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.
The Holocaust
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the reasons why Josef Mengele escaped justice.
I have been inspired to write this lesson after reading an article by Gerald Posner who spent three decades trying to track him down.
The story makes fascinating reading; but was Mengele a brilliant mastermind at escape and evasion tactics or was it pure incompetence on the part of the West German authorities and a lack of will from the Western governments to track and find him?
Students are given the context to Josef Mengele, his background and a very brief description of the war crimes he committed at Auschwitz, without going into specific details.
They complete a missing word activity, before analysing the fake passport he used to flee to South America.
The main task is to judge how believable his escape story really is, with some red herrings thrown in for good measure to get the students really thinking.
Some key differentiated questions, an extended writing piece, with some ‘believable’ words as well as a thinking quilt will give the students an accurate account of his double life.
There is also an excellent link to video footage of a documentary by Gerald Posner himself.
The resource comes in PDF and PowerPoint formats if there is a wish to adapt and change and is differentiated.
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 assess the state of the Republic by 1924 as a consequences of risings from the left and right.
As there is a lot of information in the lesson, students are given an overview of the learning in the lesson and what is covered.
Students begin by rating how serious six political uprisings were and be able to justify their choices.
They also have to summarise the reason why coalition governments made the Republic so weak, using information provided.
Case studies also focus on the Spartacist Uprising, the Munich Beer Hall Putsch and political assassinations.
This will enable students to tackle a source based question on the political instability of the Weimar Republic between 1919-24.
The lesson comes complete with a generic marksheme and question planning sheet.
The plenary is a find and fix task, recapping on learning from the lesson.
There is a 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.
Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
The aim of this lesson is to study of the fascinating Weimar culture that Germany experienced in the 1920s and evaluate how it changed Germany society with its links to modern society today.
Art, film, architecture, music and cabaret, theatre and fashion radically changed in Germany and led to the Golden Age which Stresemann had laid the delicate foundations for.
Students analyse these changes through artwork, sources and music of the time as well as a thinking quilt which focuses on key words and terms used in the lesson.
B
y the end, they have to judge how these changes have impacted upon Germany society and explain why these changes have left a lasting legacy on culture and society today.
The final part of the lesson is to answer a GCSE practice question on how Weimar culture impacted upon lives in Germany in the 1920s.
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 Tudors
This lesson aims to find out the real reason for the sinking of Henry’s flagship, the Mary Rose.
The lesson starts with Henry crying (literally) and students have to decode a message to find out why.
Students are then given four options as to why it sank, from which they give their initial opinions.
Further analysis of video footage and written evidence will allow them to form their own judgements to be able to complete an extended writing task.
This lesson uses Henry as a talking head, discussing how it was impossible to sink it in the first place, due to his genius and finally responding to the students’ evidence in a witty plenary.
This lesson is engaging and fun and gives a different perspective of looking at Tudor seafaring and what was aboard the ships of the time.
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.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The aim of this lesson is to assess how much and how far surgery improved in the 19th Century.
The lesson is split into three parts; pain, infection and blood loss and will possibly take two to three lessons to deliver.
Students learn about the problems of pain in surgery pre-anaesthetics and how surgery ‘advanced’ with the introduction of ether and chloroform.
A summarising pyramid challenges students thinking and gets them to understand why there was opposition to these new drugs.
In the second part of the lesson, students analyse the new techniques used by Joseph Lister and evaluate his significance overtime using sources.
Finally in the third part of the lesson, students use a thinking quilt to question and comprehend the advances made in blood transfusions and the role the First World War played in developing surgery further.
The lesson includes GCSE practice questions, fabulous video links to surgery both past and present and enables the pupils to challenge and question the ‘progress’ made by surgeons.
Students can also summarise the topic by creating a road map using road signs to show the advances and pitfalls of surgery over time.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
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 and there are differentiated materials included.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The aim of the lesson is for students to understand how Public Health reached a crisis point and why the Government was finally persuaded to make Public Health its priority from its previous laissez-faire stance…
Students will learn about 5 key figures (Chadwick, Snow, Bazalgette, Booth and Rowntree) and their attempts to change the health of the nation, from tackling cholera, miasmas and sewage, to the passing of Public Health Acts.
