World War Two truly was a global conflict, a total war which destroyed the lives of tens of millions of people, both soldiers and civilians alike. Russia suffered the most, and the exact figure of how many died in what is known as The Great Patriotic War is still unknown to this day. One could argue that Germany was the second worst off, as she not only lost and had her nation carved up and divided, but the retribution meted out by the Soviets was bitter and calculated. At one point, it looked as if Germany might actually win this war, as they were victorious everywhere, their enemies on the point of collapse, and the threat of a Nazi Europe looked very real. Yet, the Nazis overreached, spreading their effort to too many fronts which led to their armies always having to perform near impossible tasks against ever increasing odds. With America entering the war in 1941, her strength and industrial output began to tell against the Axis powers, and their failure to decisively deal with the Soviet threat in the east meant it was only a matter of time before numbers told, despite German tactical skill and fighting spirit. On an operational scale, the German army was flawed. Strategically, the army was hamstrung by Hitler’s continued interference even down to battalion level. Tactically, they knew their trade very well. As for Japan, she missed her chance when she failed to decisively destroy the American aircraft carriers at Pearl Harbour and didn’t count on American resolve and indignation at being attacked. As with the Russian people, once they saw themselves as the aggrieved and set upon, the people rallied and began to see their struggle as a righteous one against an evil aggressor. Their consequent treatment of prisoners of war and civilians alike reflected their imagined righteousness and sense of justice in treating their enemies the way they did. This resource is ideal for enhancing the curriculum, for giving pupils a project and for helping with their revision. Told using the medium of verse, pupils will find this resource far more easier to use and far more helpful than standard text books.

Even today, there are many people who, when asked, would see themselves as either Roundhead or Cavalier. Such is the influence on the national psyche after hundreds of years after those wars and political and social upheavals came to am end. The nation was torn apart as one side fought for ascendancy over the other, each trying to assert that their cause was more just than the others. The divine right of kings against the right of Parliament to rule the people. It was a bloody series of battles which ultimately saw Parliament victorious, but at a cost. This is the story, told in verse, of that traumatic time back in the seventeenth century, when men and women on both sides tried to find the will of God on and off the battlefield.

World War One, The Great War, the war to end all wars, are names which are synonymous with death and suffering on an industrial scale. The war saw the end of one era, and the beginning of a new one, our modern world, as nations fought for ultimate supremacy. Indeed, whole empires threw everything they had against their opponents in a life and death struggle that would change the world for ever and which would see some of those empires collapse and new ways of life, new beliefs, rise up from the disaster. Very few leaders at the time saw what a full scale war against other industrialized empires would lead to. Many leaders were found to be too enthusiastic at the thought of crushing what they perceived to be a threat to their national pride and existence. As the war dragged on, and the slaughter increased, some did make half hearted attempts to call an end to it, but those they approached were opposed to anything other than complete victory, irrespective of the cost it seemed. When the war did end, the world was a much different place. Disillusionment, shock, anger and a desire for change now prevailed, whilst the old imperial leaders of the British Empire did their best to hide the cracks and carry on with business as usual. The Golden Age of empire, and the confidence that came with it, had gone forever, lost on the fields of Flanders and the Somme, but it would take a few more decades, and an even more destructive war, to finally topple it completely, ushering in our own modern age. This is an ideal resource to help pupils come to grips with the events leading up to the war, the terrible battles that followed, and the consequences of it all. Told using the medium of verse, the events and characters will come to life again ion the classroom. This book is ideal for curriculum work as well as course work, projects and revision.

Many people see history as boring, dull and unimportant, a series of dusty books, not relevant to our current way of life. But history is made by ordinary people, like us, whose actions have resulted in the leader of that time being hailed as great, Julius Caeser William the Conqueror, Elizabeth I. Those individuals alone did not form history, it was the part played by our ancestors that made them great. Indeed, it may well have taken a wordsmith like Churchill to galvanise a defiant spirit within the British people, but, without the physical and psychological efforts of those same people, none of those hopes and dreams which Churchill so bravely spoke of would ever have come about or seen the light of day. Without the active participation of those ordinary people, the dream would never have become reality, and the historical person from history might never have been so great and it is those people I want to speak on behalf of to bring history to life, to show how our life, which we may take for granted, has been formed in today’s modern world In order to do this, I want you to step back in time, as if you were talking to your fellow man, hearing their accounts of a key point in history, a crossroads in time that has brought us to our current age, our language, our culture of today. The names and characters may be fictitious, but what they talk about is not. They are talking about things which to them would be fresh in their minds, important things, events which would have affected their lives. They speak in the hope that they, and the things they lived through, will never be forgotten.

This is an age which began to see huge changes in society and across Europe. Wars, famines and plagues fueled the change in people’s lives, from king to commoner. The format I have used to re-tell the story of that turbulent era will help bring the characters and events back to life. This is your chance to have a free pass into that world.

