A simple but very effective sheet which I pieced together to help my students improve their written work for IB Papers 2 and 3. It really does help and I have found the number of students achieving Levels 6 and 7 has increased in my classes since I began using this approach. I hope you find this useful and feel free to check out hundreds of other resources for History teachers here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/danguiney

Simple but incredibly effective. This one-slide Power Point template is easily editable so you can tailor it to your school/department. I print it for my classroom and ensure students have a copy in the insert of their exercise books so they know exactly what part of their learning journey they are on and where they are going to. My classes can look back and forward to see skills progression and to make links between units.

In this lesson students begin with a starter activity in which they recap prior learning (by designing a question about events previously studied using the rubric provided). Students then read background information about the Provisional Government’s actions prior to moving onto the main activity which is a spectrum card sort. Students are given eight things the Provisional Government did, ranging from continuing the war through to its handling of the July Days through to the Kornilov Affair, and have to rate them on the spectrum provided (over a double page in their books/notes works best) in terms of good/bad policy. The lesson concludes with a plenary activity designed to ensure students have acquired the key knowledge in the lesson (in the form of a ‘Find someone who can’ walkabout activity). This lesson is pitched at high ability high school students with some prior knowledge of Russia before 1917. Please do ask if you have any questions and I hope your students get as much from this lesson as mine do.

In this very detailed lesson students received clear aims and objectives (all will, most will, and some will) before being given a source starter activity which they are asked to break down using the frame provided. This introduces the idea of growing Japanese strength (its about the Russo-Japanese War). The class are then given activation material in the form of extremely detailed notes. The consolidation phase then asks IB students to sort a 25 piece hexagonal card sort into factors - domestic, economic, militaristic, and nationalistic. The lesson concludes with a chronology activity to test student knowledge acquired in a fun way. I have also made a revision video which is included as homework. I hope your IB students get as much from this as mine do and that it helps them prepare for this Move to Global War Paper 1 IB topic.

This is a powerful lesson in causation. Students read through the detailed background information before arranging 17 extremely detailed and precise information cards into factors (economic, cultural, and people). This activity helps students scaffold a response to the key question which can then be used as the basis for a piece of assessed or extended written work. I hope your students find this as useful as I know mine have!

This is one of my most detailed lessons and one which students love. After a quick starter activity about the significance of the poppy in British-Chinese relations the class read detailed background notes before being issued one of 23 character cards. These range from tea-magnate Thomas Twining to Confucius! In role the students then extract evidence which their character might use to explain how China became to be ruled by foreigners after the Opium Wars. I always follow this up with either a piece of extended writing or even better a debate. Please watch the short video clip attached to see this lesson in action. The lesson includes a separate plenary Power Point also. I hope your students will gain as much from this lesson as I know mine always do. Enjoy!

In this lesson students read through incredibly detailed notes designed to really boost their subject knowledge and understanding of factors which caused Franco’s nationalists to prevail in the Spanish Civil War. Students then complete a mix and match dominoes activity to test their comprehension before completing the lesson with a ‘find someone who’ activity which involves them interviewing classmates to complete differentiated tasks. This lesson is pitched at very able students and my classes always find these notes and approach an excellent way to grasp the topic. I hope this lesson can be of use to you and if so please feel free to browse through my other resources in my shop. Best wishes, Daniel

I’ve always enjoyed this lesson and its one that really helps students develop an expert grasp of a difficult series of events. Students read through background knowledge before completing a card sort of 21 precise pieces of evidence. I then encourage students to make links between these factors and to identify which pieces of evidence they find the most compelling. I worked in the Middle East when creating and delivering this lesson so it carries real meaning for me and I hope you can see how that has come across in the level of detail and precision. Above all though I hope your students enjoy this as much as mine did.

This is one of my most detailed resources. Students are given a pack of 15 large information cards offering information as to how and why President Kennedy was assassinated and are encouraged to write their findings on the mystery sheets provided at the end of the pack. This is one of my very best lessons and has been designed to encourage students to think, question, collaborate and take risks. During this lesson students will explore the possibility that there was more to JFK’s death than the lone gunman theory and will offer alternatives using precisely selected evidence. I really look forward to delivering this lesson each year. I really hope you enjoy teaching this topic and that you find it gets your students truly acting as young Historians should.

In this lesson students read up on background knowledge before assembling a 30 piece hexagonal card sort into a factor-led response. Evidence is very precise and being a hexagonal rather than square card sort students are encouraged to make effective links between the evidence used whilst also being encouraged to prioritise the evidence they find the most compelling. Once the class have formulated their card sort this sets them up extremely well for either a debate or a written piece of work. My students love this lesson and I really hope yours do too!

I love using these and always have a pack in my pocket or on my desk. Thirty cards with extension activities specifically for History students means you will always have a highly differentiated set of extension tasks on you. Brilliant for any lesson, especially observations!

