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.
World War I
The aim of this lesson is to understand how Germany was punished after World War 1 and how harsh its terms were to many Germans.
The first part of the lesson looks at how the map of Europe changed.
Students then have to think why the Big Three had different ideas on how to treat Germany.
Through various images and video footage students can see what they decided and have to justify why they came to these decisions.
The terms of the Treaty are discussed and then shown how to be remembered using a chatterbox (a template is included).
The final part analyses and evaluates a number of sources on the Treaty and their meanings.
A recap plenary at the end of the lesson uses a spinning wheel which can be used in a competitive challenge.
This lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout the lesson and this unit of study 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.
AQA GCSE A Level 1C The Tudors: England, 1485–1603
I have produced this bundle of resources on Elizabeth to help A level history students access the course and make the transition from GCSE to A Level smoothly.
Elizabeth’s 45-year reign is generally considered one of the most glorious in English history. During it a secure Church of England was established. The image of Elizabeth’s reign is one of triumph and success. However, it faced many difficulties with threats of invasion from Spain through Ireland, and from France through Scotland. The nation also suffered from high prices and severe economic depression, especially in the countryside, during the 1590s.
The enquiry question throughout this bundle of resources will be to question what sort of a Queen Elizabeth was throughout her reign and how and why she changed or adapted over time .
Students will learn how Elizabeth dealt with religion in the Religious Settlement of 1559. They will assess her character and aims and how Elizabeth’s Government worked on a local as well as National level.
They will judge the significance of her foreign policy in relation to Catholic threats at home and abroad as well as her attempts to tackle poverty with increasing inflation and poor harvests.
Finally they will evaluate how much the arts, education, exploration and colonisation can be attributed to a Golden Age.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Introduction
L2 Problems
L3 Consolidation of power
L4 Government of Elizabeth
L5 Elizabeth and marriage
L6 Background to the Religious Settlement
L7 Elizabethan Religious Settlement
L8 Catholic threats and rebellion
L9 Mary, Queen of Scots
L10 The Puritan threat (free resource)
L11 Foreign Policy introduction
L12 War with Spain
L13 Elizabeth and Ireland
L14 Economy and Society
L15 Trade and exploration
L16 Elizabeth Golden Age
The lessons include the two types of exam question used, with examples of how to tackle them, using model answers, helpful hints and tips, structuring and scaffolding as well as markschemes. However, please refer to the AQA website for further assessment materials as they are subject to copyright.
The lessons are also differentiated and fully resourced and allow students to reach the very top marks.
This is the final bundle of four I have created for the Tudors A Level history course.
If you have any questions about the lessons, please email me via my TES shop, or any other information about the course. I would also welcome any reviews, which would be gratefully received.
The Suffragettes
The aim of this lesson is to analyse previous perceptions of women and their role at home and in the family (the Angel on the House).
Students scrutinise how women were treated in Victorian Britain with discrimination from society as well as the law and give their own analysis and judgements using sources from the time.
They can do this through discussion or through an extended writing task, with help given if required.
There are examples of how women were treated and a case study of a wife in an abusive marriage.
The lesson includes written sources and video evidence.
The plenary requires the students to show their new knowledge and comprehension of life for women at the time.
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.
The British Empire
The aim of this lesson to investigate the causes and consequences of the Boer War (1899-1902) for the British Empire and the character of Lord Horatio Kitchener, appointed Commander of the British Army in South Africa.
Students are required to analyse and make judgements on his character by deciding how heroic he was, before, during and after the war by rating each of his actions.
They are soon shocked to find his underhand tactics of trying to win the Boer War through initial incompetence to devastating ruthlessness as the war progressed with his scorched earth policy and the setting up of concentration camps.
They also learn how the war impacted upon the Government at the time, culminating in the Liberal Reforms and evaluate how these measures helped improve public health which left a lasting legacy on Britain.
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 lessons are fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
Rise of Dictators
The aim of this lesson is for students to assess and judge the character and legacy of Stalin.
The lesson begins by discovering what the students already know about Russia today or about Stalin.
They will also analyse some video footage, complete a true or false quiz and then use this information to prioritise some significant facts about his early life.
The main task will involve students evaluating how evil Stalin was, by giving him a rating out of 10 for a number of his policies during his rule of the Soviet Union.
This can be followed up by an extended writing exercise, using prompts and key literacy words to help.
A connect 4 interactive plenary activity will consolidate the learning of the lesson of Stalin’s life and his dictatorship of the Soviet Union.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout this and lessons to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The aim of this lesson is to analyse why slaves escaped from their masters and evaluate the significance of Harriet Tubman.
The lesson begins by asking why slaves ran away and how would they prepare for it.
Some source scholarship focuses on an advert placed in 1838 to retrieve a runaway slave. Key questions on inference require students to analyse and read between the lines on why the owner was desperate to recapture the slave.
The second part of the lesson examines the underground railroad and the roles of those who helped the escapees and relocate to the northern states. Harriet Tubman was instrumental in this and students undertake an extended written piece on her significance.
