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 American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson examines the process and problems of migration using the Oregon Trail and the discovery of Gold in California in 1849.
Students analyse the positive and negative effects of migrating to California as well as conflict over resources and are then challenged to link statistics to the various facts shown on the Gold Rush.
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 English Civil War
The aim of this lesson is to question if James I was the most ‘suitable’ candidate to succeed Elizabeth I as monarch of England, Scotland and Wales.
The lesson begins with the death of Elizabeth and the suggestion of the enormity of the task that lays ahead for the new monarch, with the transition from Tudor to Stuart rule.
James I puts down his own marker quite forcibly from the start in a letter to her chief advisor, Robert Cecil.
Students have to sift through the evidence provided to make up their own minds.
They are then required to report back to Cecil with their findings with scaffolding and key words provided if required.
The plenary uses the blob playground for students to make links to James and his ‘characteristics’.
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 suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and 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
This lesson aims to understand the reasons for the relative success of Red Cloud against the US Government as opposed to Little Crow and Black Kettle.
Students have to piece together the causes behind Red Cloud’s decision for going to war despite his tribe being divided and the awareness of the previous consequences of fighting back.
They learn about Fetterman’s Trap and the second Fort Laramie Treaty. They then have to decide the reasons or limits of Red Cloud’s success (such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse refusing to sign the Treaty).
I have also included an interactive click and drag exercise using activex textboxes which moves text to complete gap fills to reinforce the learning of the lesson.
The plenary uses an interactive flashcard activity linking to Plains Indian Chiefs.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘write a narrative account’ worth 8 marks, with help given if needed.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some recall retrieval practice is also included linking key words together.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
AQA GCSE Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present
The aim of this lesson is to judge the contribution and impact Florence Nightingale made to medicine.
Did Florence Nightingale singly handedly improve hospitals and nursing or were improvements afoot before she went to help in the Crimean War?
This is the driving question students will have in mind as they evaluate the reputation of women, nurses and hospitals before the Crimean War.
Students will also analyse the story of Florence Nightingale and decide which factors helped each part of her story – thus recognising and understanding how to link different factors to one individual.
The lesson thus includes a GCSE practice question, a fabulous video link and literacy challenges throughout.
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 Britain: Health and the People, c.1000 to present **
This lesson aims to find out why the Public health systems in Medieval towns were so poor.
Some local councils tried their best, but the laissez-faire attitude of many including the government of the day as well as a lack of medical knowledge and disease control proved a major hindrance.
Students have to decide the most important issues, both short and long term, causing the poor public health conditions by putting and prioritising the main ‘ingredients’ on shelves ready to put into a cauldron.
There are some fabulous links to video footage as well as a true or false quiz and a game of noughts and crosses to finish.
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 Britain: Health and the People, c.1000 to present
This lesson focuses on the power of the Christian Church over medieval society and medicine and why Christian beliefs focused on helping the sick.
Students explore the different types of healthcare on offer from the Christian Church in the Middle Ages including hospitals and learn why care not cure was the priority.
They are required to analyse sources, reconstruct sentences and complete a key word summary question sheet to challenge their understanding.
They are finally asked to fill in an efficiency rating of the Christian Church and then predict its potential (as with a house energy efficiency rating).
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 is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
AQA GCSE Conflict and Tension 1918-1939
This lesson is split into two; the first part concentrates on the Mukden incident and the causes of Japan’s invasion into Manchuria in 1931.
Students analyse a map of the area before completing a jigsaw puzzle and explaining in their own words (or pictures) the causes of the invasion.
The second part of the lesson focuses on the consequences on the invasion and how powerless the League was to act, despite the moral condemnation from Lord Lytton’s report.
There are some excellent links to video footage of the invasion in the lesson and how the League reacted to reinforce the learning.
Students also have to decipher some visual images and text to build up a clear picture of the whole incident before they are ready to tackle a ‘write an account’ question.
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, some retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
AQA GCSE Conflict and Tension 1918-1939
This is the final lesson in exploring the causes of the Second World War (WWII).
As Hitler invades Poland, students reflect upon the main reasons why Europe descended into war.
Students are required to colour code the main causes of World War II by linking them to five main categories.
They also have a chance to demonstrate their understanding by providing evidence and qualifying their judgements.
The final part of the lesson is geared towards preparing them for an assessment by analysing and tackling typical GCSE questions with help given if required.
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, some retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Rise of Dictators
The aim of this lesson is to decide if Robert Mugabe was a hero or a villain.
Students are introduced to his early life in a text mapping exercise which they have to decipher to understand his credentials for Presidency.
They are given information about Mugabe’s career, such as land reform and human rights abuses, from which they then have to give a number of ratings as to whether he was indeed a hero or villain.
Subsequent video footage gives the thoughts of people from Zimbabwe today as well as other commentators to help them in their comprehension of the task in hand.
