellite states began to increase their freedoms and break away from the Soviet Union.
Students can write an extended answer from what they have learnt with literacy help given.
A GCSE practice question on the importance of Gorbachev’s policies can be completed after a colour coding plenary task to summarise Gorbachev’s Premiership.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout this and subsequent lessons to show the progress of learning.
The lessons in this bundle are therefore linked together to build up a picture of how diplomacy, propaganda and spying led two Superpowers with opposing political ideologies to create tensions, rivalries and distrust as well as subsequently forming mutual understanding and cooperation over the time period in question.
The resource includes retrieval practice, suggested teaching strategies, differentiated material and GCSE question practice.
It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the reasons behind the systematic persecution of minority groups and undesirables in German society.
Whilst the Nazis aimed to create a unified and homogeneous national community by promoting a sense of collective identity among “racially pure” Germans, students will find that this idea was based on the exclusion of those deemed “racially inferior” or politically undesirable.
Students are introduced to the Nazi policy of eugenics and the significance of this theory when applied to this persecution.
Students learn about the policies towards different minorities including Roma and Sinti peoples, disabled, homosexuals, religious groups and the Euthanasia programme set up in Berlin.
There are tasks to complete throughout including prioritisation exercises, key questions and source analysis.
The lesson is quite literacy heavy and may have to be delivered over two lessons.
There is some exam practice to be completed at the end, with a focused markscheme provided if required.
An enquiry question posed at the beginning of the lesson will be revisited throughout to track the progress of learning during the lesson and the subsequent unit of work.
The lesson is available in PowerPoint format and can be customised to suit if required.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
The Suffragettes
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the Cat and Mouse Act of 1913 and the actions of the Liberal Government against the Suffragettes in their quest for the vote
But as the students will have to work out, this act was used for propaganda purposes by both sides to put each other in an unfavourable light. It was after all the Suffragettes who coined the phrase the Cat and Mouse Act and made sure everyone knew the callous actions of the Liberal Government!
As well as completing a prioritising exercise and a literacy challenge, an excellent video allows students to question how it worked and why the Government used it (petrified they might have Suffragette ‘martyrs’ dying in prison).
At the same time, they had no doubts about criminalising the Suffragettes with mug shots from prison as the Suffragettes refused to accept their actions as ‘criminal’ and instead ‘political’ (thus refusing to have their photographs taken as shown on the opening slide).
Students have to analyse the various propaganda sources from each side and decide the messages, who they were targeted against and how effective they were in their aims.
These opinions have to then be tweeted according to various people in society and how they might have be influenced by seeing them.
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 French Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the events of the Storming of the Bastille and the subsequent significance of the Flight to Varennes
Students learn through key questioning and some text analysis how and why the Bastille was attacked. There are some brilliant video links to accompany this.
They will then be required, using a storyboard, to decipher what happened next and explain how these events led to a new France.
They will also learn how Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempted to escape to the border and using a cauldron of significance, evaluate which key ingredients ultimately led to their recapture and eventual execution.
The Octagon plenary allows the students to summarise what they have learnt in the lesson, from sights and sounds to numbers and actions for example.
The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, differentiated materials, suggested teaching and learning strategies 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.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to assess how successful Elizabeth’s policy of plantation in Ireland really was.
Students begin by plotting areas on a map of Ireland and are required to explain previous Tudor policy in Ireland with some prompts when needed.
After being given the context to Ireland in 1558, they then analyse Elizabeth’s policy in Ireland and rate how effective each was, bearing in mind rebellions such as Shane and Hugh O’Neill.
There is some exam extract analysis practice to complete if required, complete with markscheme.
The plenary focuses on some interactive flashcards which recall the learning in the lesson.
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.
Edexcel 9-1 Medicine in Britain, Thematic study and historic environment
This lesson aims to set the scene for the beginning of trench warfare and the problems for medical treatment on the battlefields of World War 1.
Students will analyse the setting up of the trenches, how and why they were dug, which equipment they needed and how they used the trenches to defend and attack the enemy.
They also assess the lie of the land and how this impacted on medicine and the wounded and the problems created.
Activities include retrieval practice, evaluation of the terrain, use of video evidence as well as GCSE question practice, with help given if required.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
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 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.
AQA GCSE Conflict and Tension 1918-1939
The aim of this lesson is to make sure students are able to remember the finer points of the Treaty of Versailles, 1919.
By the end of the lesson they should be able to give an accurate, detailed knowledge and understanding of which parts of the Treaty of Versailles the Germans hated the most and why
Using a podcast, video evidence and different revision techniques in the classroom such as using a chatterbox, students using this lesson will have the tools required to answer a GCSE practice question making substantiated judgements.