Finally some famous escapes are highlighted and debated by the students as to which were the most daring, interesting, lucky and famous.
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
This lesson poses the question ‘How much of a threat did Mary, Queen of Scots pose to Elizabeth I?’
Students are taken through Mary’s life from becoming Queen of Scotland to the controversy of her husbands and her eventual house arrest in England.
Through sources, visual and video evidence, students have conclude how much of a threat Mary posed to Elizabeth, after pleading their case through the eyes of Mary herself.
There is some help to write an extended answer using key words which help mention cause and effect, to sequence events and to emphasise judgements.
There is also analysis of the Babington Plot and a deciphering exercise to work out on how Mary was implicated.
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.
Edexcel GCSE 9-1 Medicine Through Time c.1250 to present.
This 42 page revision guide is broken down into 5 main sections: Medieval Medicine, Renaissance Medicine, Medicine in 18th and 19th Century, Modern Medicine and the Historic Environment, British sector of the Western Front .
This revision guide includes 29 GCSE practice exam questions throughout on the main questions and gives examples on how to answer each using model answers.
This will enable all learners to achieve the higher grades required by the exam board, including the skills of description, explanation, interpretation, change and continuity, source utility and cause and consequence.
The information is also broken down into an easy to use format to aid the students in their revision programme.
This Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and comes in Word and PDF format if there is a wish to change.
It can be used for revision, interleaving, home learning as well as class teaching.
Any reviews on this resource would be much appreciated.
Please email me for a free copy of any of my resources worth up to £3.50 if you do.
The Tudors
This is the first in a series of lessons I have created on the Tudors.
This lesson is broken down into two parts. The first part describes and explains the events surrounding the Wars of the Roses.
Students learn about the Kings involved and the battles fought through fun tasks, video evidence and role play of which they have to make choices on the victors.
With this new found knowledge they have to explain what they have learnt through a ‘talk like an historian’ quiz.
The second part of the lesson focuses on the previous Tudor perceptions of Richard III. Was he really a deceitful and cunning person, ‘a lump of foul deformity’ with a hunchback according to Shakespeare, More and Virgil?
Archaeological evidence from King Richard’s remains is analysed by the students to prove or disprove some of these popular ‘misconceptions’ about his posture and character.
Students are then challenged to write to the current Education Secretary to make sure correct history lessons are now taught about Richard III in secondary schools.
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.
This lesson is fully resourced includes suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
**Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship **
The aim of this lesson is to examine the role of the Churches in Nazi Germany and to decide how much control Hitler exerted over them.
The lesson starts by studying Christianity in Germany and explains why there was a conflict of interest with the State.
Nazi policies to both the Catholic and Protestant Churches are analysed as students have to interpret the threats they both posed to Hitler.
Furthermore students have to distinguish the differences between the Christian Churches and the new Nazi Reich Church.
There are some excellent links to video footage which explain why there was such a lack of opposition and a united front from the Churches, despite such fortitude and resolve from Cardinal Galen and Martin Niemoller.
A thinking quilt poses some enquiry and GCSE questions, which students have to answer by linking specific key words to 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.
The Industrial Revolution
This lesson aims to examine the revolution in transport which affected Britain between 1750-1900.
Students first look at the problems of transport in Britain. They examine the roads (if you could call them that) and look at how they were changed and improved in conjunction with the railways and canals.
There are sources to analyse and a differentiated group work task as well as video footage giving further clarity.
Ultimately students have to evaluate the biggest impact these changes made in Britain, whether it be increased wealth and international trade to the standardisation of time or being connected throughout the British Empire.
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 to understand why and how the NHS was introduced to Britain in 1948 and despite initial sets backs and opposition, why it is still an amazing institution and still the envy of the world.
Students analyse the reasons how the NHS was introduced by the Labour government and have to explain why.
Key people are discussed such as Nye Bevan and Sir William Beveridge and using source analysis and GCSE exam question practice, students evaluate how some doctors were opposed to Bevan and the NHS from the start.
Video footage at the time shows how the Government tried to calm some fears and how its message on health has changed through the centuries.
There is some text analysis with colour coding and evaluation throughout as well as a focus on literacy in the plenary.
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.
I have created a set of resources for ‘the causes and events of the civil wars throughout Britain’ which comes under the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745 in the National Curriculum.
These lessons are also useful if you are studying this period at GCSE (such as AQA 9-1 GCSE Power and the People and OCR Explaining the Modern World)
Each lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies and are linked to the latest historical interpretations and debate from the BBC and other sources.
The lessons are fully adaptable in Powerpoint format and can be changed to suit. I have included a couple of free lessons to give an idea of what is being offered.
The lessons are broken down into the following:
L1 Who was James I?
L2 The Gunpowder Plot
L3 Who was Charles I
L4 The Causes of the English Civil War (free resource)
L5 Cavaliers and Roundheads
L6 How did the two sides fight?
L7 The execution of Charles I
L8 Who was Oliver Cromwell
L9 Witches and Witchcraft (free resource)
L10 Charles II and the Restoration
L11 The Glorious Revolution
Additional lessons:
L12 Causes of the Great Fire of London
L13 Consequences of the Great Fire of London
( + Key Word History Display included)
Any reviews would be greatly appreciated.
