These detailed course / revision notes were specially written to give AQA GCSE History students a comprehensive overview of the key knowledge from the specification for Unit (AD) America, 1920–1973: ‘Opportunity and inequality’: 1) American people and the 'Boom’ 2) Bust – Americans’ experiences of the Depression and New Deal 3) Post-war America These extensive notes are especially useful for students whose note-taking in lesson isn’t as good as others, or whose organisational skills mean they are missing notes/handouts on certain topics / areas. These notes will certainly help reduce the time it takes them to catch up with their peers, and also students like to use these as a checklist of topics to go into in further detail. They give peace of mind that every corner of the specification/syllabus has been covered. Hopefully these notes help to save your students (and you!) some time in the hectic run up to exams. Thanks for taking a look :)

These detailed course / revision notes were specially written to give AQA GCSE History students a comprehensive overview of the key knowledge from the specification for Unit (AA) America, 1840–1895: ‘Expansion and consolidation’: 1) Expansion: opportunities and challenges 2) Conflict across America 3) Consolidation: forging the nation These extensive notes are especially useful for students whose note-taking in lesson isn’t as good as others, or whose organisational skills mean they are missing notes/handouts on certain topics / areas. These notes will certainly help reduce the time it takes them to catch up with their peers, and also students like to use these as a checklist of topics to go into in further detail. They give peace of mind that every corner of the specification/syllabus has been covered. Hopefully these notes help to save your students (and you!) some time in the hectic run up to exams. Thanks for taking a look :)

The lesson starts with an embedded TEDed video recounting the 12 Labours of Hercules so the students are reminded of why he was so famous in the ancient world. This is followed by discussion on why Hercules ‘ended up’ as part of Roman religion (Hercules’ journey through Italy and Aeneas’ subsequent discovery of the cult after escaping from Troy is given as the backdrop for this). Students are then introduced to the reasons why the Temple of Hercules Victor is located where it is in Rome, and passages from Virgil and Livy are included (as hidden slides for printing to be handed out) where students are encouraged to pick out various aspects of the Cult of Hercules and describe its key features for themselves. The lesson ends by looking at how the Cult of Hercules established itself over time in Ancient Rome and students discuss what Rome’s obsession with Hercules says about themselves and their own identity. This lesson was designed for my students who are studying the OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation Myth and Religion Unit. All the knowledge pupils need for their exam is contained within the lesson, which itself is fully dual-coded which we have found really helps to reduce cognitive load, allowing students to focus on what they need to, aiding knowledge retention. There is also a coloured overlay on each slide to help students with Dyslexia / Irlen’s (which can easily be deleted if you don’t need it). Thanks for taking a look :)

This lesson was designed for my students who are studying OCR’s GCSE Classical Civilisation Myth and Religion Unit. It’s fully dual coded, which my students are big fans of as we’ve found it reduces cognitive load and aids knowledge retention - it eliminates excess ‘noise’ on the screen / board so that pupils know what they need to focus on. The lesson starts by going into the background of why Hercules is called Hercules and not Heracles by the Romans, followed by the reason why Hercules was important to the Romans, how he found himself in Italy during his 12 Labours etc. A handout is then provided with passages from Virgil’s Aeneid on it from which pupils create an 8 part story board to cement their knowledge of the chronology of the story. The handout and storyboard template are both included as hidden slides for easy printing. A series of questions designed to stretch students’ thinking are then posed - these can be answered verbally as a class, or can be answered individually by students and peer-assessed. Finally, pupils are encouraged to link the Hercules and Cacus legend with the Romans’ own identity and how they viewed themselves. There is a coloured overlay on each slide for pupils struggling with Dyslexia/ Irlen’s - but this can easily be deleted if it isn’t needed. Thanks for taking a look :)

