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.
The Industrial Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to question how effective Victorian justice was.
This is an interesting and engaging lesson for students as they decide who was a criminal (from their looks), which were the most common crimes in the early 1800’s and what you could expect at a public hanging though some source analysis.
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to answer the following questions:
Why was it so easy to commit crime in the Victorian period in the early nineteenth century and if you were unfortunate to get caught what could you expect from Victorian justice?
What was the Bloody Code and why was the law so harsh to offenders irrespective in some cases of sex or age?
There are also three case studies to unpick and students are left questioning the morality and effectiveness of the punishments inflicted.
Please note that the reform of the criminal justice system is dealt with in other lessons such as the Victorian prison system and the setting up of the Metropolitan Police force by Sir Robert Peel and the abolition of the Bloody Code.
There are a choice of plenaries from hangman to bingo and heart, head, bag, bin which get the students to prioritise the most ‘effective’ methods used to deal with crime.
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.
Historic Environment Question for 2024
This nine page Revision Guide is aimed at students to help study, organise, revise and be prepared for the AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England 1568-1603 Historic Environment question for 2024.
I have included 6 possible questions for GCSE exam practice on the themes I believe stand out in the literature provided. Within the guide itself, I have broken down the main details of the Americas and Drake’s circumnavigation into manageable chunks.
This guide focuses on the main concepts prescribed by AQA. For example it examines the location of the New World and its growing importance for Drake and his fellow navigators, the function and structure of seafaring as new navigational techniques and ship design allowed more exploration.
It will also analyse the people connected to Drake’s circumnavigation including Sir John Hawkins and Diego as well as giving information on Drake and the different interpretations of him at the time.
Furthermore the culture, values and fashions connected with Drake’s circumnavigation are examined as untold riches such as feathers, pearls, jewels and gold became essential accessories for the fashionistas of Elizabethan England.
Finally important events are linked to Drake’s voyages from his initial slave excursions to his revenge attacks on Spanish shipping and his circumnavigation, as well focusing on the detailed maps and illustrations in his diaries and journals of new lands he discovered.
All the information and more included is advised by AQA through their Paper 2: Shaping the nation resource pack guidance.
I have also gained a brilliant insight into the Americas and Drake’s circumnavigation from renowned historians such as Ben Johnson, Miranda Kaufman and the superb Professor Jowett, as well as numerous other sources, including the fabulous BBC History Today magazine and podcasts.
The resource comes in PDF and Word formats if you wish to adapt and change.
Any reviews on this resource which would be much appreciated.
Cold War
The aim of this extended lesson on the Vietnam War is to analyse its significance; from its dubious beginnings and inception to the types of weapons used, the war crimes which followed and the ensuing lack of support at home as well as the consequences for the civilian population of Vietnam.
So why did America fail to win this war despite overwhelming manpower, control of the air and sea and the most modern military weapons available at the time?
As a starting point, students focus on Paul Hardcastle’s 19 song and his reasons for writing it and analyse the photograph of Kim Phúc before examining the details surrounding the Gulf of Tonkin resolution.
They are given a number of differentiated tasks to analyse both American and Vietcong tactics to win the war (using printable worksheets) and the horrors surrounding search and destroy and the My Lai massacre, the tunnelling system as well as the use of napalm and agent orange.
At the end they will prioritise the reasons for Vietcong success and American failure and how this war played its key part in the Cold War.
The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons is to ask why did civilians fear for their lives during the Cold War? 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.
The British Empire
This lesson focuses on the role Gandhi played in achieving Indian independence from Britain which ultimately cost him his life.
The first part of the lesson looks at why the Indian population were unhappy with British rule, from the Indian Mutiny of 1857, events happening abroad to the Rowlatt Act culminating in the Amritsar Massacre.
They are then introduced to Gandhi, his philosophy of passive resistance (or as he called it satyagraha) and why he set up his Independent Congress Party. This is accompanied with some excellent video footage from the BBC as well as clips from the film ‘Gandhi’ by Sir Richard Attenborough.
The second part of the lesson centers around his life and by analysing various sources from which they complete either a table or grid; students then have to decide how big a part Gandhi played in many events leading to Independence and his lasting legacy for India in 1947.
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.
World War II
This lesson sets out to explains how Hitler set Germany on the road to war in 5 steps.
Students are challenged to find out how and why was he able to defy the Treaty of Versailles so easily with little or no consequences (shown through a causal spider’s web).
