Explores the way Norman castles were attacked and defended. Features included are battering rams, catapults, trebuchets, seige towers, keeps, moats, drawbridges, portcullises, arrow slits and murder holes. The starter asks the students to identify features of a Norman castle. The main task involves describing different features and saying whether they were used to attack or defend. I have included a gap fill version of the worksheet for students who you think may need a little extra assistance. The slides with the information can be delivered by the teacher or stuck around the classroom for a carousel activity (that’s how I do it). The lesson ends with a written task to show their knowledge. Enjoy!

Explores the Harrying of the North 1069-1070 by William I and the Normans. After a picture starter and some information, the students carry out a task which involves analysing a collection of sources. The written task is in the form of a newspaper article either from the Saxon or Norman point of view to further develop their understanding of bias. There are printable templates of the newspaper in the slides and also a differentiated version for the students who you think may benefit from a slightly easier version. You end with a Harrying of the North crossword (answers on the slideshow). Enjoy!

Explores crime and punishment in the Middle Ages. After defining a few key terms, the students watch a 3 min YouTube video and then describe some medieval torture techniques and punishments. The teacher then explains how the trials by ordeal worked. Next, there is a paired activity where the students use a worksheet to look at change and continuity from the early to later Middle Ages. The lesson ends with a wrtitten task to bring it all together. Enjoy!

Explores life in a village in the Middle Ages. The starter involves labelling a picture of a village. They then look at villeins, freemen and the Lord of the Manor. There are two written tasks, both of which can be assisted with the handout I have included. The lesson ends with a quick AfL task. Enjoy!

Explores the role of monasteries in the Middle Ages. After a quick starter to get them thinking the students evaluate the different roles of the monastery in society. After a differentiated written task the students then carry out some quick AfL. The lesson ends with a second written task. Enjoy!

This lesson explores medicine in the Middle Ages. It begins by looking at some amusing and surprising medieval treatments. The students then carry out some research around the physician, the apothecary, the barber surgeon and the housewife. The groups of students then teach each other what they have learnt (this is easily changed if you don’t want to do it as group work). After a quick AfL task they then compare medieval medicine with modern medicine in a written task. I have provided a structure strip for this which you might want to use with some of the students. Enjoy!

Two lessons exploring Nelson Mandela. Lesson 01 focuses on apartheid in South Africa before introducing Nelson Mandela. Lesson 02 explores the highs and lows of Nelson Mandela’s life. I created this for KS3 but it will work well with all ages. Activities include: Starters (one image-based, the other a quick word game) Source enquiry Written tasks Videos (1 included plus a link to a second video on YouTube) Fortune graph task Chronology task Enjoy!

This lesson investigates whether the Black Death was a disaster for everyone. The students start by completing speech bubbles for some peasants in a medieval village (printable version on the last slide) to demonstrate what they know already. They then score the Black Death from 0 for a complete disaster to 10 for a blessing, explaining why. They then create a table in their books for positives andf negatives. There is a link to a YouTube video to give them a few things to add to the table. There is then a carousel activity to add more to the table. This is easily tweaked if you do not want to deliver it in this way but I stick the images around the classroom and get them to move around, discuss and add to their tables. I have added a brief explanation in the notes of the carousel slideshow just in case you are not sure what point I’m trying to make with each image. The students then bring it all together with a written task and then finally return to the scoring activity to see if their opinions have changed. Enjoy!

This lesson explores the symptoms of the Black Death. There is a link to a video and a question sheet, a primary source used to describe the symptoms day by day and a final section on plague doctors with a differentiated written task. Enjoy!

Ideal for remote home distance learning, sickness, self-isolation, school closure or revision – Brigham Young and Salt Lake City - GCSE American West This lesson works very well following on from another remote lesson I have posted on here titled ‘Why did the Mormons move West?’ The lesson introduces Brigham Young and explores why the Mormons moved to the Great Salt Lake and their experiences when they got there. It begins with a recap starter and some background information. The students are then required to analyse the problems the Mormons encountered and their solutions for the journey to the Salt Lake and establishing their settlement. Links are provided for a YouTube video and some online information to help them with this. The lesson ends with an exam question. This is a remote learning resource which can be emailed out or set on Google Classroom or similar platforms. I simply copy the information over into a Google Doc on Classroom so the students can then type their responses straight onto the sheet. All the information needed and links to videos are included to help them understand. Enjoy!

Explores how land ownership changed under the Normans. I created a Tenant in Chief game for this lesson in an attempt to lively up a pretty dry topic! You will need some dice for the game, everything else is included in the lesson. The lesson includes a starter, the game, a report and then an exam question. Enjoy!