Moreover, students will evaluate why attitudes changed and how the Government realised a healthier workforce was needed to compete with challenges to the Empire from abroad.
Each of the five individuals are analysed and their work scrutinised to judge how effective their recommendations or improvements were, culminating in a decision as to who made the most significant contribution to Public Health.
The lesson includes worksheets for all the individuals, GCSE practice questions on factors and source analysis, quizzes and video links throughout.
There are also plenaries for each individual to check understanding and recap on their contribution to Public Health.
This lesson is fully resourced and can be delivered over two-three lessons.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
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 and there are differentiated materials included.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to judge the success of Elizabethan exploration and colonisation.
Students are first introduced to the most influential seafarers of the age; Drake, Hawkins and Raleigh
Students are required to evaluate the significance of their activities, such as slave trading, the colonisation of Virginia and attacks on Spanish shipping as a result of the attack on San Juan de Ulua.
They also analyse the reasons why exploration increased with new ship design and navigational techniques.
As well as focusing on Drake’s epic circumnavigation of the globe and the enormous revenue he generated for the crown, some misconceptions are also clarified such as what colonisation meant to the Elizabethans and how much overseas trade expanded as a result of voyages to the New World.
There is some exam practice to complete if required, which questions if Drake’s exploits were the main cause of hostilities with Spain.
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 analyse the reasons why England went to war with Spain.
A first part of the lesson is focused on Elizabeth’s policies in the Netherlands and how this antagonism finally led to war.
The second part of the lesson analyses the reasons why the Spanish Armada failed. Whilst students appraise Philip’s plans for the invasion, they also have to make connections throughout its voyage as to why it was doomed from the start.
Included is a significance activity to complete, where students rate how important each event is in relation to Philip’s decision to go to war.
There is some exam practice to complete if required and a plenary which tests students’ ability to debate and counter argue. This is accompanied with a detailed markscheme.
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 evaluate the reasons why Wolsey fell from grace.
Students begin by analysing evidence that suggests Wolsey was England’s second king, complete with his domestic and foreign policies.
They then have to make up their minds and decide which key event(s) led to his downfall in an mini extended writing task, with argument words to help them construct their answers.
The plenary uses a flashcard with judgements made on Wolsey from which they are required to agree or challenge.
Students have the chance to undertake some exam question practice, complete with writing frame and markscheme if required.
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 Henry’s motives for wanting a divorce.
Students are reintroduced to some key terminology before they focus on the events leading up to the divorce and break with Rome. They will then be required to assess the significance of each of the prescribed events and justify their choices.
The second part of the lesson examines the causes of Henry’s divorce, whether that be his conscience, faith, desire for more power, financial motives or simply an infatuation with Anne Boleyn.
Students will be able to collate and evaluate this information to complete an exam practice question, with a writing frame and markscheme provided as well as some help and pointers if required.
The plenary tests their knowledge on who might have said what in this ‘King’s Great Matter’.
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.
Conflict and Tension 1918-1939
This resource in booklet form sets out the course in two sides of A4.
This is ideal for the student who wants a quick recap and summary before the exam as it sets out all the main details in bullet form.
It is also great for quickly printing and giving out for revision lessons, especially when the students claim they cannot remember anything you have taught!
It covers the main events, issues and people connected with the course with a focus on exam requirements.
I have included both PDF and word documents in case there is a wish to adapt and change.
This bundle is the first part in a series of lessons I have created for Edexcel GCSE 9-1 Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-1991.
The lessons are all differentiated, fully resourced, amenable on Powerpoint and are tailored to enable the students to achieve the highest grades.
The lessons will allow students to demonstrate (AO1) knowledge and understanding of the key features and characteristics of the period studied from the formation of the Grand Alliance to the outcomes of Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam as well as the ideologies of East and West and the Berlin crisis.