The Tudors
The aim of this lesson is to discover why the Elizabethan Poor Law was introduced and to assess its impact on Elizabethan society and beyond.
Students first of all have to analyse the causes of poverty and prioritise which has been the main reason for its increase whether that be the actions of local landowners and Henry VIII in his break with Rome or the debasement of the coinage.
They are also required to write to the local landowner, using suggested key argument words, to express their sympathy for the poor which was in sort supply in the Elizabethan era.
As well as source analysis, students learn the so called tricks of the trade for begging and how Tudor propaganda shaped these negative views of the poor.
Students subsequently have to assess the details of the new Elizabethan Poor Law, the reasons for a change in attitude towards the poor and assess its significance and impact upon society as a whole.
The final task is to talk like an historian and answer the questions in a quiz picking up points for the harder questions.
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 Holocaust
The aims of this lesson are to explain how the extermination camps were liberated by horrified allied soldiers whose shock quickly turned to anger.
Students are placed in the liberators shoes and have to decide how they would react, from cleaning up, to taking pictures and leaving things untouched to of course more violent extremes.
There is some excellent video footage to accompany the lesson, but please again treat with caution and care.
The second part of the lesson is a case study of Herta Bothe, a German camp guard who was convicted of war crimes by a British military tribunal.
Students are given certain facts about her and have to decide if the sentence was justified or whether as in the previous lesson she was an unfortunate victim of circumstance and just an ordinary woman completing the job required of her.
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 and is differentiated.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.
Conflict and Tension 1918-1939
This lesson focuses on the various attitudes and reactions of the Allies after the Treaty of Versailles was agreed and signed.
The students begin by analysing and evaluating a number of sources from a German point of view and decide how and why the Germans would react in this way.
They then have to plot the thoughts of the allies on a grid, again making their own conclusions and judgements on their viewpoints.
The plenary is a ten question quiz which will test their new learning.
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.
The British Empire
The aim of the lesson is to assess the importance of apartheid in South Africa both politically and economically.
The lesson begins by giving the context of South Africa being part of the British Empire and it move toward independence and the introduction of apartheid.
Students have a quiz to complete as well as source scholarship on its introduction in 1948.
They also evaluate the restrictions it imposed on the non white population of South Africa, where they are required to give their opinions on it as well as the significance at the time, overtime and nowadays.
The lesson also focuses on the impact of the ANC and Nelson Mandela’s contribution to a modern South Africa and the part he played in ending apartheid.
There are some excellent video links to his life and work as well as the Soweto uprising of 1976.
The lesson concludes with a diamond nine activity to prioritise the main reasons why apartheid came to an end.
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 lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
This bundle has been designed to meet the National Curriculum requirements at Key Stage 3 History for women’s suffrage as part of the theme, ’challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day.’
It can however be used as a springboard for teaching at GCSE, particularly if you are teaching AQA Power and the People or OCR Explaining the Modern World.
Each year I cannot wait to teach this fascinating topic. It also never fails to ignite the excitement and interest of the students studying this part of history.
From the controversy of universal suffrage, to how women were treated in society in the 19th century, the questionable suicide of Emily Davison to the militant actions of the Suffragettes including the Cat and Mouse Act and their involvement in World War 1. How can anyone ever argue that history is dull?
Moreover this bundle addresses key historical skills. How did World War 1 show change and continuity for women? What were the causes and consequences of the industrial revolution on universal suffrage? What were the similarities and differences in the actions of the Suffragists and Suffragettes? What was significant about the imprisonment of the Suffragettes or the death of Emily Davison?
These skills are addressed in each of the lessons and allow students to be able to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends and be able to create their own structured accounts and written narratives.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Dying for the vote
L2 An introduction to the Suffragettes
L3 Suffragists and Suffragettes
L4 Emily Davison – martyr or fool?
L5 Propaganda and the Cat and Mouse Act of 1913
L6 The impact of World War 1 on women’s rights
L7 The roaring twenties
L8 How far have women gained equality?
(+ Key Word History Display)
Each resource comes 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
These lessons focus on Elizabethan society from wealth, status and the latest fashions of the time, an analysis of the Elizabethan theatre and Tudor exploration and trade.
There is also a lesson for the Historic Environment Questions of 2023 on Sheffield Manor Lodge.
The lessons are enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
Each lesson aims to challenge the students and focuses on how to answer a GCSE practice question set in the exam.
These range from how convincing is the source, write an account and how significant.
For further assessment materials, please visit the AQA website for specimen questions and answers.
The lessons are as follows:
L1: Wealth Status and fashion
L2: Elizabethan Theatre
L3: The Golden Age (free resource)
L4: Poverty and the Poor Law of 1601
L5: Famous explorers (focus on Drake, Hawkins and Raleigh)
L6: Planning the Spanish Armada
L7: Planning for the Spanish Armada
L8: Defeat of the Spanish Armada
All the resources include suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and come in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Any reviews would be gratefully received.
