World War II The aim of this lesson is to understand how the British Government prepared for war and if they were successful in doing so. The lesson begins by analysing a source and making inferences about the precautions to be taken in times of war. Furthermore students will also have to decide the Government’s priorities by making judgements as to whether they are low or high, from ideas such as rationing to aid raids or war work to conscription. They will then complete some research focusing on four areas: warning people of air attacks, the Homeguard, the use of gas masks and the blackout. Students will plot what the government did or didn’t do on a grid and then after analysing and processing the evidence, justify their conclusions using a colour coding evaluation table as well as completing an extended written task. The plenary requires students to answer differentiated questions to check their understanding. 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.

This lesson is split into two parts; the first part explains the triangular trade and the various goods and transactions that occurred in the slave trade. Students are required to find this out through documentary and video evidence before plotting it on a table. A mini plenary checks their understanding and uses a ‘what if’ question to challenge their thinking. The second part analyses the story of Olaudah Equiano and how his life was before and after he was captured. However the students are challenged to question his version of events and how there is conflicting evidence in his account. The final part of this lesson analyses how the slaves were captured by whom, prioritising which were the most common forms of capture and using sources of evidence to extract further information. 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.

American Civil Rights What were the Jim Crow Laws in America? Who was Jim Crow? Why did this fictional character significantly impact on American society, especially in the south in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries? What happened if you did not adhere to these laws? These questions and more will be answered in this lesson. Students analyse how black people in America were treated and why discrimination was inherent in some parts of American society and backed up by statute. They also have to recognise how these laws affected education, family life, social time and employment and prioritise the severest of these laws in their judgement. The lesson ends with some challenging questions using de bono’s 6 thinking hats. 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 lesson introduced the concept of slavery and how it has been active throughout the centuries. Students have to categorise the reasons why the transatlantic slave trade was justified by many of our contemporaries and evaluate the most important reasons for their views through differentiated tasks. They also analyse a number of sources about slavery from the Ancient Egyptians through to the present day and reveal their findings in a summarisation pyramid. The lesson is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate. 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.

This lesson firstly analyses the friendship and the personalities of King Henry II and Thomas Becket. What were their similarities and differences and why did they become enemies? Students evaluate the reasons why they became bitter rivals and why a power struggle developed between them The second part of the lesson asks who was to blame for the murder of Becket? Was it Becket, the King or the knights to blame? Students analyse the evidence and come to their own conclusions in a narrative account of the events, using sequencing and sentence starters if required. They begin to plot the power struggle between the king, the church, the barons and the people in a sequence of lessons. This lesson includes: Fun, engaging and challenging tasks Links to video footage Printable worksheets Differentiated tasks Suggested teaching strategies PowerPoint format, which can be changed to suit

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

This is a fun, entertaining as well as a challenging lesson, designed to question and evaluate the causes of the Great Fire of London in the summer of 1666. The hook is Samuel Pepys; why did he bury his cheese and why did he bury it alongside items that were surely more valuable? The lesson comes complete with differentiated resources as students have to plot the causes and consequences of the fire on a visual display using logs,flames and smoke. Notes have been put on each slide on how to deliver the activities and answers to some of the questions posed as well as suggested teaching strategies. This lesson is active, exciting and engaging and would also suit a non specialist. It is aimed at key stage 3, but can be delivered to key stage 2 pupils also. The lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies and are 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 GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People c1000 to present The aim of this lesson is to make the factor question (4) more accessible to students. A question that we think is an easy one for them to answer in fact causes the students the most difficulty. I find students begin to panic and forget everything they have learnt over the course; many answers become scrambled into meaningless waffle or into a few sentences on some individual stories. Sadly I begin ask myself where are all the individuals we have learnt about over the whole unit of work and their breakthroughs and impact on medicine? This lesson can be delivered over two as there is quite a lot of information to get through. A ‘model’ answer is given to them, only for it to be dissected and the ‘waffle’ identified and highlighted. Some key assessment tips and advice from the exam board to their markers is shared to show students how to create a model answer reaching the higher boundary grades. Students can be properly assessed using recent specimen questions which come complete with an up to date mark scheme from the exam board and my own student friendly mark scheme to peer or self assess in class, where they are shown how they can improve. Further activities include revision on how to categorise the factors and topics which could possible come up in forthcoming exams. It is inevitable that this question will undoubtedly become more demanding and specific as the course embeds itself. 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 overarching aim of this and the subsequent bundle of eleven lessons is to question and explore how Elizabeth tried to assert and establish her authority in the early years of her reign. The lessons are therefore linked together to build up a picture of her difficulties in trying to overcome this. This second lesson on Elizabeth focuses on the workings of her government. Where did the real power lie in Elizabethan England? Students question who Elizabeth might want in her government and using a text mapping exercise find out who is who in the different establishments. The second part of the lesson examines a significance question and compares the inner workings of her government to today’s cabinet and the role of Parliament. Students have to write about the importance of the Royal Court using the information provided, which is also linked to a brilliant BBC video clip and with a model answer included. 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 Tudors The aim of this lesson is to challenge the assumption that Henry broke with Rome on account of his faith. This lesson explores this argument using a 2p coin, which brings the lesson some relevance with today. Students complete reading a script, or can opt for actors’ voices. They then have to complete a card sort activity, prioritising Henry’s reasons for his decision to become the Supreme Head of the Church. In their final task, they are required to write a letter to the Pope explaining in no uncertain terms their reasons for the break with Rome. There is an excellent writing frame to complete this task if required. They also have to justify their choices on a timeline, whether it was love or faith alone which had the final say in his religious decisions. 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 Tudors The aim of this lesson is to assess how ready Elizabeth was to become Queen What was the young Elizabeth like and how did her background and upbringing prepare her to be a Queen? Moreover how did the foundations of her life enable her as a woman to be strong in a man’s world? This lesson attempts to examine her attributes growing up but also shows how luck and ruthlessness also played a later part in her life. Students build up a picture of her early life through pictures, sources and video evidence before explaining her character and noting the problems she faced and how she overcame them from a young age. Activities include a a chronology exercise, a true or false quiz, video and source analysis as well as using a tree to connect her early problems (branches) and character traits (leaves). 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 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.