This lesson takes learners through the details of the Feminist Movement that emerged in the USA during the 1960s and 1970s. It's been designed in accordance with the new AQA spec for 2017 USA unit. Ideally, this would span two lessons and two comprehension starters (on two of the slides - to be printed off) are included. A challenge question on these starters ensures that higher ability learners get sufficient challenge at the start of both lessons. The first lesson would deliver information, outlining the emergence of the Feminist Movement and then the more radical Women's Liberation Movement. It outlines the groups and laws and leads students to question the impact of these on the lives of ordinary women in the USA at the time (+ in relation to their success/failure). Plenty of exam questions are included (including an 'explain' 8 marker and '4,4,8 marker' interpretation questions)

I created this lesson out of a feeling that often, in teaching Romulus and Remus, there is a distinct lack of proper history skills involved. This lesson is my attempt to create a lesson which imparts knowledge of the (genuinely intriguing) story of the twin founders of Rome, but also hints at the historical inaccuracies, the story’s mythical nature and cultural significance to the Romans themselves. This lesson is aimed at students 13-16 (although more able students who are younger can access it) in order to introduce them to: The story of Romulus and Remus (which they would need to know for their OCR Class Civ or Ancient History GCSE (9-1) Ancient Historians (specifically Livy who is mentioned throughout and a required for GCSE Ancient History - yet often difficult to access). Modern Historians (specifically Mary Beard) through her retelling of the story in SPQR which is quoted and attributed appropriately throughout (and sometimes adapted slightly for easier understanding). The Lesson starts with a series of images to see if students can guess what the lesson might be about. Some students might have more knowledge of the ancient world than others but whatever answers they come up with can become talking points. Attention moves to the geography/setting of the story and the story itself is then split up into 3 parts; beginning, middle and end. Each part includes an appropriate work sheet which are contained as slides within the .ppt file (in the right places within the presentation) which can be printed, photocopied and worked through. This can be done together as a class or individually. There is a challenge task (focusing on provenance/other versions) on each worksheet for the more able students. Worksheets involve summarising Mary Beard’s account of the Romulus and Remus story in images and words. There is a strong literacy focus throughout with students encouraged primarily to highlight words they don’t understand and annotate their sheet with definitions. There is also additional guidance in the ‘notes’ section of each slide to help you as you teach. The lesson finishes with students attempting to answer the question that is the lesson title using a quote from Romulus (via Livy) to help them to show how much progress they’ve made. Students are then given the same set of images they were given at the start of the lesson and invited to explain each one to show how much they have learnt.

This resource is designed to be printed off and arranged in a timeline fashion on the class room wall. It is designed to be useful as a teaching aid from a distance and promote an understanding of the chronology of the AQA Unit: USA 1920-73: Inequality and Opportunity. It is also designed to be useful close up as a revision aid with some skeleton information included on each part. The idea is that students will find it easier to recall events from having interacted with this display each lesson. There are over 30 colour sections to this timeline so there is plenty to display.

The lesson starts by asking students what the lesson might be about based on a set of abstract images. It assumes some prior knowledge about the basics of Theseus’s life e.g. How he was born and who he was. Included in the powerpoint which can be printed A3 or A4 is a worksheet which students can fill in with information about each of Theseus’ labours as you go through them on the board. Students are introduced to the kylix depicting the labours of Theseus housed in the British Museum. As a prescribed source for the GCSE, it is crucial that students know which labour is depicted where on the kylix itself. This powerpoint provides rotated and enlarged versions of each depiction at the appropriate points in the lesson. This ensures that students are constantly thinking not only about Theseus’ labours, but also how they are depicted on the kylix at all times. All the information students need to know about each of Theseus’ labours for the new Classical Civilisation OCR 9-1 GCSE is included. Having already studied Heracles earlier on in the course. There are questions to prompt comparisons with Theseus’ contemporary hero – in particular in the labours that they undertake and the way in which they go about doing them. This comparative thinking will help with the exam question at the end of the lesson. There is a link to a short animation (appropriate for all ages) included to his final labour: the defeat of the Minotaur which students can use to enhance their understanding of this story. The kylix is then referred back to as students are asked to contemplate how appropriate each depiction on the kylix is based on what they know about their labour, followed by a ranking and justification task. Finally, an 8 mark comparison question is included. It is designed to take them 8 minutes as per the timings on the paper at GSCE, and as a support there are sentence starters and helpful tips available to those that might need it. An extension task is also included which encourages the comparison with Heracles.

