AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603 The aim of this lesson is to analyse the Battle of Bosworth Field and decide how and why Henry won. Students are given the context to the battle and how Richard III and Henry VII lined up against each other. Using video evidence, they mind map the key events of the battle and its turning point leading to Henry’s victory. Students are also given the account of the battle from the Tudor historian, Polydor Virgil. They have to determine from the account how Henry used his skills in leadership, tactics, communication and religion to win, which is a useful exercise when studying Tutor propaganda throughout the course. The plenary requires they to decipher a jumbled up number of words in a botched activity. 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 the significance of Catherine of Aragon in the reign of Henry VIII. Students are introduced to Catherine’s background and her loyalty as a wife to her husband. Moreover they learn about the importance of the papal dispensation Henry was given by the Pope to marry his brother’s widow, a decision which of course was to haunt him in later years. However far from rejecting her, Henry’s initial years of marriage were successful and harmonious, as shown in the artwork on Hampton Court and her influence on the young king. There is an excellent video link to use and focused reading throughout. The plenary uses the thinking hats to challenge student ideas. 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.

The Holocaust The aim of this lesson is to analyse and evaluate the reasons why anti-Semitism became the norm in Nazi Germany and how Hitler and the Nazis fuelled the flames of discrimination. Students build up a picture of the ideal Aryan according to the Nazis and how the Jews were made and expected to feel inferior using source analysis. They will also organise themselves into a continuum line of importance in Germany pre 1933, only to see their roles reversed according to the numbers on the German citizen lists provided. They also complete a colour coding exercise which maps the persecution of Jews within Nazi Germany as well as a plenary linking exercise to challenge understanding. The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons in the bundle is to ask who was to blame for the holocaust? Students will map out their ideas each lesson (which can be plotted in different colours or dates to show the progress of their learning and centred around a lightbulb) and build up a picture of how difficult it is to blame a single individual or event for this catastrophe. There is some excellent video footage to accompany the lesson and printable worksheets. 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.

Suffragettes Why were so many people in the Nineteenth Century prepared to die for universal suffrage? How had the Industrial Revolution created so many divisions and changes in society where towns such as Manchester, Sheffield and Birmingham had no MP’s and thus went unrepresented in Parliament? Could Parliament see the injustice of denying the vote to working class men and industrialists who were making Britain the workshop of the world? Thus the story starts with why having a vote is so important today and who had the vote in the Nineteenth Century. Students are given a slip at the beginning of the lesson only to realise many of them don’t have a vote much to their annoyance. The final part of the lesson is to analyse the events of the Peterloo Massacre (named after the battle of Waterloo) and why the magistrates of Manchester were so scared at giving people the vote. However the battlelines were drawn and so setting the seeds for the Suffragette movement at the turn of the century. 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.

I have put together a few ideas I have had on retrieval practise, which is helping my students discuss and debate more than ever before. Many thanks to @mrfitzhist for the inspiration to make them. They come in PDF and Powerpoint format so you can change and adapt if needed. If you like these resources, please follow me on twitter for more ideas @pilgrim_17

The American West 1835-1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel This lesson aims to explain how the Plains Indians believed that everything in nature had a spirit. Students analyse how humans and nature work together and complete a thinking quilt linking key ideas and key words together. They are also challenged as to what significance certain objects have as well as ascertaining why some tribes went to war . They will evaluate why land was so important to the Plains Indians and why they had difficulty when the US Government tried to allocate them certain areas of the Great Plains. This evaluation is put to the test with some GCSE exam question practice using the 8 mark ‘consequences’ question. The final learning task is writing a recipe and mixing up key ingredients of the lesson which will reinforce the learning during the lesson. The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice is also included. It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.

AQA GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present The aim of this lesson is to decide how much of an impact the Renaissance had on medicine with the new medical ideas and thinking of Vesalius, Pare and Harvey. The first part of the lesson focuses on the King’s evil and how an average of 3000 people flocked to King Charles II hoping to be cured by his touch. The second part analyses the treatments the King’s doctors gave a dying King Charles II, sadly having a detrimental effect rather than a positive one on his health. Students complete this as a quiz as they decide which treatments he received, before checking their answers with a student friendly markscheme. As well as looking at a brief summary of Nicolas Culpeper’s ‘The Complete herbal’, students ultimately decide and evaluate from a continuum line if indeed the Renaissance had had a breakthrough on medical understanding and improved techniques to heal patients. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning. The resource comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson and there are differentiated materials included.

Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 This lesson analyses the other treaties which were placed upon Germany’s Allies, notably Trianon, St Germain, Neuilly, Sevres and Lausanne. Students recap quickly on the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and are introduced to the other treaties, which they recognise follow a similar punitive pattern. As they unpick each of the treaties bestowed upon Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, they have to question why the Allies reversed their original peace treaty of Sevres and evaluate the impact this had on the international community. This lesson comes with worksheets, differentiated questioning and a plenary which challenges their learning for the lesson. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, some retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship This lesson is a study of the impact war had on peoples’ lives in Germany between 1914-1918. Students have to evaluate the main changes in Germany during the war and if they were positive or negative changes For example, the Kaiser being forced to share his power could be seen as a positive thing to many, but there was also a terrible shortage of food as the allied naval blockade really began to bite. Worksheets are supplied to use for evidence, as the students box up their findings ready to tackle a timed question for GCSE question practice. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship The focus of the lesson is to analyse the problems Hitler faced in January 1933 on becoming Chancellor. Students need to know and understand the background to Hitler becoming Chancellor in January 1933, which can be quite challenging given the complex political machinations involving the President, Papen and Von Schleicher. Students are given the context of Hitler’s rise to power, before using a revision thinking quilt to match key questions to specific key words and terms. There are also some excellent video links to bbc bitesize Students are thus prepared to tackle the GCSE exam practice question at the end. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, 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 the problems the German people faced at home during World War II. Students are given lots of contextual knowledge with challenging and exciting tasks aimed at answering the typical GCSE questions set in the exam. They will judge how and why the war was a good thing for Germans at the beginning and why it became so bad as the war drew to a close. There is some excellent information taken from the BBC Bitesize website which the students have to recall and analyse in a thinking quilt and summarising pyramid. At the end of the lesson, the students will be ready to complete some GCSE questions with a simplified markscheme to help 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.

Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship This lesson focuses on why the new Government was so unpopular and why there were so many political uprisings against it. Students have to question whether these putsches were merely political in nature or whether there were economic forces at play as well. Students also have to analyse the Spartacist rising and the Kapp Putsch and understand their causes and why they ultimately failed. There are some excellent links to video footage as well as a colour coding literacy thinking quilt. 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.

Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 This lesson aims to explain and evaluate the Allied response to Hitler’s reoccupation of the Rhineland. Students learn why this event was significant in the road to war and how Hitler’s gamble paid off. They analyse video footage of the time, complete a caption competition, a true or false quiz and a text mapping exercise before they answer a 12 mark GCSE practice question (with some guidance and help 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, some retrieval practice, differentiated materials and 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 analyse the new spirit of co-operation between the Superpowers but understand the context as to why this collaborative approach ultimately failed. Students begin by examining the three baskets of agreement in the Helsinki Accords of 1975 and have to explain what was achieved by both sides, with argument words to help in a written activity. Furthermore they evaluate the failings of the SALT 2 talks and have to decide why the American Senate did not ratify this treaty. The plenary concludes with a find and fix activity. There is some GCSE practice on the narrative account question with some hints and prompts to help. 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.

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.

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.

Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present The aim of the lesson is for students to understand why penicillin was seen as a wonder drug and how it was discovered and then developed during World War 2 Students first of all learn about the role played by Alexander Fleming in the story of penicillin from his chance discovery and the acclaim that eventually followed. The lesson therefore leads the students inadvertently to celebrate his attributes and significance. The second part of the lesson devotes itself to the parts played by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain in the development of penicillin during World War 2. Questions and sources are used to analyse why they were unhappy with Fleming and how they had tremendous problems initially producing enough to treat patients effectively. Students have to now question their original assumptions and finally evaluate the most significant of the three in the story of penicillin. There is also some source analysis for exam question practice. The lesson is accompanied by video footage and other documentary evidence as it establishes the part played by factors such as individual genius, science and technology as well as chance. 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 Suffragettes The aim of this lesson is to assess the impact of World War 1 on the Suffragette movement. The lesson analyses the changing perceptions as women took on the jobs the men left behind to fight on the Western Front in France. Students prioritise the most important roles women took as well as discovering through source analysis what they did. There are some excellent case studies of four women and what they did during the war, which provide a great insight into many of the roles women undertook and the resistance and prejudice they faced. The final part of the lesson looks at the main reasons why women gained the vote and judge if the impact of the war was the main and fundamental reason for this. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

The Suffragettes The aim of this lesson is to analyse previous perceptions of women and their role at home and in the family (the Angel on the House). Students scrutinise how women were treated in Victorian Britain with discrimination from society as well as the law and give their own analysis and judgements using sources from the time. They can do this through discussion or through an extended writing task, with help given if required. There are examples of how women were treated and a case study of a wife in an abusive marriage. The lesson includes written sources and video evidence. The plenary requires the students to show their new knowledge and comprehension of life for women at the time. 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.