Furthermore they are given a student friendly markscheme which they can use to peer assess their work.
This lesson has a variety of learning strategies to enable a fun, engaging and challenging lesson.
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, some 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 evaluate why the Titanic sank and ultimately who was to blame for the disaster.
The lesson therefore focuses on the errors made, not just by the Captain, but on the owners and the design of the ship, as well as some sensationalist reports of it being unsinkable in the media.
Students begin by showing their knowledge of the sinking as well as explaining why there is still such a fascination about studying this topic, from exhibitions to books and films.
They are given the context to its maiden voyage as well as some misconceptions about the ship which the students have to decipher.
There are some sources to analyse and infer from, before students are given a number of facts of where the responsibility may lie for the sinking. They will use this information to make a judgement and decide in their opinion who was to blame.
There are some excellent video links to use, including a survivor’s testimony.
A final find and fix plenary will also centre around other misconceptions about the Titanic which they have to pick out and correct.
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, such as a rating grid of responsibility for the disaster.
Edexcel GCSE, Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91
This 22 page Revision Guide is tailored to the above Edexcel specification for GCSE 9-1.
It is broken down into 4 main sections: Origins of the Cold War, Increasing tensions, Détente and the end of the Cold War.
I have been inspired to write this Revision Guide on account of the students I teach struggling with the course content of this unit and applying the skills in how to answer the GCSE questions.
This Revision Guide therefore includes 21 GCSE practice exam questions and gives examples on how to answer each, using model answers.
This guide will enable all learners to achieve the higher grades with clear guidance on how to achieve them.
The questions target consequence, significance and analytical narrative with a focus on analysing events and finding connections that explain the way in which the events unfolded.
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. For home learning, each student taking GCSE History has a copy assigned to them on a google drive and it is used frequently when using google classroom assignments such as revision for assessments.
This Revision Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and can be edited and changed to suit in Microsoft Word and PDF format.
Any reviews on this resource would be much appreciated. Please email me for a free copy of any of my resources worth up to £3.50 if you do.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The Collapse of Democracy 1928-1933
I have produced this bundle of resources on the collapse of democracy in Germany 1928-1933 to help A Level students gain a deeper understanding of Germany’s past and the collapse of democracy.
The enquiry question throughout these lessons will be to evaluate how unstable Germany was, politically, socially and economically.
Students will learn how the impact of the Wall Street Crash and the Depression a profound effect on the stability of the Weimar Republic and the significance of the rise of extremism as a direct consequence.
They will also learn about the appeal of Communism as well as Nazism in Germany and how electoral support for them changed throughout the early 1930s.
Students will evaluate backstairs intrigue as a succession of Chancellors failed to gain the support needed to effectively rule the country and how Hitler manipulated those around him to be appointed Chancellor in 1933.
Finally students will analyse Hitler’s first Cabinet, the significance of the Reichstag Fire and how democracy ceased to exit as Nazis began to create a one party totalitarian state.
The resources provided include detailed lesson suggestions, case studies, source documents for analysis, chronological tasks and exam practice questions.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 The Wall Street Crash and Great Depression
L2 The Collapse of the Grand Coalition
L3 The appeal of Nazis
L4 The appeal of Communism
L5 Papen’s Cabinet of Barons
L6 General Schleicher and backstairs intrigue
L7 Hitler’s first cabinet (free resource)
L8 The use of terror in 1933
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.
Democracy and Nazi Germany Part 3 resources can be found here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/democracy-and-nazi-germany-a-level-bundl-part-3-13059603
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.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
I have produced this bundle of resources on Edward VI and Mary I to help A level history students access the course and make some of the ideas, themes and concepts of the Tudors more comprehensible.
Edward VI: Most of the historiography of Edward places him at the periphery of the reign. However this bundle of lessons challenges this view and sets out to reappraise his monarchy.
Therefore the enquiry question throughout this bundle of resources will be to question how fit was Edward to rule during his reign.
Students will learn how cold and callous Edward could be from his chronicle and how much of a leading role and contribution he played in the English Reformation.
They will judge the significance of the Dukes of Somerset and Northumberland and how they tackled the problems of finance, the economy, law and order, religion and foreign policy.
Students will also compare the two Dukes and decide whose rule could be judged a success and why ultimately they both fell from grace.
Finally they will about the key reformers and the new Evangelicals during the reign of Edward VI such as Archbishop Cranmer, Bishop John Fisher and John Hooper and the impact they had on the Edwardian Reformation.
Mary I: Mary’s reign has traditionally been given a negative historiography. This bundle of lessons will challenge this interpretation and whilst justifying it in some cases, also argue that Mary was in many instances courageous, decisive, successful and determined.
