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.
Cold War
The aim of this lesson is to explain how Germany was divided post 1945, as agreed at the Potsdam Conference and analyse the subsequent Berlin blockade and airlift which followed.
Students learn the intentions of both the USA and USSR and how this played out in the Cold War theatre of Europe.
This is a great opportunity for students to be creative as they plot the preceding events on an airport landing strip, using symbols and signs found in every international airport.
They will track the obstacles thrown up by Stalin and the immediate problems this caused in Berlin as he attempted to prevent any further western moves in Germany and with his aim of starving the West Berliners into submission.
Therefore this is intended to be a fun, challenging and engaging lesson to suit all abilities.
The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons is to ask why did civilians fear for their lives? Students will map out their ideas each lesson (which can be plotted in different colours or dates to show the progress of their learning and centred around the key question) and build up a picture of how these and different countries in the world responded and acted in this new nuclear age.
The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change and is differentiated.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the significance of the economy to Henry VII.
Students will focus on both trade, exploration, agriculture and industry and give Henry an efficiency rating at the end as they judge how well he used them to establish his control.
They begin by analysing how agriculture was being affected by a population increase and the growing use of enclosures.
Students also assess how important industry was during the Tudor period and how exploration and trade increased with new technologies and pioneering individuals.
They also analyse how trade agreements and Henry’s need to raise revenue impacted upon the economy as a whole.
Some exam question practice can then be completed, together with a writing frame, some help and hints given and a markscheme if required.
There is an enquiry question posed and revisited 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.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England, 1485–1603
I have produced this bundle of resources on Henry VIII to help A level history students access the course and make some of the ideas, themes and concepts of the Tudors more accessible.
Henry VIII was a larger than life character who has left a long lasting legacy on our history
Therefore the enquiry question throughout this bundle of resources will be to question how strong and successful Henry was during his reign.
Students will learn how effectively Henry ruled England and how government evolved and the use of Parliament changed during his reign.
They will assess his character and personality and question and evaluate his decision making.
They will judge the significance of individuals in his reign such as Cardinal Wolsey, Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell as well as economic development.
Students will look at his aims in foreign policy and question how successful he was in his pursuit of military glory under Wolsey and beyond or whether he just played third fiddle in Europe.
Finally they will learn about the political, social, economic and religious upheaval caused by his divorce and the break with Rome.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Introduction
L2 Aims of Henry VIII
L3 Henry VIII and Government
L4 Catherine of Aragon
L5 Rise of Wolsey
L6 Interpretations of Wolsey
L7 Downfall of Wolsey
L8 King’s Great Matter
L9 Break with Rome
L10 Henry VIII & Humanism
L11 Rise of Cromwell
L12 Pilgrimage of Grace
L13 Dissolution of the Monasteries
L14 How Protestant was England by 1547?
L15 Foreign Policy under Wolsey
L16 Henry VIII Foreign Policy 1529-1547
L17 Henry VIII and Society
L18 Henry VIII and the Economy
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.
This is the second of four bundles I have created for the Tudors A Level history course.
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 GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The aim of this lesson is threefold; to understand the beliefs and treatments of the Black Death, to recognise why these had a detrimental affect on medicine and to understand the similarities between the Black Death of the 14th Century and the Plague of the 17th Century.
This lesson can be delivered over two, owing to the content and challenge.
There are numerous learning tasks for students to complete, from tabling the symptoms of the disease, using sources to map out the beliefs and treatments at the time, a thinking quilt, as well as plotting similarities on a skeleton hand and tackling two GCSE practice questions.
A find and fix task at the end checks understanding and challenges student thinking.
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.
The aim of this lesson is to establish how much the students know about history, how historians talk about the past and how this can be applied in a historical context.
They are introduced to key words such as chronology, where they form a human timeline, millennium, decade, century and periods of history as well as the misconceptions around AD and BC.
Students then have to use these words to describe their favourite piece of history, with the challenge to include as many of these time associated key words as possible.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The Holocaust
The aims of this lesson are to explain how the extermination camps were liberated such as Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen by horrified allied soldiers whose shock quickly turned to anger.
Students are placed in the liberators shoes and have to decide how they would react, from cleaning up, to taking pictures and leaving things untouched to of course more violent extremes.