Everything you need to introduce your C.I.E I.G.C.S.E class to the third component of the Global Perspectives course, the collaborative project. In this purchase you will receive my fourteen minute video guide and accompanying power point which covers: How to choose from the given topics How to draw out issues from the topics How to generate an Outcome and aim for the Team Element A suggested guide including word counts for structuring an effective report for the Personal Element Tips on how to hit the top bands using the mark scheme I hope you find this useful and thanks for your purchase. If you have any questions at all feel free to message me. The Global Perspectives course is an excellent one but there is a lot to explain - I hope this resource will make it much easier for you!

Students work their way through the background knowledge before taking a what-would-you-do style quiz. Each question focuses on a different stage in the crisis and students are given three options to choose from. Afterwards students add up their tally and are grouped into brackets to show what kind of President they would have made. My students really enjoy this activity, especially as a starter to the Cuban Missile Crisis - I hope yours do also.

Boost your teaching with this 4-part lesson plan. It will help refine existing skills, ensure pace to every lesson, and enable you to take into account a variety of different needs in order to facilitate accelerated learning in your classroom. Yes, you too will have a cunning plan!

I designed this lesson to encourage my students to be reflective Historians capable of textured debate. Students divide 39 pieces of evidence (textual and photographic) into columns which suggest the leader of Charlie Company during the My Lai massacre in Vietnam was a war criminal or a scapegoat. The cards are colour-coordinated to allow for differentiation and provide the perfect scaffold for a debate or piece of exended written analysis. This is a hard-hitting lesson which always provokes outstanding levels of historical reasoning and debate but please be aware many of the images and text are graphic in content and should be taught to students with the emotional tools to deal with sensitive issues. Students will learn about the death of Ron Weber, the ‘and babies?’ photograph, Captain Medina’s role, and the ‘black blouse girl’ and much more. My hope in sharing this resource is that more students will learn about and learn from the heartbreaking tragedy which took place in My Lai.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This lesson is titled “How much has Thanksgiving changed over time?” This 28-slide PowerPoint begins with three starter activities. Students are invited to do a Fist to Five, to write their existing knowledge on the board, and then to decide if three statements are true or false. Lesson aims and objectives are then introduced before a series of slides of background information to enable teacher exposition (about the first Thanksgiving, 1863, the ‘20s and ‘30s, and modern traditions since 1941.) Students then test their knowledge in a Whose Line is it Anyway activity. They are then introduced to the main activity, which is to create a timeline of Thanksgiving over time using the information they have learned. They then show off their work in a Gallery Walk and there is a slide in which the teacher cold calls three students to explain. In the first plenary students then come to the board to write down one way Thanksgiving has changed and one way it has stayed the same on the two trash cans on the screen. In the second plenary they vote with Thinking Thumbs on the lesson’s Key Question. Aims and objectives are revisited. There is a homework task also. This lesson was created with a desirable difficulty level for students in high school settings and is written in UK English. Before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day.

“My purpose is to engage students in dialogue so they can see other’s points of view – in a world that needs this more than ever. I do this by sharing lessons on this site which connect students with the past and inspire critical thinking. Please read below to find details about this one.” Dan This lesson is titled “How much has Christmas changed over time?” This 28-slide PowerPoint begins with three starter activities. Students are invited to do a Fist to Five, to write their existing knowledge on the board, and then to decide if three statements are true or false. Lesson aims and objectives are then introduced before a series of slides of background information to enable teacher exposition (about Ancient roots, the birth of Jesus, Emperor Constantine, the Middle Ages, Puritans, Victorian Christmas, and the modern era.) Students then test their knowledge in a Whose Line is it Anyway activity. They are then introduced to the main activity, which is to create a timeline of Christmas over time using the information they have learned. They then show off their work in a Gallery Walk and there is a slide in which the teacher cold calls students to explain. In the first plenary students then come to the board to write down one way Christmas has changed and one way it has stayed the same on the two trash cans on the screen. In the second plenary they vote with Thinking Thumbs on the lesson’s Key Question. Aims and objectives are revisited. There is a homework task also. This lesson was created with a desirable difficulty level for students in high school settings and is written in UK English. Before you leave be sure to follow Dan’s History Highway for more info on hundreds of fully-resourced lessons for busy teachers! Wishing you a terrific day (and a Happy Christmas!)

This is one of my most popular lesson activities. Here students will collate information to both sides of the historiographical debate and make links between their factors to create a visual map which they can use for an extended piece of written analysis. I am especially proud of the level of precision and detail in the historical content here as this is a niche area of mine formed whilst working for the Royal British Legion on the Somme a few years ago. The 60 cards are broken down and colour-coordinated for differentiation purposes into personality, tactics, technology, and politics in order to promote a factor-led response. I really hope you enjoy this activity and that your students get as much from it as mine do.

This is one of my most detailed and most enjoyable lessons. Students are issued with a suspect character card of their own (there are 21 including Druitt, Kosminski, and Chapman) and then have to siphon their way through 13 very detailed pieces of evidence to find information that suggests they might be the notorious serial killer. For example, Polish butcher John Pizer might argue that he is local (Evidence A), has an expert knowledge of anatomy (B), and came from Poland where there were a large number of Jews (Evidence L). Students then present their cases and the class vote on who makes the best case. This is an excellent lesson designed to engage students and get them to question evidence, structure, and present their findings. I hope you enjoy it as much as my students do!