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.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to assess the short and long term impacts of key events upon the Jewish community between 1938-40 such as the Anschluss, Kristallnacht, emigration and the invasion and Poland.
Students begin the lesson by analysing the events of the Anschluss and the impact upon the Jewish community living in Austria.
They are also required to match up a number of statements on the significance of decrees passed in Germany leading up to Kristallnacht and discuss why this event was pivotal for the Jewish people in Germany and Europe.
Further analysis of voluntary and forced emigration within Germany and the key figures of Heydrich and Eichmann will give the students an in-depth and rounded study of the period, together with details of the flawed Madagascar plan.
The lesson will culminate with a final assessment of the invasion of Poland will require them to prioritise the most important reasons for a change in policy towards the Jewish question in Europe.
There is a thinking hats plenary to finish with some exam question practice, complete with markscheme finishes the lesson.
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 changed and adapted to suit.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate to what extent were the elites, workers women and young people affected by war between 1939-45 in Nazi Germany.
The students analyse and evaluate the roles played by these different groups in turn during the war and assess how each group were impacted.
Key questions are asked throughout and students are required at the end to prioritise which group was the most affected and why.
The lesson may 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 bechanged to suit if required.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the reasons behind the radicalisation of Nazi policies towards Jewish people in the years 1940-41.
The scene is set with the outbreak of war, the invasion of the Soviet Union and further restrictions placed on Jewish people in Germany.
Students follow a flow diagram of events with questions posed throughout. There is also a case study of the Warsaw Ghetto and its uprising.
They are then introduced to the Einsatzgruppen, what their key aims were and the possible actions they carried out in a true or false quiz. Further information, including whether the group were ‘ordinary men’ or ‘willing executioners’ is examined before students complete a quiz to check their understanding and consolidate their learning.
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 specific needs.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the extent of resistance and opposition to the Nazis in Germany.
Students begin the lesson by giving reasons for opposition and how it might vary across different sections of German society.
A number of tasks are completed on different types of opposition to the Nazis, from youth groups, Churches, the elites and the army.
For each opposition group there are key questions, source analysis, links to video footage and a requirement to discuss and debate.
The plenary exemplifies this discussion and debate with a talk like an expert task.
The lesson may be delivered over two lessons. There is some exam practice to be completed at the end with the challenge that opposition methods were too varied and fragmented to be effective against the Nazis. There is a 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 specific needs.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to assess whether the war in the East was the main reason for the implementation of the Final Solution. and Nazi genocide policies.
This lesson can be delivered over two, with the breath and depth of information covered.
Students begin with a recap of some key dates in their implementation of anti-Semitic policies. The significance of the Wannsee Conference is explained, with a comprehension task and timeline guide to examine in the move towards the Final Solution.
There are some key multiple choice questions to answer as well as some map analysis of the concentration and extermination camps across Europe.
Case Studies on Auschwitz and Ceija’s Story give context to the horrific crimes committed by the Nazis in this period.
The final parts of the lesson focus on Jewish resistance (with a colour coding activity to complete) as well as a note on the death marches and questions over who bears responsibility for the holocaust.
The lesson is quite literacy heavy. There is some exam practice to be completed at the end on the implementation of the Final Solution, 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.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to assess the reasons behind Nazi ideology and the radicalisation of the Nazi state.
Students begin by noting the three main phases in the development of the Nazi regime.
They learn about Social Darwinism and how this played a role in the formation of the Volksgemeinschaft.
There are some key questions posed about this and the Nazi policy of lebensraum.
A 3-2-1 plenary at the end will check and consolidate learning of the racial state and the radicalisation of Nazi Germany.
There is some source exam question practice to finish, with help and tips and a detailed markscheme given 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 changed to suit specific needs.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
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.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to assess the growing discrimination and persecution of Jewish people in Nazi Germany between 1933-7.
Students begin by evaluating some Nazi propaganda posters and a source from an eye witness account to gain an understanding of the changing Nazi policy towards Jewish people.
They will also learn about the different laws and measures introduced and how these impacted upon the Jewish community living in Germany. There is also a focus on the Nuremberg Laws and their impending impact.
I have also included who was classed as a Jewish person in Germany and how this applied through their ancestry, rather than heritage.
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 changed and adapted to suit.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
**The First World War **
The aim of this lesson is to question whether the Government was right to punish conscientious objectors during World War I and how frightening it was for individuals to refuse.
This is a controversial subject and was extremely difficult to understand and address at the time of the First World War.
Therefore the lesson explains why many people in World I refused to fight, despite government propaganda and pressure from society for them to do so as they became targets of abuse.
