I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate to what extend Elizabeth presided over a Golden Age.
Students are introduced to the concept of an Elizabethan Golden Age.
They focus on achievements in the arts, popular culture, improved communication and education, patronage and increasing wealth to decide to what extent a Golden Age existed, or whether it was a myth created by a very astute monarch who used propaganda extremely cleverly to put across a cult of Gloriana.
A detailed markscheme accompanies some exam practice towards the end of the lesson.
There are video links and images to accompany the lesson, culminating in some exam proactice at the end.
There is an enquiry question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work.
The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit.
The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
I have created these set of resources for the History Key Stage 3 National Curriculum ‘challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day.
These lessons are also useful if you are studying Germany at GCSE, where never enough time can be devoted to the holocaust in depth and which students find so fascinating.
The central question throughout these nine lessons is to find out who is to blame for the holocaust. They are closely linked together and students continually plot their ideas around a lightbulb, which can be referred back to each lesson (either dated or colour coded) to show progress throughout.
Pupils will learn the significance and impact of the holocaust on the wider world and be able to see the causes and consequences of the systematic attacks on Jewish communities throughout Europe since the Middle Ages.
They will learn key historical terms such as discrimination, persecution and genocide and understand the differences between concentration and extermination camps. They will be given sources to analyse such as the evidence from Anne Frank’s diary or an anti-Semitism tax return from Norwich in the Middle Ages and make historical inferences from them. Furthermore they will be able to write structured accounts and narratives of who was to blame from the Camp Guards or the SS, to Josef Mengele and the Einsatszgruppen units.
The 10 lessons are broken down into the following:
L1 An introduction to the holocaust
L2 Anti-Semitism in Britain
L3 Anti-Semitism in Europe
L4 Extremism to Extermination
L5 How was it organised?
L6 Who was to blame?
L7 Jewish Resistance
L8 Liberation of the extermination camps
L9 Diary of Anne Frank
L10 Nuremberg Trials
L11 The hunt for Josef Mengele
Each lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies and are linked to the latest historical interpretations and ideas used by current history teachers.
The lessons are fully adaptable in Powerpoint format and can be changed to suit. I have included a couple of free lessons to give an idea of what is being offered.
I strongly recommend using GCSE style questions from your chosen exam board and markschemes to assess the pupils at the end of this unit, which are always available on line.
This bundle has been designed to meet the National Curriculum requirements at Key Stage 3 History for women’s suffrage as part of the theme, ’challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day.’
It can however be used as a springboard for teaching at GCSE, particularly if you are teaching AQA Power and the People or OCR Explaining the Modern World.
Each year I cannot wait to teach this fascinating topic. It also never fails to ignite the excitement and interest of the students studying this part of history.
From the controversy of universal suffrage, to how women were treated in society in the 19th century, the questionable suicide of Emily Davison to the militant actions of the Suffragettes including the Cat and Mouse Act and their involvement in World War 1. How can anyone ever argue that history is dull?
Moreover this bundle addresses key historical skills. How did World War 1 show change and continuity for women? What were the causes and consequences of the industrial revolution on universal suffrage? What were the similarities and differences in the actions of the Suffragists and Suffragettes? What was significant about the imprisonment of the Suffragettes or the death of Emily Davison?
These skills are addressed in each of the lessons and allow students to be able to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends and be able to create their own structured accounts and written narratives.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Dying for the vote
L2 An introduction to the Suffragettes
L3 Suffragists and Suffragettes
L4 Emily Davison – martyr or fool?
L5 Propaganda and the Cat and Mouse Act of 1913
L6 The impact of World War 1 on women’s rights
L7 The roaring twenties
L8 How far have women gained equality?
(+ Key Word History Display)
Each resource comes PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson and there are differentiated materials included.
The Suffragettes
The aim of this lesson is to assess the impact of World War 1 on the Suffragette movement.
The lesson analyses the changing perceptions as women took on the jobs the men left behind to fight on the Western Front in France.
Students prioritise the most important roles women took as well as discovering through source analysis what they did.
There are some excellent case studies of four women and what they did during the war, which provide a great insight into many of the roles women undertook and the resistance and prejudice they faced.
