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 aim of this lesson is to gauge the weaknesses of Papen’s Government in the prelude to Hitler becoming Chancellor.
Students begin by referring back to Bruning’s Government and the reasons for its collapse.
They then have to decide the options open to Papen in forming a new Government and are given various scenarios to consider.
A case study is also given for Papen’s actions in Prussia and his abuse of his constitutional power. This will help the students complete some exam question practice at the end of the lesson. Some help with structure and a model answer have been included if required.
They will also be required to analyse the election results in 1932 and their wider implications for the country. Some clear questioning is used to steer the students to look for trends, implications and significance.
The plenary task consolidates the learning of the lesson with putting questions to the answers given.
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 Industrial Revolution
The aim for writing this lesson is to challenge the traditional view that Jack the Ripper targeted prostitutes or sex workers in Victorian London.
Whilst much has been written about the Jack the Ripper and how clever he was to avoid detection, very little has been written about the lives of his victims.
Therefore with this in mind, students will learn how difficult it was for Victorian women to lead comfortable lives as marriage, children, work, alcoholism, the workhouse and poverty took its toll on them.
Students begin the lesson with an overview by learning what is known about Jack the Ripper, who he killed and how the police had little evidence or clues to go on. There is a video link and a true or false activity to complete this.
They will then have to use a number of images to decide how hard life was for Victorian women and the pressures they were under. A differentiated missing word activity can be completed to piece together many of these problems, based on the lives of the five women murdered.
A case study of Annie Chapman, the Ripper’s second victim, will centre around her privileged life before alcoholism took over, forcing her to separate from her husband and children as she moved from a village near Windsor Castle to the doss houses of Whitechapel.
Here, students have to colour code the main factors and problems which affected her life.
An extended writing task can then be completed, with a writing structure and key words given to help if required.
The plenary poses some differentiated questions from the learning completed in 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 and there are differentiated materials included.
A big thank you goes to Hallie Rubenhold, whose fabulous book ‘The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women killed by Jack the Ripper’ inspired me to write this lesson.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to assess the state of the Republic by 1924 as a consequences of risings from the left and right.
As there is a lot of information in the lesson, students are given an overview of the learning in the lesson and what is covered.
Students begin by rating how serious six political uprisings were and be able to justify their choices.
They also have to summarise the reason why coalition governments made the Republic so weak, using information provided.
Case studies also focus on the Spartacist Uprising, the Munich Beer Hall Putsch and political assassinations.
This will enable students to tackle a source based question on the political instability of the Weimar Republic between 1919-24.
The lesson comes complete with a generic marksheme and question planning sheet.
The plenary is a find and fix task, recapping on learning from the lesson.
There is a 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 GCSE Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
This lesson is split into two parts. The first part looks at the various racial groups within Germany (Hitler;s enemies and scapegoats) who were targeted and excluded by the Nazis and the reasons behind this.
There is a case study of the Grefeneck Asylum where its inmates mysteriously disappeared; the students are given clues as to how to unravel the story about what happened there.
They subsequently learn of the T4 euthaniasia programme secretly enacted by the Nazis and the sheer scale and numbers involved.
The second part of the lesson focuses on anti-Semitism within Germany, the history and context behind it and how the Nazis used propaganda posters to get their vile message across.
Students have to analyse why the Jewish population was targeted and explain how this prejudice and discrimination manifested itself
There are some brilliant video links which explore these issues further and a plenary which attempts to change some student perceptions of Hitler’s own anti-Semitism and ideas of racial purity.
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 Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
This lesson aims to evaluate the strengths and weakensses of Stresemann’s policies. Students have to decide if he was indeed the saviour of Germany.
The starter is interactive as each student has a character card and will introduce themselves to each other to find out their worries and concerns with Germany between 1918-1923.
At the end of the lesson the students will judge if Stresemann has made their lives better or not and justify their reasons.
Was he a brilliant statesman who solved Germany’s problems or did he just paper over the cracks?
There are a variety of learning tasks for the students to complete which include a quiz where the students pick up points for the correct answers, source analysis, colour coding activities on Stresemann’s economic and political policies as well as a GCSE exam practice question, 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, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
AQA GCSE Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
This lesson explores how the Nazis suppressed opposition in Germany through terror, repression, fear, propaganda and coordination.
Most student answers on the police state tend to focus on terror and violence, so hopefully this lesson will re-evaluate their thinking to take into account the ideas of indoctrination and persuasion.
Students analyse the types of propaganda used as well as control in all spheres of life before having to explain there was little opposition as asked at the beginning of the lesson.
They will also judge how effective the different forms of control are such as concentration camps, the SS and Gestapo, the law courts as well as the use of block wardens.
By the end of the lesson, the students are given a GCSE practice question to analyse and mark, with guidance on how to achieve the higher marks with a model answer.