Luckily now there is a wealth of video and audio evidence in this lesson (linked to the BBC in particular) which deconstructs and challenges the old arguments of cowardice and shame as well as understanding individuals’ rights to uphold their beliefs and consciences.
Students are given two case studies to analyse before engaging in a mini debate on the right or wrongs to be a pacifist and conscientiously object to war.
The plenary challenges them to decide if the given statements from the lesson are true or false.
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 First World War **
The aim of this lesson is to question how frightening trench life and trench warfare really was.
This lesson begins with a familiar look at trench life. An analysis of sources, audio clips and prose using higher order thinking skills as well independent learning will bring students to the conclusion that trench life and trench conditions were extremely tough for soldiers. Trench foot and diseases were common place on the Western Front.
A chance to write a letter home, before realising the problems of censorship, will suggest to students that soldiers had to struggle in the mud and squalor surrounding them.
However historians such as Dan Snow question how long soldiers spent in the trenches and discovered that in fact 45% of their time was spent behind the lines and in relative safety.
Therefore the overriding aim of the lesson of evaluating how frightening trench life was now becomes more apparent.
Finally the use of historical hexagons will challenge thinking and challenge students to link ideas together.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout the lesson and this unit of study 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 First World War **
The aim of this lesson is to understand how Germany was punished after World War I and how harsh the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were.
The first part of the lesson looks at how the map of Europe changed.
Students then have to think why the Big Three had different ideas on how to treat Germany after the First World War.
Through various images and video footage, students can see what they decided and have to justify why they came to these decisions.
The terms of the Treaty are discussed and then shown how to be remembered by students using a chatterbox (a template is included).
The final part analyses and evaluates a number of historical sources and interpretations on the Treaty and their meanings.
A recap plenary at the end of the lesson uses a spinning wheel which can be used in a competitive challenge.
This lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout the lesson and this unit of study 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 First World War
The aim of the lesson is to understand why alliances and rivalries at the beginning of the Twentieth Century led to the outbreak of the First World War.World War I.
This lesson sets out the long term causes of World War I based on four underlying principles: Nationalism, Imperialism, Alliances and Militarism.
The lesson asks the students who and why were countries arguing with each other based on their geographical as well as their historic national rivalries.
Students then have to decide who could sit next to each other at a dinner party after they have justified their reasons for distrust and paranoia.
The alliances are plotted and colour coded on maps, culminating in a task prioritising and linking the reasons as to why the world was ready for war in 1914.
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.
**The First World War **
The aim of this lesson is to understand the importance and significance of the Poppy on Armistice Day at the end of the First World War.
The lesson is split into two parts. The first part of the lesson analyses the causes of the World War I ending in 1918.
Using a causal spiders web (an idea taken from Emily Thomas), students link the ideas together by drawing lines and then justify their reasons to create a spider’s web on remembrance.
The second part of the lesson analyses the significance of the use of the Poppy with students giving their own reasons for this on the poppy leaves (a template is included).
They then have to prioritise the most important reasons why the Government introduced Poppy Day and why we commemorate Armistice Day with a diamond nine activity.
Students also have the chance to evaluate John McCrae’s in Flanders poem
with some ‘clever question stems’.
This lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout the lesson and this unit of study 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 First World War **
This key word literacy display on World War I has been designed to be used on classroom walls (or on display boards outside) when introducing this new History topic to the students.
It is an easy resource to print and will hopefully save an incredible amount of time and effort when incorporating literacy into a new or existing scheme of work. The slides can also be laminated and used as mobiles hanging from the ceiling or used as part of an informative display.
The slides cover the following words on the First World War and their definitions:
Alliance, armistice, arms, barbaric, bellicose, conscientious objector, cowardice, desertion, escalate, imperialism, inevitable, Jerry, Kaiser, militarism, munitions, nationalism, naval, propaganda, stalemate, trench foot, tommy, shellshock, shrapnel, trenches, Triple Alliance, Triple Entente, Victoria cross, warfare.
The slides come in PowerPoint format so they are easy to change and adapt.
**The First World War **
The aim of this lesson is to question the psychological effects of fighting on the Western Front in the First World War.
This lesson centres around the case of Private Harry Farr who was shot for ‘misbehaving before the enemy in such a manner as to show cowardice.’
Students re-enact his court martial using the witness statements before his sentencing and ultimately decide if his sentence was justified…
The start of the lesson requires them to define a coward and more importantly question what shellshock is, which the Government at the time and the public refused to recognise.
