I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is judge how Protestant England became under the Edwardian Reformation.
There is also a distinction made with the Protestant views of Edward and the contrast between the Edwardian Reformation under Somerset and Northumberland.
Students begin the lesson by studying an overview of the main changes during the Edwardian Reformation and analysing the Protestant views of Edward. They learn the distinct religious differences between the rule of the two Dukes before their evaluate how Protestant the country had become under both.
There is some guidance on some learning trouble spots concerning the spread of Protestantism within the country and therefore how hard it is to judge and answer this question.
There are some additional tasks if needed concerning the major players in the Reformation under Edward VI as well as some source analysis and details on the significance of the Chantries Act.
There is some exam practice to complete at the end, using sources with help, prompts and a markscheme is 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.
I have created these set of resources for the History Key Stage 3 National Curriculum ‘challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day.
These lessons are also useful if you are studying Germany at GCSE, where never enough time can be devoted to the holocaust in depth and which students find so fascinating.
The central question throughout these nine lessons is to find out who is to blame for the holocaust. They are closely linked together and students continually plot their ideas around a lightbulb, which can be referred back to each lesson (either dated or colour coded) to show progress throughout.
Pupils will learn the significance and impact of the holocaust on the wider world and be able to see the causes and consequences of the systematic attacks on Jewish communities throughout Europe since the Middle Ages.
They will learn key historical terms such as discrimination, persecution and genocide and understand the differences between concentration and extermination camps. They will be given sources to analyse such as the evidence from Anne Frank’s diary or an anti-Semitism tax return from Norwich in the Middle Ages and make historical inferences from them. Furthermore they will be able to write structured accounts and narratives of who was to blame from the Camp Guards or the SS, to Josef Mengele and the Einsatszgruppen units.
The 10 lessons are broken down into the following:
L1 An introduction to the holocaust
L2 Anti-Semitism in Britain
L3 Anti-Semitism in Europe
L4 Extremism to Extermination
L5 How was it organised?
L6 Who was to blame?
L7 Jewish Resistance
L8 Liberation of the extermination camps
L9 Diary of Anne Frank
L10 Nuremberg Trials
L11 The hunt for Josef Mengele
Each lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies and are linked to the latest historical interpretations and ideas used by current history teachers.
The lessons are fully adaptable in Powerpoint format and can be changed to suit. I have included a couple of free lessons to give an idea of what is being offered.
I strongly recommend using GCSE style questions from your chosen exam board and markschemes to assess the pupils at the end of this unit, which are always available on line.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to challenge the view that Mary’s foreign policy was a disaster.
Students are given the context to Europe at Mary’s accession to the throne and how she was brought into the Habsburg-Valois conflict as a result of her marriage to Philip II of Spain.
There are some differentiated questions to answer using some extended comprehension, as well a discussion on the pros and cons of her foreign policy.
This is a case study of the capture of Calais from a recent BBC magazine article which sets up an extract practice question to answer, complete with a detailed markscheme to help if required.
The plenary challenges what students have learnt in the lesson and some assumptions made by historians.
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 judge how successful Mary’s economic policies were.
At first glance, it would be easy for students to assume that Mary’s policies failed. Bad harvests, inflation, a sweating sickness ravaging the country and population growth characterised her reign.
However, further investigation and analysis will reveal some successes and foundation stones laid for the future with the help of an able Lord Treasurer.
A revaluation of the currency, a Militia Act, poor relief and the commissioning of six new ships for the navy were all to be welcomed by Elizabeth and her successors when she became Queen.
The plenary is a colour coding exercise where students have to decide which key terms and Acts belonged to either Edward or Mary.
The second part of the lesson focus on a mid Tudor crisis. Students can attempt some question practice with planning guidance and a markscheme provided 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 question how far Mary was fit to run her government.
The first task students have to complete is to predict what Mary with do to overcome some of her immediate problems.
They will also determine whether having numerous councillors during her reign automatically meant an inefficient and faction-ridden government.
Students will learn how Mary both cooperated and well as clashed with her Parliament and then evaluate how efficient her government actually was.
There is an enquiry question posed at the start 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 GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the impact the Great Depression had upon Germany.
Students are given the context to the Wall Street Crash and then have to decide if Germany’s problems throughout were the sole consequence of the Wall Street Crash.
They are given further details of the effects of the slump in Germany, from which they answer some differentiated questions.
Various scenarios are also put forward, from the social, political and economic effects, to who suffered more - the young or the old and the rise of extremism. These can be debated and discussed in groups or individually.
