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.
**Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship **
The aim of this lesson is to examine the role of the Churches in Nazi Germany and to decide how much control Hitler exerted over them.
The lesson starts by studying Christianity in Germany and explains why there was a conflict of interest with the State.
Nazi policies to both the Catholic and Protestant Churches are analysed as students have to interpret the threats they both posed to Hitler.
Furthermore students have to distinguish the differences between the Christian Churches and the new Nazi Reich Church.
There are some excellent links to video footage which explain why there was such a lack of opposition and a united front from the Churches, despite such fortitude and resolve from Cardinal Galen and Martin Niemoller.
A thinking quilt poses some enquiry and GCSE questions, which students have to answer by linking specific key words to them.
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.
With the National Curriculum in mind, I have created a set of resources which focus on ’the development of the British Empire' with depth studies on India and Australia.
Furthermore I have been inspired to review and adapt these teaching resources due to recent debates about the impact of the British Empire on the indigenous peoples it conquered and the legacy of Empire and how it influences us still today.
I would like to thank Sathnam Sanghera for his brilliant book ‘Empireland’ and his enlightened debate on the British Empire and how and why it should be taught in schools.
This bundle includes historical concepts such empire and colonisation, continuity and change with a focus on the East India Company, the causes and consequences of British rule in India, similarities and differences within the British Empire, the analysis of sources and different interpretations of colonisation such as Australia and finally the significance of people such as Robert Clive, Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Kitchener and their legacy today.
The 13 lessons are broken down into the following:
1) An introduction to Empire
2) The American War of Independence
3) The British East India Company
4) Robert Clive
5) Focus Study – India
6) Gandhi and Indian independence
7) Focus Study - Transportation to Australia
8) The colonisation of Australia
9) The Scramble for Africa
10) The Zulu Wars
11) The Boer War
12) Apartheid and Nelson Mandela
Bonus lesson:
13) Empire soldiers in World War 1
Each lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies, retrieval practice activities, differentiated materials and are linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate.
The lessons are fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be adapted and changed to suit.
The Tudors
The aim of this lesson is to discover why the Elizabethan Poor Law was introduced and to assess its impact on Elizabethan society and beyond.
Students first of all have to analyse the causes of poverty and prioritise which has been the main reason for its increase whether that be the actions of local landowners and Henry VIII in his break with Rome or the debasement of the coinage.
They are also required to write to the local landowner, using suggested key argument words, to express their sympathy for the poor which was in sort supply in the Elizabethan era.
As well as source analysis, students learn the so called tricks of the trade for begging and how Tudor propaganda shaped these negative views of the poor.
Students subsequently have to assess the details of the new Elizabethan Poor Law, the reasons for a change in attitude towards the poor and assess its significance and impact upon society as a whole.
The final task is to talk like an historian and answer the questions in a quiz picking up points for the harder questions.
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.
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.
What was it like to be poor in Elizabethan England and how did the Elizabethans deal with poverty?
Moreover how did attitudes change and why was there a rise in the building of Almshouses by the end of the Sixteenth Century?
These are the key questions focused upon in this lesson as students learn about the causes and consequences of being poor.
Two GCSE practice questions are undertaken by students as they acquire skills in answering an interpretation and write an account question using the information in the lesson.
Furthermore they can peer assess their work and note where and how they can improve.
They will also by the end of the lesson recognise the significance of the new Elizabethan Poor Law and how the impact of poverty varied across the country which is needed to be able to obtain the more complex reasoning answers demanded in the AQA GCSE markschemes.
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
This lesson is split into two parts.
The first part looks at the various racial groups within Germany who were targeted and excluded by the Nazis and the reasons behind this.
There is a case study of the Grefeneck Asylum where its inmates mysteriously disappeared; the students are given clues as to how to unravel the story about what happened there.
They subsequently learn of the T4 programme secretly enacted by the Nazis and the sheer scale and numbers involved.
The second part of the lesson focuses on anti-Semitism within Germany, the history and context behind it and how the Nazis used propaganda posters to get their vile message across.
Students have to analyse why the Jewish population was targeted and explain how this prejudice and discrimination manifested itself
There are some brilliant video links which explore these issues further and a plenary which attempts to change some student perceptions of Hitler’s own anti-Semitism.
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.
AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the reasons for the increasing problems Elizabethan society underwent towards the end of the 16th Century.
Students also have to evaluate the impact of these changes upon society as a whole, from a rising population, gentry class and continuing inflation.
They will also question if there was a crisis in the aristocracy, a case put forward by renowned historians such as Hugh Trevor Roper, as he argues their decline of importance coincides with a rise in influence of the gentry class.
