In this lesson students begin with a ‘what-would-you-do?’ style starter activity in which they score point according to their reactions to losing their freedoms. This stimulates discussion over how enslaved people might react and leads into the main activity which is a card sort. Students divide up the very precise 13 cards into examples of passive and active resistance and try to explain how they prioritised them. So for example was Nat Turner’s revolt much more high risk than say kicking a cow? Students then go on to use this card sort as an effective scaffold for a piece of extended written work before finishing the lesson off with a plenary about cultural appropriation (in particular whether it is right for a slave-trading nation like Britain to use a slave spiritual ‘Amazing Grace’ in its sporting fixtures).
My students always find this a really powerful life lesson and one which hones their historical skills fantastically well. I hope you find it useful with your students too.
Background notes * 16 character cards * 48 piece evidence sort (small and large version)
This 32-page pack contains background knowledge as well as 16 different character cards to issue to your students, ranging from Captain Smith, ship’s architect Thomas Andrews, down to lesser known characters such as 2nd Officer Charles Lightoller (who failed to fill the lifeboats). Once in character students then work through 48 detailed evidence cards to help them answer the question who was to blame for the large number of deaths (more than 1,500). This is one of my favourite activities and students always find it both fun and interesting and it helps hone historical skills such as evidence handling, refining questions, and formulating arguments. I hope you get as much out of this activity as my students always do.
This is a powerful lesson in causation. Students read through the detailed background information before arranging 17 extremely detailed and precise information cards into factors (economic, cultural, and people). This activity helps students scaffold a response to the key question which can then be used as the basis for a piece of assessed or extended written work. I hope your students find this as useful as I know mine have!
In this lesson students read through background information before reading through the extremely detailed evidence cards which they break up into the following factors : the role of abolitionists, economic reasons, and the role of enslaved people. From this scaffold students can then create a piece of extended written work and this lesson works really well as assessment preparation also. Please watch the short video to see just how well this set of resources works in action and in the classroom and I hope your students get just as much out of it as mine.
In this lesson students read up on background knowledge before assembling a 30 piece hexagonal card sort into a factor-led response. Evidence is very precise and being a hexagonal rather than square card sort students are encouraged to make effective links between the evidence used whilst also being encouraged to prioritise the evidence they find the most compelling. Once the class have formulated their card sort this sets them up extremely well for either a debate or a written piece of work. My students love this lesson and I really hope yours do too!
In this lesson students read detailed background knowledge before attempting to handle 9 very carefully selected source on the Suffragette movement. There are a range of written questions which students are asked to respond to. This is a powerful lesson which always generates a healthy level of debate in my classes.
In this lesson students read through precise and carefully selected knowledge in the background notes before attempting a colour-coordinated hexagonal card sort. This helps them break reasons for the Key Question down into factors and also offers them the opportunity to make and explain links between the evidence they choose. My students really enjoy this lesson and I hope yours get just as much out of it as mine do.
My students love this project! In this 14 page pack you will find background information on the Industrial Revolution as well as information cards on 20 different inventions ranging from John Kay’s Flying Shuttle through to James Watt’s Steam Engine. Students need to research their invention and make a case for its historical significance using specific criteria (durability, importance at the time, number effected etc). The class then present to the Dragon’s (for me its usually SLT). This mini-project really brings the past to life and is one of the highlights of my teaching career. I hope you enjoy it as much as my students do.
In this lesson students work through background information before completing a card sort to show positives and the many negatives of slave life from getting off slave ships through to working on plantations. Students need to place the events in a chronology in order to recount a story of the conditions and place them on an emotional rollercoaster graph to show which conditions they felt were the most horrific and why. This is a powerful lesson which should be taught with great sensitivity and a flavour of which can be experienced in the video file attached.
In this lesson students read very detailed information in the background notes before creating a factor-led mind map. Please watch the accompanying short video to see some of my students in action in this lesson. Its a great way for them to acquire super strong subject knowledge and to visually map out Deng’s domestic rule.
I love using these and always have a pack in my pocket or on my desk. Thirty cards with extension activities specifically for History students means you will always have a highly differentiated set of extension tasks on you. Brilliant for any lesson, especially observations!
In this lesson students read through detailed background knowledge before completing a card sort activity to explain both the terrible aspects of the conflict as well as some of the more positive elements. This is a great lesson because the level of depth and detail acquired is top notch and because it offers students the opportunity to review two sides of an argument. It leads in really nicely to a piece of written or assessed work and I hope your students get as much from it as mine always do. The lesson includes two copies of a 25-piece evidence sort, one of which is colour-coded for students who require additional support.
Students read through the background notes before using this knowledge to help them create a physical timeline in the form of a road map. Click the link to watch just how powerful a teaching strategy this can be for raising chronological awareness as well as boosting subject knowledge significantly. I hope your students enjoy the lesson as much as mine do!
This is one of my most detailed lessons and one which students love. After a quick starter activity about the significance of the poppy in British-Chinese relations the class read detailed background notes before being issued one of 23 character cards. These range from tea-magnate Thomas Twining to Confucius! In role the students then extract evidence which their character might use to explain how China became to be ruled by foreigners after the Opium Wars. I always follow this up with either a piece of extended writing or even better a debate. Please watch the short video clip attached to see this lesson in action. The lesson includes a separate plenary Power Point also. I hope your students will gain as much from this lesson as I know mine always do. Enjoy!
My students love finding these in their books! Not only are they prettier than my messy handwriting but they make marking much faster and more precise. Each of the twenty seven statements is based specifically upon common skills and targets from the curriculum and they can be personalised further if needed. Simply print off on sticky label paper et voila. They look impressive and work superbly well for the busy teacher who wants to fine tune their AFL.
I’ve always found Maoism fascinating and I created this lesson when I worked at an international school in China. As such the level of detail in the notes is of really high quality and its a lesson which my students always found really enjoyable. The class work through the notes and use it to create a newspaper from the perspective of either the Communists or the Nationalists. The ‘Red Globe’ proforma included in the lesson pack allows for students to refine their arguments and carefully select only the most relevant evidence in order to formulate an answer to the key question. I really hope your students get as much from this lesson as mine do.
I created this lesson when I taught in the Middle East and so I’m very proud of the level of detail in it. Students work their way through the background information before attempting a 30 piece hexagonal card sort. The cards are colour coded and the students need to explain what they have in common as well as to make links between factors. This activity was one of my best lessons of the year and always leads to thoughtful and precise historical argument. I really hope you enjoy teaching this as much as I do!
This is one of my go-to lessons when I want to impress. Students are given information packs on the lead candidates and create their own short election speech. I always encourage students to make posters, rosettes, and bring in jackets and ties where possible before finishing with a class vote. I hope you enjoy this lesson as much as I always do.
As a child growing up during the Gulf Wars and someone who has worked in the Middle East I am extremely proud of this lesson. Download this and you will find an extremely detailed set of notes along with a starter and plenary activity to bring this topic to life.