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 French Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the events of the Storming of the Bastille and the subsequent significance of the Flight to Varennes
Students learn through key questioning and some text analysis how and why the Bastille was attacked. There are some brilliant video links to accompany this.
They will then be required, using a storyboard, to decipher what happened next and explain how these events led to a new France.
They will also learn how Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempted to escape to the border and using a cauldron of significance, evaluate which key ingredients ultimately led to their recapture and eventual execution.
The Octagon plenary allows the students to summarise what they have learnt in the lesson, from sights and sounds to numbers and actions for example.
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.
The French Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to assess whether Louis deserved to be executed
Firstly, students have to put a number of events in chronological order leading up to the execution. This can be done wither as a verbal or card sort activity.
They are also given a narrative account of Louis XVI’s last day, from which they have to compose a number of tweets, imagining how he might have felt at the time.
There is some further source analysis and video links to help them with their learning.
The main task is to turn the classroom into a mini courtroom. Students are given information either defending King Louis XVI or opposing him. They will then make choices and decide whether to defend or send him to the guillotine. There is a writing frame to accompany this task with argument words to help if required.
The final task is to decide what happened to Louis’ body and why this was done.
A find and fix plenary will consolidate their learning from the lesson, with answers provided.
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.
The French Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to question who supported the French Revolution both internally and externally
The lesson begins with the students giving their own opinions as to whether they would support the Revolution. They are then given the context with a literacy challenge, as to how attitudes at the time began to change with the September Massacres of 1793.
No lesson is complete without James Gillray’s ‘Un petit Souper a La Parisienne’, which is analysed. Some help with prompts and guidance is given if required.
A study of the British reaction is also scrutinised as students learn how opinion became divided with the published works of Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine.
The main task is to analyse how different groups within France reacted; these include the Church (with a model answer given on how to complete the task), the Sans-culottes, nobles, Jacobins and Girondins and finally Counter-Revolutionaries. Students can feedback and present their findings to the class.
The plenary required a talking heads activities and to distinguish which group would be attributed to the various comments and opinions used.
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.
It is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
The French Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to judge how terrible the Reign of Terror was in France.
The lesson begins with an chronological recap task of the events of 1789.
Students are introduced to Maximilien Robespierre and using the information provided have to explain the context and introduction of the Reign of Terror.
The main task is to rate how terrible some of the events were in the years 1793-5, by colour coding a ‘terror o meter’. For each event and explain why they have made these decisions.
Using these judgements, they will then complete a thinking quilt on whether they think the Terror was justified or not.
The ‘Are you a robot?’ plenary gets them to make links with the images all connected to the learning of 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.
The French Revolution
The aim of this lesson to be judge how much Britain had to fear from Napoleon.
The first learning task for the students is to analyse a map of Europe in 1810, when Napoleon was considered at the height of his power, and work out which European countries were ruled over by France.
There is some source scholarship on Napoleon’s army to give some context on why it was so successful.
The main task is to decide how much Britain had to fear from Napoleon. Students have to emoji rate each part of Napoleon’s power, from battles, to his rule in France and his attempted invasion of Britain, before his defeat at the Battle of Trafalgar and subsequent imposition of his continental system.
Students can give their overall judgements in a written task, with key words and a writing frame to help if required.
As Napoleon’s power declined and therefore his fear factor, students are required to finalise his demise deciphering a dual coding task.
The plenary requires them to choose the correct answers, which focus on Napoleon’s health problems and ultimate reasons for his failure and final exile to St Helena.
The lesson comes with 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.
It is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
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.
The French Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to investigate if Napoleon was a hero or villain.
Students are introduced to Napoleon and make some initial judgements with reference to his upbringing and his early life.
The main task is to analyse some giebn evidence which is focused on his career, personal life, his reforms in France and how he became Emperor of France.
They are required to complete their analysis with some extended writing, complete with key words and a writing frame if required.
The plenary questions whether we should regard him as a legend with links to people in the modern era.
The lesson comes with 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.
It 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 introduce the A Level course to students.
Students are given an overview of the course content, as well as the requirements for the exam questions.
The lesson recaps on previous knowledge of the Tudors before introducing Henry VII and questioning which will be his main priorities on becoming King in 1485.
Students are also introduced to the Tudor timeline and begin to conceptualise how the Tudors and Henry VII came to power and how legitimate and secure his hold on the crown was.
There is also an introduction to Tudor society to set the scene for the course and students learn how society, agriculture, industry, the Church were organised.
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 reasons behind the fragility of the crown during the Fifteenth Century.
Students begin by using some source scholarship to analyse the weaknesses of the reign of Henry VI and the beginning of the Wars of the Roses between the Lancastrians and Yorkists.
They also have to decide whether it was the weaknesses of Henry VI, the nobles or lack of support for the monarchy which caused the Wars of the Roses.
The final task requires the students to fix a number of inaccurate statements and correct them from their learning during 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 analyse how Henry used propaganda to cement his hold on power.
Students are given a number of sources to analyse from which they have to identify the type of propaganda used, the messages given, the target audience and how effective it really was for Henry VII.
