Crime and Punishment The aim of this lesson is to ascertain how attitudes towards punishment have changed in the 21st Century. Students begin the lesson by deciding which punishments are new in the modern era (change) and which punishments have stayed the same (continuity). They then analyse how successful new preventative measures are being promoted through schemes such as neighbourhood watch and community policing. Students also investigate the different policing departments set up to tackle crime, such as Special Branch and the National Crime Agency. There is a chance to debate the morality of the death penalty and whether it should be brought back or not, with arguments given for both sides. The final focus is on the role of prisons in today’s society, never far away from the news headlines. A true or false quiz is also designed to challenge misconceptions and clarify current prison problems. Ultimately there is some recall practice on previous thinking about punishments through the ages, before students can tackle some key assessment question practice, with help 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, fully resourced and includes suggested teaching strategies.

AQA GCSE Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship This lesson focuses on the change in policy towards the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis. Students have to put events into chronological order and understand why the beginning of World War II changed everything. Students also learn about the Wannsee Conference and the experimental attempts by the Nazis to murder the Jews in Europe from shooting to mobile gas vans before deciding upon the use of Zyklon B crystals. Using numbers and figures they also discover the sheer scale of the atrocities involved in this genocide and what happened in the concentration camps. There are some excellent links to video evidence to accompany the lesson, which are suitable to show. 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 analyse Nazi policies towards women and then evaluate how effective they were at controlling them. The start of the lesson questions the qualities Hitler is looking for in women and then questions what makes the perfect Nazi woman using key words. Students then have some differentiated questions to complete, using text before evaluating how much certain women were controlled and explaining to what extent. A GCSE practice question focuses on ‘Which source is the most convincing?’, complete with simplified markscheme and notes on the slide for more guidance. The key words are then revisited in the plenary. 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 evaluate how effectively the Nazis controlled its Youth. The lesson is split into two parts and can be delivered over two lessons. The first part looks at the Hitler Youth, the activities organised for boys and girls and the purpose behind them. Students then have to analyse four pieces of evidence and evaluate how much they are being controlled. Some differentiated questioning and higher order thinking allows you to see how much they are making progress in the lesson. The second part focuses on education and what the young people are taught at school. Again the students are challenged and questioned on how effective this diet of propaganda was, with an emphasis that not all lessons were anti-Semitic. Various and excellent video footage is used to consolidate understanding. 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 English Civil War This lesson aims to question the character and personality of Oliver Cromwell. Students will decide if he set out to kill the King from the start and make himself a despot or did circumstances dictate that this was his only option? Moreover, with his puritanical ideas, did he make England and the Commonwealth a better place for it, or was it exclusive only to the minority? This will ultimately be down to students’ own judgement as they plot his actions on a grid and justify their own conclusions. Analysis of video evidence also helps to track his ideas and personality and gives the students ideas for writing his obituary and question why his burial place in Westminster Abbey bears the inscription 1658-1661. 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.

Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship This lesson analyses the reasons why Hitler executed the leaders of the SA. After a recap of the previous lesson, students start unpicking the events leading to the Night of the Long Knives. Students are put into Hitler’s shoes; who should he choose to lead him forward in his new Third Reich - the Brownshirts or the Army? The conclusions are never totally clear in favour of one or the other, making sure the students are challenged and have to think things through and justify their choices. The events are also explained through a text mapping grid which the students also have to decipher as well as video evidence. There is also a choice of two plenaries from Connect 4 to a talk like an historian quiz and some GCSE exam question practice to complete 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, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

The British Empire This lesson focuses on the role Gandhi played in achieving Indian independence from Britain which ultimately cost him his life. The first part of the lesson looks at why the Indian population were unhappy with British rule, from the Indian Mutiny of 1857, events happening abroad to the Rowlatt Act culminating in the Amritsar Massacre. They are then introduced to Gandhi, his philosophy of passive resistance (or as he called it satyagraha) and why he set up his Independent Congress Party. This is accompanied with some excellent video footage from the BBC as well as clips from the film ‘Gandhi’ by Sir Richard Attenborough. The second part of the lesson centers around his life and by analysing various sources from which they complete either a table or grid; students then have to decide how big a part Gandhi played in many events leading to Independence and his lasting legacy for India in 1947. 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 lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.