Finally students will examine and decide if there were any differences in the patterns of trade in the Elizabethan era compared to previous Tudor times. Was England still dominated by agriculture and the cloth trade to Antwerp or were any changes happening to expand markets?
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 GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the effects of hyperinflation upon German society.
There is much debate on whether Germany had the ability to pay its reparations; students have to decide how exaggerated German woes actually were.
Moreover Germany had been suffering from inflation since 1918; students again have to decide why the government pursued an inflationary policy and how this was enforced politically upon them.
Students are also required to assess the winners and losers of hyperinflation and who was affected in the short, medium and long terms.
Finally there is a literacy bodged plenary to complete together with some source exam question practice, with a planning sheet and generic markscheme if required.
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 I
The aim of this lesson is to understand how Germany was punished after World War 1 and how harsh its terms were to many Germans.
The first part of the lesson looks at how the map of Europe changed.
Students then have to think why the Big Three had different ideas on how to treat Germany.
Through various images and video footage students can see what they decided and have to justify why they came to these decisions.
The terms of the Treaty are discussed and then shown how to be remembered using a chatterbox (a template is included).
The final part analyses and evaluates a number of sources on the Treaty and their meanings.
A recap plenary at the end of the lesson uses a spinning wheel which can be used in a competitive challenge.
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.
World War I
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate just how efficient and effective the new weapons of the Twentieth Century were.
Students have two objectives; to rate the effectiveness and killing power of the weapons used during the war and to explain how well equipped the soldiers were in the trenches, particularly the British Tommy.
The lesson begins with discussing the type of weapons used and for students to recognise the continuity and change of many of these pre, post and during World War 1.
The historian Dan Snow is quoted as saying the British soldier went into World War I ‘as the best prepared soldier on the planet.’
The lesson subsequently unfolds to explain and evaluate the new weapons used and the advantages (or not) they gave each side.
The plenary requires students to link the effectiveness of the weapons to images and to explain how and why this is the case.
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.
The Industrial Revolution
This lesson aims to examine and assess factory conditions during the Industrial Revolution.
The poor conditions and punishments are explored through the eyes of a pauper apprentice, whose story tells us the harsh discipline, rules and punishments for factory workers.
Students have a chance to complete a diary entry and evaluate if life was bad for everyone including using causation equations in the plenary.
The lesson alludes to factory owners like Robert Owen who built quality houses, schools, shops with cheap goods and parks for his workers (although factory reform and reformers is dealt with in another lesson).
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning.
The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson and there are differentiated materials included.
The British Empire
The aim of this lesson to investigate the causes and consequences of the Boer War (1899-1902) for the British Empire and the character of Lord Horatio Kitchener, appointed Commander of the British Army in South Africa.
Students are required to analyse and make judgements on his character by deciding how heroic he was, before, during and after the war by rating each of his actions.
They are soon shocked to find his underhand tactics of trying to win the Boer War through initial incompetence to devastating ruthlessness as the war progressed with his scorched earth policy and the setting up of concentration camps.
They also learn how the war impacted upon the Government at the time, culminating in the Liberal Reforms and evaluate how these measures helped improve public health which left a lasting legacy on Britain.
The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching and learning strategies, differentiated materials 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 lessons are 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 decide how much of a financial genius Henry really was.
Students are given the information on how Henry collected his revenue and are introduced to key terms which they try to unpick.
They then complete a colour coding task to judge and ultimately decide which source of income was he most successful at collecting and justify this with the evidence given.
A recap on the Council Learned as well as challenging two opposing views of Henry, will allow students to plan and write a 25 mark exam practice question. There is a writing frame and a comprehensive markscheme given 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 assess the change and continuity in government between Henry VIII and his father before him.
Students will analyse the workings of government in both Henry’s reigns and decide how much control their had, using a ‘control o’meter’.
Students are also introduced to his ministers for the first time in a model answer from which they can complete some exam practice and allocate marks accordingly referring to a markscheme.
This will also enable them to see how differently Henry VIII ruled the country in comparison to his father.
The plenary using some animated flashcards which the students have to link to Henry and his ministers.
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
I have produced this bundle of resources on Edward VI and Mary I to help A level history students access the course and make some of the ideas, themes and concepts of the Tudors more comprehensible.
Edward VI: Most of the historiography of Edward places him at the periphery of the reign. However this bundle of lessons challenges this view and sets out to reappraise his monarchy.
Therefore the enquiry question throughout this bundle of resources will be to question how fit was Edward to rule during his reign.
Students will learn how cold and callous Edward could be from his chronicle and how much of a leading role and contribution he played in the English Reformation.
They will judge the significance of the Dukes of Somerset and Northumberland and how they tackled the problems of finance, the economy, law and order, religion and foreign policy.