The plenary further challenges which particular groups suffered in the Depression and why.
Some source exam practice can be completed, with help and structure given to answer the question if needed.
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.
World War II
This lesson aims to evaluate if the evacuation of Dunkirk was a success or failure.
By the end of the lesson, students will have made up their own minds and be able to give their own interpretations of the events of May 1940.
Using video and film footage of the time as well recent accounts from veterans, students will be able to recognise and understand why there is a difference between contemporary and modern versions of the evacuation.
They will also study a range of sources both visual and written and then judge which were most accurate and why, again focusing on contemporary as well as modern day accounts.
In conclusion, they will write up their findings in an extended written task.
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.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People c1000 to present
The aim of this lesson is to make the factor question (4) more accessible to students.
A question that we think is an easy one for them to answer in fact causes the students the most difficulty.
I find students begin to panic and forget everything they have learnt over the course; many answers become scrambled into meaningless waffle or into a few sentences on some individual stories.
Sadly I begin ask myself where are all the individuals we have learnt about over the whole unit of work and their breakthroughs and impact on medicine?
This lesson can be delivered over two as there is quite a lot of information to get through.
A ‘model’ answer is given to them, only for it to be dissected and the ‘waffle’ identified and highlighted.
Some key assessment tips and advice from the exam board to their markers is shared to show students how to create a model answer reaching the higher boundary grades.
Students can be properly assessed using recent specimen questions which come complete with an up to date mark scheme from the exam board and my own student friendly mark scheme to peer or self assess in class, where they are shown how they can improve.
Further activities include revision on how to categorise the factors and topics which could possible come up in forthcoming exams.
It is inevitable that this question will undoubtedly become more demanding and specific as the course embeds itself.
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 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
The overarching aim of this and the subsequent bundle of 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 fourth lesson looks at the significance of marriage for Elizabeth and the subsequent problems it caused her throughout her reign.
There are retrieval practice activities to start the lesson including an odd one out task and ‘splatting’ the board to choose the correct answers.
Students are introduced to the criteria for why Elizabeth should marry and then check the criteria against the possible suitors, thus coming to a conclusion about the best candidate.
There is also a GCSE practice question to answer. There are sentence starters provided for differentiation and the lesson comes complete with fun activities and video footage.
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.
This bundle is the first 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 impact of Hippocrates and Galen on medieval medicine to the power and control of the Christian Church.
They will study (AO2) second-order concepts such as change and continuity in the development of ideas about disease and the causes and consequences of the Black Death and the Plague on Britain.
The analysis and evaluation of sources (AO3) are used in for example surgery whilst substantiated judgements are made (AO4) on the progression or regression of medicine from new ideas from the Islamic world as well as the Christian Church .
The lessons are as follows:
L1 An introduction to the course
L2 Hippocrates and Galen
L3 The influence of the Christian Church
L4 Islamic Medicine
L5 Doctors and surgeons in the Middle Ages
L6 Public Health in the Medieval towns
L7 The Black Death and the Plague
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.
World War I
The aim of this lesson is to understand the importance of the Poppy on Armistice Day. The lesson is split into two parts.
The first part of the lesson analyses the causes of the war ending in 1918.
Using a causal spiders web (an idea taken from Emily Thomas), students link the ideas together by drawing lines and then justify their reasons to create a spider’s web.
The second part of the lesson analyses the significance of the use of the Poppy with students giving their own reasons for this on the poppy leaves (a template is included).
They then have to prioritise the most important reasons why the Government introduced Poppy Day with a diamond nine activity.
Students also have the chance to evaluate John McCrae’s in Flanders poem
with some ‘clever question stems’.
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.
This is a fun, entertaining as well as a challenging lesson, designed to question and evaluate the causes of the Great Fire of London in the summer of 1666.
The hook is Samuel Pepys; why did he bury his cheese and why did he bury it alongside items that were surely more valuable?
The lesson comes complete with differentiated resources as students have to plot the causes and consequences of the fire on a visual display using logs,flames and smoke.
Notes have been put on each slide on how to deliver the activities and answers to some of the questions posed as well as suggested teaching strategies.
This lesson is active, exciting and engaging and would also suit a non specialist. It is aimed at key stage 3, but can be delivered to key stage 2 pupils also.
The lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies and are 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 lessons are fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.
Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
This lesson explores how the Nazis suppressed opposition in Germany through terror, propaganda and coordination.
Most student answers on the police state tend to focus on terror and violence, so hopefully this lesson which re-evaluate their thinking to take into account the ideas of indoctrination and persuasion.