The British Empire This lesson focuses on the upheaval of the lives of the indigenous peoples of Australia with the coming of the Europeans. The lesson starts by looking at their customs and traditions and how these were quickly attacked through the attitudes and settlements of the colonists. A ‘Horrible Histories’ version of events is also scrutinised and questioned on its accuracy. I have included some comprehension questions and source scholarship using an extract from the brilliant ‘Empireland’ by Sathnam Sanghera which explains the atrocities committed in Tasmania by the colonists. Paintings from Governor Davey of Van Diemen’s Land can also analysed so the students are able to prioritise the most significant changes the colonists made to Australia and the legacy of the British Empire. 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 lesson is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.

The aim of this test is to find out how much the students know about history. The results will give you a baseline from which you can build upon. Once they begin to study history, they will begin to show progress in all areas, particularly in the amount of detail required in answers. The test focuses on chronology, cause and consequence, change and continuity, historical enquiry, interpretation and significance. This is a particularly useful assessment for a history department and as a starting point and ideally for Year 7. Most students sadly will not have studied a lot of history at their primary schools (apart from the odd day to study the Victorians or World War 2) as literary, numeracy and SATS still dominate primary school curriculum planning. The resource comes in Word and PowerPoint formats which can be amended and changed to suit.

The English Civil War The aim of this lesson is to be able to distinguish between the two sides of Cavaliers (King Charles) and Roundheads (Oliver Cromwell) in the English Civil War. Students will be researching how they differed from their dress, their mannerisms, what they believed in and their goals. They will also be analysing some real life examples from people today who discuss which side they would prefer to be on and why. Students will be using various written sources and video evidence to find out which side they would support. Ultimately they will have to produce a propaganda leaflet encouraging people to join their campaign as a Royalist or Cavalier using persuasive literacy techniques and song lyrics. Exemplars and scaffolding is included if required. This is a fun lesson with a number of activities designed to get all students involved actively and to enjoy their learning. 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.