Students will also compare the two Dukes and decide whose rule could be judged a success and why ultimately they both fell from grace.
Finally they will about the key reformers and the new Evangelicals during the reign of Edward VI such as Archbishop Cranmer, Bishop John Fisher and John Hooper and the impact they had on the Edwardian Reformation.
Mary I: Mary’s reign has traditionally been given a negative historiography. This bundle of lessons will challenge this interpretation and whilst justifying it in some cases, also argue that Mary was in many instances courageous, decisive, successful and determined.
Therefore the enquiry question throughout this bundle of resources will be to question if a woman was fit to rule England.
Students will learn the background to which Mary ascended the throne, assess her priorities as Queen and challenge the traditional view of Mary from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.
They will evaluate the significance of her Government and the role of Parliament as well as her marriage to Philip II of Spain and the consequences this brought as she was sucked into the Habsburg-Valois conflict, with the loss of Calais.
Furthermore they will compare and contrast the Counter Reformation with the religious changes introduced by Edward and the wider implications of Mary’s reforms with Marian martyrs.
Finally, students will judge the similarities of the economic situation she inherited from her half brother and the differences she made in laying many of the foundations for the success of subsequent monarchs.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Introduction to Edward
L2 The rise of Somerset (free resource)
L3 Rule of Somerset
L4 Rise of Northumberland
L5 Rule of Northumberland
L6 The Edwardian Reformation
L7 Introduction to Mary I
L8 Aims of Mary I
L9 Mary I and her government
L10 Mary I marriage and Wyatt’s Rebellion
L11 The Counter Reformation
L12 Marian Martyrs
L13 Mary’s Foreign Policy
L14 Mary I and the economy
The lessons include the two types of exam question used, with examples of how to tackle them, using helpful hints and tips, structuring and scaffolding as well as markschemes. However, please refer to the AQA website for further assessment materials as they are subject to copyright.
The lessons are also differentiated and fully resourced and allow students to reach the very top marks.
This is the third bundle of resources I have created for this unit and hope to complete the rest of the course very soon.
If you have any questions about the lessons, please email me via my TES shop, or any other information about the course.
I would also welcome any reviews, which would be gratefully appreciated.
AQA GCSE A Level 1C The Tudors: England, 1485–1603
I have produced this bundle of resources on Henry VII to help A level history students access the course and make the transition from GCSE to A Level smoothly.
Henry VII is a fascinating character to study and these lessons explore the difficulty and demands of becoming a King in the Fifteenth Century.
The enquiry question throughout this bundle of resources will be to question the extent of Henry’s hold on power from the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 through to his death in 1509.
Students will learn how effectively Henry restored and developed the powers of the monarchy from the chaos of the Wars of the Roses. They will assess his character and aims and his continuing use of Government institutions, from councils, parliament and local lords to the changes he made in his collection of the royal finances.
They will judge the significance of individuals in his reign as well as the economic developments in trade and exploration.
Students will look at his limited aims in foreign policy and the consequences of his diplomacy and treaties with Scotland and other foreign powers.
Finally they will gauge the role of religion and the Church in Tudor England under Henry VII as well as the development of the arts and learning and the rise of humanist ideas.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Introduction
L2 Wars of the Roses
L3 Character of Henry VII
L4 Battle of Bosworth Field (free resource)
L5 Aims of Henry VII
L6 Consolidation of Power
L7 Henry VII and propaganda
L8 Henry VII and Government
L9 Henry VII and the nobility
L10 Henry VII and finance
L11 Stafford and Lovell Rebellions
L12 Lambert Simnel
L13 Perkin Warbeck
L14 Introduction to Henry VII’s foreign policy
L15 Breton Crisis
L16 Henry VII and Ireland
L17 Economy and Trade under Henry VII
L18 The Church and religion
L19 Humanism and the arts
The lessons include the two types of exam question used, with examples of how to tackle them, using model answers, helpful hints and tips, structuring and scaffolding as well as markschemes. However, please refer to the AQA website for further assessment materials as they are subject to copyright.
The lessons are also differentiated and fully resourced and allow students to reach the very top marks.
This is the first of four bundles I have created for the Tudors A Level history course.
If you have any questions about the lessons, please email me via my TES shop, or any other information about the course. I would also welcome any reviews, which would be gratefully appreciated.
AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603
These lessons focus on Elizabethan society from wealth, status and the latest fashions of the time, an analysis of the Elizabethan theatre and Tudor exploration and trade.
There is also a lesson for the Historic Environment Questions of 2023 on Sheffield Manor Lodge.
The lessons are enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
Each lesson aims to challenge the students and focuses on how to answer a GCSE practice question set in the exam.