Students analyse the types of propaganda used as well as control in all spheres of life before having to explain there was little opposition as asked at the beginning of the lesson.
They will also judge how effective the different forms of control are such as concentration camps, the Gestapo, the law courts as well as the use of block wardens.
By the end of the lesson, the students are given a GCSE practice question to analyse and mark, with guidance on how to achieve the higher marks with a model answer.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
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 Industrial Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to question how far the Factory and Mine Acts went to reform working conditions.
Students have to decide how much credit the Government of the day should receive for reforming the conditions of workers in the factories and mines.
Furthermore they will evaluate how effective the laws were that were passed and were they adhered to.
Finally they will judge how much credit should be given to a number of dedicated and philanthropic individuals who were ahead of their time
This lesson explores these questions by examining the evidence of children and discovers how factory owners like Titus Salt in Bradford were determined to help their workers themselves to create a harmonious and thriving community.
Students have to think which Acts applied to whom using numbers as well as evaluating how much lives improved as a result of the Factory and Mines Acts.
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.
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.
The Norman Conquest
The aims of this lesson are to understand what the crusades were about, the significance of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and why medieval Europe answered the call of the Pope to fight there.
There is some context given to the Holy Land at the start of the lesson, with some analysis of the Holy sites in Jerusalem and their significance as well as a map showing the journey of the crusaders.
Students are given a character card at the start of the lesson and discover the reasons why they abd others embarked on a ‘religious’ crusade.
They will plot what happens to their character throughout the lesson and learn the final consequences of their chosen actions.
There are a number of differentiated learning tasks to complete, including analysis of sources and text as well as video footage, questions and plenaries to complete.
This is an engaging, challenging and interactive lesson which requires students to think independently and justify their choices as well as considering the morality, the significance and impact of all five crusades of Medieval 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 using a rate ‘o’ meter 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.
Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91
The aim of this lesson is to assess then impact of consequences of the Bay of Pigs invasion during the Cold War.
Students begin by analysing Castro’s personality in a literacy task, with key word indicators to help.
They then have to decide, or not as the case may be, as to whether it was crystal clear if Castro was leaning towards the USA or the Soviet Union.
The main task is to find out what happened at the Bay of Pigs, using video evidence and then evaluate the consequences of the invasion in the development of Cold War relations.
There is some GCSE exam practice to finish on the importance of the invasion with help and a scaffold included, as well as a model answer for reference.
.The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout this and subsequent lessons to show the progress of learning.
The lessons in this bundle are therefore linked together to build up a picture of how diplomacy, propaganda and spying led two Superpowers with opposing political ideologies to create tensions, rivalries and distrust as well as subsequently forming mutual understanding and cooperation over the time period in question.
The resource includes retrieval practice, suggested teaching strategies, differentiated material and GCSE question practice.
It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Rise of Dictators
The aim of this lesson is for students to judge how much love there was for Mao Zedong in China.
There is also some retrieval practice which can also be used to tie with the other Dictatorships of Hitler and Stalin.
This lesson can be delivered over two as there is quite a lot of information given so that students will be able to make their own assumptions and judgements.
The lesson begins with questioning what the students already or might know about China throughout its history.
Students will learn about the background of communism in China and Mao’s rise to power, which they will answer key questions on.
They will ultimately be required to evaluate Mao’s term in office and decide how much love there was for him amongst the Chinese population with his policies on industry, land reform, women, education and youth for example.
There is also an extended writing task to complete for students to show off their new found knowledge.
They are some key words and phrases to analyse such as the Long March, collectives, purge, anarchy, the ‘New Leap Forward’ as well as the ‘Cultural Revolution’.
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, suggested teaching strategies, 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 assess whether Mussolini’s legacy can be compared to Julius Caesar. Did he match up to his accomplishments such as the Julian calendar, being a successful military leader, a consul of Rome as well as an Imperator.
Students begin by explaining what they already know about Italy and its historical past.
They also analyse the rule of Julius Caesar and what he achieved in his lifetime.
They will then be given facts about Mussolini’s early life and use the information to make a judgement about him as a person, using key words and a writing framework if required.
The main task will then involve them plotting Mussolini’s life on a graph taking into account his successes and failures.
From this, they will then be able to evaluate if he indeed deserves to have a similar reputation and legacy to Caesar, whom he admired and attempted to emulate in his Fascist Dictatorship from 1922-43.
There is some excellent video footage to accompany the lesson, together with challenging tasks culminating in a ‘what is the question task’ and an ‘odd one out’ activity.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes some retrieval practice on Dictators, suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