Therefore the enquiry question throughout this bundle of resources will be to question if a woman was fit to rule England.
Students will learn the background to which Mary ascended the throne, assess her priorities as Queen and challenge the traditional view of Mary from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.
They will evaluate the significance of her Government and the role of Parliament as well as her marriage to Philip II of Spain and the consequences this brought as she was sucked into the Habsburg-Valois conflict, with the loss of Calais.
Furthermore they will compare and contrast the Counter Reformation with the religious changes introduced by Edward and the wider implications of Mary’s reforms with Marian martyrs.
Finally, students will judge the similarities of the economic situation she inherited from her half brother and the differences she made in laying many of the foundations for the success of subsequent monarchs.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Introduction to Edward
L2 The rise of Somerset (free resource)
L3 Rule of Somerset
L4 Rise of Northumberland
L5 Rule of Northumberland
L6 The Edwardian Reformation
L7 Introduction to Mary I
L8 Aims of Mary I
L9 Mary I and her government
L10 Mary I marriage and Wyatt’s Rebellion
L11 The Counter Reformation
L12 Marian Martyrs
L13 Mary’s Foreign Policy
L14 Mary I and the economy
The lessons include the two types of exam question used, with examples of how to tackle them, using 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.
This is the third bundle of resources I have created for this unit and hope to complete the rest of the course very soon.
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.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to assess the threat the nobility posed to Henry VII during his reign.
Students begin the lesson by summarising the importance and duties of the nobility and naming some important nobles throughout the country.
They then have to assess the threat level posed by the nobles and decide how successful Henry was in reducing their power by plotting this on a grid.
Students are introduced to the ways Henry VII reduced the power of the nobles through bonds and recognisances, wardships, feual dues, the Great Council as well as through partonage.
Their final task is to take on the role of Henry VII and decide how he dealt with eight nobles during his reign who challenged his power.
Decisions will range from execution, pardon, fines, confiscation of land, Acts of Attainder or other choices given. Students will then be given the judgements Henry VII took, from which they will evaluate the successes he had in reducing the power of these over-mighty subjects.
The plenary asks students to link a number of statistics to the nobles learned throughout the lesson.
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.
The aim of this lesson is to question whether the breaking of the Enigma Code led to Britain winning the Second World War.
Having watched the ‘Imitation Game’, I was fascinated to learn more about the story of Alan Turing and the injustice he received at the hands of the British Government.
I was therefore inspired to write this lesson for my department especially after his contribution to the war effort and his brilliance of mind.
The first task naturally is for students to crack the code and find out what they will be learning about in the lesson.
They will also learn about the significance of Bletchley Park and how the code for the Enigma Machine was deciphered by Turing and his team in Hut 8, using a missing word activity.
A thinking quilt will also test and challenge their understanding of his early life, his work during the war as well as his legacy.
There are some excellent video links using the BBC website and an exert from the film above.
The plenary will finally test their understanding of the lesson, using a true and false quiz as well as images to link to the key ideas of 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.
Historic Environment Question for 2024
This nine page Revision Guide is aimed at students to help study, organise, revise and be prepared for the AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England 1568-1603 Historic Environment question for 2024.
I have included 6 possible questions for GCSE exam practice on the themes I believe stand out in the literature provided. Within the guide itself, I have broken down the main details of the Americas and Drake’s circumnavigation into manageable chunks.
This guide focuses on the main concepts prescribed by AQA. For example it examines the location of the New World and its growing importance for Drake and his fellow navigators, the function and structure of seafaring as new navigational techniques and ship design allowed more exploration.
It will also analyse the people connected to Drake’s circumnavigation including Sir John Hawkins and Diego as well as giving information on Drake and the different interpretations of him at the time.
Furthermore the culture, values and fashions connected with Drake’s circumnavigation are examined as untold riches such as feathers, pearls, jewels and gold became essential accessories for the fashionistas of Elizabethan England.
Finally important events are linked to Drake’s voyages from his initial slave excursions to his revenge attacks on Spanish shipping and his circumnavigation, as well focusing on the detailed maps and illustrations in his diaries and journals of new lands he discovered.
All the information and more included is advised by AQA through their Paper 2: Shaping the nation resource pack guidance.
I have also gained a brilliant insight into the Americas and Drake’s circumnavigation from renowned historians such as Ben Johnson, Miranda Kaufman and the superb Professor Jowett, as well as numerous other sources, including the fabulous BBC History Today magazine and podcasts.
The resource comes in PDF and Word formats if you wish to adapt and change.
Any reviews on this resource which would be much appreciated.
