The Tudors The aim of this lesson is to challenge the assumption that Henry broke with Rome on account of his faith. This lesson explores this argument using a 2p coin, which brings the lesson some relevance with today. Students complete reading a script, or can opt for actors’ voices. They then have to complete a card sort activity, prioritising Henry’s reasons for his decision to become the Supreme Head of the Church. In their final task, they are required to write a letter to the Pope explaining in no uncertain terms their reasons for the break with Rome. There is an excellent writing frame to complete this task if required. They also have to justify their choices on a timeline, whether it was love or faith alone which had the final say in his religious decisions. 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 Tudors The aims of this lesson are for students to recognise how theatres changed under Elizabeth. They will analyse their early days as travelling performers with a poor reputation playing in pubs and fields to purpose built theatres such as the Globe, paid for by wealthy Patrons such as the Earl of Leicester. Students know through their links to their English lessons quite a lot already about Shakespeare and this lesson taps into their knowledge and builds upon it with a thinking quilt to examine how theatres developed. Furthermore there is a focus on Shakespeare’s plays and inspiration as well as an analysis of the Globe theatre. There is some excellent video footage to complement the learning tasks. The lesson finishes with an odd one out task which will revisit the aims of the lesson and how Tudor theatres and plays still have an impact on society today. 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 bundle of lessons is to question and explore how Elizabeth asserted her authority and control in the second half of her reign. In this lesson, students learn how much Elizabethan society was changing due to this increase in status, wealth and power. The foundations of the Great Chain of Being were being shaken as there was a rise in status of the gentry class, making their money through land and trade and being given jobs of responsibility by the Queen such as JPs, MPs and Privy Councillors. With this new money came the desire to build new houses and a case study of Hardwick Hall is used as an example of how to show off your wealth and power, Students analyse how these new houses demonstrated that their inhabitants were cultured and fashionable people. Students are shown the latest ideas from the BBC and have to analyse and colour code text before demonstrating their knowledge in a ‘how important’ GCSE practice question. After completion they peer assess their answers to check they have included the correct evidence and answered the question properly rather than a given a narrative description which can be a common error. 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 aims to examine the reasons why King John quarrelled 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

This lesson links to my previous one on the causes of the Great Fire of London. In this lesson, students have to decide how lucky London was to have the fire in the first place. They are introduced to conflicting arguments before they are given a plethora of evidence from which they will be able decide and make judgements on how to break the news to the current Mayor of London. They are subsequently given argument words to help them construct a persuasive letter. For extra challenge students have to decide if London was lucky or not in the short and long term and break down the evidence into political, social, economic or religious reasons. This is a fun, entertaining as well as a challenging lesson and would also suit a non specialist. The lesson is aimed at key stage 3, but can be delivered at key stage 2 also. The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, 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.

The Industrial Revolution The aim of this lesson is to question how far the Factory and Mine Acts went to reform working conditions. Students have to decide how much credit the Government of the day should receive for reforming the conditions of workers in the factories and mines. Furthermore they will evaluate how effective the laws were that were passed and were they adhered to. Finally they will judge how much credit should be given to a number of dedicated and philanthropic individuals who were ahead of their time This lesson explores these questions by examining the evidence of children and discovers how factory owners like Titus Salt in Bradford were determined to help their workers themselves to create a harmonious and thriving community. Students have to think which Acts applied to whom using numbers as well as evaluating how much lives improved as a result of the Factory and Mines Acts. 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 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603 The overarching aim of this and the subsequent bundle of eleven lessons is to question and explore how Elizabeth tried to assert and establish her authority in the early years of her reign. The lessons are therefore linked together to build up a picture of her difficulties in trying to overcome this. This is the third lesson and attempts to clarify the problems Elizabeth faced as a ruler in her first ten years; from being a female to the succession, foreign policy, Ireland, taxation and religion. Students have to answer a variety of different questions from the start and engage in a thinking quilt to challenge them and link definitions to key words. Students are given a chance to review her biggest problems either in a knockout tournament or using structured questions. This will enable them to answer two of the exam question types; the ‘interpretation’ question and the ‘write an account’ question. Two plenaries focus on retrieval practice and what the students have learnt in 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 includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

World War II The aim of this lesson is to question whether the breaking of the Enigma Code led to Britain winning the Second World War. Having watched the ‘Imitation Game’, I was fascinated to learn more about the story of Alan Turing and the injustice he received at the hands of the British Government. I was therefore inspired to write this lesson for my department especially after his contribution to the war effort and his brilliance of mind. The first task naturally is for students to crack the code and find out what they will be learning about in the lesson. They will also learn about the significance of Bletchley Park and how the code for the Enigma Machine was deciphered by Turing and his team in Hut 8, using a missing word activity. A thinking quilt will also test and challenge their understanding of his early life, his work during the war as well as his legacy. There are some excellent video links using the bbc website and an exert from the film above. The plenary will finally test their understanding of the lesson, using a true and false quiz as well as images to link to the key ideas of 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.

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.