There is some excellent video footage to accompany the lesson, but please again treat with caution and care.
The second part of the lesson is a case study of Herta Bothe, a German camp guard who was convicted of war crimes by a British military tribunal.
Students are given certain facts about her and have to decide if the sentence was justified or whether as in the previous lesson she was an unfortunate victim of circumstance and just an ordinary woman completing the job required of her.
The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons in the bundle is to ask who was to blame for the holocaust?
Students will map out their ideas each lesson (which can be plotted in different colours or dates to show the progress of their learning and centred around a lightbulb) and build up a picture of how difficult it is to blame a single individual or event for this catastrophe.
The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change and is differentiated.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.
The English Civil War
The aim of this lesson is to be able to distinguish between the two sides of Cavaliers (King Charles) and Roundheads (Oliver Cromwell) in the English Civil War.
Students will be researching how they differed from their dress, their mannerisms, what they believed in and their goals.
They will also be analysing some real life examples from people today who discuss which side they would prefer to be on and why.
Students will be using various written sources and video evidence to find out which side they would support.
Ultimately they will have to produce a propaganda leaflet encouraging people to join their campaign as a Royalist or Cavalier using persuasive literacy techniques and song lyrics. Exemplars and scaffolding is included if required.
This is a fun lesson with a number of activities designed to get all students involved actively and to enjoy their learning.
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.
Middle Ages
The aim of this lesson is for students to question and evaluate different interpretations in history.
Students have to analyse various explanations and viewpoints of Richard the Lionheart from his statue outside the Houses of Parliament, to modern day films and the views of historians.
As sentiment might overrule reality, they are ‘led’ to conclude he is a King of outstanding repute.
They are then given details of the context of his reign and are shocked to discover his real temperament, brutal nature and even the fact that he didn’t speak English!
Students finally re-evaluate their original judgements and justify which of the interpretation is now the more realistic one.
They will 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
Homework ideas
PowerPoint format, which can be changed to suit
Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The aim of the lesson is for students to understand why penicillin was seen as a wonder drug and how it was discovered and then developed during World War 2
Students first of all learn about the role played by Alexander Fleming in the story of penicillin from his chance discovery and the acclaim that eventually followed.
The lesson therefore leads the students inadvertently to celebrate his attributes and significance.
The second part of the lesson devotes itself to the parts played by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain in the development of penicillin during World War 2.
Questions and sources are used to analyse why they were unhappy with Fleming and how they had tremendous problems initially producing enough to treat patients effectively.
Students have to now question their original assumptions and finally evaluate the most significant of the three in the story of penicillin.
There is also some source analysis for exam question practice.
The lesson is accompanied by video footage and other documentary evidence as it establishes the part played by factors such as individual genius, science and technology as well as chance.
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.
The Suffragettes
The aim of this lesson is to question the motives of Emily Davison. Did she really mean to kill herself or was it a protest that went drastically wrong?
Students learn what a martyr is and then sift through the evidence of her handbag to make a judgement.
However not is all as it seems as conflicting source and video evidence only serves to add confusion to the debate.
The plenary also requires the students to question whether she can be called a martyr or not and whether she helped the suffragette cause.
This is a fun, engaging and challenging lesson which requires students to evaluate and make judgements using evidence as well as getting them to justify their opinions.
There is also a chance of role play if you feel daring or not as the mystery of her death unfolds.
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 understand how Germany was punished after World War I and how harsh its terms were to many Germans.
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 using a chatterbox (a template is included).
The final part analyses and evaluates a number of sources 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 aim of this lesson is to question how successful Lord Kitchener’s recruitment drive was in 1914 and how ‘frightening’ it might be to sign up for the First World World War.
The lesson shows students how the themes of heroism, patriotism, shame and anti-German feeling led to thousands of young men volunteering to join the army in World War I.
Students are led through video footage, an extract from Private Peaceful and Government posters to analyse how these four key themes were utilised.
They also learn about the success in the recruitment of Pals Battalions from the Caribbean and India, to the Footballers Battalion of Walter Tull, as well from towns across the country.
They will also learn about the horror and frightening consequences of this policy especially with what happened to the Accrington Pals in 1916.
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.