A lesson exploring why the Earls submitted to William after he won at Hastings. The lesson includes a multiple choice starter, a categorisation task and an exam question. The resources needing to be printed are included at the end of the slideshow and I’ve arranged them so that you can teach this lesson by only printing 11 sheets of A4 in total for a class of 33 (we all get told to keep the printing costs down!) Enjoy!

Created for GCSE but also works for KS3. This lesson explores the Harrying of the North 1069-1070. It includes a starter based on a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry, a resarch task including a video and a source sheet and a written task in the form of a newspaper article either from the Saxon or Norman point of view to incorporate an understanding of bias. I always find this a fascinating bit of history to teach. Enjoy!

Explores the feudal system and also how William I distributed land after the Norman invasion. The starter creates a feudal system for school (Head at the top etc). After some delivered information, including defining the word ‘hierarchy’, The students then attempt to distribute the land of England to the King, the Church and the Barons. The written task involves describing how the feudal system worked - with a worksheet to help. All of the printable resources needed for this lesson are in the slideshow. Enjoy!

Ideal for remote home distance learning, sickness, self isolation, school closure or revision - Tensions in Whitechapel - GCSE Crime and Punishment. This lesson looks at tensions between different social groups in Whitechapel in the late 19th century including Jewish immigrants, Irish immigrants, socialists and anarchists. The students answer a series of questions based on the information on the worksheet. This is a remote learning resource which can be emailed out or set on Google Classroom or similar platforms. I simply copy the worksheet over into a Google Doc on Classroom so the students can then type their responses straight onto the sheet. All the information needed is included to help them understand. Enjoy!

Ideal for remote home distance learning, sickness, self-isolation, school closure or revision – Homesteaders - GCSE American West This lesson introduces the Homesteaders. After some introductory information on the Homestead Act the students investigate different reasons why people decided to claim their 160 acres. The students then decide if these were ‘push or pull’ factors. Next is a section on life living in a sod house, with an accompanying video where the students gather facts and information. The lesson ends with the students investigating and explaining the problems with farming on the Plains. This is a remote learning resource which can be emailed out or set on Google Classroom or similar platforms. I simply copy the information over into a Google Doc on Classroom so the students can then type their responses straight onto the sheet. All the information needed and links to videos are included to help them understand. Enjoy!

Explores the events of the Battle of Hastings and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. Includes a tweet starter, a documentary with a question sheet, a strengths/weaknesses activity and a 16 mark exam question. There is a link to the video in the slides but I recommend you purchase a copy from Amazon if you like the lesson just in case it disappears from the internet. I have my own copy and have been using this successfully for a long time. This lesson also works very well for KS3. Enjoy!

Ideal for remote home distance learning, sickness, self-isolation, school closure or revision – Why did the Mormons go West? - GCSE American West This lesson looks at why the Mormons moved west. Please note, it does not cover Salt Lake City as this is covered in the next lesson (which I have also posted on here) - Brigham Young and Salt Lake City. This lesson establishes how the Mormon religion began and then explores their journey from Kirtland, Ohio to Missouri and then to Illinois where they built their own city, Nauvoo. At each stage, the students analyse both problems and successes the Mormons had. The lesson ends with a narrative account question which they are then well prepared for because they have explored three chronological events which will fit nicely into a three paragraph narrative answer. As I mentioned, I always follow this lesson with Brigham Young and Salt Lake City. This is a remote learning resource which can be emailed out or set on Google Classroom or similar platforms. I simply copy the information over into a Google Doc on Classroom so the students can then type their responses straight onto the sheet. All the information needed and links to videos are included to help them understand. Enjoy!

Ideal for remote home distance learning, sickness, self-isolation, school closure or revision – The Gold Rush - GCSE American West This lesson covers how the Gold Rush began, what it was, the people who really got rich (i.e. the people selling goods and services to the miners, rather than the miners themselves), lawlessness in the mining towns and the Cholera epidemic which swept through the mining community. It contains some introductory information and then the main task consists of four video links, each with a series of questions to be answered by the students. The clips are produced by the Discovery Channel and are freely available on YouTube. This is a remote learning resource which can be emailed out or set on Google Classroom or similar platforms. I simply copy the information over into a Google Doc on Classroom so the students can then type their responses straight onto the sheet. All the information needed and links to videos are included to help them understand. Enjoy!

This lesson explores what people think caused the Black Death. The lesson starts with a song for a bullet point starter. The students then look at a series of factors to categorise things believed at the time and what we think now (these can be displayed on the board and/or printed out). The students are then asked to try to explain why people believed these things and there’s a slide to give them some ideas after they have spent some time coming up with their own reasons. There are two written tasks to choose from (or both can be done). One is an ‘agony aunt’ task where they write a reply to a concerned peasant. The other is a more traditional exam question with some sentence starters to help out. The lesson ends with a fun game which always works well when I teach it. Enjoy!