The plenary required students to link numbers to what they have learned in the lesson.
There is an exam practice question to complete. Help is given here with a planning sheet, suggested topics to focus on if required and a generic 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 as well as a number of tasks for some retrieval practice.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to assess the threat the nobility posed to Henry VII during his reign.
Students begin the lesson by summarising the importance and duties of the nobility and naming some important nobles throughout the country.
They then have to assess the threat level posed by the nobles and decide how successful Henry was in reducing their power by plotting this on a grid.
Their final task is to take on the role of Henry and decide how he dealt with eight nobles during his reign, whether that be through Acts of Attainder, imprisonment, fines, execution, confiscation of land or other choices given.
The plenary asks students to link a number of statistics to the nobles learned throughout 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 evaluate the character of Henry VII and to question how legitimate his claim to the throne really was.
The timeline of the houses and York and Lancaster are again analysed, as students are given more information of John of Gaunt’s line and the marriage to his third wife, Katherine Swynford.
Using extracts from two renowned historians, students study Henry’s character traits to build up more of a picture of what he was like as a person.
They are also introduced for the first time to some GCE exam question practice. This is their first attempt at a validity question.
Some guidance is given on how to approach this and a generic markscheme is supplied to allow feedback once completed.
The plenary uses picture prompts to recap on the 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 decide Henry’s priorities on becoming King of England
Students have to think which were Henry’s most pressing problems, before being given some help and guidance. They then have to prioritise which four things would be paramount to him and explain why.
Using the information acquired, they can then begin to piece together which problems he faced and why, and plot this on a grid.
The plenary requires them to write down the questions to the answers provided during the lesson.
They are also introduced to a written answer to an exam question, which they analyse and evaluate before deciding which mark it could be awarded. There is some feedback from the exam board given here and a mark awarded.
They can also plan an answer to this question themselves, before looking at the exam commentary, with a writing frame provided.
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 understand how Henry consolidated his power at the beginning of his reign.
Students have to recall his previous problems before deciding how he would overcome these problems.
They are then given the solutions to his problems which they categorise into short and long term problems as well as financial and political security and the succession.
The plenary challenges student to think outside the box by linking key themes using the octagon to what they have learned in 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 analyse how Henry ruled the country through his government and to make comparisons to how the country is ruled today.
Students are given information on Henry’s government, including his relationship with Parliament and the controversial Council Learned and his use of Justices of the Peace.
To check their understanding, students undertake a quiz with 150 points up for grabs to give it a competitive edge!
A final odd one out activity uses some retrieval practice 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 and retrieval practice activities.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The purpose of this lesson is to introduce Henry VII’s foreign policy aims.
Students are introduced to a map of Europe in 1485 and have to make comparisons and connections to countries on a map of Europe today.
They will learn who the major players were in Europe at the time, such as France and evaluate the threats they posed to Henry VII.
Students learn the three main aims of Henry’s foreign policy and have to justify which one is being applied to the various treaties and agreements reached with various foreign powers.
The plenary checks their understanding of the lesson using a talking heads activity, as they have to decide which European leader would make the given statements from the screen.
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 question preconceived ideas of Henry being a strong and successful King.
Students will need to analyse video and source evidence as well as complete some multiple choice questions to decide how much of a strong and successful king he really was.
They will also study the Tudor family tree and explain why he might have had a more secure and legitimate claim to the English throne than his father did.
There is a missing word activity for the plenary as students work out the correct answers to what they have learned 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 question whether Edward was fit to rule from the start.
Students are given some context into previous child Kings of England and their problems as well as some analysis of his Chronicle, which show him to be somewhat cold and callous.
Some excellent video links make reference to Edward’s early years and growing up. Students are also challenged to predict what Edward might have done if he had ruled on his own.
There is some guided reading to complete with a focus on Edward’s attitude to kingship, his personality and character and main influences.
The plenary tests their knowledge in a real or rubbish activity and which also aims to dispel some popular myths about Edward.
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 analyse the rise of the Duke of Northumberland to power.
Students are given a timeline of Northumberland’s life and the significant events in his rule during Edward’s reign.
They can also complete some source scholarship with views from various historians summarising his governorship.
Students also complete a multi-choice quiz on the succession as Northumberland looked to install Lady Jane Gray on the throne and learn the consequences of his political naivety.
Points are awarded to give a competitive edge and find out who has clear political acumen in the group.
The plenary compares the Dukes of Somerset and Northumberland and what their major differences were.
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 assess the success or failure of Somerset’s domestic and foreign policies.
From the beginning students learn about the financial crisis left by Henry VIII and how the Scottish war (including a case study of the Battle of Pinkie) meant that Somerset merely exacerbated rather than solved it. They then have to rate how ‘disastrous’ his foreign policy was in Scotland.
They will also evaluate the significance of the Western and Norfolk rebellions by examining their causes, events and Somerset’s response to both of them. Students will then be required to judge his leadership skills.
The plenary uses the octagon to discuss the learning from the lesson.
There is some exam practice to complete if required, together with a planning sheet, markscheme and prompts to help the students.
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.