Students analyse video footage and a number of sources, using the COP technique (modelled for student understanding) which has proved invaluable for evaluating sources at GCSE.
A final chronological recap of the events and evaluation of the most and least important of the events that led to war, will give students an in depth understanding of why World War II started.
This lesson is ideal as preparation for GCSE if you are embedding source skills or teaching the interwar years or WWII at Key stage 4.
It 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.
Cold War
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the Korea War between 1950-53 and understand the threat North Korea poses to the world today, with its insistence on spending millions on producing nuclear weapons despite catastrophic failures of industry and the famine of the 1990’s.
Students learn about present day Korea using a brilliant video link, and annotate key facts around a map.
They analyse key information about the Korean War in the 1950s and how this produced an armistice in 1953, which is still in force today.
Students have to complete a variety of differentiated tasks which focus on the causes and consequences of the war and evaluate the reasons for the subsequent stalemate.
The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons is to ask why did civilians fear for their lives during the Cold War? 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 formats if there is a wish to adapt and change and is differentiated.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.
Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the significance of the Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht.
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 and Kristallnacht in 1938 are two significant events which can sometimes be overlooked when students write about Nazi policies towards the Jews in Germany, as they tend focus on the events after 1939 only.
What were the Nuremberg Laws, why were they introduced and in which order did policies towards the Jews change after these laws were introduced?
Moreover, was Kristallnacht a spontaneous or well planned atrocity led by the Nazis?
Students are given evidence from which to make an informed decision which they must justify.
A car number plate activity further assesses their understanding before the students plan an examination question for some GCSE exam practice.
There are some great video links to help the learning as well.
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 Industrial Revolution
The aim of this aim is to assess why coal became known as ‘black gold’.
Students learn how important coal was to the Industrial Revolution and how it was used in a number of areas.
However the interesting facts focus on its extraction and yet again the dangers involved for all concerned, especially children.
Students have to rate how effective the various measures put in place were to overcome some of the problems
They also have to tackle some historical hexagonals to get them thinking and linking all the information together.
A find and fix plenary should test their recall and knowledge from the lesson.
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.
World War II
The aim of this lesson is to explore how and why the D-Day landings were a success.
Students are given the details about the Atlantic Wall and learn how Hitler’s attempts to design and build it ultimately led to its flaws and weakness in repelling the Allied forces in June 1944.
Furthermore, students have to decide which landing site would be more advantageous to the Allies, the port of Calais or the beaches of Normandy.
They also analyse the various ingenious inventions of the Allies from the Mulberry Harbours to the underwater PLUTO pipeline.
There are some excellent visual sources to accompany the lesson and well as video footage from the BBC.
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 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.
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.
The Holocaust
The aims of this lesson are to explain who was put on trial at Nuremberg, the crimes they were charged with and their category of criminality ranging from major offenders to followers.
Students begin by learning about Denazification and how this was implemented immediately after the war, before Cold War tensions took over. They also learn why Nuremberg was chosen as the place for the trials.
The main task requires them to analyse up to 8 individuals and how they ‘conducted’ themselves during World War II. Students then have to decide which of the four war crimes they committed and which category of prisoner they would come under.
They also have to judge whether their sentences would be death by shooting, hanging or a prison sentence. The verdicts are given later in the Powerpoint so students can check and compare their answers.
There is an accompanying video task which looks at Nuremberg 75 years on, with some brilliant footage of holocaust survivors and the son of Hans Frank, the Butcher of Poland.
The central enquiry of this and the other lessons in the bundle is to ask who was to blame for the holocaust?
Students 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.
Cold War
The aims of this lesson are to explain what the Cold War was in post war Europe and how it developed between the two existing Superpowers in 1945.
The USA and the USSR had different ideologies and students will learn the differences between Capitalism and Communism.
Furthermore, despite cordial relations at the three meetings held before the end of the war at Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam, suspicions were soon aroused.
Students will analyse the preceding decisions made about the divisions of Germany and Berlin and make informed judgements as to why these suspicions developed.
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 a lightbulb) 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.
The English Civil War
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the reign of Charles II who was determined to stamp his authority and bring back some sense of ‘normality’ to the country.
Students will be given the context of his return with a Head and Tails activity and an excellent video, in which they will have to justify his cautious return.
As well as reassessing how his brought back ‘partying’ to the country, some source scholarship requires students to summarise paragraphs and create images and headings to show and clarify understanding.
