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 understand how the British Government prepared for World War II and if they were successful in doing so.
The lesson begins by analysing a source and making inferences about the precautions to be taken in times of war.
Furthermore students will also have to decide the Government’s priorities in the Second World War by making judgements as to whether they are low or high, from ideas such as rationing to aid raids or war work to conscription.
They will then complete some research focusing on four areas: warning people of air attacks, the Homeguard, the use of gas masks and the blackout.
Students will plot what the government did or didn’t do on a grid and then after analysing and processing the evidence, justify their conclusions using a colour coding evaluation table as well as completing an extended written task.
The plenary requires students to answer differentiated questions to check their understanding.
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.
The Industrial Revolution
This lesson aims to examine and assess factory conditions during the Industrial Revolution.
The poor conditions and punishments are explored through the eyes of a pauper apprentice, whose story tells us the harsh discipline, rules and punishments for factory workers.
Students have a chance to complete a diary entry and evaluate if life was bad for everyone including using causation equations in the plenary.
The lesson alludes to factory owners like Robert Owen who built quality houses, schools, shops with cheap goods and parks for his workers (although factory reform and reformers is dealt with in another 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 aim of this lesson is to question how much Britain valued its Empire soldiers in the First World War.
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 I, 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 on the First World War.
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 aims of this bundle are to investigate the causes of the French Revolution, how it changed the lives of French people and its consequences for Europe and the Wider World with the rise of Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars.
I have also created and used these lessons to challenge and engage students and to show how much fun learning about this part of European history really is.
By studying this unit, pupils will be able to make connections, draw contrasts, and analyse trends within this period of history by using an enquiry based question throughout all the lessons.
Students will learn and understand key historical skills throughout such as the change and continuity of the Government of France in the Eighteenth Century, the causes and consequences of the execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and the similarities and differences of absolute monarchs such as Louis XVI of France, and Frederick the Great of Prussia in comparison to George III of Britain.
They will also learn about the significance of the Tennis Court Oath, the Storming of the Bastille, the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte as well as different interpretations of Marie Antoinette and Maximilien Robespierre.
Finally they will create relevant, structured and evidentially supported accounts in response to claims that the Terror was justified, Britain had every reason to fear Napoleon or that Louis XVI deserved to be executed.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Introduction to the French Revolution
L2 The French Monarchy
L3 The Three Estates
L4 Louis XVI financial problems
L5 Tennis Court Oath
L6 Storming of the Bastille
L7 Execution of King Louis XVI
L8 The reign of Terror
L9 Maximilien Robespierre (free resource)
L10 Support for the French Revolution
L11 Napoleon Bonaparte
L12 Napoleonic Wars
L13 Legacy of the French Revolution (free resource)
All the lessons come with retrieval practice activities, differentiated materials, suggested teaching and learning strategies and are linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lessons are enquiry based with a key question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
They are fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
I would highly recommend assessing students at the tend of this unit of study, using GCSE style questions from your chosen exam board.
If you have any questions about this unit, please do not hesitate to contact me via my shop for further information.
Conflict and Tension 1918-1939
The aim of this lesson is to anaylse how Hitler united with Austria in 1938.
Students will learn how Hitler fulfilled one of his aims of uniting Germans, the Volksdeutsche, by invading Austria.
This time, Hitler has learned from his mistakes from the Dollfuss affair, but is now in a position of strength.
Students have to decide how ruthless he is in his demands from the Austrian Prime Minister, Schuschnigg.
Students complete a true or false quiz, before analysing video footage and undertaking a card sort activity to determine the causes of consequences of the invasion.
This will enable the students to tackle the ‘write an account’ question.
There is a retrieval grid to complete for the plenary.
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.
**AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603 **
The overarching aim of this and the subsequent 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 first lesson is an introduction to the reign of Queen Elizabeth and starts by finding out what the students know already using a true or false quiz, source material, video evidence and portraits of Elizabeth.
The emphasis is also on the precarious nature of her early life which has a major impact on how she rules when she becomes Queen.
The second part of the lesson uses differentiated resources and requires the students to plot, explain and prioritise her early problems on a tree (using the trunk, branches and leaves).
The third part focuses on a typical GCSE question on the usefulness of a source giving tips and notes on how to answer this question.
The lesson also gives a brief introduction to the course and includes a tracking sheet which the students stick in their books detailing the assessment objectives of the course and the four main question types.
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 is an introduction to the Bayeux Tapestry and aims to understand how much control William the Conqueror had over the population.
The lesson explains some key facts about the tapestry and its propaganda purposes for the Normans in England.
