I am a History teacher in the North West, and head of Citizenship in my school. I have been teaching since 2007, in four secondary schools across the area. In between times, in 2012, I taught as a volunteer teacher in Ghana, with English, French and Maths classes (you can read about my adventures in my book, Teaching in the Sun, available on Amazon).
All of my resources have been extensively tried and tested. I hope that you, like me, are able to use them for good and outstanding lessons.
I am a History teacher in the North West, and head of Citizenship in my school. I have been teaching since 2007, in four secondary schools across the area. In between times, in 2012, I taught as a volunteer teacher in Ghana, with English, French and Maths classes (you can read about my adventures in my book, Teaching in the Sun, available on Amazon).
All of my resources have been extensively tried and tested. I hope that you, like me, are able to use them for good and outstanding lessons.
This is a diamond 9 card sort to categorise and prioritise the reasons that the American West was lawless. As an extension, you can challenge students to explain the more / less important reasons, and there is a further extension question for more able students. This can lead to a class discussion. Categories could include, but not be limited to, social, economic, cultural political and other factors.
This is a diamond 9 card sort to categorise and prioritise the reasons that life in trenches was difficult.
As an extension, you can challenge students to explain the more / less important reasons, and there is a further extension question for more able students.
This can lead to a class discussion.
Categories could include, but not be limited to, health//hygiene, time, mental health and others.
This is a card sort or diamond 9 activity designed to allow students to categorise and prioritise reasons for giving aid to LEDCs.
As an extension, students can use the cards to explain their thoughts on the most important reason for for giving aid to LEDCs, and think of examples where aid hads been given.
More able students can explain problems of giving aid. They might need prompting with the idea of LEDCs becoming dependent on aid.
Categories could include, but not be limited to:
Helping children
Helping adults
Helping businesses / government
This is a card sort or diamond 9 activity designed to allow students to categorise and prioritise the impact of different influences on people’s voting habits.
Students can use the cards to explain their thoughts on the better and worse influences on people’s voting habits. More able students can explain whether it is important to vote, and why.
Categories could include, but not be limited to:
social / family and friends
demographics
character / personality of those being elected
Parties / party policy
This is a card sort for students to look at working conditions and explain why they cause problems in LEDCs.
Students can explain judgements on the biggest problems.
More able students are invited to explain how to overcome these problems to improve working conditions, and what barriers to change exist.
This card sort allows students to view opinions of Caesar and classify them as either positive or negative.
More able students can explain judgements as to which was the best and worst part of Caesar’s rule.
A resource for KS4.
Firstly, students watch the YouTube link and answer questions about the Red Scare.
Secondly, students decide whether the Red Scare was justified or not, by marking different pieces of evidence.
This can lead to a PEE paragraph or debate.
The first resource is an information sheet which students can use to identify the successes, partial successes and failures of the Gulf War. More able students can decide for themselves how successful the Gulf War was.
The second resource is a card sort designed to allow students to categorise and prioritise the successes, partial successes and failures of the Gulf War. More able students can use the cards to explain their thoughts on the most important successes and failures - in the short and long term, and apply their knowledge to a GCSE style essay question.
The task could also be done as a diamond activity.
This is an ideal activity for preparing students for longer-answer exam questions. It allows discussion to develop as students explain their thoughts and defend them in front of their peers.
This is a diamond 9 card sort to categorise and prioritise the reasons that D Day was successful.
As an extension, you can challenge students to explain the more / less important reasons, and there is a further extension question for more ale students.
This can lead to a class discussion.
Categories could include, but not be limited to, the actions of the Allies, Germany’s weaknesses, planning, leadership and others.
A lesson on the development of Medieval Parliament. Students begin by discussing what they know about Parliament today. They then look at information on the slides, which should be printed off and stuck around the classroom. They fill in thee activity sheet as thy look around.There are extension questions for the more able students at the end of the activity sheet.
Students complete a judgemental paragraph at the end of the lesson. There is a writing frame and key words to help less able students.
This a lesson for KS3/4 Citizenship. Pupils initially have to make spider diagram on Doc 1 of what anti-social behaviour problems there are in society. More able students are invited to explain which are the most serious.
With the diamond 9 ranking, higher ability students can use the ‘(H) Diamond 9’ sheet. They explain in the space provided why each of these examples is a problem. They can then make 3 separate arrangements (get students to sort first bullet point, then put them all back together, then sort second bullet point, then put them all back together, then sort third bullet point), of which problems:
• Damage property
• Make the community look unpleasant
• Leave longer-term mental scars for victims (choose up to 5)
Then arrange as a diamond 9 card sort.
Lower ability students can use the differentiated version, and colour code these categories - some will fit into more than one category, then arrange as a diamond 9 card sort.
With Doc 2, students match the people on the left hand side of the info sheet to the work that they do in the community. They should then explain how these people/groups might contribute to solving problems of anti-social behaviour. Potential answers in notes section of ppt slide 7, and can be printed to help lower-ability students. More able students are invited to explain which are the most useful people or groups.
This is a card sorting resource on the development of Britain’s rule from the 1750s to 1947. There is a differentiated resource for lower ability students.
Students are invited to sort the cards into categories:
a) violence/war b) peaceful protest c) political power / government. Lower ability students can look at what was violent / non-violent.
