Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 This is the final lesson in exploring the causes of World War II. As Hitler invades Poland, students reflect upon the main reasons why Europe descended into war. Students are required to colour code the main causes of World War II by linking them to five main categories. They also have a chance to demonstrate their understanding by providing evidence and qualifying their judgements. The final part of the lesson is geared towards preparing them for a GCSE assessment by analysing and tackling typical GCSE questions with help 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, some retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

What happens at a slave auction? How are the slaves prepared? Who attends the auction? Who is chosen and why? This lesson attempts to answer these questions and more; from branding to advertisements and the auction itself. Students also learn of the heartache and pain of those who are sold and how and why slaves are sold at different prices. They are also challenged in a task to think who would be more expensive and why. By the end of the lesson, students have to give examples in a true or false quiz of what they have learned in the lesson, including having to decide the worst aspects of the slave auction. 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.

This lesson examines the different punishments that the slaves endured on the plantations. Different sources are analysed showing the positive and negative aspects of plantation life as students have to extract fact from fiction. Students then look at the different forms of resistance from passive to active resistance and decide the best and most effective form of resistance and justify their reasons. There is also a chance of being more interactive as students are selected to take on some forms resistance which the class have to find out and decide. 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.

World War I The aim of the lesson is to understand why alliances and rivalries at the beginning of the Twentieth Century led to the outbreak of war. This lesson sets out the long term causes of the First World War 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.

World War I This lesson is split into two parts: The aim of the first part of this lesson is to focus on the roles women played in World War 1 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 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. 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.

American Civil Rights This lesson starts with the Bob Dylan song ‘The death of Emmett Till’. The question is posed as to why Emmett’s mother had an open top casket at his funeral? Students are given sources to piece together the story before they find out what happened to him (the story is differentiated according to ability). Embedded video footage of his short life from the time reinforces their learning. Students then have a choice of answering some differentiated questions or completing an extended piece of writing. The plenary questions the impact of his death upon the Civil Rights Movement and help is given on how students can justify their reasons. 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.

World War II This lesson aims to evaluate if the evacuation of Dunkirk was a success or failure. By the end of the lesson, students will have made up their own minds and be able to give their own interpretations of the events of May 1940. Using video and film footage of the time as well recent accounts from veterans, students will be able to recognise and understand why there is a difference between contemporary and modern versions of the evacuation. They will also study a range of sources both visual and written and then judge which were most accurate and why, again focusing on contemporary as well as modern day accounts. In conclusion, they will write up their findings in an extended written task. 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.

This is a fun, entertaining as well as a challenging lesson, designed to question and evaluate the causes of the Great Fire of London in the summer of 1666. The hook is Samuel Pepys; why did he bury his cheese and why did he bury it alongside items that were surely more valuable? The lesson comes complete with differentiated resources as students have to plot the causes and consequences of the fire on a visual display using logs,flames and smoke. Notes have been put on each slide on how to deliver the activities and answers to some of the questions posed as well as suggested teaching strategies. This lesson is active, exciting and engaging and would also suit a non specialist. It is aimed at key stage 3, but can be delivered to key stage 2 pupils also. The lesson comes with 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 posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning. The lessons are fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.

The Tudors The aim of this lesson is to assess how ready Elizabeth was to become Queen What was the young Elizabeth like and how did her background and upbringing prepare her to be a Queen? Moreover how did the foundations of her life enable her as a woman to be strong in a man’s world? This lesson attempts to examine her attributes growing up but also shows how luck and ruthlessness also played a later part in her life. Students build up a picture of her early life through pictures, sources and video evidence before explaining her character and noting the problems she faced and how she overcame them from a young age. Activities include a a chronology exercise, a true or false quiz, video and source analysis as well as using a tree to connect her early problems (branches) and character traits (leaves). 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 lesson to assess why and how Britain adopted a police force in the Nineteenth Century. Students will be posed a number of questions throughout the lesson including: *Why was there a need for a police force in England and Wales? Why did the Government set up the Metropolitan Police Force which later spread throughout the country? How did the population react to such a force and was there support or opposition to it? How were the police initially equipped o take on their roles and what qualifications did you need to join the police. * Students will analyse these questions through visual images, written prose, a true or false quiz, video evidence, source analysis and a question thinking quilt. They will also evaluate the effectiveness of the police force throughout and by using causational equations at the end of 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.

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.