These range from how convincing is the source, write an account and how significant.
For further assessment materials, please visit the AQA website for specimen questions and answers.
The lessons are as follows:
L1: Wealth Status and fashion
L2: Elizabethan Theatre
L3: The Golden Age (free resource)
L4: Poverty and the Poor Law of 1601
L5: Famous explorers (focus on Drake, Hawkins and Raleigh)
L6: Planning the Spanish Armada
L7: Planning for the Spanish Armada
L8: Defeat of the Spanish Armada
All the resources include suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and come in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Any reviews would be gratefully received.
This bundle is the complete 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 the Wall Street Crash and the transformation by Hitler of the Nazis into an electable force.
They will study (AO2) second-order concepts such as change and continuity in the economic problems facing Germany and the causes and consequences of Hitler becoming Chancellor.
The analysis and evaluation of sources (AO3) are used in for example The Night of the Long Knives lessons whilst substantiated judgements are made (AO4) on the limited opposition in Nazi Germany and the conversion into a totalitarian state.
The lessons are as follows:
L1: Kaiser Wilhelm II (free resource)
L2 The Kaiser’s Government and Weltpolitik
L3 The impact of World War 1 on Germany (free resource)
L4 The Weimar Constitution and Political Parties
L5 The Treaty of Versailles
L6 Political Uprisings – the Spartacists and the Kapp Putsch (free resource)
L7 The Ruhr Crisis and Hyperinflation
L8 The Munich Beer Hall Putsch
L9 Super Stresemann
L10 The Golden Age of Stresemann
L11 The Wall Street Crash
L12 The rise of the Nazis and the transformation of the Nazi Party
L13 How did Hitler become Chancellor? (free resource)
L14 How did Hitler consolidate his power?
L15 The Night of the Long Knives
L16 The Nazi Police State
L17 The Nazis and the economy
L18The Hitler Youth
L19 The role of women in Nazi Germany
L20 The Nazis and the Churches
L21 Hitler’s hate list
L22 The Nuremberg Laws and Kristallnacht
L23 The Final Solution
L24 Opposition in Nazi Germany
L25 The German Home Front 1939-45 (free resource)
Please note that setting a full mock examination in class after completing each unit is strongly recommended.
All the examination resources and markschemes are subject to copyright but can easily be found on the AQA website.
Each resource gives suggested teaching strategies and are differentiated . They come in PDF and Powerpoint formats and can be amended and changed to suit.
Please note that due to Bundle restrictions of 20 lessons, the free resources (L1, L3, L6, L13, L25) need to be downloaded seperately.
World War II
The aim of this lesson is to question if it was really necessary for the Allies to bomb Dresden in World War II.
Sir Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris stands today as a controversial figure and therefore the lesson revolves around his reputation; did he bring an the end of the war with the bombing raids and save thousands of lives or the reverse?
The lesson builds up a picture of why the bombing raids on Germany were stepped up, how the Government used propaganda posters to justify these and why Dresden was a ‘legitimate’ target.
Differentiated tasks analyse the consequences of the bombing on Dresden and a mini plenary checks understanding.
The ultimate task is for the students to decide if he was a war hero or a criminal, with prompts and help if required.
The plenary challenges the students to link the key words to controversial themes developed throughout the lesson.
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.
American Civil RIghts
The events and actions surrounding the Little Rock Nine are now infamous in history.
This lesson gives the background to the beginning of the desegregation of American Schools with the Brown vs Board of Education case of 1954.
Yet Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas found this difficult to accept and unleased a tidal wave of protest from his actions in Little Rock, shown in this lesson through video footage and images from the time.
The students are given the context to the events of 1957 and have to decide what is being shouted at Elizbeth Eckford before they predict the actions of Eisenhower.
Ultimately they have to evaluate the impact of the Little Rock Nine and how they influenced American society today.
They are required to justify their opinions at the end with scaffolding given if required.
The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.
The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change
Elizabethan England 1568-1603
This Revision Guide is aimed to help students prepare fully for their GCSE exam in this unit of study
Within this 45 page Revision Guide, there are 18 GCSE exam questions and guidance of how to answer them throughout.
At the start of the Guide, there are tips on how the students can access the four main questions and advice on how to put this into practice with model answers given from the exam board.
There are also eight new pages in the Guide dedicated to the 2024 Environmental Study, Americas and Drake's Circumnaviation with a focus on knowledge and understanding and second order concepts.
Six possible exam questions have been included which AQA could ask focusing on the main themes from the AQA guidance given.
This Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed, easy to follow and allows the students to access the higher grades in the examination.
It comes in PDF and Word format and can be adapted and changed to suit.
Any reviews on this resource would be much appreciated.