This lesson contains numerous handouts with a literacy focus but also seeking at analysing whenever possible, the accuracy and reliability of the primary sources we have available to us, when discussing Cleopatra’s personality traits; namely her courage, humour and how she was perceived by her own subjects. The .ppt file contacins all handouts as slides ready to print and clear instructions as to what to do with each handout. Plutarch’s Life of Antony and Horace’s Odes are used to give us an insight into what she was like and the characteristics she needed to exhibit in order to be a successful queen of Egypt. Both of these primary sources are prescribed sources for the new 9-1 OCR Ancient History GCSE. There is also plenty of discussion included surrounding the accuracy and reliability of both sources and students are challenged at every turn to consider this and back their explanation up with evidence from the text. The lesson ends with a discussion on how she was perceived by her own subjects and students use the information they have gathered over the course of roughly 2 hours worth of work to create a letter from Cleopatra’s point of view to Antony, discussing proposals to raise taxes on grain. Through outlining her worries and advice she needs from Antony, students can demonstrate the nuances of how she was viewed by different parts of Egypt and the effect of her actions on the wider world i.e. Rome.

This lesson seeks to explain, despite the existence of the Romulus and Remus Foundation Myth, that Aeneas remains an important figure for Romans in terms of the founding of their city. (It does also at the end explain how Romans got from Aeneas to Romulus story-wise!) There are 3 short storyboard tasks, already filled with text (included as slides ready to print within the PowerPoint) which students need only draw quick images for. These are presented at 3 different points in the lesson in order to quickly get across the main parts of Aeneas’ story after his escape from Troy. I have really only tried to include events which directly pertain to or foreshadow the founding of Rome - it was impossible to include everything! In between these, scholarship is used in an accessible way (including one comprehension with a glossary for difficult to understand terms) to draw out the importance of Aeneas to the Romans, but also what his actions tell us about how the Romans saw themselves and their new emperor Augustus (Virgil was writing at the time of the new Imperial Age). This lesson is designed to be engaging and academic in its approach, with appropriate support and challenge throughout to support all learners, but also to ‘teach to the top’ wherever possible.

This lesson is designed with with AQA 9-1 GCSE History spec in mind. The lesson takes inspiration from Oli Caviglioli’s methods of Dual Coding to help lessen cognitive load for students while simultaneously ensuring learning sticks. This requires teacher expertise and subject knowledge (all included as hidden slides in case you’re worried!) The lesson takes you through Sir John Hawkins, his significance and key details. Then Sir Francis Drake, his background, significance of his round the world voyage and other key details. Finally, students are introduced to Sir Walter Raleigh and his significance as an explorer and his direction in the setting up of Roanoke Colony. Information on the new technologies used by these three men is also included, and there are constant prompts to assess students learning through paired attempts at low-stakes multiple choice questions that appear. Then two exam questions are included: the first for students to verbally attempt in pairs, followed by an 8 marker for students to complete on their own, with appropriate scaffolding. There is also an information sheet included for each student (with all the basic details for each sailor on to avoid extensive note-taking) which can be printed off in A5, highlighted and annotated appropriately as the lesson progresses.