World War I The aim of this lesson is to question how much Britain valued its Empire soldiers in World War 1. 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 1, where they will learn how more V.C.’s were awarded to 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 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. 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 Tudors This lesson aims to question the importance of Edward VI and his priorities when he became King. Recent research has claimed Edward was not a sickly boy at all and therefore this is not the emphasis of the lesson. Instead students have to think about the importance of religion and the changes he made, even to the extent of altering the succession. The lesson starts with a play your cards right game, the cards turning and the dates revealed as students are tested on their chronological understanding. In true world cup fashion, they have to narrow down his fixtures culminating in a final and winning priority. This lesson challenges students using numbers, a true or false quiz, source work as well as video evidence to give the students a thorough knowledge of his six year reign. 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 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603 The overarching aim of this and the subsequent lessons is to question and explore how Elizabeth asserted her authority and control in the second half of her reign. The key to this lesson is to recap not only the causes of the Spanish Armada and the build up to its eventually defeat, but also to analyse the battle itself and reasons for English success and Spanish failure. Furthermore, what were the consequences for Elizabeth and her successors? How did Britain regain the initiative and establish Elizabeth as a Protestant force to be reckoned with in Europe and at home? How did the defeat change her status as a world power for the next generation of explorers and seafarers as Britain became the dominant naval power in the world by the 19th Century? Students make up and pour a toxic cocktail of causes before piecing together the reasons why the Armada failed and ran out of energy, by giving it an energy rating in a prioritisation exercise. They also have to amend a number of statements and correct them, explaining the reasons why they are incorrect as well as studying an interactive map as the events unfolded. Finally students can complete a ‘How important’ GCSE practice question worth 8 marks to consolidate their learning with hints and tips of how to answer this. 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.

American Civil Rights This lesson questions how far the African American community in America has come since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lesson starts with focusing on the inspirational actions of two American athletes during the Mexico Olympics of 1968. The students are questioned on the symbolic nature of their protest and how their message had far reaching implications. Seven case studies are investigated by the students from the achievements of Michael Johnson and Barak Obama to the tragic incidents surrounding Rodney King, James Byrd and George Floyd. There is much accompanying video footage as well as differentiated tasks to enable students to make a judgement 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, 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, c.1000 to present This lesson aims to assess how much the medical knowledge doctors and surgeons had. Surgery was of course limited without effective painkillers and bleeding whilst shock and infection were common. Students learn the various treatments on offer from wise women, quacks and barber surgeons and in turn rate each treatment and its effectiveness, justifying and concluding why this is. The lesson also includes a thinking quilt and a GCSE practice question where students critique an answer and suggest ways to improve it, using specific skills when answering a ‘usefulness’ 8 mark question. 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 9-1 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present The aim of this lesson is to judge the contribution and impact Florence made to medicine. Did Florence Nightingale singly handedly improve hospitals or were improvements afoot before she went to the Crimea? This is the driving question students will have in mind as they evaluate the reputation of women, nurses and hospitals before the Crimean War. Students will also analyse the story of Florence Nightingale and decide which factors helped each part of her story – thus recognising and understanding how to link different factors to one individual. The lesson thus includes a GCSE practice question, a fabulous video link and literacy challenges throughout. 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 9-1 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present The aim of the lesson is for students to understand how attitudes towards Public Health finally changed in the Twentieth Century with a ‘new liberalism’ approach which recognised that being poor was not always the fault of the poor and that the government had to do something. Students begin by analysing the source, 'unqualified assistance’, evaluating its significance and then prioritising the main reasons for this new approach, as the Government reforms aimed to create a fitter and healthier Britain. Students have to fill in a grid which link the main reforms to the different groups in society and also evaluate the limitations of the reforms. The plenary focuses on a scrabble game and literacy skills to recap the learning of 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.

The Holocaust The aim of this lesson is to understand why we should remember the holocaust and why we commemorate it every year. Some misconceptions are given at the start, such as what the holocaust actual means and the differences between concentration and extermination camps. Throughout the lesson the students build up their ideas and add them around a lightbulb to focus on the central aims of the lesson. Students are also given numbers and have to decide the significance of each from 6 million to 2 minutes and 2 seconds or 90cm by 90cm for example. The final part of the lesson refers to the powerful and moving story of Erica, thrown off the train by her parents before she reached Auschwitz and therefore knowing very little about herself. The plenary focuses on some odd ones out exercises and recent genocides to emphasise the importance of remembering the holocaust. There is some excellent video footage to accompany the lesson. 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.

The Holocaust The aim of this lesson is to analyse and evaluate the reasons why anti-Semitism prevailed in Europe and in particular Britain during the Middle Ages. Students study the causes and consequences of this hatred and jealousy and have to decide and justify why so little was done to defend the Jewish community leading to their expulsion in Norwich. A case study of Mosse Mokke and his wife Abigale, Jewish tax collectors in Medieval Norwich shows how anti-Semitism was rife in Britain in the Middle Ages and how they were portrayed by the local community. 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 centred around a lightbulb) and build up a picture of how difficult it is to blame a single individual or event for this catastrophe. There is some excellent video footage to accompany the lesson and printable worksheets which are differentiated. 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.