There is a crossword to fill in as well as some analysis of the tapestry itself.
A brilliant animated video of the tapestry brings it to life and students are questioned to how the Normans and Anglo-Saxons are portrayed.
Students are also challenged in a Bayeux Tapestry thinking quilt, which requires them to link key words and definitions together and explain their overall significance.
The lesson is interactive and gets students moving around the classroom. It is also ideal for non-specialists.
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 and notes on the slides for further information.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The Holocaust
The aims of this lesson are to explain how Jewish people rose in rebellion or resisted against Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust.
The first part of the lesson examines the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, using a thinking quilt to challenge ideas and ask key questions about the motivation and determination to succeed against overwhelming odds.
The second part of the lesson analyses resistance in the extermination camps in particular events in Sobibor, Treblinka and Auschwitz.
Students are then asked to justify the best and most effective ways to resist from passive to active resistance. Finally a find and fix activity checks understanding and the learning in the lesson.
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 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.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.
The English Civil War
This lesson aims to analyse the personality of King Charles I and questions how and why this might have implications for his reign.
Following in his father’s footsteps, his vanity and obsession with the Divine Right of Kings are major causes of concern for those in Parliament.
Students learn about his fragility in his younger life to eventual arrogance as he became King and will link a number of reasons together as to why this was to lead to Civil War.
Video footage and sourcework are used to gather the evidence and the students will have to think outside the box to understand his motives and actions and link ideas together.
The plenary is a literacy challenge to help evaluate his personality using key words 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 suggested teaching strategies and 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.
The aim of this lesson is to give students the context to the role and importance the theatre played in Elizabethan England.
Building upon their knowledge and understanding of Shakespeare, they will learn how the theatre adapted and changed to permanent and purpose built theatres through text analysis, a thinking quilt and video evidence.
The second part of the lesson focuses on the globe theatre, with its seating arrangements and the types of plays the audiences could experience.
There are some excellent video links to the BBC included in this resource.
Students will then apply their skills to a choice of two exam practice questions on ‘importance’ and ‘how convincing’, with help and guidance offered 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.
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.
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.
This resource (in booklet form) sets out the OCR Medicine unit, The people’s health, c.1250 to the present day in two sides of A4.
This is ideal for the student who wants a quick recap before the exam as it includes 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 they have been taught!
This resource can also be used for interleaving and homework.
This resource is editable and can be changed to suit. If you like this resource, please check out my Summary Revision Guide for Conflict and Cooperation at : https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/ocr-gcse-9-1-conflict-and-cooperation-1918-1939-summary-revision-guide-11769163
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 second lesson on Elizabeth focuses on the workings of her government. Where did the real power lie in Elizabethan England?
Students question who Elizabeth might want in her government and using a text mapping exercise find out who is who in the different establishments.
The second part of the lesson examines a significance question and compares the inner workings of her government to today’s cabinet and the role of Parliament.
Students have to write about the importance of the Royal Court using the information provided, which is also linked to a brilliant BBC video clip and with a model answer included.
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 GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
I have produced this bundle of resources on the Nazi racial state and the impact of war 1933-45 to help A Level students gain a deeper understanding of Germany’s changing policies during the war years.
The enquiry question throughout these lessons will be evaluate the reasons why the Nazis committed mass murder and assess the impact of total war on Germany.
Students will learn about the development of anti-Semitic policies and the radicalisation of the state with its social Darwinism and race theories.
They will study how the events of the Anschluss, Kristallnacht and the invasion of Poland sparked a sea change in how the Nazi regime reacted towards undesirables as well as Jewish people.
Students will evaluate the effectiveness of propaganda in maintaining morale during the war years and the changing impact of war on German society such as the appointment of Albert Speer and the mobilisation of the German economy for armaments production.
They will also assess how effective opposition was to the Nazi regime and how different groups resisted the totalitarian state.
Finally students will analyse the origins of the ‘Final Solution’, the key figures involved and the role of the Einsatzgruppen and extermination camps in Poland. They will also decide who should take responsibility for the holocaust and why.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Radicalising the State
L2 Undesirables
L3 Nazi policies towards the Jewish people, 1933-37
L4 Nazi policies towards the Jewish people, 1938-40
L5 Nazi policies towards the Jewish people, 1940-41
L6 Impact of war (free resource)
L7 Speer and the war economy
L8 The changing impact of war on German society
L9 Opposition
L10 The final solution
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.
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 aim of this lesson is to assess the validity of four claimants to the English throne in 1066 before the Battles of Hastings.
It also includes a script for those students who prefer a more kinaesthetic approach to this topic.
