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.
This lesson aims to introduce the main contenders to the vacant throne of England in 1066 with the deat hof Edward the Confessor. Students have to understand why a chair (a throne) would cause a war and read a script to understand who the main contenders were and the reasons they put forward for having a claim to the English throne.
Diffetentiated bloom’s questions aim to deepen their understanding and get them to analyse who has the best claim and why (thus extracting fact from fiction). A brilliant video link to English heritage and extra work sheets will give them all the knowledge required to create a newspaper report or table to ultimately evaluate these claims of the contenders
The resource comes in PDF and Powerpoint formats 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. The accompanying script for the lesson can be found here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/medieval-britain-script-for-the-normans-who-had-the-best-claim-to-the-english-throne-in-1066-11456418
If you like this resource, please visit my shop where I have created further resources on Medieval Britain which can be found here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/PilgrimHistory
The Industrial Revolution
This lesson aims to examine the revolution in transport which affected Britain between 1750-1900.
Students first look at the problems of transport in Britain. They examine the roads (if you could call them that) and look at how they were changed and improved in conjunction with the railways and canals.
There are sources to analyse and a differentiated group work task as well as video footage giving further clarity.
Ultimately students have to evaluate the biggest impact these changes made in Britain, whether it be increased wealth and international trade to the standardisation of time or being connected throughout the British Empire.
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.
This lesson links to my previous one on the causes of the Great Fire of London.
In this lesson, students have to decide how lucky London was to have the fire in the first place.
They are introduced to conflicting arguments before they are given a plethora of evidence from which they will be able decide and make judgements on how to break the news to the current Mayor of London.
They are subsequently given argument words to help them construct a persuasive letter.
For extra challenge students have to decide if London was lucky or not in the short and long term and break down the evidence into political, social, economic or religious reasons.
This is a fun, entertaining as well as a challenging lesson and would also suit a non specialist.
The lesson is aimed at key stage 3, but can be delivered at key stage 2 also.
The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, 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.
Middle Ages
This lesson aims to examine the reasons why King John argued with his barons and ultimately was forced to sign the Magna Carta.
But on which terms was King John forced to accept?
Firstly students have to work out what the terms of the Magna Carta were.
Secondly students have to evaluate the significance of the Magna Carta in the short, medium and long term for King John, for future Kings of England as well as for us today.
They will use sources and video footage as well as retrieval grids and a true or false quiz to help them in their research,
They will also continue to plot the power struggle between the king, the church, the barons and the people in a sequence of lessons.
This lesson includes:
Fun, engaging and challenging tasks
Links to video footage
Printable worksheets
Differentiated tasks
Suggested teaching strategies
PowerPoint format, which can be changed to suit
This bundle follows the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum - challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day with a focus on the Second World War and the wartime leadership of Winston Churchill.
The aims of this bundle are to know and understand how people’s lives in Britain were affected by World War II under the guidance of Winston Churchill.
I have created, readapted and used these lessons to challenge and engage students, but also to show how much fun learning about this part of history really is.
Students will learn and understand key historical skills throughout such as continuity and change in the role and use of propaganda in World War II, the causes and consequences of the policy of appeasement, breaking the Enigma Code or the evacuation of children, the similarities and differences of life on the Home Front, the significance of Winston Churchill and interpretations about whether there really was a Blitz spirit.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Adolf Hitler
L2 Causes of World War II
L3 Appeasement
L4 Winston Churchill
L5 The Home Front - preparations
L6 The Home Front - propaganda
L7 The Home Front - rationing
L8 The Home Front - women (free lesson)
L9 Evacuation of children
L10 The Blitz
L11 The Enigma Code
L12 Prisoners of war (free lesson)
L13 Occupation of the Channel Islands
This bundle on the Second World War includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials.
All lessons come in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
I have also included two free lessons in the bundle to give an idea of what is being offered.
I would also strongly recommend you assess students on this unit of study based on GCSE style questions from your chosen exam board.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
The key to this lesson is to recap not only the causes of the Spanish Armada and the build up to its eventually defeat, but also to analyse the battle itself and reasons for English success and Spanish failure.
Furthermore, what were the consequences for Elizabeth and her successors?
How did Britain regain the initiative and establish Elizabeth as a Protestant force to be reckoned with in Europe and at home?
How did the defeat change her status as a world power for the next generation of explorers and seafarers as Britain became the dominant naval power in the world by the 19th Century?
Students make up and pour a toxic cocktail of causes before piecing together the reasons why the Armada failed and ran out of energy, by giving it an energy rating in a prioritisation exercise.
They also have to amend a number of statements and correct them on the Spanish Armada, explaining the reasons why they are incorrect as well as studying an interactive map as the events unfolded.
Finally students can complete a ‘How important’ GCSE practice question worth 8 marks to consolidate their learning with hints and tips of how to answer this.
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.
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.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
What was it like to be poor in Elizabethan England and how did the Elizabethans deal with poverty?