They will explain and analyse (AO2) second-order concepts such as change and continuity in tensions between East and West, the causes and consequences of the formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact as well as the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Origins of the Cold War
L2 Conferences of Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam
L3 The Kennan and Novikov Telegrams
L4 Soviet Satellite States
L5 Truman Doctrine
L6 Marshall Aid
L7 Cominform and Comecon (free resource)
L8 Berlin Crisis 1948
L9 NATO and Warsaw Pact
L10 Significance of Arms Race (free resource)
L11 Hungarian Uprising
The lessons are enquiry based with a key question posed at the start of the lessons and revisited throughout 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 form mutual understanding and cooperation over the time period in question.
The resources include retrieval practice, suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and GCSE exam practice questions and come in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
This bundle follows the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum - the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745.
I have designed these lessons to be challenging and engaging as well as fun and enjoyable.
The aims of this bundle are to know and understand how peoples’ lives were shaped by the Tudors from Henry VII to Elizabeth I, how they changed the course of British history and why we are still fascinated by their lives today.
Students will learn and understand key historical skills throughout; for example, the concepts of continuity and change with the Wars of the Roses and the accession of Henry VII to the throne, key historical terms such as dissolution, Catholic and Protestant and vagrancy, recognising the causes and consequences of Henry’s break with Rome, analysing the significance of the Black Tudors, Edward VI and Elizabeth I as well as evaluating sources and interpretations such as the reputation of Mary 1.
The 20 lessons are broken down into the following:
L1 The War of the Roses
L2 Henry VII
L3 An introduction to Henry VIII
L4 Did Henry VIII break with Rome for love?
L5 Did Henry VIII break with Rome for faith?
L6 Did Henry VIII break with Rome for money?
L7 The dissolution of the monasteries
L8 The sinking of the Mary Rose
L9 Edward VI
L10 Bloody Mary
L11 Black Tudors
L12 The young Elizabeth
L13 The Elizabethan Settlement (free resource)
L14 Elizabeth and the problem of marriage
L15 Elizabeth and her portraits
L16 How did Elizabeth deal with Mary, Queen of Scots?
L17 Famous explorers (Drake, Hawkins and Raleigh)
L18 The Spanish Armada
L19 Elizabeth, poverty and the Poor Law
L20 Elizabethan Theatre and the Globe
Due to TES restrictions on Bundles, the introduction to the Tudors, which is a free lesson, must be downloaded separately.
Each lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies and are linked to the latest historical interpretations and debate from the BBC and other sources.
The lessons are fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit. I have included a free lesson to give an idea of what is being offered.
Although this bundle is aimed at Key Stage 3, it is ideal if you are studying the Tudors for GCSE as it covers the main themes, concepts and skills required.
This bundle follows the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum - challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world, 1901 to the present day with a focus on the conflicts of the Second World War.
The aims of this bundle are to know and understand significant aspects of World War 2 on a global scale and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by this conflict.
I have created and used these lessons to challenge and engage students, but also to show how much fun learning about this part of history really is.
Students will learn and understand key historical skills throughout such as change and continuity in the types of warfare used, the causes and consequences of the evacuation of Dunkirk and the similarities and differences of Hitler’s invasion of Russia as compared to Napoleon.
They will also learn about the significance of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan,VE Day, collaborators and refugees in World War 2 as well as interpretations as to whether Sir Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris should be considered a war hero or not.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Overview of World War 2 (free lesson)
L2 Invasion of Poland
L3 Evacuation of Dunkirk
L4 The Battle of Britain (free lesson)
L5 The Battle of the Atlantic
L6 Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union
L7 Sir Arthur Bomber Harris
L8 D-Day landings
L9 The attack on Pearl Harbour
L10 Dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Japan
L11 The role of Collaborators
L12 Refugees in World War 2
L13 VE Day
This bundle includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials.
All lessons come in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
I have also included two free lessons in the bundle to give an idea of what is being offered.
**The early settlement of the American West c.1835-c.1862 **
This bundle is the first part in a series of lessons I have created for Edexcel GCSE 9-1 The American West, c.1835-c1895
Students will be assessed on their knowledge and understanding of the early settlement of the west from the customs, traditions and lives of the Plains Indians through to the lawlessness of the towns.
They will focus on the settlement of the Great Plains with the coming of the early settlers and the problems they faced farming the land.