The Tudors The aim of this lesson is to decide which Tudor explorer deserves the most recognition in a seafaring ‘Hall of Fame’. Students are led through the journeys and discoveries of sailors in Elizabethan England from the Cabot brothers to Gerardus Mercator and his brilliant Atlas. (This was to give the navigator a map, where a line of constant bearing would cross all meridians at the same angle) The sailors achievements and the problems they encountered are given through learning activities such as a play your cards right, video evidence, a true or false quiz and a plotting exercise of Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe on a blank world map. The main task is to analyse and evaluate the achievements of Drake, Hawkins and Raleigh with differentiated resource materials. Students are given specific criteria to judge this before ultimately deciding who had the greatest impact and should be given the most recognition for Elizabethan exploration. The lesson concludes with a literacy key word game. 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 Tudors The aim of this lesson is for the students to help Elizabeth with some tough choices on marriage. Who should she choose to marry if at all? Why was there so much pressure upon her to marry in the first place? Students prioritise the reasons for marriage on a grid before they analyse the potential suitors in Europe, complete with their availability and faults (on paper of course). They then have to decide who is the best of a bad lot and justify their decisions. Some excellent video evidence is included. The plenary focuses on a dinner date; students decide who Elizabeth would like to sit near to the most and who would be placed at the far end of the table. 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 Tudors This lesson sets out to question whether the reason that Henry broke from Rome all along was due to money. His expensive tastes, his wives, his need to build up his navy and coastal defences and to show Europe his prowess all took a toll on his bank balance. The monasteries with their wealth proved all too easy pickings for his Chancellor Thomas Cromwell in his ‘Valour Ecclesiasticus’. The lesson therefore allows the students to build up a picture of his need for money. Through some investigative work, they will shockingly find many ‘abuses’ and ‘vices’ in the monasteries, giving Henry the excuse to close them down and take their money for himself. They also have to complete their own report on the reasons why Henry broke from Rome with these new findings and some deliberately falsified accounts. 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. The aim of this lesson is to give students the context to the role and importance the theatre played in Elizabethan England. Building upon their knowledge and understanding of Shakespeare, they will learn how the theatre adapted and changed to permanent and purpose built theatres through text analysis, a thinking quilt and video evidence. The second part of the lesson focuses on the globe theatre, with its seating arrangements and the types of plays the audiences could experience. There are some excellent video links to the BBC included in this resource. Students will then apply their skills to a choice of two exam practice questions on ‘importance’ and ‘how convincing’, with help and guidance offered 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 Tudors The aims of this lesson are for students to recognise how theatres changed under Elizabeth. They will analyse their early days as travelling performers with a poor reputation playing in pubs and fields to purpose built theatres such as the Globe, paid for by wealthy Patrons such as the Earl of Leicester. Students know through their links to their English lessons quite a lot already about Shakespeare and this lesson taps into their knowledge and builds upon it with a thinking quilt to examine how theatres developed. Furthermore there is a focus on Shakespeare’s plays and inspiration as well as an analysis of the Globe theatre. There is some excellent video footage to complement the learning tasks. The lesson finishes with an odd one out task which will revisit the aims of the lesson and how Tudor theatres and plays still have an impact on society today. 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. In this lesson, students learn how much Elizabethan society was changing due to this increase in status, wealth and power. The foundations of the Great Chain of Being were being shaken as there was a rise in status of the gentry class, making their money through land and trade and being given jobs of responsibility by the Queen such as JPs, MPs and Privy Councillors. With this new money came the desire to build new houses and a case study of Hardwick Hall is used as an example of how to show off your wealth and power, Students analyse how these new houses demonstrated that their inhabitants were cultured and fashionable people. Students are shown the latest ideas from the BBC and have to analyse and colour code text before demonstrating their knowledge in a ‘how important’ GCSE practice question. After completion they peer assess their answers to check they have included the correct evidence and answered the question properly rather than a given a narrative description which can be a common error. 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.

This lesson aims to examine the reasons why King John quarrelled with his barons and ultimately was forced to sign the Magna Carta. But on which terms was King John forced to accept? Firstly students have to work out what the terms of the Magna Carta were. Secondly students have to evaluate the significance of the Magna Carta in the short, medium and long term for King John, for future Kings of England as well as for us today. They will use sources and video footage as well as retrieval grids and a true or false quiz to help them in their research, They will also continue to plot the power struggle between the king, the church, the barons and the people in a sequence of lessons. This lesson includes: Fun, engaging and challenging tasks Links to video footage Printable worksheets Differentiated tasks Suggested teaching strategies PowerPoint format, which can be changed to suit

This lesson links to my previous one on the causes of the Great Fire of London. In this lesson, students have to decide how lucky London was to have the fire in the first place. They are introduced to conflicting arguments before they are given a plethora of evidence from which they will be able decide and make judgements on how to break the news to the current Mayor of London. They are subsequently given argument words to help them construct a persuasive letter. For extra challenge students have to decide if London was lucky or not in the short and long term and break down the evidence into political, social, economic or religious reasons. This is a fun, entertaining as well as a challenging lesson and would also suit a non specialist. The lesson is aimed at key stage 3, but can be delivered at key stage 2 also. The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching and learning strategies 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.