AQA GCSE Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present The lesson aims to distinguish between inoculation and vaccination, before analysing Edward Jenner’s scientific discovery of the vaccination for smallpox using documentary and video evidence. Students then have to answer questions, explain the significance of his discovery of vaccinations over time and link factors to his story. They also have to analyse source information, complete an 8 mark GCSE practice question and understand why, despite his brilliance he received criticism and opposition to his discovery. The lesson finishes with a true or false quiz and a ‘Have I got news for you?’ plenary. 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 ** This lesson is an introduction to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It starts by finding out what the students already know using a true or false quiz, source material, video evidence and using some portraits of Elizabeth. The emphasis is also on the precarious nature of her early life which has a major impact on how she rules when she becomes Queen. The second part of the lesson uses differentiated resources and requires the students to plot, explain and prioritise her early problems on a tree (using the trunk, branches and leaves). The third part focuses on a typical GCSE question on the usefulness of a source giving tips and notes on how to answer this question. The lesson also gives a brief introduction to the course and includes a tracking sheet which the students stick in their books detailing the assessment objectives of the course and the four main question types. 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 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present The aim of this lesson is to assess the significance of John Hunter in his lifetime and beyond and decide if and why he deserves a place in a Medical Hall of Fame. An analysis of his life, his surgical brilliance and his specimen collection (complete with a brilliant video link to Professor Robert Winston’s short documentary on his life) gives the students the tools necessary to be able to tackle and write a longer analytical essay question with substantiated judgements. Students will also analyse the relationship between anatomy and surgery in Hunter’s work, his impact on medical education and his influence on later surgeons such as Joseph Lister. Students ultimately have to judge how far he deserves a place in the Medical Hall of Fame, with help and sentence starters given if required. The plenary is in the form of a literacy challenge, using key words from 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 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 decision to be a Protestant country not surprisingly caused Elizabeth many problems from Catholics at home and abroad. The lesson therefore is in two parts. The first section deals with the Catholic threats at home, mostly from rebellions surrounding Mary Queen of Scots. Students plot the rebellions on a graph deciding how significant they were before being posed some challenging questions. The second part of the lesson focuses on the threats posed by Allen and Campion and the Jesuits. After analysing the evidence they decide on the most important ingredients for their threat to Elizabeth (also focusing on short and long term problems) and place them on shelves (prioritising the most important) ready to go into a cauldron. The final part of the lesson involves deciding how Elizabeth reacted to these threats and planning and completing a GCSE ‘write an account’ question. 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 This lesson focuses on the threat posed by the Puritans and how Elizabeth dealt with this challenge, despite prominent members in her Government, such as Walsingham, being Puritans. Students begin by understanding the nature of Puritanism and how they disagreed with the religious settlement. They are given information about a number of controversies raised in Elizabeth’s reign and by colour coding decide how much of a (Puritan) threat they posed. A threat’o’meter give an overall picture which they will have to justify where their judgement lies. This lesson also focuses on two GCSE questions with a ‘write an account’ and a ‘How convincing is the Source?’ question given for GCSE exam practice. Students can answer both or choose which one to tackle. The information is included in the lesson to assist in their answers. 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 aim of this lesson is to determine why the Essex rebellion (Robert Devereux) was different to the previous threats Elizabeth faced in her reign. Students learn about Essex’s life and the reasons for him turning on Elizabeth in his failed attempt to ‘protect’ her from Robert Cecil. Using differentiated materials and video evidence, they can either create a factfile on Essex or colour code information on his life focusing on different themes of importance. They then plan and write a significance GCSE question, using the suggested skills and tricks of answering a significance question as opposed to writing a narrative account of his life. 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 aim of this lesson to find out about the hidden messages in Elizabeth I’s portrait paintings. Students learn about how Elizabeth manipulated her Tudor portraits and added symbols, each of which had a hidden meaning. The introduction to the lesson looks at anachronisms and modern day symbols put into portraits to get the students thinking how pictures should not always be seen and taken at face value. Thus inference skills are high on the agenda in this lesson. Students are then given information about each of her paintings and have to analyse and evaluate their meanings and various symbolic codes. 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 aim of this lesson is to understand why children were evacuated to the countryside in the Second World War. However, it also questions the success of evacuation through government propaganda, audio records of evacuees and from written sources of evidence. Students are led through the evacuation process, which on the surface looks amazingly planned and executed by the British Government. But, using primary evidence of the time, they realise how the Government failed to prioritise the needs of the children over the need to evacuate large numbers. Students will also learn how other vulnerable groups in society were also evacuated without due consideration of their needs. By the end of the lesson the students will evaluate the biggest problems faced by the children during World War II and learn some sad facts about the reality of war on the Home Front. 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 activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

This is the first in a series of lessons I have created on the Tudors. This lesson is broken down into two parts. The first part describes and explains the events surrounding the Wars of the Roses. Students learn about the Kings involved and the battles fought through fun tasks, video evidence and role play of which they have to make choices on the victors. With this new found knowledge they have to explain what they have learnt through a ‘talk like an historian’ quiz. The second part of the lesson focuses on the previous Tudor perceptions of Richard III. Was he really a deceitful and cunning person, ‘a lump of foul deformity’ with a hunchback according to Shakespeare, More and Virgil? Archaeological evidence from King Richard’s remains is analysed by the students to prove or disprove some of these popular ‘misconceptions’ about his posture and character. Students are then challenged to write to the current Education Secretary to make sure correct history lessons are now taught about Richard III in secondary schools. 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. This lesson is fully resourced 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 This lesson looks at the significance of marriage for Elizabeth I 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.