The aim of this lesson is to analyse African American experiences in the Civil War. The lesson begins by students exploring the reasons why the law changed, allowing black people to join the US army Some video footage and statistics give an insight into some of the experiences black people encountered, before students complete a thinking quilt linking key terms to events in the Civil War as well as challenge questions. Students also have to evaluate the significance of black regiments by analysing a quote from Frederick Douglass at the time and deciding which statements apply and fit the criteria, before justifying their choices. An interactive blockbusters plenary questions their knowledge from the lesson and checks understanding. 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 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 GCSE 9-1 ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND, 1568-1603 I have produced these flashcards to help students be prepared for and help revise for their GCSE exam on Elizabethan England. They are easy to use and; simply cut out fold and line up. Students can test each other in class or take them for their home learning. The flashcards will help with: Recall, retrieval and retention 3rd tier vocabulary to attain the higher marks in the examination Vast subject content The Historic Environment for Sheffield Manor Lodge, 2023

Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 This lesson aims to assess Reagan’s new approach to the Soviet Union and the reasons for a Second Cold War. Students learn about the precarious nature of the life span of some of the Soviet leaders as well Reagan’s background before he became President. They then have to emoji rate and judge his Presidency as to how tough a stance he takes using a number of statements. There are also some statement options to judge correctly as well as a differentiated questioning task. Some GCSE question practice on the importance of Reagan’s Presidency can be completed at the end of the lesson, with help given using a scaffold and a student friendly markscheme if required. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout this and subsequent lessons to show the progress of learning. The lessons in this bundle are therefore linked together to build up a picture of how diplomacy, propaganda and spying led two Superpowers with opposing political ideologies to create tensions, rivalries and distrust as well as subsequently forming mutual understanding and cooperation over the time period in question. The resource includes retrieval practice, suggested teaching strategies, differentiated material and GCSE question practice. It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

World War I This lesson aims to analyse how the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the spark for World War 1 to start. Students will question how frightening the assassination was and the speed of European countries to mobilise for war. As video evidence is used to explain the events that led to the shooting in Sarajevo, an analogy is made to a bar brawl as students try to ascertain the causes of it and link these to the events which unfolded after 28th June, 1914. Students also have to complete a chronological exercise of the events as well as deciding the personalities of the main countries involved. The plenary is a catchphrase check (complete with music) on key words used in 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.

World War I The aim of this lesson is to question how frightening it was to fight on the Western Front. This lesson centres around the case of Private Harry Farr who was shot for ‘misbehaving before the enemy in such a manner as to show cowardice.’ Students re-enact his court martial using the witness statements before his sentencing and ultimately decide if his sentence was justified… The start of the lesson requires them to define a coward and more importantly question what shellshock is, which the Government at the time refused to recognise. Students will analyse why so many soldiers refused to fight and preferred to desert instead fully aware of the consequences of their actions. The students will use visual and source evidence and apply higher order thinking skills at the end of the lesson in an extended piece of writing. The plenary questions students’ beliefs on cowardice and challenges their original assumptions at the beginning of 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 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 analyse life in a slave plantation. What was a typical day like? How hard was the work? Was it made easier by the invention of the cotton gin? How did they relax if at all in the evening and what were their living quarters like? Learning tasks include comparing a day in their school life with the day of a plantation slave and recognising the hardships endured. Students also have to use a number of sources, which are differentiated according to ability and challenge a statement which suggests a slave’s life wasn’t really that bad. The plenary asks them to use four letters and come up with as many associated words as they can from their learning. The lesson comes with a retrieval practice activity, suggested teaching and learning strategies and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate. The lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.

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.

Norman Conquest The aim of this lesson is to assess how scary the Black Death was in1348. Students are introduced to the idea of why the Black Death was so scary, learning about the symptoms of the Bubonic Plague and Pneumonic Plague and the devastation that lay in its wake from empty villages today to paintings showing devastation and death. They learn key words such as contagion, flagellants, humours and miasmas and how these words link to the learning objective through a thinking quilt. They will also find out how the peasants gained in status as a result of the reduction of the workforce and how this gave them more bargaining power with their landlords over wages. The plenary is a Black Death connecting wall which requires students to link four key phrases and to explain how and why they link together. This lesson is therefore designed to be interactive, fun, challenging and engaging and could be used over two lessons. 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.

Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 This resource in booklet form sets out the course in two sides of A4. This is ideal for the student who wants a quick recap and summary before the exam as it sets out all the main details in bullet form. It is also great for quickly printing and giving out for revision lessons, especially when the students claim they cannot remember anything you have taught! It covers the main events, issues and people connected with the course with a focus on exam requirements. I have included both PDF and word documents in case there is a wish to adapt and change.

The Tudors This lesson sets out to question whether the reason that Henry broke from Rome all along was due to money. His expensive tastes, his wives, his need to build up his navy and coastal defences and to show Europe his prowess all took a toll on his bank balance. The monasteries with their wealth proved all too easy pickings for his Chancellor Thomas Cromwell in his ‘Valour Ecclesiasticus’. The lesson therefore allows the students to build up a picture of his need for money. Through some investigative work, they will shockingly find many ‘abuses’ and ‘vices’ in the monasteries, giving Henry the excuse to close them down and take their money for himself. They also have to complete their own report on the reasons why Henry broke from Rome with these new findings and some deliberately falsified accounts. 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.