Students will analyse why so many soldiers refused to fight in World War 1 and preferred to desert instead fully aware of the consequences of their actions.
The students will use visual and source evidence and apply higher order thinking skills at the end of the lesson in an extended piece of writing.
The plenary questions students’ beliefs on cowardice and challenges their original assumptions at the beginning 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 suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The First World War
The aim of this lesson is to focus on the roles women played in World War I and how significant a contribution they made to the war effort.
Students have to prioritise which jobs also contributed the most to the war effort.
The second part of the lesson looks at the Woolwich Arsenal weapons factory as a case study, using documentary and audio evidence from the time as students consider how frightening it was to work in an arms factory during the First World War.
Furthermore, students decide how significant women were in the short, medium and long term. They have a chance to justify their ideas with a differentiated extended writing task, with help given if required.
A plenary Bingo tests and challenges students’ understanding at the end.
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.
The First World War
The aim of this lesson is to question how much Britain valued its Empire soldiers in the First World War.
This subject is very topical at present as historians such as David Olusoga are putting cultural diversity at the forefront of our British history curriculum.
The starting point of the lesson is to analyse the story of Private Johnson Beharry, focusing on his background and the reasons why he was awarded a Victoria Cross, through source or video evidence.
Students will then link his story to World War I, where they will learn how more V.C.’s were awarded to British Empire soldiers than anyone else and discover which parts of the Empire contributed to the war effort and why.
There are case studies in the lesson focused on troops from the Punjab and the West Indies.
The main task students face is to judge how valued British Empire soldiers were at the time and if not, how and why they were viewed differently. Ultimately they will need to clarify why this varied widely according to country and race.
They will also be required to write an extended answer using their own opinions, with argument words and scaffolding given if required.
There is a plethora of video evidence to accompany this lesson, with brilliant clips from the BBC and other sources.
Students will finally consolidate their learning by creating sentences from
‘fragments’ and a retrieval task on the First World War.
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.
The First World War
This lesson aims to analyse how the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the July Crisis was the spark for World War I to start.
Students will question how frightening the assassination was and the speed of European countries to mobilise for war.
As video evidence is used to explain the events that led to the shooting in Sarajevo, an analogy is made to a bar brawl as students try to ascertain the causes of it and link these to the events which unfolded after 28th June, 1914.
Students also have to complete a chronological exercise of the events as well as deciding the personalities of the main countries involved such as Germany, France and Austria-Hungary in the First World War.
The plenary is a catchphrase check (complete with music) on key words used in 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.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to assess the impact of war upon Nazi Germany.
The lessons begins by assessing the value of some sources, to be used in some exam practice at the end, which questions the effects of the war on civilian morale.
There is a missing word activity for the students to complete after studying how rationing was introduced in Germany and its repercussions.
There is also a grid sheet to complete as students evaluate the four phases of the war and how the use of propaganda affected civilian morale, particularly as the German people began to realise the war was not going to plan and would not end quickly.
An octagon plenary will check understanding and consolidate the learning at the end of the lesson.
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 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 changed and adapted to suit.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA GCE 2O A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
Nazi Racial State and the impact of war 1933-45
I have produced this bundle of resources on the Nazi racial state and the impact of war 1933-45 to help A Level History students gain a deeper understanding of Nazi Germany’s changing policies during the war years.
The enquiry question throughout these lessons will be evaluate the reasons why the Nazis committed mass murder and assess the impact of total war on Germany.
Students will learn about the development of anti-Semitic policies and the radicalisation of the state with its social Darwinism and race theories.
They will study how the events of the Anschluss, Kristallnacht and the invasion of Poland sparked a sea change in how the Nazi regime reacted towards undesirables, minorities as well as Jewish people.
Students will evaluate the effectiveness of propaganda in maintaining morale during the war years and the changing impact of war on Nazi German society such as the appointment of Albert Speer and the mobilisation of the German economy for armaments production.
They will also assess how effective opposition was to the Nazi regime and how different groups resisted the totalitarian state.
Finally students will analyse the origins of the ‘Final Solution’, the key figures involved and the role of the Einsatzgruppen and extermination camps in Poland. They will also decide who should take responsibility for the holocaust and why.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Radicalising the State
L2 Undesirables
L3 Nazi policies towards the Jewish people, 1933-37
L4 Nazi policies towards the Jewish people, 1938-40
L5 Nazi policies towards the Jewish people, 1940-41
L6 Impact of war (free resource)
L7 Speer and the war economy
L8 The changing impact of war on German society
L9 Opposition
L10 The final solution
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.
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.