The United States has a rich and incredibly interesting history. No other nation on earth has welcomed and received such a diverse number of cultures and belief systems into its lands with such enthusiasm with the purpose of helping to create a much bigger and richer country. However, immigrants from many different nations also flocked to this vast continent in search of a new life free from oppression and tyranny, and millions built a successful new life there. Thanks to their efforts, America was eventually to become the most powerful nation on the planet, her wealth and strength dwarfing all of the old-world nations and empires. Her involvement in the two world wars tipped the balance in favour of the western democracies due to her vast economic and industrial output. With wealth and power to spare, America was able to fund and equip not only her own huge array of fleets and divisions, but also many of her allies’ units too. What enabled her to create such an enormous powerhouse was the bedrock of freedom, first established by the founding fathers after the war of independence. Such basic freedoms allowed diversity and invention to flourish like nowhere else on the planet. This is the story of that nation, told in verse, from fledgling colonial backwater, far from the mother land and on the verge of forbidding wildernesses, to a super power, the likes of which the world has never known.

Romans-Republic to Empire to Chaos.There have been many films and TV dramas about Rome, with villains and heroes racing across the screen, but it was only when I began to look at the history properly that I discovered a rich world of culture, stability, wealth, order and innovation that took my breath away. Hollywood and some TV producers have given us a somewhat warped view of the Roman Empire, and many still see it as a culture that was bloodthirsty and cruel, yet the truth is somewhat different. Big battles and rebellions did happen, and people were killed, but these were the exception to the rule. The Roman world, in one form or another, lasted for many centuries, and most people did not suffer invasion or the terrors of an ancient bloody battlefield. Most people, like today, got on with their daily business of making ends meet, making decisions about what meals to have and whether or not their children would grow up to be fine citizens. The poor, as in every other century before and since, fought a daily struggle to survive. We must never forget, however, that Rome was a slave-based economy, though not everyone had slaves. In fact, many of those who did have slaves were enlightened enough to treat them well and eventually free them. Many ex-slaves even managed to make vast fortunes, some even helping to rule the very empire that first enslaved them. This poem has been written to give you, the reader, a chance to see what went on in the Roman world, from the years before the concept of empire even entered the Roman mind, to the time when the empire began to fracture and fall apart. This is a history of those men, and some women, who ruled and shaped the Roman world. Broken down into manageable chapters, it will enhance any study of the classical period, and will also make for a great resource for courses, projects and homework.

Britain, and the empire, has had a profound effect upon the history of the world and the world we live in today. English has become a major language spoken by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. British sailors circumnavigated the world countless times during the age of sail in search of riches and new lands to claim for their country. We have had wars with almost every nation on earth, brought the British way of life to far distant parts of the globe, a way of life which many still practice and enjoy today. Britain has fought dictators in defense of freedom, yet also fought wars to impose its own ideals on free people. This is the story of the remarkable island nation which has influenced the modern world we live in. Told using the medium of verse, the story takes you on a turbulent journey which starts with the tribal Celts, through to the nuclear age. Broken down into manageable chapters, the book can be used to enhance the history curriculum at any stage, used for revision purposes or used as a project exercise to help fire up the imagination.

We all have our very special moments at Christmas, those things which we all look forward to, and the poems included here are some aspects of that time of year which are, perhaps, special for you.

A comprehensive list of all the Kings and Queens of England and Britain, from the time the Romans left up to our own King Charles III. Each monarch has their own chapter, so it is easy to dip in and out depending on what era you are covering.Written in verse, the past is brought back to life in a way that will enthrall and entertain. This history of the Kings and Queens will help you give a new breath of fresh air into the lessons, and will almost certainly guarantee a much greater interest in history and/or English language shown by your pupils.

Not many nations can boast of having had such a long succession of Kings and Queens than England can. Once the last Roman legion had left, the British Isles became fair game for the raiders from across the sea, Germanic tribes who saw an opportunity. They’d already tested the defences even before the Romans withdrew, but soon they viewed England as something they might actually conquer and keep. Ultimately, the Saxons won the contest and so began the list of names of those who styled themselves as King or Queen. Having one person as supreme leader of a tribe or nation was considered to be the right thing to do, the natural order of things, and it was considered equally natural for that person’s heirs to continue the line, passing the mantle of leadership and rule onto the next one in the hope it would maintain order and stability. Few could have imagined at the time just how far that mantle would have passed.

Many people see history as boring, dull and unimportant, a series of dusty books, not relevant to our current way of life. But history is made by ordinary people, like us, whose actions have resulted in the leader of that time being hailed as great, Julius Caeser William the Conqueror, Elizabeth I. Those individuals alone did not form history, it was the part played by our ancestors that made them great. Indeed, it may well have taken a wordsmith like Churchill to galvanise a defiant spirit within the British people, but, without the physical and psychological efforts of those same people, none of those hopes and dreams which Churchill so bravely spoke of would ever have come about or seen the light of day. Without the active participation of those ordinary people, the dream would never have become reality, and the historical person from history might never have been so great and it is those people I want to speak on behalf of to bring history to life, to show how our life, which we may take for granted, has been formed in today’s modern world In order to do this, I want you to step back in time, as if you were talking to your fellow man, hearing their accounts of a key point in history, a crossroads in time that has brought us to our current age, our language, our culture of today. The names and characters may be fictitious, but what they talk about is not. They are talking about things which to them would be fresh in their minds, important things, events which would have affected their lives. They speak in the hope that they, and the things they lived through, will never be forgotten.

