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
The lesson aims to explore the development of nuclear weapons and their significance in the Cold War.
Students will first learn the devastating effects of a nuclear fallout before examining why they were developed by the USA and how the Superpower rivalry spurred the Soviet Union on to develop weapons of her own in a comprehension exercise.
Students will also complete a fill in the gaps exercise of how nuclear weapons were meant to act as a deterrent to a nuclear war.
There is also some excellent Pathé news footage of the tests conducted at the time, from which students use inference to evaluate the real propaganda behind the headlines given.
There is some GCSE question practice to complete at the end with help and prompts given if required.
The final task is to complete a road map as students attempt to answer questions correctly to reach the safety of a nuclear bomb shelter.
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 and discover how Stalin retaliated and reacted to the formation of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid.
Students are given the key information about the setting up of Cominform (to counter the Truman Doctrine) and Comecon (to counter Marshall Aid). Students will then have to evaluate how much help and support Stalin gave to Eastern Europe.
They will complete this using an evaluation grid by colour coding the decisions made from not at all to significantly or extremely.
This will enable them to complete a choice of two GCSE practice question, will help given if required including a student friendly markscheme.
This resource also includes differentiated questions using Blooms taxonomy at the beginning as well as in the plenary to check understanding.
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 exam practice 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 **
This is an introductory lesson and sets out to establish some key dates, people and discoveries associated with this unit of study.
Moreover it introduces the concepts of beliefs, ideas and treatments through the different time periods and questions whether these improved or regressed over time.
Students plot these key people, events and ideas on a timeline, which they can develop in the class and/or at home.
I have also included a personal tracker which the students can stick at the front of their books and track various assessment points throughout the unit using different colours for achievement.
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.
The Industrial Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to introduce the new breed of Factory Owner in the Industrial Revolution
What made Richard Arkwright such a success and how far did he change social and economic fabric of Britain forever?
Students learn how he built up his business and the steps he took became a millionaire and questions how people at the time felt about this.
Activities include completing a thinking quilt and a worksheet on the steps to his success with an explanation as to why, analysing video evidence as well as studying and evaluating text before making a conclusion at the end.
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.
The English Civil War
This lesson aims to explore the problems Charles brought upon himself to cause the English Civil War.
Students are given information which they have to analyse and decide how and why there were opposing views from Parliament and the King on how to run the country.
The use of contemporary accounts and propaganda posters will challenge the more able as well.
Students justify who in their opinion is to blame for the Civil War and demonstrate their learning at the end of the lesson using factor and function symbols.
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 English Civil War
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the devastating consequences that alleged witchcraft had on communities in Stuart England.
Students will be posed questions such as: Why were the Stuarts so obsessed with witches and witchcraft? How and why did the Pendle witch trials cause so much historical notoriety and infamy? and How could you even recognise a witch and why should they be feared in the local community?
These questions will be answered and explained in this lesson, which ultimately focuses on the Pendle witch trials and its results for English society as a whole, who soon lived in fear and terror for their lives.
Activities include evidence collection, a true or false quiz, a literacy challenge as well as video analysis.
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.
World War II
The aim of the lesson is to question how we should treat prisoners of war in Britain during World War 2.
Students might be influenced initially in their thoughts by their prior knowledge of Nazi and Japanese treatment of captured prisoners.
There is a discussion task with a number of scenarios which will allow the story to unravel of Italian and German prisoner experiences in Britain.
Pathé news also has some excellent links to video footage of capture prisoners and the commentators emphasis on their good treatment and being given a square meal each day.
A case study of Eden Camp in Yorkshire, site of a former prisoner of war camp, will enable students to analyse what happened there and if treatment was good, fair or bad.
It 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.
Cold War and the Olympics
This lesson explores the link between the Cold War and sport.
As with technology and space exploration, sport was an area where rival powers could prove or assert their dominance without going to war.
Students compete a recall, retention and retrieval task on the previous Vietnam War lesson before undertaking a true or false quiz.