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
Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
This lesson focuses on the change in policy towards the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis.
Students have to put events into chronological order and understand why the beginning of World War II changed everything.
Students also learn about the Wannsee Conference and the experimental attempts by the Nazis to murder the Jews in Europe from shooting to mobile gas vans before deciding upon the use of Zyklon B crystals.
Using numbers and figures they also discover the sheer scale of the atrocities involved in this genocide and what happened in the concentration camps.
There are some excellent links to video evidence to accompany the lesson, which are suitable to show.
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 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The lesson aims to distinguish between inoculation and vaccination, before analysing Jenner’s discovery of the vaccination for smallpox using documentary and video evidence.
Students then have to answer questions, explain the significance of his discovery over time and link factors to his story.
They also have to analyse source information, complete an 8 mark GCSE practice question and understand why, despite his brilliance he received criticism and opposition to his discovery.
The lesson finishes with a true or false quiz and a ‘Have I got news for you?’ plenary.
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.
The British Empire
The aim of this lesson is to discover who the Zulus were and how and why their fighting left a lasting legacy on the British Empire.
Students will also find out why the British army, allegedly the best and most disciplined fighting force in the world at the time be defeated and humiliated at the Battle of Isandlwana?
They will also analyse how within hours they were heroically defending their lives at Rourke’s Drift in one of the most unlikely ‘victories’ in British military history.
Students evaluate both battles, creating headlines and writing articles, using argument words and second and third tier vocabulary.
They finally appraise the events of 1879, concluding how both battles should be viewed overall in history and their legacy.
The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching and learning strategies, differentiated materials 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.
The French Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to understand the significance of the Tennis Court Oath
Students are introduced to some key words before they analyse what tipped the French people over the edge. This includes some interactive slides explaining the rise in prices particularly with bread.
The main task is to complete some source scholarship on the Tennis Court Oath, as the events are broken down into sections, with some modelling of how to complete this task if required.
There are some key questions on the Tennis Court Oath to summarise, followed by a significance activity, where the students rate each significance by colour coding a thermometer and then justifying their answers and the choices they have made.
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 purpose of this lesson is to introduce Henry VII’s foreign policy aims.
Students are introduced to a map of Europe in 1485 and have to make comparisons and connections to countries on a map of Europe today.
They will learn who the major players were in Europe at the time, such as France and evaluate the threats they posed to Henry VII.
Students learn the three main aims of Henry’s foreign policy and have to justify which one is being applied to the various treaties and agreements reached with various foreign powers.
The plenary checks their understanding of the lesson using a talking heads activity, as they have to decide which European leader would make the given statements from the screen.
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.
I have created a set of resources for ‘the challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day’ which focus on Civil Rights in America.
The aims of this bundle are to understand how black people were treated in the USA in the Twentieth Century and how they began to fight for their civil rights.
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 the continuity and change in the rights of black people in the USA, the causes consequences of the Civil Rights movement which followed, the similarities and differences of the tactics used, the significance of key figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Jesse Owens, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and various interpretations about how far black people have achieved equality today.
Each lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, 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 and can be changed to suit.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Abraham Lincoln
L2 Jim Crow Laws
L3 Little Rock Nine
L4 Emmett Till
L5 Rosa Parks
L6 Protesting
L7 Martin Luther King
L8 Malcolm X
L9 Ku Klux Klan
L10 Jesse Owens
L10 Civil Rights in America today
L12 Black people in the American Civil War (bonus lesson)
The aim of this lesson is to decide if Winston Churchill deserves the title as the ‘Greatest Briton’?
When the BBC conducted a poll entitled ‘Who is the Greatest Briton?’ Winston Churchill came out on top, besting some strong competition.
This lesson therefore challenges this assumption and evaluates the four areas the BBC cites as his fortitude; for being the greatest British Gentleman, for inspiring the nation, for symbolising the spirit and strength of Britain and for his comforting speeches.
The evidence for this task is through radio broadcasts, video footage and source analysis (using a battery rating) from which students will conclude and either concur or not with the poll.
A splat the bubble plenary will test their new assumptions.
This lesson is ideal as preparation for GCSE if you are embedding source skills or teaching the interwar years or the Second World War at Key stage 4.
It 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 includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