Students will also have to put themselves in the shoes of Charles to sort out some of his problems in the restoration.
A ‘talk like an expert’ activity for the plenary will show off their new found knowledge and skills 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.
Cold War
The aim of this lesson is to understand the causes behind the building of the Berlin Wall and the consequences for Berliners.
Students analyse the differences between life on the East and West sides of Berlin to understand why thousands of Germans continued to cross the border to make a better life in West Berlin.
The second part of the lesson focuses on the building of the wall, using statistics, graffiti art and the personal account of Conrad Shuman in a thinking quilt to develop further understanding and evaluate its significance in the context of the Cold War.
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.
Britain: Health and the People, C.1000AD to present
With revision constantly in full swing, I have started to make these revision workbooks which my Year 11 students love (as an alternative to death by Powerpoint).
We pick certain sections each lesson to revise and come up with model answers and discuss the best way to tackle each question in the best way, considering exam time constraints.
I print out the sheets in A5, which the students stick in their books and use to colour code
Students answer the questions next to or underneath the sheets.
They can also be used for homework or interleaving.
The resource comes in Word format if there is a need to change or adapt.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Britain: Power and the People, c.1170 to the present day
This 33 page Revision Guide is broken down into four sections: challenging authority and feudalism, challenging royal authority, reform and reformers and equality and rights.
The Guide starts by explaining the 4 questions types asked in the exam and gives suggestions and tips on the easiest way to tackle these.
The Revision Guide gives over 20 typical exam questions asked on each topic (from significance, to how useful, to similarities and differences to factors) and how to put these questions into practise with model answers.
This Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and can be adapted and changed to suit with PDF and Word formats supplied.
This Guide can be used for revision, interleaving, within the classroom as well for homework purposes.
Any reviews on this resource would be much appreciated.
The Tudors
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the role the Black Tudors played in Tudor society.
Students are given the context of the Tudor times, where they use some source scholarship and questioning to decide how and why Black Tudors came to Britain.
Students then have to ascertain which roles and forms of employment they had using a dual coding activity to decipher them.
There are video links included as well as a thinking quilt, which is designed to challenge concepts and judge the value and importance of their impact upon Tudor England.
The main task is some research which requires students to analyse five Black Tudors in some differentiated Case Studies.
The plenary concludes by checking what they have learnt in the lesson using an odd one out activity or by linking symbols and images used throughout 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.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
American Civil RIghts
The events and actions surrounding the Little Rock Nine are now infamous in history.
This lesson gives the background to the beginning of the desegregation of American Schools with the Brown vs Board of Education case of 1954.
Yet Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas found this difficult to accept and unleased a tidal wave of protest from his actions in Little Rock, shown in this lesson through video footage and images from the time.
The students are given the context to the events of 1957 and have to decide what is being shouted at Elizbeth Eckford before they predict the actions of Eisenhower.
Ultimately they have to evaluate the impact of the Little Rock Nine and how they influenced American society today.
They are required to justify their opinions at the end with scaffolding given 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, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change
The British Empire
This lesson aims to question whether Britain was in India for the right reasons.
The subject matter is the East India Company and a study of how it slowly took over the country of India taking with it a precious diamond and making a fortune out of its trade. There are some great video links used here from the BBC and Dan Snow which help bring reasoning and clarity.
Students are asked if we should return the Koh-i-Noor diamond to India, the jewel in the British crown, after analysing some important evidence.
Students are also given key words to help them with their arguments as to whether the diamond should be returned to India or not.
The final activity focuses on the legacy of the East India Company and who benefitted from their rule before the company’s eventual collapse.
The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching and learning strategies and are linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question of who benefitted from the Empire 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 Norman Conquest
The aim of this lesson is to challenge the overarching question as to whether the punishments fitted the crimes in the Middle Ages.
There is a key focus on literacy throughout the lesson, as students are introduced to a number of key words which they have to fit into a missing word activity and well as using some differentiated story source scholarship to define certain key words using inference and analytical skills.
This resource uses visuals to explain the punishments used in the Middle Ages as well as the causes of crime.
There is also some excellent BBC video footage to accompany the lesson.
Students will be required to complete an extended piece of writing, using the key words they have learnt from the lesson as well as having to justify and explain the key concepts of crime and punishment in an odd one out activity.
This lesson is designed to be interactive, fun, challenging and engaging.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end using a rate ‘o’ meter to show the progress of learning.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