They will learn about the conflicts and conquest of the Great Plains such as the Gold Rush of 1849 and the use of the Oregon Trail by the Donner Party for example.
Questions will target consequence such as the US government policy towards the Plains Indians and the treaties which followed such as the Indian Removal Act, the Indian Appropriations Act and the Fort Laramie Treaty.
Furthermore students will be empowered to master the significance of key events such as the Mormon migration west and write analytical narratives such as the perils of the Oregon Trail.
I have dispensed with individual learning objectives for each lesson to focus throughout on a specific enquiry based question which addresses the knowledge and skills required for the GCSE questions and shows progression in learning required during this course.
Moreover it allows the students to critically think for themselves to decide who was benefitting from this rapid change to America as well as how and why.
For assessment purposes each lesson, with the exception of the first two, is accompanied by one of the three key exam questions with help and exam tips if needed. These can be completed in the lesson or for homework tasks if required.
The lessons are all differentiated and are tailored to enable the students to achieve the highest grades.
The lessons come in PDF and Powerpoint formats if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Introduction to the Plains Indians (free resource)
L2 Plains Indian society
L3 The Great Plains and the Buffalo
L4 The Spirit World (free resource)
L5 Conflict over land
L6 The Oregon Trail
L7 The Gold Rush and the Donner Party
L8 The Mormon Migration
L9 Early Settlement on the Plains
L10 The Fort Laramie Treaty
L11 Problems of lawlessness
American Civil RIghts
This lesson aims to question the impact the KKK had on America in the 1900’s.
It starts by looking at some of the actions of the KKK and the fear and intimidation black Americans felt at the time.
Students have to analyse a variety of evidence about the group before having to answer some differentiated questions, including voicing their judgements on its impact over time in the Twentieth Century
There is also a link to the KKK today and what they are still trying to represent and promote.
Students can also refer to this to build upon their conclusions as to the impact they had on American society.
The plenary requires students to fix and fix statements using their knowledge gained in the lesson.
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 I
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate just how efficient and effective the new weapons of the Twentieth Century were.
Students have two objectives; to rate the effectiveness and killing power of the weapons used during the war and to explain how well equipped the soldiers were in the trenches, particularly the British Tommy.
The lesson begins with discussing the type of weapons used and for students to recognise the continuity and change of many of these pre, post and during World War 1.
The historian Dan Snow is quoted as saying the British soldier went into World War I ‘as the best prepared soldier on the planet.’
The lesson subsequently unfolds to explain and evaluate the new weapons used and the advantages (or not) they gave each side.
The plenary requires students to link the effectiveness of the weapons to images and to explain how and why this is the case.
This lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout the lesson and this unit of study 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.
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson examines the process and problems of migration using the Oregon Trail, exacerbated and proliferated by the discovery of Gold in California.
Students analyse the positive and negative effects of migrating to California and are then challenged to link statistics to the various facts shown.
There is some text analysis on the Donner Party and its consequences with key questions as well as video footage to reinforce the learning.
Some GCSE question practice focuses of the narrative account question with key exam skills attached as well as some help if required.
The plenary uses an interactive hangman game.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice using the odd one out is also included.
It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to explore the rivalry and tensions that grew up between ranchers and homesteaders on the Plains from the 1860’s onwards.
Students have to think why conflict arose on the Plains and what the arguments might be with some initial guidance.
They also learn about the checkerboard allocation of land and the issue of free ‘public land’. Using some typical scenarios which arose, they have to come up with solutions to the problems.
There is some GCSE exam question practice on the ‘consequences question’, with some help given if required.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice linking key words and subject is included.
The plenary links key words from the lesson together to form sentences to reinforce the learning. There is also some retrieval practice at the start.
It comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the fears over the Ghost Dance and the significance of the Wounded Knee Massacre.
Students have to analyse text, answer differentiated questions and use video evidence to evaluate the reasons for the massacre and the implications of the Ghost Dance.
The plenary is a connection wall which requires students to connect 4 key words together and explain why.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘write a narrative account ’ question worth 8 marks, with help given if needed.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some recall retrieval practice is also included from the start.
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
