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.

Edexcel 9-1 Medicine in Britain, Thematic study and historic environment This lesson aims to give the context of the British sector of the Western Front and the theatre of war in Flanders and Northern France, the Ypres Salient, the Somme, Arras and Cambrai. They will also discover that not all the fighting was done in muddy trenches as most students generalise about. Students will learn why there was a salient around Ypres and the advantages this gave the Germans on the higher ground, including Hill 60. They will analyse the horrific death and injuries suffered on the first day of the battle of the Somme and why this battle was initiated in the first place. Furthermore they will investigate the tunnelling system around Arras and the hospital built there, now called the Wellington Tunnels. Finally they are given information about Cambrai and judge the impact of the tank in the overall outcome of the battle. Activities include retrieval practice, the use of video evidence, a prioritising exercise as well as discussion and debate. The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.

The Middle Passage and its horrendous journey for the slaves is shown in this lesson through video, audio and source based evidence. Students analyse how the slaves were treated and the conditions they endured. They then have to catalogue these conditions in a grid before trying to persuade a film director, who is making a film on slavery, that he is being misled about the journey. The advise the director is being given is from a slave ship owner, Captain Thomas Tobin. Some differentiated key questions check their understanding through the lesson. Students finally have to prioritise the worst conditions the slaves faced and justify their choices in an extension activity. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

Elizabethan England 1568-1603 This is a Summary Revision Guide tailored to the AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England 1568-1603 unit. It has also been revised to include the historic environment question for 2024 for the Americas and Drake’s Circumnavigation, with an emphasis on location, function and structure, people connected, design and important events connected to it. The resource is in booklet form and is ideal for the student who wants a quick recap before the exam as it sets out all the main details in bullet form. It is also extremely useful and cheap for printing and giving out when the students claim they have forgotten everything they have been taught! I have included both PDF and Word formats so the resource can be edited and changed to suit.

The Industrial Revolution This lesson aims to evaluate the problems within Industrial towns and the impact they had on the growing population during the Industrial Revolution. The lesson starts by analysing the source from Punch in 1852, 'A Court For King Cholera’, which is later annotated to help aid discussion. Various images, video evidence and headlines allow students to build up a picture, which they then have to explain to a friend in a letter - using scaffolding and a writing frame if required. Students also evaluate how and why the living conditions became like this and question if this was the case across the country as they are given further evidence from the wealthy in Victorian England, comparing the dwellings of the rich and poor. Students will therefore be able by the end of the lesson be able to give an effective and balanced answer to this 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 aim of this lesson is to challenge the Government’s claim that during World War II, a Blitz spirit of togetherness emerged across the country in defiance of the bombing of Britain’s cities. This lesson takes students on a journey through archive video footage, government announcements and source information to determine if there was indeed a Blitz Spirit during the Second World War. Students are given details of what the Blitz entailed using some contextual evidence and a thinking quilt. They then have to analyse and evaluate a variety of sources and statistics before they conclude and justify which sources best suit the driving question of the lesson. The plenary is a take on the television programme, ‘Would I lie to you?’ and the idea is to again challenge assumptions. 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. It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

American Civil RIghts This lesson aims to explain how black people in America voiced their protests against their lack of Civil Rights in the 1950s and early 1960’s. Students are introduced to the various forms of protest they used which they have to research and ultimately decide how effective each form of protest was, from music to sits ins, to marches and changing the law for example. There are quite a few links to video footage at the time to reinforce the learning. Students use the key words at the end of the lesson to summarise their new found knowledge. 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 Holocaust The aims of this lesson are to explain how Jewish people rose in rebellion or resisted against Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust. The first part of the lesson examines the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, using a thinking quilt to challenge ideas and ask key questions about the motivation and determination to succeed against overwhelming odds. The second part of the lesson analyses resistance in the extermination camps in particular events in Sobibor, Treblinka and Auschwitz. Students are then asked to justify the best and most effective ways to resist from passive to active resistance. Finally a find and fix activity checks understanding and the learning in the lesson. 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. 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.

American Civil RIghts This lesson analyses and evaluates the part Rosa Parks played in the Civil Rights Movement. Modest to the end, her one action inspired a generation and she is still talked about with reverence in American society today. (NB - Oprah Winfrey’s Golden Globe speech on 7th January, 2018.) Students learn about Rosa Park’s background and events leading up to her refusal to move seats on a bus, brilliantly shown through some video footage as well as documentary evidence. The learning tasks and the accompanying resources are differentiated to suit all abilities as students reflect and evaluate her most important significance to American society today. Students also have the opportunity to use a bus to show in the windows the problems she faced (at the front and in the doorway) and what she achieved (in the back windows). 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.

AQA GCSE Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present The aim of the lesson is to understand why and how the NHS was introduced to Britain in 1948 with the Beveridge Report and despite initial sets backs and opposition, why it is still an amazing institution and the envy of the world. Students analyse the reasons how the NHS was introduced by the Labour government and have to explain why. Key people are discussed such as Aneurin Bevan and Sir William Beveridge and using source analysis and GCSE exam question practice, students evaluate how some doctors were opposed to Bevan and the NHS from the start. Video footage at the time shows how the Government tried to calm some fears and how its message on health has changed through the centuries. There is some text analysis with colour coding and evaluation throughout as well as a focus on literacy in the 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 GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45 The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the impact the Great Depression had upon Germany. Students are given the context to the Wall Street Crash and then have to decide if Germany’s problems throughout were the sole consequence of the Wall Street Crash. They are given further details of the effects of the slump in Germany, from which they answer some differentiated questions. Various scenarios are also put forward, from the social, political and economic effects, to who suffered more - the young or the old and the rise of extremism. These can be debated and discussed in groups or individually. The plenary further challenges which particular groups suffered in the Depression and why. Some source exam practice can be completed, with help and structure given to answer the question if needed. There is a enquiry question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work. The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit. The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.

