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.
Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91
This lesson focuses on the Conferences at Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam and aims to evaluate their impact on East-West relations.
Students are required to decide who said what in a retrieval practice activity at first, before analysing the Conferences and evaluating what was agreed, bearing in mind a change of leadership in Britain and America between Tehran and Potsdam had a considerable influence on the outcomes for each.
The plenary sums up their knowledge through numbers.
Finally some GCSE question practice gives the students some strong and average model answers which they have to distinguish between and be able to explain why referring to the exam board markscheme.
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 materials and GCSE question practice.
It also comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91
The lesson aims to explore the significance of the formation of NATO and the Warsaw Pact
Students are given the context of why each organisation was formed and then have to analyse each flag and explain the important of each symbol using prompts to guide them.
Furthermore students will need to discover how far Stalin is telling the truth about the Warsaw Pact in a true or false quiz.
There is a GCSE practice question on importance to complete with help if required and a model answer given.
Finally, students complete a checkpoint retrieval activity and challenge tasks to finish and reinforce the learning of the lesson.
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.
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.
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.
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.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate how Protestant the country had become by 1547.
Students are required to estimate from the start which percentage they think the country had changed its religion, before they study the evidence and give their final evaluations and conclusions.
The evidence ranges from the Reformation Parliament, the Ten and Six Articles, Royal Injunctions, changes in doctrine, the influence of his wives as well as humanism.
The plenary focuses on a describe, explain, list, correct and erase activity.
There is some exam practice to also complete, together with a planning sheet, some focused help and a markscheme supplied.
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 short and long term impact of the dissolution of the monasteries.
Students learn about the role monasteries played in English society and how they became a fundamental part of the break with Rome.
They are given the facts of the dissolution by numbers to help them evaluate the impact of the dissolution as well as the techniques Cromwell used to close them.
There are some great video links included as well as shocking revelations brought to light.
The plenary allows students to reflect on how various sections of society accepted or disputed the dissolution.
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.
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.
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 II on a global scale and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by this conflict.
In the first 12 lessons, students will learn and understand key historical skills throughout such as continuity and change in the role and use of propaganda in World War II, the causes and consequences of the policy of appeasement, breaking the Enigma Code or the evacuation of children, the similarities and differences of life on the Home Front, the significance of Winston Churchill and VE Day and interpretations about whether there really was a Blitz spirit.
In lessons 13 to 23 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, refugees in World War 2 as well as interpretations as to whether Sir Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris should be considered a war hero or not.
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.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Causes of World War II
L2 Appeasement
L3 Winston Churchill
L4 The Home Front - preparations
L5 The Home Front - propaganda
L6 The Home Front - rationing
L7 The Home Front - women (free lesson)
L8 Evacuation of children
L9 The Blitz
L10 The Enigma Code
L11 Prisoners of war (free lesson)
L12 VE Day
L13 Overview of World War 2 (free lesson)
L14 Invasion of Poland
L15 Evacuation of Dunkirk
L16 The Battle of Britain (free lesson)
L17 The Battle of the Atlantic
L18 Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union
L19 Sir Arthur Bomber Harris
L20 D-Day landings
L21 The attack of Pearl Harbour
L22 Dropping the of Atomic Bombs on Japan
L23 Refugees in World War 2
Unfortunately due to TES restricting bundles to 20 resources, the free lessons of 7, 11, and 16 will need to be downloaded separately.
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.
The Industrial Revolution
This lesson aims to describe and explain the conditions of Victorian prisons through the eyes of a young person awaiting trial.
Students learn how a poor diet, pointless tasks and a payment system for every amenity meant a miserable existence for inmates.
So why did things begin to improve? How did key prison reformers change attitudes and make the government of the day reform the prisons?
These questions and more will explored through prose, quizzes, video links and knockout tournament competitions to see and judge how far the prison reforms went and how effective they were.
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.
Conflict and Tension 1918-1939
The aim of this lesson is to prepare students for the GCSE question, ‘How successful was the League of Nations in the 1920’s?’
Students have to research the various actions of the League took and analyse how successful it was in avoiding war and/or settling international disputes.
I have included differentiated materials and examples of scaffolding to help students of all abilities answer this question.
There is an option to give feedback individually or as a class, before undertaking the question under timed conditions.There is also a teacher markscheme supplied.
The plenary asks students to prepare three questions for a League of Nations official celebrity visit.
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.
Conflict and Tension 1918-1939
This lesson analyses the reasons for Hitler and Stalin signing the Nazi Soviet Pact and how and why Britain and France were rebuffed by Stalin.
Students have the chance to understand the background to their decision and how Stalin had finally had enough of the Allies foreign policy aims towards Hitler.
They do this through using some differentiated resources, including video footage, some higher order questioning as well as evaluating some key sources from the time.
Towards the end of the lesson, students are required to recognise the short and long term consequences of the pact and have the chance to answer a 16 mark GCSE practice question, with some help if required.
The plenary focuses on a literacy task using the key words used 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, some retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
American Civil Rights
This lesson questions how far the African American community in America has come since the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The lesson starts with focusing on the inspirational actions of two American athletes during the Mexico Olympics of 1968.
The students are questioned on the symbolic nature of their protest and how their message had far reaching implications.
Seven case studies are investigated by the students from the achievements of Michael Johnson and Barak Obama to the tragic incidents surrounding Rodney King, James Byrd and George Floyd.
There is much accompanying video footage as well as differentiated tasks to enable students to make a judgement at the end.
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 GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
The overarching aim of this and the subsequent bundle of eleven lessons is to question and explore how Elizabeth tried to assert and establish her authority in the early years of her reign.
The lessons are therefore linked together to build up a picture of her difficulties in trying to overcome this.
This is the third lesson and attempts to clarify the problems Elizabeth faced as a ruler in her first ten years; from being a female to the succession, foreign policy, Ireland, taxation and religion.
Students have to answer a variety of different questions from the start and engage in a thinking quilt to challenge them and link definitions to key words.
Students are given a chance to review her biggest problems either in a knockout tournament or using structured questions.
This will enable them to answer two of the exam question types; the ‘interpretation’ question and the ‘write an account’ question.
Two plenaries focus on retrieval practice and what the students have learnt in the 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 includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
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.
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.
**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
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 assess the skills of Thomas Cromwell as Henry’s chief minister.
Students are given the context to Cromwell’s rise to power, before they have to rate and justify the various talents he displayed, particularly in securing the divorce for Henry.
They will also make comparisons with Cardinal Wolsey and judge their similarities and differences in office.
A noughts and crosses game gets the students thinking and recalling knowledge at the end of 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 success of Henry’s foreign policy after Wolsey from 1529-1547.
Students recap events leading up to the Battle of Pavia ands Charles V’s dominance in Europe.
They are introduced to Henry’s policy of defence during the divorce and his quest for further military glory afterwards.
They then analyse his policy towards France, Spain, Ireland, Scotland and the Holy Roman Empire and evaluate how successful Henry was in his pursuit of glory. They must be able to justify this with examples and details.
There is some exam practice to complete together with a writing frame, prompts and a markscheme to use if required.
There is an enquiry question 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.