Moreover how did attitudes change and why was there a rise in the building of Almshouses by the end of the Sixteenth Century?
These are the key questions focused upon in this lesson as students learn about the causes and consequences of being poor.
Two GCSE practice questions are undertaken by students as they acquire skills in answering an interpretation and write an account question using the information in the lesson.
Furthermore they can peer assess their work and note where and how they can improve.
They will also by the end of the lesson recognise the significance of the new Elizabethan Poor Law and how the impact of poverty varied across the country which is needed to be able to obtain the more complex reasoning answers demanded in the AQA GCSE markschemes.
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.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
This lesson questions if there really was an Elizabethan Golden Age or was it really a myth?
Was it just some Elizabethan propaganda to promote Elizabeth I and the Tudors?
The students get themselves involved in a mini debate agreeing or refuting the question using Cornell Note taking before presenting their findings to the class.
They will also tackle a GCSE ‘write an account’ question before peer assessing it and deciding what went well and how they need to improve the answer.
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.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
The aim of this lesson is to give students the context to the role and importance the theatre played in Elizabethan England.
Building upon their knowledge and understanding of William Shakespeare, they will learn how the theatre adapted and changed to permanent and purpose built theatres through text analysis, a thinking quilt and video evidence.
The second part of the lesson focuses on the globe theatre, with its seating arrangements and the types of plays the audiences could experience.
There are some excellent video links to the BBC included in this resource.
Students will then apply their skills to a choice of two exam practice questions on ‘importance’ and ‘how convincing’, with help and guidance offered if required.
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.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
In this lesson, students learn how much Elizabethan society was changing due to this increase in its status, wealth and power.
The foundations of the Great Chain of Being were being shaken as there was a rise in status of the gentry class, making their money through land and trade and being given jobs of responsibility by the Queen such as JPs, MPs and Privy Councillors.
With this new money came the desire to build new houses and a case study of Hardwick Hall is used as an example of how to show off your wealth and power,
Students analyse how these new houses demonstrated that their inhabitants were cultured and fashionable people.
Students are shown the latest ideas from the BBC and have to analyse and colour code text before demonstrating their knowledge in a ‘how important’ GCSE practice question.
After completion they peer assess their answers to check they have included the correct evidence and answered the question properly rather than a given a narrative description which can be a common error.
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.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
This lesson focuses on the threat posed by Mary, Queen of Scots through her activity and inactivity under the close guard and ‘protection’ of Elizabeth I.
Students are taken through Mary, Queen of Scot’s life from the controversy of her husbands in Scotland to her imprisonment in England by Elizabeth.
Through sources, visual and video evidence, they have conclude how much of a threat Mary posed to Elizabeth using a colour coding activity which includes of all the plots associated with Mary, Queen of Scots including the infamous Babington Plot.
A threat’o’meter gets the students to make an overall judgement and justify their conclusions.
They also learn about her execution and answer a GCSE practice question on the significance of her execution on Elizabethan England.
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.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
This lesson focuses on the threat posed by the Puritans and how Elizabeth dealt with this challenge, despite prominent members in her Government, such as Walsingham, being Puritans.
Students begin by understanding the nature of Puritanism and how they disagreed with the religious settlement.
They are given information about a number of controversies raised in Elizabeth’s reign and by colour coding decide how much of a (Puritan) threat they posed.
A threat’o’meter give an overall picture which they will have to justify where their judgement lies.
This lesson also focuses on two GCSE questions with a ‘write an account’ and a ‘How convincing is the Source?’ question given for GCSE exam practice.
Students can answer both or choose which one to tackle. The information is included in the lesson to assist in their answers.
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.
This bundle follows the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum - the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745.
I have designed the lessons to be challenging and engaging as well as fun and enjoyable.
The aims of this bundle are to know and understand how peoples’ lives were shaped by the Tudors from Henry VII to Mary I, how they changed the course of British history and why we are still fascinated by their lives today.
Students will learn and understand key historical skills throughout; for example, the concepts of continuity and change under Henry VII after the Wars of the Roses, recognising the causes and consequences of Henry’s break with Rome, explaining the similarities and differences in the reigns of the Tudors, analysing the significance of the Black Tudors and Edward VI as well as evaluating sources and interpretations, such as the reputation of Mary 1.
The 12 lessons are broken down into the following:
L1 The War of the Roses
L2 An introduction to the Tudors (free lesson)
L3 Henry VII
L4 Henry VIII introduction
L5 Did Henry VIII break with Rome for love?
L6 Did Henry VIII break with Rome for faith?
L7 Did Henry VIII break with Rome for money?
L8 The dissolution of the monasteries
L9 The sinking of the Mary Rose
L10 Edward VI
L11 Bloody Mary
L12 Black Tudors
Each lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies and are linked to the latest historical interpretations and debate from the BBC and other sources.
The lessons are fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit. I have included a free lesson to give an idea of what is being offered.
Although this bundle is aimed at Key Stage 3, it is ideal if you are studying the Tudors for GCSE as it covers the main themes, concepts and skills required.
