I want to provide useful, good quality teaching resources for busy teachers. My main area is History but I also teach Geography. I understand only too well how challenging it can be to come up with a good resource quickly when there are a million other things to do. After spending so much time creating these resources for my own work, it seems a shame not to share them more widely and help out other teachers. Enjoy!
I want to provide useful, good quality teaching resources for busy teachers. My main area is History but I also teach Geography. I understand only too well how challenging it can be to come up with a good resource quickly when there are a million other things to do. After spending so much time creating these resources for my own work, it seems a shame not to share them more widely and help out other teachers. Enjoy!
Explores life in towns in the Middle Ages. Their is a ‘first impressions’ starter which is revisited at the end. The students then use information to complete a Venn diagram, looking at good things and bad things about living in a medieval town. After some true or false questions there is then a written task to bring it all together. I have included a differentiated version of the written task for any students you feel may need it. Enjoy!
Explores the role of the church in the Middle Ages. A picture starter gets the students thinking, followed by a look at the structure of the church. The students then categorise factors into beliefs, practices, people and other followed by an answer slide to check for understanding. After a quick true or false, the students then create a piece of writing to bring together everything they have covered today. I’ve also added a wordsearch at the end it you want to use it. Enjoy!
This electronic mark book automatically calculates percentages and GCSE grades for assessments. I have been using it for years and it saves lots of time sitting with a calculator and a sheet of grade boundaries. Contains tabs for 15 classes, each with room for 15 assessments throughout the year. You set your own grade boundaries on the first tab, enter the maximum score for each assessment and then simply enter each student’s score. The mark book does the rest! I’ve included a set of instructions explaining how to use it. It’s incredibly user friendly and you can make a new copy every year so all of your assessment data is conveniently saved on your computer. Some of my colleagues have uploaded it to Google Sheets and it works fine on there too if you would like it in the cloud.
It took a long time to make and to figure out the formulae but now it is an intrinsic part of my teaching practice. 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 - KS3 Geography Measuring Weather
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.
This lesson looks at the difference between weather and climate and the various instruments used to measure the weather.
This worked really well with my KS3 Geography class. Enjoy!
Ideal for remote home distance learning, sickness, self isolation, school closure or revision - Types of Clouds and Rain - KS3 Geography. This lesson covers cirrus, cumulus and stratus clouds and then moves on to relief, convectional and frontal rainfall.
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 - 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 - Nazi Racial Beliefs and Policies - GCSE Germany. This lesson covers the Nazis’ racial hierarchy, source analysis, eugenics and antisemitism. It has many tasks for the students to complete including defining keywords, analysing sources, taking notes and creating a timeline.
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 is included to help them understand.
Enjoy!
This lesson explores the battle of Thermopylae and the legend of the 300 Spartans. It uses three sources: a documentary clip, a film trailer and a primary source from Herodotus’ The Histories (this has been differentiated to make it easier for KS3 students to understand). All of the resources needed for this lesson are included in the download. My students really liked this lesson - enjoy!
Ideal for remote home distance learning, sickness, self isolation, school closure or revision - How useful are these Whitechapel sources? - GCSE Crime and Punishment. This is a double lesson with both sessions being based around the ‘How useful is this source’ question on the Whitechapel paper. It gives guidance on how to answer the question and then a variety of sources to practice. The students use the information and video links to answer the questions on the worksheets. This is designed to be set remotely but I have also found it works well in the classroom with a few small tweaks.
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 and links to videos are included to help them understand.
Enjoy!
Ideal for remote home distance learning, sickness, self-isolation, school closure or revision – Why Did People Move West? - GCSE American West. The lesson begins with some background information on early settlers migrating west. The students are then required to categorise factors as either ‘push or pull’, looking at why people migrated. There is then a link to a video about Manifest Destiny and a series of questions for the students to answer. The lesson ends with an exam question based around the title of the lesson.
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 – 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!
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!
This lesson explores rebellions from Edwin and Morcar, Edgar Atheling, Hereward the Wake and the Revolt of the Earls. I usually find it takes me two lessons to get through this as there is a lot there. The lesson has links to several videos which help in their research. The students are asked to consider the causes, events and consequences of each rebellion. There is also an exam question at the end and an example answer which the students are asked to evaluate.
Please note - The Pearson textbook - Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88 is used to add extra information in this lesson. If you use a different textbook, you will need to alter the page numbers on the slides accordingly. Thanks, enjoy!
This lessons explores the battles at Gate Fulford and Stamford Bridge in the run up to Hastings. It includes a key word starter, two BBC Teach videos (links in the slides) with some questions and then a mind map activity. Feel free to adapt to suit your particular groups - I usually do this over two lessons and spend a lot more time on each individual battle. No textbooks are needed for this lesson. Enjoy!
Exploring the four claimants to the throne in 1066. This lesson is a fun activity where students get to act out the roles of the four claimants and complete a worksheet to use in the written task at the end.
Suitable for both GCSE and KS3. Feel free to adapt accordingly. I have used copyright-free images as I am selling it on TES but these can also be changed if you have the correct permissions.
Enjoy - my students did!