Fully resourced double lesson. This was planned as part of the GCSE Cold War unit. This lesson is the first lesson looking at the end of the Cold War. Students will already have studied the Cold War 1945 – 1968. This lesson starts by considering the key events of Detente and asks students to complete a matching exercise to consolidate their understanding. Students then go on to plot these events, considering how dangerous each was to communism.

Fully resourced lesson. Lesson planned for the teaching of the new GCSE Early Elizabethan England. Learning objective is to develop an understanding of the causes of the Northern rebellion, and to begin to suggest the extent to which it was a threat to Elizabeth I. Lesson activity involves students working as spies to collect information about the rebellion. Includes a powerpoint presentation, four lesson resources and a lesson plan.

Fully resourced double lesson. This was planned as part of the GCSE Cold War unit. This lesson looks at the end of the Cold War. This lesson starts by reviewing the response of previous Soviet leaders to Cold War crises and then uses video to consider the reasons behind Gorbachev’s ‘new thinking’ as well as the outcome of the summit meetings in 1980s. The end of the lesson considers the consequences of his ‘new thinking’.

Fully resourced double lesson. This was planned as part of the GCSE Cold War unit. This lesson is the second lesson looking at the end of the Cold War. Students will already have studied Detente in 1970s. This lesson starts by considering the success of Detente and then asks students to complete a decision-making exercise looking at the reasons behind the Soviet invasion and the events surrounding this. It then goes on to use a video to consider how USA responds and the consequences of the invasion. The final part of the lesson involves students planning an answer to an exam question (narrative, importance and consequences questions - Edexcel specification). The Learning Objective is to understand the reasons for the Soviet invasion AND evaluate the consequences of the invasion and its impact on superpower relations.

Fully resourced lesson. This was planned as part of the GCSE Cold War unit. This lesson starts by reviewing the response of previous U.S presidents to Cold war crises and then uses video to consider Reagan’s new approach and the ‘Second Cold War’. The Learning Objective is to develop an understanding of Reagan’s approach to US-Soviet relations and how this lead to the end of the Cold war

This is a selection of 8 starters designed to be used for revision lessons on Early Elizabethan England. Designed to be used to encourage competition amongst students, a bit like the Head to Head round in the BBC quiz show 'Pointless', each slide includes visual clues to help students to remember key factors in the key events of Elizabeth's reign, such as the response of the English to the Religious Settlement, and the reasons for exploration. These could also be used as starters for lessons when first delivering these topics. This was written for the Edexcel spec, but could be used for other specifications.

Fully resourced double lesson. This was planned as part of the GCSE Early Elizabethan unit. This lesson is one of a number of lessons that develops students’ understanding of the challenge presented by the Catholics in Elizabeth’s reign. This lesson introduces the problem of Mary, Queen of Scots' arrival in England using video and a decision-making exercise. The Learning Objective is to understand why Mary’s presence in England created a threat for Elizabeth.

Fully resourced double lesson. This was planned as part of the GCSE Cold War unit. This lesson is one of the final lessons looking at the end of the Cold War. This lesson starts by recapping the role of the Berlin wall and why it was built. It then goes on to consider the events leading up to the destruction of the wall including Schabowski’s announcement. It then draws all prior learning together to consider why communism collapsed in eastern Europe and how this also caused the destruction of the wall through a card sort along a line of significance. The lesson ends by looking at a narrative account question (Edexcel specification).

A fully resourced double lesson. This was planned as part of the GCSE Cold War unit. This lesson starts by considering the impact of the death of Stalin and the reasons for Hungarian opposition to Soviet control. It goes on to look at the events of the Uprising and the soviet response using film. Finally, students consider the consequences of the Uprising for Superpower relations.

Fully resourced double lesson. This was planned as part of the GCSE Early Elizabethan unit. This lesson is the first lesson beginning to develop students’ understanding of the challenge presented by the Catholics in Elizabeth’s reign. Students recap the Religious Settlement and then complete a card sorting activity looking at events both inside England and abroad to consider the catholic challenge during the first decade of Elizabeth's reign. The final part of the lesson involves students planning an answer to a 12 mark question (Edexcel specification).

Fully resourced double lesson. This was planned as part of the GCSE Early Elizabethan unit. This lesson is one of a number of lessons that develops students’ understanding of the challenge presented by the Catholics in Elizabeth’s reign. This lesson introduces a range of events and factors that contributed to Mary’s execution in 1587 and asks students to consider how far Mary was responsible for these events and whether the decision to execute her was the correct one. The final part of the lesson involves students planning an answer to a 16 mark question (Edexcel specification).

This is a resource that could be used for KS2 (Years 5 or 6) or KS3 when studying World War 2 and/or the Holocaust. It is aimed to develop students’ enquiry skills by asking them to suggest a hypothesis, test it with evidence, revise that hypothesis and then reach conclusions. The subject matter is particularly engaging as it involves children, and it challenges students’ prior knowledge about the actions of the Nazis in Eastern Europe. It has been used successfully as part of a transition project, introducing Year 6 students to History at secondary level.

This was planned as part of the GCSE Weimar and Nazi Germany unit. This lesson is designed to introduce the topic by drawing on students’ fascination in Adolf Hitler and setting him in the context of Weimar Germany. It hinges on the idea that he was unknown in 1919 but had become the leader of Germany by 1933. The aim is to engage students in the unit before looking at post-war Germany that many can consider dry and struggle to see the links to the rise of Hitler. The lesson is likely to need approx. 60 mins.

This resource was used when teaching Elizabethan England at KS4. It was used to introduce some of the issues surrounding the religious divisions that Elizabeth inherited in 1558. These are speech bubbles written to provide an insight into the experiences of English people at the time. They can be used by students to help them to pick out the reasons for the divisions and the impact that these divisions may have had on Elizabeth's reign and the difficulties in trying to heal them. They consider different groups in society as well as geographical divides.

An exercise to develop students understanding of the reasons why people chose to host evacuees during World War 2. This is a card sort along a line of significance, allowing students to consider the relative importance of a range of factors. This could then be used as the basis to produce an explanation.