An extended written piece, using a writing frame, will allow students to demonstrate their understanding and give a full evaluation of his rule.
A fragment exercise as well as a find and fix plenary recaps on what they have learnt in the lesson and reinforces their judgements of him.
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.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
Nazi Dictatorship 1933-39
I have produced this bundle of resources on the beginnings of the Nazi Dictatorship 1933-39 to help A Level students gain a deeper understanding of Germany’s past and the establishment of a Dictatorship.
The enquiry question throughout these lessons will be evaluate how much of a totalitarian state Germany became under the Nazis.
Students will learn about the impact of the Night of the Long Knives and the significance Hindenburg’s death had on Hitler’s consolidation of power.
They will also explore the mechanisms and apparatus Hitler installed to provoke fear and ensure compliance among the population, including the roles of the Gestapo and SS.
Students will assess the effectiveness of Nazi propaganda in controlling public perception and opinion., the economic policies of the Four Year Plan and autarky and the impact upon workers of the DAF, Strength Through Joy and Beauty of Labour programmes.
Finally students will analyse the efficacy of social policies on the young and women and decide how successfully the Churches were brought into line and replaced with the Nazis version of Christianity.
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 One Party State (Free resource)
L2 The Night of the Long Knives
L3 The Terror State
L4 Early Opposition
L5 Propaganda
L6 Economic Policy
L7 Youth Groups
L8 Women
L9 Workers
L10 The Churches
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.
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.
This bundle is the third and final part in a series of lessons I have created for AQA GCSE 9-1 Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship.
As well as focusing on GCSE exam practice questions, the lessons apply the skills necessary 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 Youth Groups to life in Germany during the war.
They will study (AO2) second-order concepts such as change and continuity in the role of women and how their lives were transformed and the causes and consequences of the Final Solution.
The analysis and evaluation of sources (AO3) are used in for example the Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht lesson whilst substantiated judgements are made (AO4) on how far the Nazis controlled the Churches in Germany.
The lessons are enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lessons and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resources includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 The Nazis and the economy
L2 The Hitler Youth
L3 The role of women in Nazi Germany
L4 The Nazis and the Churches
L5 Hitler’s hate list
L6 The Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht
L7 The Final Solution
L8 Opposition in Nazi Germany
L9 The German Home Front 1939-45 (free resource)
Please note that setting a full mock examination in class after completing this unit is strongly recommended.
All the examination resources and markschemes are subject to copyright but can easily be found on the AQA website.
This bundle is the first part in a series of lessons I have created for AQA GCSE Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship.
As well as focusing on GCSE exam practice questions, the lessons apply the skills necessary 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 Kaiser and the problems he faced as well as the implementation of the Treaty of Versailles and the challenges faced by the Weimar Government.
They will study (AO2) second-order concepts such as change and continuity in the new Weimar Constitution and the causes and consequences of Stresemann’s policies.
The analysis and evaluation of sources (AO3) are used in for example the Treaty of Versailles and the Munich Beer Hall Putsch lessons whilst substantiated judgements are made (AO4) on political and economic problems of the Weimar Republic as well as questioning whether the later 1920’s really were a Golden Age.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Kaiser Wilhelm II (free resource)
L2 The Kaiser’s Government and Weltpolitik
L3 The impact of World War 1 on Germany (free resource)
L4 The Weimar Constitution and Political Parties
L5 The Treaty of Versailles
L6 Political Uprisings – the Spartacists and the Kapp Putsch (free resource)
L7 The Ruhr Crisis and Hyperinflation
L8 The Munich Beer Hall Putsch
L9 Gustav Stresemann
L10 The Golden Age of Stresemann
Please note that setting a full mock examination in class after completing this unit is strongly recommended.
All the examination resources and markschemes are subject to copyright but can easily be found on the AQA website.
The resources all include suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and come in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Any reviews would be gratefully received.
This bundle is the second part in a series of lessons I have created for AQA GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People, c.1000-present.
I have taught this course for more than 20 years now and have again decided to completely overhaul my lessons to bring them up to date with the latest teaching and learning ideas I have picked up and with a focus on the new 9-1 GCSE.
Furthermore I have dispensed with learning objectives to focus on specific enquiry based questions which address the knowledge and skills required for the GCSE questions.
As well as focusing on GCSE exam practice questions, the lessons are all differentiated 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 brilliance of the surgical skills of John Hunter to the discovery of the vaccination for smallpox by Edward Jenner.
They will study (AO2) second-order concepts such as change and continuity in the development of ideas about disease and the causes and consequences for surgery with the discovery and anaesthetics and antiseptics.
The analysis and evaluation of sources (AO3) are used in for example Public Health in the 19th Century whilst substantiated judgements are made (AO4) on the progression or regression of medicine from the Renaissance pioneers such as Vesalius, Pare and Harvey to the discovery and isolation of germs by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch.