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 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The aim of the lesson is for students to understand how Public Health reached a crisis point and why the Government was finally persuaded to make Public Health its priority from its previous laissez-faire stance…
Students will learn about 5 key figures (Chadwick, Snow, Bazalgette, Booth and Rowntree) and their attempts to change the health of the nation, from tackling cholera, miasmas and sewage, to the passing of Public Health Acts.
Moreover, students will evaluate why attitudes changed and how the Government realised a healthier workforce was needed to compete with challenges to the Empire from abroad.
Each of the five individuals are analysed and their work scrutinised to judge how effective their recommendations or improvements were, culminating in a decision as to who made the most significant contribution to Public Health.
The lesson includes worksheets for all the individuals, GCSE practice questions on factors and source analysis, quizzes and video links throughout.
There are also plenaries for each individual to check understanding and recap on their contribution to Public Health.
This lesson is fully resourced and can be delivered over two-three 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 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
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 with its reparations for example 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.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate to what extend Elizabeth presided over a Golden Age.
Students are introduced to the concept of an Elizabethan Golden Age.
They focus on achievements in the arts, popular culture, improved communication and education, patronage and increasing wealth to decide to what extent a Golden Age existed, or whether it was a myth created by a very astute monarch who used propaganda extremely cleverly to put across a cult of Gloriana.
A detailed markscheme accompanies some exam practice towards the end of the lesson.
There are video links and images to accompany the lesson, culminating in some exam proactice at the end.
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.
The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Elizabeth’s government.
Students will analyse a number of key institutions of Government ranging from Parliament, the Royal Court and the Privy Council on a national level to Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs and Lord Lieutenants on a local level.
There are a number of slides within this PowerPoint and it is therefore recommended to deliver it over two lessons.
Students will also learn details of conflicts Elizabeth had with Parliament and her Privy Council, the factions which developed in her reign and how she was able to overcome these through her diplomacy and strength of character.
A 20 question quiz concludes the lesson as well as some exam question practice if required with some guidance and a mark scheme provided.
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 GCSE Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The aim of this lesson is to assess how much and how far surgery improved in the 19th Century.
The lesson is split into three parts; pain, infection and blood loss and will possibly take two to three lessons to deliver.
Students learn about the problems of pain in surgery pre-anaesthetics and how surgery ‘advanced’ with the introduction of ether (William Morton) and chloroform (James Simpson) .
A summarising pyramid challenges students thinking and gets them to understand why there was opposition to these new drugs.
In the second part of the lesson, students analyse the new techniques used by Joseph Lister with his carbolic spray and evaluate his significance and impact overtime using sources.
Finally in the third part of the lesson, students use a thinking quilt to question and comprehend the advances made in blood transfusions and the role the First World War played in developing surgery further.
The lesson includes GCSE practice questions, fabulous video links to surgery both past and present and enables the pupils to challenge and question the ‘progress’ made by surgeons.
Students can also summarise the topic by creating a road map using road signs to show the advances and pitfalls of surgery over time.
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
This lesson directly tackles the overriding enquiry question throughout this sequence of lessons, namely who was to blame for the holocaust?
They will continue to map out their ideas (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 lesson focuses on Police Battalion 101 who were ‘instructed’ by their Commander, Major Trapp to execute Jews in Poland and send many others to the extermination camps.
Two historians have conducted extensive research in this area and either concluded they were willing executioners or just ordinary men, victims of an extraordinary situation.
It is up to the students to make up their own minds by tracking one of the battalion’s first ‘actions’ against 1800 Polish Jews living in the village of Jozefow.
There are accompanying worksheets and grids to colour code as well as excellent links to video footage and differentiated tasks to help students of all abilities.
Other figures to blame in the lesson debate include Adolf Eichmann, the organiser of the transportation of the Jews as well as the German public, train drivers, Camp Commandants or foreign governments who failed to respond. Students have to prioritise their responsibility list in the plenary.
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 aims of this lesson are to analyse the Battle of Marston Moor and evaluate how the New Model Army under Oliver Cromwell won the battle, as well as to question if Parliament had decided to kill King Charles I from the start.
Therefore this lesson comes in two parts.
This first lesson focuses on how the two sides fought in the Civil War.
Students learn about the musketeers and pikemen, before analysing their role in the Battle of Marston Moor.
The students take on the job of Oliver Cromwell and make key decisions to win the battle, gaining points as they go along.
However they must be careful not to make mistakes and lose the battle with catastrophic consequences for Parliament and the New Model Army.
The second part of the lesson looks at an alternative view of the Civil War. Was the decision taken to kill the King early on, or did Parliament arrive painstakingly at this decision over time.
Students plot this on a graph before reaching and justifying their own conclusions, using some argument words for help if required.
A lightbulb is 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 American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to explore the conflicts between the US Government and the Plains Indians in the 1860’s. It is split into two parts.
The first part analyses Little Crow’s War of 1862 and the second part analyses the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864.