This lesson is part of a scheme of lessons I created to try and fill a gap in the OCR Ancient History GCSE available resources. I felt like this is quite a complex era in Roman history and the resources that exist are complicated too - leading to cognitive overload for many of my students. This lesson is completely dual coded and my students loved it because it is clear and succinct. it starts with a couple of video clips recapping Sicinius’ reasons for calling for the First Plebeian Secession (Secessio Plebis) and it then tells the story of the Secession itself - followed by a debate surrounding whether it actually achieved anything meaningful. Throughout there are pertinent questions posed to students on screen that they can answer verbally or in written form and are great for AfL - there is also a 15 mark exam question at the end (based on a passage from Livy that is included) with sentence starters and a suggested plan, looking at how the relationship between the Patricians and Plebeians had changed between the exile of Superbus and the First Secession - analysing the second order concept of Change and Continuity which is one of the key second order concepts that 15 mark questions look to address in the exam. Even if you aren’t teaching the OCR AH GCSE, I’d argue this is probably the clearest and easiest to understand overview of the First Secession that exists at the moment - it’s why I made it because there was hardly anything accessible out there for me and my students… There are also embedded video clips (hence the large file size) outlining the patron-client relationship in Rome, the origins of the Conflict of the Orders and a summary of the Plebeian Secession. Thanks for taking a look!

These ‘at a glance’ revision notes were specially written to give AQA A Level History students a comprehensive overview of the key knowledge from the specification for the depth study: The Reformation in Europe, c1500–1564 Part one: the origins of the Reformation, c1500–1531 The condition of the Church, c1500–1517 The challenge of Luther, 1517–1521 The Protestant challenge, 1521–1531 Part two: Reformation Europe, 1531–1564 (A-level only) The expansion of the Reformation, 1531–1541 (A-level only) The second wave of Protestant Reform, 1541–1564 (A-level only) The Catholic Reformation, 1531–1564 (A-level only) They are especially useful for students whose note-taking in lesson isn’t as good as others, or whose organisational skills mean they are missing notes/handouts on certain topics/areas. These notes will certainly help reduce the time it takes them to catch up with their peers, and also students like to use these as a checklist of topics to go into in further detail. Hopefully these notes help to save your students (and you!) some time in the hectic run up to exams. Thanks for taking a look :)

These detailed course / revision notes were specially written to give AQA GCSE History students a comprehensive overview of the key knowledge from the specification for Unit (AB) Germany, 1890–1945: Democracy and dictatorship 1) Germany and the growth of democracy 2) Germany and the Depression 3) The experiences of Germans under the Nazis These extensive notes are especially useful for students whose note-taking in lesson isn’t as good as others, or whose organisational skills mean they are missing notes/handouts on certain topics / areas. These notes will certainly help reduce the time it takes them to catch up with their peers, and also students like to use these as a checklist of topics to go into in further detail. They give peace of mind that every corner of the specification/syllabus has been covered. Hopefully these notes help to save your students (and you!) some time in the hectic run up to exams. Thanks for taking a look :)

These detailed course / revision notes were specially written to give OCR A Level History students a comprehensive overview of the key knowledge from the specification for Unit Y109: The Making of Georgian Britain 1678–c.1760 Enquiry Topic: The Glorious Revolution 1678–1689 a) The last years of Charles II 1678–1685 b) James II 1685–1688 c) The Glorious Revolution of 1688–1689 British Period Study: The Making of Georgian Britain 1689–c.1760 a) The Revolutionary Settlement and politics 1689–1714 b) Aspects of Politics 1714–1780 c) Social and economic developments c.1700–1780 d) Foreign policy 1689–1763 These extensive notes are especially useful for students whose note-taking in lesson isn’t as good as others, or whose organisational skills mean they are missing notes/handouts on certain topics/areas. These notes will certainly help reduce the time it takes them to catch up with their peers, and also students like to use these as a checklist of topics to go into in further detail. They give peace of mind that every corner of the specification/syllabus has been covered. Hopefully these notes help to save your students (and you!) some time in the hectic run up to exams. Thanks for taking a look :)