They analyse and evaluate medal tally statistics from previous Olympics and make judgement about the anomalies in different years.
They are given an account of the history of Olympic success and are challenged as to why it was so important to do well for your respective country.
As with previous lessons they use the light bulb and key question to continue to annotate around as the fear of losing spurred both nations on to different extremes.
No lesson on Cold War sports would be complete without refence to the Rocky film and the US propaganda machine is in full force as grit and determination to train is pitted against the use of drugs to cheat. Students can then determine which statement to agree with and use argument words to convince their peers.
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The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change and is differentiated.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.
Cold War
This first lesson aims to set the scene of Europe from 1945 with the defeat of Germany.
The first part of the lesson investigates Hitler’s death, as the students break down and summarise some text into headings before writing a narrative account of the events.
The second part investigates the aims of the Big Three and what they agreed should happen to Germany and Berlin at the end of the War. Students scrutinise and decide what each of the leaders (Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill) might have said at Tehran and Yalta and complete a suspicions grid to be able to explain and justify these growing tensions.
The central theme throughout this and the proceeding ten lessons is to ask why civilians feared for their lives? In a new era after World War 2, suspicions and rivalries arose between the two new superpowers, the USA and the USSR. Each lesson explores these growing tensions and ultimately questions why people thought a nuclear war was imminent.
The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change and is differentiated.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.
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 asserted her authority and control in the second half of her reign.
The lessons are therefore linked together to build up a picture of this golden age and question if it really was a period of stability and prosperity.
This lesson questions if there really was an Elizabethan Golden Age or was it really a myth?
Was it just some Elizabethan propaganda to promote Elizabeth I and the Tudors?
The students get themselves involved in a mini debate agreeing or refuting the question using Cornell Note taking before presenting their findings to the class.
They will also tackle a GCSE ‘write an account’ question before peer assessing it and deciding what went well and how they need to improve the 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.
The Holocaust
This lesson analyses the story of Anne Frank and celebrates her short life. It asks in a sequence of lessons I have produced, who is to blame for the holocaust?
Was it the SS who rounded up the Frank family or was it friends or spies to blame for theirs and countless death during World War 2?
The lesson tells her story and asks students to think of but, because and so.
There are some great video links to accompany the lesson as well as some analysis on an extract from her diary and a virtual tour of the annex.
A final true of false quiz checks recall and retrieval from the lesson.
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.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to assess the political and economic impact of the Ruhr invasion upon Germany.
Students begin by recapping Germany’s inability to pay reparations and its request to suspend payments to stabilise their currency. They also learn in more depth how they were required to pay and how a bad situation was made worse by the Allies.
Students also have to answer a series of questions and predict how Germany reacted to the occupation by French and Belgian troops.
A chronological task completes the lesson together with some source exam question practice. Some help is given if required together with a generic markscheme.
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.
AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to assess the reasons why Hindenburg felt confident enough to appoint Hitler as his Chancellor.
Students are given the context, the details of Hitler first cabinet and the key people within it. They are questioned as to the pitfalls Hitler might face and the obstacles thrown up by the constitution.
A gap filling exercise and some source analysis will help to consolidate the learning from the lesson.
The 3-2-1 plenary will ascertain the learning from the lesson
An enquiry question posed at the beginning of the lesson will be revisited throughout to track the progress of learning during the lesson and the subsequent unit of work.
The lesson is available in PowerPoint format and can be customised to suit specific needs.
It is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.
This lesson aims to introduce the main contenders to the vacant throne of England in 1066 with the deat hof Edward the Confessor. Students have to understand why a chair (a throne) would cause a war and read a script to understand who the main contenders were and the reasons they put forward for having a claim to the English throne.