AQA GCSE 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 by Fleming and then developed by Florey and Chain during the Second World War. 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 II. 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 and antibiotics. 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.

AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45 The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the consequences of Schleicher’s scheming. Students begin the lesson with a chronological quiz, recapping the events of the unit of work so far. They are then introduced to Hindenburg inner circle and how he was influenced by them in his decision making. Students also learn about Schleicher’s tactics to bring the Nazis under his control. They subsequently have to put themselves in Schleicher’s shoes and unpick his decision making. With Schleicher’s ultimate failure to govern effectively, students conclude by finalising the reasons why Hitler was to become Chancellor. Students can complete some exam question practice at the end of the lesson, with structured support provided to help them effectively answer the question. 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.

AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45 The aim of this lesson is to analyse the appeal of Communism to German voters. The lesson begins with students evaluating the significance and inferences of a 1919 communist propaganda poster. Students will engage in differentiated questioning linked to statements about the tactics of the Communist KPD Party. The lesson will compare the support for Communism with the rapid rise of the Nazi Party, examining the reasons behind the disparity in their electoral success. Students will also assess and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Communism, providing reasons for their evaluations. The plenary activity will be a hangman game using key terms from the lesson to reinforce learning. To conclude, students can complete some exam question practice, with structured support provided to help them effectively answer the question. 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.

AQA GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45 The aim of this lesson is evaluate the consequences of the collapse of the Grand Coalition for the Weimar Republic. Students begin the lesson with some differentiated questioning on the reasons for the collapse of the coalition and its immediate impact on Government as well as analysing the opposition to the Young Plan and the effects on law and order. They are also required to evaluate the impact of the decrees passed and the result of Bruning’s disastrous economic policies. The plenary Is an odd one out activity to consolidate the learning from the lesson. Some exam practice can be completed at the end, with help and structure given to answer the question if needed. There is a enquiry question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning throughout the lesson and subsequent unit of work. The lesson comes in PowerPoint format and can be changed and adapted to suit. The lesson is differentiated and includes suggested teaching strategies.

The aim of the lesson is to question if Japan was justified in attacking Pearl Harbour without a declaration of war against the United States in the Second World War. This question is revisited later in the lesson to see if the students have changed their minds. As this is a new theatre of war and not in Europe, the lesson sets out clearly where the war was fought in the Pacific, the location of Pearl Harbour and its significance to the USA. Students are required to discover what Japan wanted and the reasons behind their surprise attack with a choice of options available to piece the jigsaw together. An excellent activity of Pearl Harbour in numbers, which is an idea from KNNTeach, enables students to clearly recognise the initial damage done to Pearl Harbour by the Japanese attack. There are video links to film footage as well as a plenary activity from which the students have to make up questions to the answers given on post it notes. 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 lesson comes in PowerPoint format is there is a wish to change and adapt.

The aim of this lesson is to explore how historians find out about the past using historical sources. Students are firstly questioned about how we can find out about Castles or Roman artefacts for example with usually some interesting replies. They then have to study four historical sources with differentiated questioning to help decipher and discover their provenance. There is an extended writing task to complete with their new found knowledge, with help and prompts 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.

AQA GCSE Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present The aim of this lesson is to determine how much of an impact the Renaissance had on Medicine. Students study and analyse key figures such as Andreas Vesalius, Ambroise Pare and William Harvey with their individual specialisms and contributions at the time of the Medical Renaissance. They then have to decide who has made the most important contribution to medicine and justify their decisions thinking about short, medium and long term significance. Opposition to all three is evaluated as students decide who was being criticised and why. There is a brilliant video link to BBC teach as well as learning activities to check understanding. 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 GCE A Level Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918-45 The aim of this lesson is to analyse the appeal of Nazism to German voters. Students will start by examining the lean years of the Nazi Party and how Hitler reshaped his vision of Nazi ideology while in prison. They will also learn about the significance of the Bamberg Conference in 1926, which reasserted Hitler’s control over the Party. The second part of the lesson will focus on the broad support and appeal of Nazi ideology to the old elites, industrialists, and the Mittlestand. Hitler’s confidence in his success was evident when he ran for President in 1932, narrowly losing to Hindenburg. In this context, students will debate, discuss, and present feedback on seven key Nazi policy ideals, explaining why these policies had such widespread appeal. To conclude, students can complete some exam question practice, with structured support provided to help them effectively answer the question. 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.

The aim of this lesson is to understand how successful William the Conqueror was controlling England through his survey. Students will learn how he needed to find out as much as he could about the Anglo-Saxon population. They are encouraged at the start to answer a series of questions (a survey) of what they own; this is exactly what William did, but minus the enthusiasm shown in the class to list all their belongings! Through a study of horrible history video footage and source analysis, students realise just how intrusive this new book was and they have to justify, whether in written form or orally, why people in medieval society began to resent it. For homework they have a chance to find out about their own area and what it offered in 1086 with an exemplar given. This is a fun, interactive and challenging lesson in which all the students can take part and make their own conclusions. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end using a rate ‘o’ meter to show the progress of learning. The resource 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.