This lesson was designed for my GCSE Classical Civilisation class for their Myth & Religion Unit. It’s fully dual coded to reduce cognitive load, increase engagement and aid knowledge retention. There are two handouts included as hidden slides for printing and each slide has a coloured overlay to help pupils with dyslexia / Irlen’s - which can be removed if you don’t need or want it. The lesson picks up from where the last one (Hercules’ fight with Achelous) left off. It tells the story through Ovid of how Hercules came to meet Nessus on his way back to Tiryns with Deianira. Students are then presented with a short passage from Ovid which they stick in their book, highlight and answer questions on (verbally or written - depending on how you want to run the lesson). This is important as Nessus gives Deianira the cloak that will eventually kill Hercules - as is told in the next part of the lesson. Students are again presented with a (longer) passage from Ovid’s Metamorphoses which describes the lead up to Hercules’ death, and the death itself, in great detail. Students are to highlight key information on their copy and use it to answer some written questions that gradually increase in the level of challenge posed - in order to stretch their thinking and allowing them to demonstrate the full extent of their understanding. Finally, students are asked whether this is a fitting end to a hero such as Hercules, and what his death says about the relationships between the Olympian gods themselves. Thanks for taking a look - it’s a really straightforward lesson which will fit into an hour if the first comprehension is done verbally, or can be stretched over two hours if the first comprehension is written (like the second) and you include the optional plenary at the end involving an obituary for Hercules :)

This lesson was designed my students studying OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation Myth and Religion. It’s fully dual coded to reduce cognitive load, enhance engagement and aid knowledge retention - we’ve found our students really like this style and they find it helps them access the content more readily. The lesson starts with a video reminding them why Hercules is famous, before launching into the story of Hercules and his fight with Achelous over princess Deianira of Aitolia. Primary source work is included throughout as students are presented with passages from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and are prompted with challenging questions associated with them. They can answer these verbally or in their books depending on the type of class you have and students you teach. The lesson will fit quite neatly into 1 hour and it finishes with a video where students are encouraged to listen to the original text from Ovid being read aloud, and use this to add more detail to their answers, followed finally by some peer assessment. There are coloured overlays on all the slides to help any students with Irlen’s / Dyslexia but these can easily be deleted if you don’t need them. Thanks so much for taking a look :-)

This lesson is aimed at getting students confident in answering a 8 mark 'chronological narrative' question for the new AQA GCSE paper. For this lesson it is assumed that students will have studied events in Cuba from 1958-1962. The lesson starts with four maths problems - how long would different US cities have to react to a MRBM strike from Cuba (it gives them the speed of the missile - and they aren't too hard!) Students remind themselves of the key events in the 'Cuba story' and attempt a timed 8 mark question titled: 'Write an account of how events in Cuba led to an international crisis'. 3 different model answers are provided (4, 6 and 8 out of 8) and as the teacher you can decide who gets which one. The students highlight information and key phrases they could have inclided but didn't and then use that to make a second attempt at answering the question, A student friendly mark scheme is then included so students can self assess both of their answers and explain why the marks awarded to both were different. Hopefully the progress is very evident! The lesson ends with a slide where students are encouraged to match their knowledge/learning to abstract images. As the teacher you can then question them to extend their thinking.

This lesson is designed with the new 9-1 GCSE Ancient History Spec in mind. It seeks to give students a clear understanding of the chronology of how Tarquinius Superbus tried to reconquer Rome after his family’s expulsion in 509 BC. The lesson focuses on three battles: The Battle of Silvia Arsia Lars Porsena’s invasion of Rome The Battle of Lake Regilius The lesson is also designed to make it clear who is fighting on which side in which battle (as this can be a little unclear) and key individuals have their own dedicated part of the lesson. maps of the area are also included so students can get a visual understanding of what happened and where. Storyboard tasks are mixed with exam questions to ensure students can prove their understanding of each battle. Students then finish with a discussion of which battle was the most significant and why. This powerpoint will probably span approximately 2+ hours depending upon the speed you work through it.