Diffetentiated bloom’s questions aim to deepen their understanding and get them to analyse who has the best claim and why (thus extracting fact from fiction). A brilliant video link to English heritage and extra work sheets will give them all the knowledge required to create a newspaper report or table to ultimately evaluate these claims of the contenders
The resource comes in PDF and Powerpoint formats 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. The accompanying script for the lesson can be found here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/medieval-britain-script-for-the-normans-who-had-the-best-claim-to-the-english-throne-in-1066-11456418
If you like this resource, please visit my shop where I have created further resources on Medieval Britain which can be found here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/PilgrimHistory
Edexcel 9-1 Medicine in Britain, Thematic study and historic environment
This lesson aims to set the scene for the beginning of trench warfare and the problems for medical treatment on the battlefields of World War 1.
Students will analyse the setting up of the trenches, how and why they were dug, which equipment they needed and how they used the trenches to defend and attack the enemy.
They also assess the lie of the land and how this impacted on medicine and the wounded and the problems created.
Activities include retrieval practice, evaluation of the terrain, use of video evidence as well as GCSE question practice, with help given if required.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
This lesson aims to examine push and pull factors which contributed to the migration west.
Students are introduced to the Oregon Trail and learn how the Government promoted its use by providing $30,000 for an expedition led by John Fremont to map it out and report how exciting and achievable it was to travel along it.
An excellent accompanying video in contrast shows the realities however of travelling to the west.
Students are given various scenarios which they have to decide are push and pull factors and for extra challenge decide if they are social, political or economic factors.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘consequences’ question worth 8 marks.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice is also included on spelling key words.
It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to explore the consequences of overstocking the open range and the subsequent move to small ranches after the Great Die up of 1886-87.
Students are required to tackle some GCSE exam question practice from the start as they have to work out reasons why and the consequences for the changes to the cattle industry.
They also analyse the impact on cowboys and reasons for a decline in their demand.
Students are also challenged into deciding which policies went before or after 1887 and what constituted this new change in direction.
The plenary requires them to demonstrate what they have learnt in the lesson using a summarising pyramid.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel
The aim of this lesson is to examine the consequences of the extermination of the buffalo and the effect on the Plains Indians way of life.
Students analyse the reasons how the buffalo were exterminated and then discuss why this was possible, with some prompts to help them.
They also have to answer some key questions on the impact of this extermination and are required to plan a debate taking on the role of a white settler or a Plains Indian.
There is some follow up exam question practice using the ‘consequences’ question worth 8 marks, with help given if required.
The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some recall retrieval practice is also included using the Blockbusters game, complete with changing colours and music!
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
World War II
The aim of the lesson is to question if it is right to help your enemy.
Once the students decide what a collaborator is and the punishments involved, they have to make a judgement if they agree with collaborating in times of war or not. Their opinions are challenged throughout the lesson.
They analyse the reasons for collaboration and complete a thinking quilt which challenges their literacy and evaluation skills.
There are some brilliant sources to accompany the lesson, including visual images from the time as well as a case study of Chaim Rumkowski who helped the Nazis believing it was the key to Jewish survival in the ghettoes.
The plenary is a retrieval practice activity deciding which is the odd one out.
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.
World War II
The aim of this lesson is to assess how Channel islanders survived the war with the only occupation of British soil by German armed forces.
Britain had taken the decision to leave the Channel islands undefended.
Therefore students are questioned as to why this decision was taken and how they might feel being at the mercy of the German occupation.
Use of a text and a thinking quilt will help students analyse the ways in which islanders survived, through rationing, acts of resistance and their treatment by the German soldiers garrisoned there.
The Germans attempted to make it a model occupation with respect shown to the islanders, but with curfews and censorship, students have to evaluate if this was the case.
Some excellent video footage will also explain the treatment of prisoners of war moved to the island to help build the Atlantic Wall defences and how they attempted to manage under appalling conditions.
Some real life testimony from survivors is also given to allow students to evaluate fully the significance of the occupation and survival techniques developed to survive.
A big thank you in my research for this lesson goes to Dan Snow and his podcast on the occupation as well as the book by Duncan Barrett, ‘When the Germans came’, as well as testimony from a family friend who is still a resident on Jersey.
It 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.