Even today, there are many people who, when asked, would see themselves as either Roundhead or Cavalier. Such is the influence on the national psyche after hundreds of years after those wars and political and social upheavals came to am end. The nation was torn apart as one side fought for ascendancy over the other, each trying to assert that their cause was more just than the others. The divine right of kings against the right of Parliament to rule the people. It was a bloody series of battles which ultimately saw Parliament victorious, but at a cost. This is the story, told in verse, of that traumatic time back in the seventeenth century, when men and women on both sides tried to find the will of God on and off the battlefield.

The United States has a rich and incredibly interesting history. No other nation on earth has welcomed and received such a diverse number of cultures and belief systems into its lands with such enthusiasm with the purpose of helping to create a much bigger and richer country. However, immigrants from many different nations also flocked to this vast continent in search of a new life free from oppression and tyranny, and millions built a successful new life there. Thanks to their efforts, America was eventually to become the most powerful nation on the planet, her wealth and strength dwarfing all of the old-world nations and empires. Her involvement in the two world wars tipped the balance in favour of the western democracies due to her vast economic and industrial output. With wealth and power to spare, America was able to fund and equip not only her own huge array of fleets and divisions, but also many of her allies’ units too. What enabled her to create such an enormous powerhouse was the bedrock of freedom, first established by the founding fathers after the war of independence. Such basic freedoms allowed diversity and invention to flourish like nowhere else on the planet. This is the story of that nation, told in verse, from fledgling colonial backwater, far from the mother land and on the verge of forbidding wildernesses, to a super power, the likes of which the world has never known.

Middle Ages-Faith War & Disease. For many, this era is seen as both obscure and irrelevant, tainted by those images in artwork of people in strange clothes who often look badly painted or out of proportion to their surroundings, but this is unfair, and the period does deserve our attention. Hopefully, this history poem will help bring the era and people to life, giving the reader a better appreciation of it. Also, I hope the book gives you a greater desire to look deeper into the period and gives you an interest in studying it in more detail. I think you will find the effort well worth it. There are many different books written by many great historians which cover lots of historical periods, but few, if any, have been written using the medium of poetry, traditional rhyming verse, which brings the story to life once more. The rhyme and the tempo is like a song without the music and appeals to people, young and old, as it makes the characters within the story both believable and real again. From what teachers are saying about the history poems they’ve used, their pupils are beginning to have a whole new appreciation and liking for history, and the same format even works well in the English departments too. Each history poem book is broken down into manageable chapters which enables the teacher to easily present their classes with the relevant facts whilst at the same time maintaining the interest of each pupil. What’s more, because this is a new and exciting way of presenting history, each pupil will show far more enthusiasm for learning it.

The Tudor dynasty lasted from 1485 until 1603, and few kings and queens have had such an impact on the nation or been so well remembered. Having their roots in Wales, they changed the British Isles, for better or worse, through religion, trade and military force. Their impact on Europe and the world was also dramatic, getting involved in religious wars, high seas piracy and alliances that threw the ambitions of Spain and France into disarray. When Henry VII first took the throne from Richard III, England was seen as something of a backwater, a nuisance to France and a constant threat to her design on being the major power on the mainland. Yet, during the course of his, and his descendants reigns, England emerged as a formidable force to be reckoned with, and whose opinion and friendship mattered. At the end of the book you will find the lesson construction plan which will enable you to plan and implement lessons covering this period. Also, there is a list of potential questions to put to the class which will complement the lesson structure.

This is a really useful Power Point presentation which covers the leaders of Rome, from the days of the late republic, to the mid third century crisis. This will definitely enhance any lessons on the Roman period, and it will certainly help to fire the imagination of any student.

This is a collection of slides which will enhance your lessons on this interesting era. It can be used either as a stand alone teaching aid which you can use over a number of lessons, or it can be used in conjunction with the pdf of the same title by the same author. Either way, this presentation will definitely enhance any lesson on the period and will help maintain the interest of the your pupils.

The Tudor dynasty lasted from 1485 until 1603, and few kings and queens have had such an impact on the nation or been so well remembered. Having their roots in Wales, they changed the British Isles, for better or worse, through religion, trade and military force. Their impact on Europe and the world was also dramatic, getting involved in religious wars, high seas piracy and alliances that threw the ambitions of Spain and France into disarray. When Henry VII first took the throne from Richard III, England was seen as something of a backwater, a nuisance to France and a constant threat to her design on being the major power on the mainland. Yet, during the course of his, and his descendant’s reigns, England emerged as a formidable force to be reckoned with, and whose opinion and friendship mattered. This is a visual presentation of that era which will enhance any lesson of the period, which can be used as a stand alone resource or in conjunction with the book.