The final part of the lesson looks at the main reasons why women gained the vote and judge if the impact of the war was the main and fundamental reason for this.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
World War II
The aim of this lesson is to question if it was really necessary for the Allies to bomb Dresden in World War II.
Sir Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris stands today as a controversial figure and therefore the lesson revolves around his reputation; did he bring an the end of the war with the bombing raids and save thousands of lives or the reverse?
The lesson builds up a picture of why the bombing raids on Germany were stepped up, how the Government used propaganda posters to justify these and why Dresden was a ‘legitimate’ target.
Differentiated tasks analyse the consequences of the bombing on Dresden and a mini plenary checks understanding.
The ultimate task is for the students to decide if he was a war hero or a criminal, with prompts and help if required.
The plenary challenges the students to link the key words to controversial themes developed throughout the lesson.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91
The aim of this lesson is to understand how the Soviet Union reacted to any deviation from Soviet policy and control in 1968-9.
Students will learn how and why Dubcek introduced a series of reforms to give his people greater freedoms.
Having analysed the reforms, students have to decide if they were social, political or economic and which problems were the greatest threat to the stability of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Students will also study Dubcek’s road map to peace and are asked some challenging questions using the information provided.
The Soviet reaction is evaluated in a series of options for the students to choose and some differentiated source analysis.
Finally, the impact of the Brezhnev doctrine is assessed for Czechoslovakia, relations between the satellite states, relations between the USA and the Soviet Union as well as the reputation of the USA internationally with their response to the crisis.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout this and subsequent lessons to show the progress of learning.
The lessons in this bundle are therefore linked together to build up a picture of how diplomacy, propaganda and spying led two Superpowers with opposing political ideologies to create tensions, rivalries and distrust as well as subsequently forming mutual understanding and cooperation over the time period in question.
The resource includes retrieval practice, suggested teaching strategies, differentiated material and GCSE question practice.
It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Rise of Dictators
The aim of this lesson is to assess whether Mussolini’s legacy can be compared to Julius Caesar. Did he match up to his accomplishments such as the Julian calendar, being a successful military leader, a consul of Rome as well as an Imperator.
Students begin by explaining what they already know about Italy and its historical past.
They also analyse the rule of Julius Caesar and what he achieved in his lifetime.
They will then be given facts about Mussolini’s early life and use the information to make a judgement about him as a person, using key words and a writing framework if required.
The main task will then involve them plotting Mussolini’s life on a graph taking into account his successes and failures.
From this, they will then be able to evaluate if he indeed deserves to have a similar reputation and legacy to Caesar, whom he admired and attempted to emulate in his Fascist Dictatorship from 1922-43.
There is some excellent video footage to accompany the lesson, together with challenging tasks culminating in a ‘what is the question task’ and an ‘odd one out’ activity.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes some retrieval practice on Dictators, suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The French Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to assess the personalities and characters of King Louis and Marie Antoinette and how these contributed to the French Revolution.
Students are required to build up a picture of the French monarchy using some source scholarship and written accounts from the time.
This will enable them to decide and explain the most important reasons why they became so unpopular with the French population.
Furthermore, they will be required to chart a popularity rating for each of them and justify their choices, using some extended writing techniques.
The plenary uses a summarising pyramid to evaluate and condense what they have learnt in the lesson.
The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, differentiated materials, suggested teaching and learning strategies and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
The lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate how much society changed in Tudor England under Henry VIII.
Students begin the lesson by recalling how society was structured under Henry VII.
They are then required to predict how much society will change, before rating how much change there actually was (using a rate ‘o’ meter gauge).
They will then be able to evaluate how much change or continuity Tudor society underwent and why and for which social groups.
The plenary asks what is the question from the answers given, using information from the lesson
There is some exam practice to complete with a writing frame, some prompts and a markscheme to use if required.
There is an enquiry question posed during the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work.
The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit.
The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to question if Mary I was fit to rule as a queen and as a woman.
Students are given the context to Mary’s succession as Queen Regnant and are challenged in some differentiated questions to predict what will happen in her short reign.
Using evidence from her background, some guided reading and source extracts, students have to evaluate how and why the historiography of Mary has changed over time.
They are also introduced to her key people and advisors and decide who would have said what in talking heads plenary.
There is an enquiry question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work.
The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit.
The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to assess the impact of humanism and the arts on Henry VIII.