Students are required to place themselves in the shoes of Little Crow and have to choose which decisions he took against the US Government as a result of the Dakota Sioux’s plight, which became more and more desperate.
This is completed in the form of a quiz where points are allocated for the right decisions taken by the students. Answers are given throughout if wrong choices are made with accompanying explanations.
There is a printable worksheet included on which they give information about his early life and the reasons for growing tensions with the US Government. The sheet also tracks the decisions made by the students and the points awarded for each decision.
At the end of the task, students will be keen to hear that the results are in and a winner announced!
In part 2 of the lesson a chronological exercise as well as questions around the impact of the Sand Creek Massacre will be posed to the students.
The plenary requires some critical thinking skills around causal equations.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘write a narrative account’ worth 8 marks, with help given if needed.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some recall retrieval practice is also included linking key words together.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
Middle Ages
The aim of this lesson is to decide who rules in Medieval England - the Crown or the people?
As the lesson unfolds the overriding question becomes more challenging; in the short term the Peasants’ Revolt ultimately failed but the consequences in the longer term for the people were much more positive.
The scene is set with each student taking on the role on a peasant and spokesperson for their village. They complete a grid sheet throughout the first part of this lesson to clarify their significance in the village.
As the demands of the King become ever more unacceptable, they have to make choices, using a quiz to choose the correct actions to take, gaining or losing points in the process. This can be completed as a class or independently.
The second part of the lesson examines what happened to Wat Tyler – piecing together evidence from the King’s supporters at the time.
Ultimately they will write a narrative account of the Peasants’ Revolt using differentiated tasks which give guidance and help if required.
They continue to plot the power struggle between the king, the church, the barons and the people on a graph in a sequence of lessons.
This lesson includes:
Fun, engaging and challenging tasks
Links to video footage
Printable worksheets
Differentiated tasks
Suggested teaching strategies
Homework ideas
PowerPoint format, which can be changed to suit
The Suffragettes
The aim of this lesson is to question the motives of Emily Davison. Did she really mean to kill herself or was it a protest that went drastically wrong?
Students learn what a martyr is and then sift through the evidence of her handbag to make a judgement.
However not is all as it seems as conflicting source and video evidence only serves to add confusion to the debate.
The plenary also requires the students to question whether she can be called a martyr or not and whether she helped the suffragette cause.
This is a fun, engaging and challenging lesson which requires students to evaluate and make judgements using evidence as well as getting them to justify their opinions.
There is also a chance of role play if you feel daring or not as the mystery of her death unfolds.
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.
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.
Migration Nation
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the causes and consequences of Jewish migration to Britain and its significance today.
As this study focuses on Jewish migration from the Middle Ages to today, I have included a timeline for each topic studied. This lesson may be delivered over two sessions.
Students learn about the causes of anti-Semitism and persecution as well as judging how accepting Britons were when Jewish people were welcomed back into Britain in 1885 after having been expelled under King Edward I.
There is a focus on Oswald Moseley’s fascists and the Battle of Cable Street, as students question why anti-Semitism and prejudice declined following the events in the East End of London.
Students also analyse and are able to discuss the humanitarianism shown through the Kindertransport and the actions of Sir Nicholas Winton who was made famous on an episode of ‘That’s Life’ which has been included
The plenary multiple-choice quiz at the end will help to consolidate the learning from the lesson
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, fully resourced and includes suggested teaching strategies.
Crime and Punishment
The aim of this lesson is to analyse how and why attitudes towards punishment changed in the 18th and 19th Centuries with the development of ‘new’ crimes.
Key questions are posed throughout the lesson. Why was there a shift from public to private punishments? Why was the prison system developed with a focus primarily on retribution and punishment? Why were there a change in attitude towards capital punishment and the desire to expand the police force?
The first part of the lesson assesses the responses of governments to the crimes of highway robbery, poaching, smuggling, rioting, protesting and joining a Trade Union. Students plot the various crimes, giving explanations and reasons for the increase in crimes and how effective the government responses were to reduce it. There is a diamond nine activity and video link to help.
The second part of the lesson plots the strengths and weaknesses of Government punishments such as transportation, the expansion of prisons and the police force.
A thinking quilt at the end of this part of the lesson will check understanding and students can also complete some extended writing practice, with prompts and a markscheme provided.
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, fully resourced and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the reasons behind the radicalisation of Nazi policies towards Jewish people in the years 1940-41.
The scene is set with the outbreak of war, the invasion of the Soviet Union and further restrictions placed on Jewish people in Germany.
Students follow a flow diagram of events with questions posed throughout. There is also a case study of the Warsaw Ghetto and its uprising.
They are then introduced to the Einsatzgruppen, what their key aims were and the possible actions they carried out in a true or false quiz. Further information, including whether the group were ‘ordinary men’ or ‘willing executioners’ is examined before students complete a quiz to check their understanding and consolidate their learning.
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.