The lessons are as follows:
L8 Renaissance Medicine
L9 Medicine in the 17th and 18th Century (free resource)
L10 John Hunter
L11 Edward Jenner and smallpox
L12 Surgery in the 19th Century
L13 Florence Nightingale and hospitals
L14 Pasteur, Koch and Tyndall
L15 Public Health in the 19th Century
The lessons are fully adaptable in PowerPoint and can be changed to suit.
Please note that setting a full mock examination in class after completing this unit is strongly recommended.
All the examination resources and markschemes are subject to copyright but can easily be found on the AQA website.
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**The development of the Plains, American West c.1862-c1876. **
This bundle is the second 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 development on the Plains with the passing of the Homestead Act of 1862 through to the second Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.
They will focus on the advantages with the coming of the Pacific Railroad but how this accentuated the problems of settlement and the growth of the towns.
Students will learn about the life of cowboys and what was involved on the long drive and life on the ranch. They will recognise the significance of key people such as Joseph McCoy, Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving and John Iliff and how they changed the cattle industry.
They will study the conflicts which arose between ranchers and homesteaders as well as between the US Government and the Plains Indians such as Little Crow’s War and Red Cloud’s War.
Lessons will target consequence such as the US government policy of moving the Plains Indians to reservations where they could be ‘protected’ and the changes to their way of life.
Furthermore 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 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 or used for interleaving.
The lessons are as follows:
L12 The Homestead Act
L13 The Pacific Railroad Act
L14 Problems of Homesteading (free resource)
L15 Growth of the Cattle Industry
L16 Life of Cowboys
L17 Rivalry between Ranchers and Homesteaders
L18 Impact of Settlement o n the Plains Indians(free resource)
L19 Little Crow’s War and the Sand Creek Massacre
L20 Red Cloud’s War
The lessons are all differentiated and are tailored to enable the students to achieve the highest grades. Each lesson also contains some retrieval practice.
The lessons come in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
The Industrial Revolution
This lesson aims to evaluate the problems within Industrial towns and the impact they had on the growing population during the Industrial Revolution.
The lesson starts by analysing the source from Punch in 1852, 'A Court For King Cholera’, which is later annotated to help aid discussion.
Various images, video evidence and headlines allow students to build up a picture, which they then have to explain to a friend in a letter - using scaffolding and a writing frame if required.
Students also evaluate how and why the living conditions became like this and question if this was the case across the country as they are given further evidence from the wealthy in Victorian England, comparing the dwellings of the rich and poor.
Students will therefore be able by the end of the lesson be able to give an effective and balanced answer to this lesson.
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.
American Civil RIghts
This lesson sets out to ask the question if Abraham Lincoln was the ‘Great Emancipator’ that history claims him to be.
By analysing his statue at the Washington memorial and using video evidence as well as a brief summary of the 13th Amendment and the American Civil War, students are given evidence (which is differentiated according to ability) from which they question this belief.
Their ideas are then presented on a Venn diagram and presented to their peers.
A true or false quiz at the end will attempt to consolidate their learning as well as questioning how emancipated the slaves were after the amendment became law.
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.
The aim of this lesson is to question whether the Government was right to punish conscientious objectors during World War I and how frightening it was for individuals to refuse.
This is a controversial subject and was extremely difficult to understand and address at the time of the First World War.
Therefore the lesson explains why many people in World I refused to fight, despite government propaganda and pressure from society for them to do so as they became targets of abuse.
Luckily now there is a wealth of video and audio evidence in this lesson (linked to the BBC in particular) which deconstructs and challenges the old arguments of cowardice and shame as well as understanding individuals’ rights to uphold their beliefs and consciences.
Students are given two case studies to analyse before engaging in a mini debate on the right or wrongs to conscientiously object to war.
The plenary challenges them to decide if the given statements from the lesson are true or false.
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.
The aim of this lesson is to decide if everyone celebrated VE Day and the end of the Second World War (World War II) in May 1945.
At first glance, it would appear so as famous pictures at Trafalgar Square show soldiers and civilians alike celebrating as well as the famous faces on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
Students are also given information about the lead up to the German surrender in the form of a quiz, in which they have to choose the right options to gain points.
However, further investigation reveals the Americans were still fighting the Japanese in the Pacific, as well as prisoners of war still held captive around the world.
Students also have to consider the terrible losses people had gone through and therefore had little cause to celebrate.
I have also included some curious questions such as why did divorce rates surge at the end of the war or why were there rumours that soldiers were to be trained in jungle warfare?
There is lots of video evidence from the time to accompany the lesson as well as a talking heads plenary, which analyses which leader said what at the end of the war in Europe.
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 includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, 1060-87
This resource sets out the whole course in two sides of A4.
This is ideal for the student who wants a quick recap and summary before the exam or an internal assessment, as it sets out and gives all the main knowledge required.
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 to the topic, with a focus on the exam requirements at the beginning.
I have included both PDF and word documents in case there is a wish to adapt and change.