At first glance and with a title in some literature of Henry as ‘the Renaissance Prince’, it would be easy to assume he fully embraced humanism and all the new ideas from Italy, However, an in depth analysis from this lesson will bring this view into question.
Students begin with a reminder and recap of the Renaissance and the humanist influencers of Erasmus, Colet and More. There are some excellent podcast and video links to further enhance student understanding of their ideas and beliefs.
Students are then required to justify the view that Henry fully embraced humanist ideas with a focus on education, paintings, tapestries and music. This can be then tackled in some exam question practice, with help given and a markscheme supplied.
The plenary requires the completion of some multiple choice questions to check learning from the lesson.
There is an enquiry question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work.
The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit.
The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to assess the situation in Europe on the accession of Elizabeth and decide how this will influence her foreign policy.
Students recap on the foreign policy aims of previous Tudor monarchs and predict how Elizabeth will deal and react to some initial problems, such as the loss of Calais.
Students will also be required to answer some key questions using the information sheets provided: Which country posed the biggest threat to Elizabeth and why? Was Elizabeth reactive or proactive? Did England follow a consistent foreign policy and who controlled it, Elizabeth or her advisers?
Some exam question practice is included which will also the context of Mary, Queen of Scots.
There is an enquiry question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work.
The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit.
The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
The overarching aim of this and the subsequent lessons is to question and explore how Elizabeth asserted her authority and control in the second half of her reign.
The key to this lesson is to recap not only the causes of the Spanish Armada and the build up to its eventually defeat, but also to analyse the battle itself and reasons for English success and Spanish failure.
Furthermore, what were the consequences for Elizabeth and her successors?
How did Britain regain the initiative and establish Elizabeth as a Protestant force to be reckoned with in Europe and at home?
How did the defeat change her status as a world power for the next generation of explorers and seafarers as Britain became the dominant naval power in the world by the 19th Century?
Students make up and pour a toxic cocktail of causes before piecing together the reasons why the Armada failed and ran out of energy, by giving it an energy rating in a prioritisation exercise.
They also have to amend a number of statements and correct them, explaining the reasons why they are incorrect as well as studying an interactive map as the events unfolded.
Finally students can complete a ‘How important’ GCSE practice question worth 8 marks to consolidate their learning with hints and tips of how to answer this.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Germany 1890-1945:Democracy and Dictatorship
This lesson focuses on two key questions - how were the Ruhr crisis and hyperinflation so closely linked together and how did they create both economic and political problems for the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1923?
The lesson is split into two parts; the first focusing on why the French decided to invade the Ruhr region of Germany and secondly the consequences for them and for Germany when they did.
Students have to answer key questions on the invasion and analyse sources which infer French brutality.
A literacy task to follow challenges students’ understanding of the key words used.
The second part of the lesson explains the causes and consequences of hyperinflation with a focus on the winners and well as the losers.
Some GCSE question practice at the end gives a student friendly markscheme to peer and self assess.
There is a plethora of video footage and primary sources to analyse throughout the lesson as well as simplified and chronological explanations.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
This lesson explores how the Nazis suppressed opposition in Germany through terror, propaganda and coordination.
Most student answers on the police state tend to focus on terror and violence, so hopefully this lesson which re-evaluate their thinking to take into account the ideas of indoctrination and persuasion.
Students analyse the types of propaganda used as well as control in all spheres of life before having to explain there was little opposition as asked at the beginning of the lesson.
They will also judge how effective the different forms of control are such as concentration camps, the Gestapo, the law courts as well as the use of block wardens.
By the end of the lesson, the students are given a GCSE practice question to analyse and mark, with guidance on how to achieve the higher marks with a model answer.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The Holocaust
This lesson explores the significance of two shoes found at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Students begin to ask questions about them, relating to their state, gender, laces and condition to final decide what we know for sure about the owners. There are differentiated questions given for those who require extra help.
Students are also given the testimony of Rudolf Hoss, the camp commandant of Auschwitz and have to decide which parts of it are the truth or not as the case may be.
They are also given the chance to learn why badges were given out to certain inmates or why Primo Levi testified as to how he was able to endure and survive the brutality of Auschwitz until its end. Richard Dimbleby also gives his harrowing account of his first impressions of entering Bergen- Belsen extermination camp.