This bundle follows the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum - the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745 including the Elizabethan religious settlement and conflict with Catholics (including Scotland, Spain and Ireland).
The aims of this bundle are to know and understand how peoples’ lives were shaped by Elizabeth, how she dealt with the threats to her rule and how her legacy lives on today as one of our greatest ever Queens.
Students will learn and understand key historical skills. These include historical concepts such as continuity and change with a focus on the Elizabethan Poor Law, the causes and consequences of the Elizabethan Settlement, similarities and differences in her portraits and the significance of the defeat of the Armada as well as exploration and the theatre.
The 11 lessons are broken down into the following:
L1 The young Elizabeth
L2 The Elizabethan Settlement (free resource)
L3 Elizabeth and her favourites (free resource)
L4 Elizabeth and the problem of marriage
L5 Elizabeth and her portraits
L6 How did Elizabeth deal with Mary, Queen of Scots?
L7 Famous explorers (Drake, Hawkins and Raleigh)
L8 The Spanish Armada
L9 Elizabeth, poverty and the Poor Law
L10 Elizabethan Theatre and the Globe
Each lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies and are linked to the latest historical interpretations and debate from the BBC and other sources.
The lessons are fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit. I have included a couple of free lessons to give an idea of what is being offered.
Although this bundle is aimed at Key Stage 3, it is ideal if you are studying Elizabeth I for GCSE as it covers the main themes, concepts and skills required for the new specifications.
The aim of this lesson is for the students to help Elizabeth with some tough choices on marriage in Tudor England.
Who should she choose to marry if at all? Why was there so much pressure upon her to marry in the first place?
Students prioritise the reasons for marriage on a grid before they analyse the potential suitors in Europe, complete with their availability and faults (on paper of course).
They then have to decide who is the best of a bad lot and justify their decisions. Some excellent video evidence is included.
The plenary focuses on a dinner date; students decide who Elizabeth would like to sit near to the most and who would be placed at the far end of the table.
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 aim of this lesson is for students to recognise and evaluate how theatres changed under Elizabeth in Tudor England.
They will analyse their early days as travelling performers with a poor reputation playing in pubs and fields to purpose built theatres such as the Globe, paid for by wealthy Patrons such as the Earl of Leicester.
Students know through their links to their English lessons quite a lot already about Shakespeare and this lesson taps into their knowledge and builds upon it with a thinking quilt to examine how theatres developed.
Furthermore there is a focus on Shakespeare’s plays and inspiration as well as an analysis of the Globe theatre.
There is some excellent video footage to complement the learning tasks.
The lesson finishes with an odd one out task which will revisit the aims of the lesson and how Tudor theatres and plays still have an impact on society today.
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 aim of this lesson is to analyse why the Elizabethan Poor Law was introduced and to assess its impact on Elizabethan and Tudor society.
Students first of all have to analyse the causes of poverty and prioritise which has been the main reason for its increase whether that be the actions of local landowners and Henry VIII in his break with Rome or the debasement of the coinage.
They are also required to write to the local landowner, using suggested key argument words, to express their sympathy for the poor, which was in sort supply in the Elizabethan era.
As well as source analysis, students learn the so called tricks of the trade for begging and how Tudor propaganda shaped these negative views of the poor.
Students subsequently have to assess the details of the new Elizabethan Poor Law, the reasons for a change in attitude towards the poor and assess its significance and impact upon society as a whole.
The final task is to talk like an historian and answer the questions in a quiz picking up points for the harder questions.
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 Tudors
The aim of this lesson is to decide which Tudor explorer deserves the most recognition in a seafaring ‘Hall of Fame’.
Students are led through the journeys and discoveries of sailors in Elizabethan England from the Cabot brothers to Gerardus Mercator and his brilliant Atlas. (This was to give the navigator a map, where a line of constant bearing would cross all meridians at the same angle)
The sailors achievements and the problems they encountered are given through learning activities such as a play your cards right, video evidence, a true or false quiz and a plotting exercise of Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe on a blank world map.
The main task is to analyse and evaluate the achievements of the Tudor explorers - Drake, Hawkins and Raleigh with differentiated resource materials.
Students are given specific criteria to judge this before ultimately deciding who had the greatest impact and should be given the most recognition for Elizabethan exploration.
The lesson concludes with a literacy key word game.
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 aim of this lesson is to evaluate the importance of the Tudors and assess how much the students know about them.
The key skill of chronology is introduced from the start as students decide which Tudor came first to which came last.
Key questions floating past the screen as well as the wall of mystery give clues and answers to some interesting and gruesome facts on the Tudor family.
Students have the chance to create their own timelines, factual displays, key question and answer quizzes or an A-Z of Tudor facts.
The lesson finishes which two plenaries to choose from which both test their new found knowledge.
The resource comes in PowerPoint formats if there is a wish to adapt and change. I have also included suggested teaching strategies and differentiated resources to deliver the 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.