Each contender is introduced and students have to assess who has the best claim to the English throne, which on the face of it is a difficult choice, which each having a strong argument and motive.
This can also be completed by colour coding thermometers and rating them out of ten before making a substantiated conclusion.
There are differentiated questions to ask the students once this task has been completed.
The plenary asks them to think outside the box and link pictures to the issues and contentions raised.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The aim of this lesson is for students to analyse and evaluate the winning tactics used in by William the Conqueror in the Battle of Hastings.
Students begin by analysing the Bayeux Tapestry, the battle itself and information on the leadership qualities of the two combatants.
They then complete a differentiated task using a storyboard to map out the events of the battle before completing a summarising pyramid on William the Conqueror’s skills.
There is also a chance to recreate the Battle of Hastings with suggestions of role play before the plenary requires some recall and retention skills.
An optional homework suggestion is also provided.
The resource is therefore differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
These lessons have been written to deliver the unit for AQA GCSE 9-1 Conflict and Tension, 1918-39.
By the end of this unit, students will be able to understand the complex and diverse interests of different individuals and nation states in trying to preserve the peace and the setting up a League of Nations.
They will focus on the national self determination of states, the ideas of internationalism and the challenges of revising the Versailles Peace Settlement.
Students will also evaluate the causes of the Second World War, how it occurred and why it proved difficult to resolve the issues which led to its initiation.
They will also study the role of key individuals and groups in shaping change and how international relations were influenced and affected by them.
All the lessons come complete with suggested teaching strategies and differentiated learning tasks.
I have added many of the typical GCSE questions AQA have supplied, from source analysis, write an account, to the longer 16+4 mark questions. Markschemes and tips on how to answer the questions to achieve the higher level marks have also been included.
The lessons are as follows:
L1: Aims of the Peacemakers
L2: Compromise
L3: Terms of the Treaty of Versailles
L4: Satisfaction with the Treaty
L5: The Wider Peace Settlement (free resource)
L6: Introduction to the League of Nations
L7: The structure of the League of Nations
L8: The Commissions
L9: How successful was the League of Nations in the 1920’s?
L10: The decline of International Cooperation (free resource)
L11: The Manchurian Crisis
L12: The Abyssinian Crisis
L13: Was the League destined to fail?
L14: Hitler’s Aims
L15: Reactions to Hitler’s Foreign Policy
L16: The road to war and German rearmament
L17: Reoccupation of the Rhineland (free resource)
L18: The Anschluss
L19: The Sudeten Crisis
L20: The Nazi-Soviet Pact
L21: Why did World War II break out?
Lessons also include retrieval practice activities and come in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
As TES restrict Bundle sizes to 20, Lesson 17 (Reoccupation of the Rhineland free lesson) will have to be downloaded seperately.
Any reviews would be gratefully received.
The British Empire
This lesson aims to find out whether we should be proud or ashamed of gaining an Empire and how the indigenous peoples we conquered ‘benefitted’ under British rule.
This lesson will best be delivered over 2 lessons . The opening slides give some context to the debate and define what an Empire is and which countries Britain owned by 1900.
Through video and source analysis, the students have to explain their choice of being proud or ashamed or both and as the lesson progresses justify whether they are sticking to their decisions.
Analysis focuses on Victorian propaganda, the recent views of British Prime Ministers as well as how museums refuse to engage about how they have obtained their imperial artefacts.
The second part of the lesson examines a number of countries acquired by Britain and focuses on the ‘benefits of Empire’. Students then make their final decisions at the end before drawing conclusions on the legacy of the British Empire.
A homework task is to design an Empire plate (photographic examples given) to celebrate Empire day from 1902.
The lesson comes with 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.
The Suffragettes
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the Cat and Mouse Act of 1913 and the actions of the Liberal Government against the Suffragettes in their quest for the vote
But as the students will have to work out, this act was used for propaganda purposes by both sides to put each other in an unfavourable light. It was after all the Suffragettes who coined the phrase the Cat and Mouse Act and made sure everyone knew the callous actions of the Liberal Government!
As well as completing a prioritising exercise and a literacy challenge, an excellent video allows students to question how it worked and why the Government used it (petrified they might have Suffragette ‘martyrs’ dying in prison).
At the same time, they had no doubts about criminalising the Suffragettes with mug shots from prison as the Suffragettes refused to accept their actions as ‘criminal’ and instead ‘political’ (thus refusing to have their photographs taken as shown on the opening slide).
Students have to analyse the various propaganda sources from each side and decide the messages, who they were targeted against and how effective they were in their aims.
These opinions have to then be tweeted according to various people in society and how they might have be influenced by seeing them.
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.