A prioritisation exercise at the end will check recall, retention and understanding at the end of the lesson.
The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons in the bundle is to ask who was to blame for the holocaust?
Students will map out their ideas each lesson (which can be plotted in different colours or dates to show the progress of their learning and centred around a lightbulb) and build up a picture of how difficult it is to blame a single individual or event for this catastrophe.
The resource comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the extent to which the Nazis created a totalitarian state
Students learn how the Nazis ‘reformed’ the police system, increased the activities of the SS, SD and Gestapo and controlled the courts and judicial system.
They will complete group work, with detailed information provided, ready to present their findings to the class and justify the extent of totalitarianism in Nazi Germany.
The plenary will require the students to make newspaper headlines from their learning.
The lesson is quite literacy heavy and may have to be delivered over two lessons. There is some exam practice to be completed at the end, with a focused markscheme provided if required.
An enquiry question posed at the beginning of the lesson will be revisited throughout to track the progress of learning during the lesson and the subsequent unit of work.
The lesson is available in PowerPoint format and can be customised to suit specific needs.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the threat the Puritans posed to Elizabeth…
The lesson begins with a definition and how the Puritans were becoming a problem for Elizabeth.
Four areas of Puritanism are analysed (from Parliament, local reform movements, the Church from within and separatism) from which the students are able to tackle an exam question, with help and prompts given if required, including a detailed markscheme.
The plenary requires the students to discuss and rate how much the threat of Puritanism declined under Elizabeth and the possible reasons for this.
There is an enquiry question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work.
The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit.
The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
Britain: Health and the People c1000 to present
This 29 page Revision Guide sets out the four main types of questions to be asked from the start and gives ideas and easy ways of how to answer them.
The course starts with the Greek ideas of the four humours and Galen’s contribution before tackling medieval medicine through to the present day.
Each topic is set out in a clear and easy format for students to learn, remember and help them in their revision programme.
The Revision Guide gives 18 typical exam questions asked on each topic (from significance, to how useful, similarities and the factors) and how to put this into practice with model answers.
Furthermore it shows how the highest marks can be achieved, which can be different from other Revision Guides which focus more on content than skills for this course.
This Revision Guide can be used for revision, interleaving, within the classroom as well for homework purposes.
This Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and can be adapted and changed to suit using PDF and Word formats.
Any reviews would be gratefully received. Please feel free to follow me on X (twitter) @pilgrim17.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The Collapse of Democracy 1928-1933
I have produced this bundle of resources on the collapse of democracy in Germany 1928-1933 to help A Level students gain a deeper understanding of Germany’s past and the collapse of democracy.
The enquiry question throughout these lessons will be to evaluate how unstable Germany was, politically, socially and economically.
Students will learn how the impact of the Wall Street Crash and the Depression a profound effect on the stability of the Weimar Republic and the significance of the rise of extremism as a direct consequence.
They will also learn about the appeal of Communism as well as Nazism and how electoral support for them changed throughout the early 1930s.
Students will evaluate backstairs intrigue as a succession of Chancellors failed to gain the support needed to effectively rule the country and how Hitler manipulated those around him to be appointed Chancellor in 1933.
Finally students will analyse Hitler’s first Cabinet, the significance of the Reichstag Fire and how democracy ceased to exit as Nazis began to create a one party state.
The resources provided include detailed lesson plans, case studies, source documents for analysis, chronological tasks and exam practice questions with comprehensive mark schemes.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 The Wall Street Crash and Great Depression
L2 The Collapse of the Grand Coalition
L3 The appeal of Nazis
L4 The appeal of Communism
L5 Papen’s Cabinet of Barons
L6 General Schleicher and backstairs intrigue
L7 Hitler’s first cabinet (free resource)
L8 The use of terror in 1933
The lessons include the two types of exam question used, with examples of how to tackle them, using model answers, helpful hints and tips, structuring and scaffolding as well as markschemes. However, please refer to the AQA website for further assessment materials as they are subject to copyright.
The lessons are also differentiated and fully resourced and allow students to reach the very top marks.
Democracy and Nazi Germany Part 3 resources can be found here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/democracy-and-nazi-germany-a-level-bundl-part-3-13059603
If you have any questions about the lessons, please email me via my TES shop, or any other information about the course.
I would also welcome any reviews, which would be gratefully appreciated.
