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.
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)
AQA GCSE Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The lesson aims to distinguish between inoculation and vaccination, before analysing Edward Jenner’s scientific discovery of the vaccination for smallpox using documentary and video evidence.
Students then have to answer questions, explain the significance of his discovery of vaccinations 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.
AQA GCSE 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.
Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the terms of the Treay of Versailles and its impact upon Weimar Germany.
From the start, students have to understand how difficult it was for the Allies (the Big Three) to decide how to treat Germany at the end of the war.
Moreover when they did eventually agree, how did it affect Germany and what were it terms?
The emphasis is also on how students can remember the terms of the treaty, especially with the land lost, complete with difficult spellings such as Schleswig-Holstein and Alsace-Lorraine.
Learning tasks include making notes from video evidence, creating a chatterbox, analysing sources, completing quizzes and filling in a ‘find someone who can’ worksheet (a brilliant idea from Aaron Wilkes).
The second part of the lesson focuses on GCSE exam practice using cartoon sources related to the Treaty as well as how to answer the first three source questions on the exam, with help on how to answer each.
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.
Cold War
The aims of this lesson are to explain how weapons developed during the Cold War in the aftermath of World War 2.
The new destructive power of the atomic bomb is shown in a great video link and students colour code a worksheet (differentiated) with challenge questions to describe and explain the development of the arms race.
Facts and figures are also given which students have to interpret, as well as key word tasks and source analysis, with help given if required.
The plenary is literally an arms ‘race’ complete with interactive dice and bombs as board pieces.
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 introduce the A Level course to students.
Students are given an overview of the course content, as well as the requirements for the exam questions.
The lesson recaps on previous knowledge of the Tudors before introducing Henry VII and questioning which will be his main priorities on becoming King in 1485.
Students are also introduced to the Tudor timeline and begin to conceptualise how the Tudors and Henry VII came to power and how legitimate and secure his hold on the crown was.
There is also an introduction to Tudor society to set the scene for the course and students learn how society, agriculture, industry, the Church were organised.
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.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate if Mary’s religious changes helped or hindered the return to Catholicism in England.
Students begin by recapping on Mary’s key people and her possible thought processes on a return to Roman Catholicism.
They will also learn her views on religion and discuss to what extent Mary was prepared to go to reassert the Pope’s authority over the Church.
Students are also given a number of scenarios from which they have to assess the consequences to possible actions taken by Mary and her government such as the repatriation of monastic lands.
The final learning task requires some decisions to be made over if Mary used a successful carrot or stick policy and the obstacles facing her for a full return to Rome.
There is some exam question practice to finish, complete with a writing frame and markscheme to help if required.
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.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the extent to which the Nazis created a totalitarian state
Students learn how the Nazis ‘reformed’ the police system, increased the activities of the SS, SD and Gestapo and controlled the courts and judicial system.
They will complete group work, with detailed information provided, ready to present their findings to the class and justify the extent of totalitarianism in Nazi Germany.
The plenary will require the students to make newspaper headlines from their learning.
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 specific needs.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
The English Civil War
The aim of this lesson is for the students to decide whether Charles I was guilty or not guilty at his own trial of ‘subverting the fundamental laws and liberties of the nation and with maliciously making war on the parliament and people of England.’
The lesson starts by questioning the types of hat the judge should wear followed by a series of biased images depicting Charles at his trial, of which students have to analyse and explain why.
Students then examine and evaluate information about Charles’s actions to come up with a guilty or not guilty verdict. If found guilty then they will have to sign his death warrant!
There is some sentence scaffolding and argument words provided if help is required.
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, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
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.
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 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.
This 40 page revision guide is tailored to the Edexcel Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918-1939 specification for GCSE 9-1.
It is broken down into 4 main sections: The Weimar Republic, Hitler’s rise to power, Nazi control and dictatorship and life in Nazi Germany.
This revision guide includes 21 GCSE practice exam questions throughout on the 6 main questions and gives examples on how to answer each using model answers.
This will enable all learners to achieve the higher grades required by the exam board, including the skills of explanation, inference and interpretation as well as source utility.
The information is also broken down into an easy to use format to aid the students in their revision programme. I have also included some useful mnemonics for specific areas of study which have really helped in the past to remember subject content.
This Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and come in PDF format. It can be used for revision, interleaving, homelearning as well as class teaching.
Any reviews on this resource would be much appreciated. Please email me for a free copy of my Edexcel Weimar and Nazi Germany revision summary guide if you do.
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the reasons behind Hitler’s invasion of Poland starting the Second World War and to evaluate if his actions were justified.
Within this lesson, students learn about Blitzkrieg, making comparisons with the static and attritional First World War and understanding how the German Army had learnt from their previous mistakes.
Students have to also complete a thinking quilt to test their comprehension and literacy skills as it requires them to explain and justify these initial German successes in 1939 and 1940.
The plenary finally asks the students to predict what is about to happen in the future through conjecture and formulation their opinions using the information from 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 A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is assess the change and continuity in government between Henry VIII and his father before him.
Students will analyse the workings of government in both Henry’s reigns and decide how much control their had, using a ‘control o’meter’.
Students are also introduced to his ministers for the first time in a model answer from which they can complete some exam practice and allocate marks accordingly referring to a markscheme.
This will also enable them to see how differently Henry VIII ruled the country in comparison to his father.
The plenary using some animated flashcards which the students have to link to Henry and his ministers.
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.
Civil Rights in America
The aim of this lesson is to assess how far Jesse Owens inspired the Civil Rights Movement.
Students begin by analysing his early childhood and how his athletic talents was spotted at a young age.
Students will also assess how Jesse coped in the segregated south with the Jim Crow Laws and judge how far this impacted upon his athletics career.
There is a chronological exercise to complete, together with video footage of the Berlin Olympics and some differentiated questioning on his medals, achievements and legacy…
A true or false quiz at the end will attempt to question how Jesse Owens was received back in the USA after the Berlin Olympics and how far his life changed.
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, 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 aim of this lesson is to analyse the character and motives of Henry VII when he became King.
The lesson focuses on some crucial and important decision making for Henry VII upon his accession to the throne and the beginning of the Tudor dynasty.
He has six decisions to make and students plot these on a grid giving their own judgements before finding out and evaluating how ruthless Henry was in charge.
The lesson hinges upon whether he was a Gangster or not (judged on the criteria at the beginning of the lesson) in an extended and differentiated written answer with a checklist for guidance.
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 consequences of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries and who were the winners and losers i Tudor England.
The start of the lesson gets the students to imagine walking into a monastery, with accompanying music to set the tone. They are given character cards (for both monks and nuns) and introduce themselves to each other to learn about their various roles.
Students then have to analyse information, which is starting to make them scared of the changes that are happening all around them and subsequently decide what will happen to their character as a consequence of the dissolution.
The plenary tests them in a six minute challenge of what they have learnt in the lesson and adds a competitive edge at the end.
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 the students to assess how ‘great’ King Alfred was.
Students are given the context to Alfred’s reign with his attempt to unite the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to fight back against the Vikings and their area known as Danelaw.
There are quite a few key words used in this lesson, so students have to complete a heads and tails task.
They are also required to complete a missing word activity as well as analysing his statue at Winchester.
The main task will be judge and rate out of ten which of the sixteen statements make Alfred ‘great’ or not. An extended writing activity will allow them to make judgements and justify their decisions.
There is also chance to complete a verbal boxing debate using some of the key ideas of his rule from the lesson.
The plenary will check understanding with a truth or lie activity.
This lesson is also excellent as an introduction to studying the Anglo-Saxons and Normans for GCSE.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The aim of this revision bundle for AQA GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People c.1000 to present is to help and thoroughly prepare students for the GCSE exam in the summer.
It contains the following:
A complete Revision Guide with 18 GCSE practice questions, model answers and tips on how to access the exam questions.
Flashcards to help improve recall, retrieval and retention skills. Each of the individuals from the course are summarised and explain the significance of each to achieve the higher marks in the GCSE exam.
A Summary Revision Guide which summarises all the course on two sides of A4. This is easy to print and great for the student who wants a quick refresh on the course content when revising.
A Health and the People work booklet revising the 4 main question types in the exam.
All the resources are in Word format so can be easily changed or adapted to suit.