They then place the cards into chronological order, and can use the timeline to indicate where Britain’s rule was secure or weak. More able students can be challenged to decide how strong or weak each event showed British rule to be.
Students can then answer the following questions on British India:
1. What event showed that British power was at its strongest? Why?
2. What event showed that British power was at its weakest, before 1947? Why?
3. What do you suggest about British rule in India over the years? Think of rise and fall of power. Why do you think that this was?
This can lead to a class debate or piece of extended writing.
This is a whole-lesson on Martin Luther King. it contains a link to the ‘I have a Dream’ speech, an information sheet on Martin Luther King 's beliefs and a factfile on Martin Luther King, differentiated for the lower ability students.
The factfile can be turned into a spider diagram, or students can categorise information in it into Martin Luther King 's views, actions and consequences of actions.
Students have a writing frame on which to base an evaluation of Martin Luther King’s significance.
Students finish by considering the effect of non-peaceful protest.
The worksheet is a card sort / Diamond 9 activity for students, with a differentiated version too. Students are invited to categories and prioritise the reasons that the American Revolution happened.
Students should answer the question underneath the card sort, and then more able students can attempt the extension questions.
This can lead to discussion / debate on why the revolution happened.
The powerpoint contains objectives, key words, background information and a video and task on the course of the revolution. The worksheet forms part of the lesson as described on the ppt.
This is a KS3 resource for the character of Charles II. Students decide whether or not they would have liked him.
As a starter, they brainstorm the qualities of a good king.
they can explain positive and negative aspects of his personality by highlighting information sheets, differentiated for higher and lower ability students. Key words are provided in the powerpoint. This can lead to a debate in class - split them to defend / attack Charles’ personality - and/or a piece of extended writing on whether he was a good / bad character. Different writing frames are included in the powerpoint. My classes love it every year.
YouTube clip supports lesson as a way in.
This is for GCSE History. Students have three sheets which they can work through.
the powerpoint is slide with definitions of the impotent / undeserving / deserving poor
1. Laws against begging and why they failed - Students match the law to why it failed, and higher ability students can take note of whose reign each was passed in. More able students can answer two extension questions to compare the laws of Henry VIII to Elizabeth.
2. The Act for the Relief of the Poor – 1601 - Students match up which parts of the Poor Law fit to which people. Terms of the poor law are underneath - you may want to cut the sheet in half so that terms and the chart are not together. Refer to the PowerPoint if needed for this. There is an extension question underneath the chart for the more able.
3. Effectiveness of the Poor Law - students colour code or use as a card sort the strengths and weaknesses of the Poor Law. They can consider the biggest strength and greatest weakness, before making an overall judgement on the effectiveness of the Poor Law. The best responses will suggests that whilst the effect was limited, it was a significant step and certainly better than anything attempted before.
This is a resource for the teaching of local community. The powerpoint has within it a spider diagram task for students to complete, on who plays a role in looking after and protecting the local community.
The cut and stick resource allows students to match up the different people and groups within the community to their roles. Answers are given in the powerpoint and discussion can be worked in through the feedback of these answers.
As an extension, students can explain who is the most important part of the community, and how these people and groups are interdependent.
The living graph excersize can be done with the ‘6. Ways of helping community cards’ resource. there are 15 methods shown - but not all need to be used in as smaller class, and it can be printed on different colour paper, for a second line to be made - this can lead to stimulating debate as students explain why they have lined themselves up as they have.
This leads to a discussion on how ordinary people, and students themselves, can look after the community.
An interactive decision-making sheet for students to fill in. They place themselves in the position of the League and decide what they would do in each scenario. More able students have a version where they explain heir choices and evaluate the actual responses of the League.
There are extension questions on the powerpoint on the actual responses of the League.
The final slides cover the Geneva Protocol, with questions on its role.
Information on each scenario is provided, as is space for students to give an explanation of each of their choices. Use the powerpoint to support whole lesson, especially when covering the actual responses of the League.
This could be done as a group, paired or individual activity.
This is a resource that could be used for any year group, although I use it for Key Stage 3.
Students have to plan a birthday party. They can choose whether to do go karting, ice skating, cinema or a disco.
They must consider what they have to plan and how much it costs. They have a s budget, as appropriate to the activity. They will have to pick from a number of options to have in the party, such as a shop-bought or home-made birthday cake, amounts of food to be bought, and how many people to invite based on the cost of the event.
They will have to prioritise and debate what to spend money on. At the end of the lesson, they can answer reflection questions contained on the resource sheet, on how they made their choices, and what they learned about budgeting.
Place students in pairs/3s. They will need to choose which party theme to have, and then collect the appropriate resource sheet. Answers can be written, and sums worked out, on the other resource sheet. There is also a powerpoint to guide students through the lesson.
A chronology activity for events of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It can ether be done as a numbering activity, or as a card sort.
Each description is numbered, at present, for teacher’s ease of reading. Remember to tipp-ex out the numbers before use.
There is a differentiated sheet for lower-ability students.
More able student can explain which was the most significant of the consequences, in the short and long term. They can relate to the protesters themselves and the wider Civil Rights movement/USA.
This is an ideal activity for preparing students for longer-answer exam questions. It allows discussion to develop as students explain their thoughts and defend them in front of their peers.