Wolsey Academy operates as a non-profit, with every penny we make going to one of our charity partners or into the Ipswich Initiative, funding good works across the town and county. Search for Wolsey Academy to see our website for more details and to purchase resources at a discount.
Wolsey Academy operates as a non-profit, with every penny we make going to one of our charity partners or into the Ipswich Initiative, funding good works across the town and county. Search for Wolsey Academy to see our website for more details and to purchase resources at a discount.
The Cold War IGCSE Edexcel
One lesson from over forty on the Cold War, designed for the IGCSE Edexcel specification but instantly transferable to any other GCSE (or non-GCSE) curriculum.
It begins before the Second World War, with the origins of Communist thinking and the Russian Revolution and continues right through the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the USSR.
Each lesson comes with a range of activities, keyword cards and assessments. Focus on developing analytical and writing skills.
Wolsey Academy is a non-profit organisation and any money we make from the sale of resources goes to one of the charities we support, which can be seen at our website at Wolsey Academy (just google us).
In addition, we host great 3D History games, complete with workbooks, that are free for your students to play and complete. Here you can also purchase more of our lessons at a discount.
Industrial Revolution:
From a Scheme of Work on the Industrial Revolution. Target is KS3 but all assessments throughout are GCSE and use Edexcel criteria. Each lesson contains a lesson plan, quick start guide, printable resources, mini plenaries, challenge questions, mark schemes, writing frames, lots of differentiation, a nice mix of activity types and a lesson specific EAL activity sheet. There are 14 lessons in total, but each lesson has enough material to last 2 or 3 lessons for even high ability classes.
Most lessons include some high-level source analysis.
The lessons also include a link to a site hosting a self-marking End of Unit quiz and a revision guide which make for nice homework activities. The SOW has been used for several years (with continual updates and improvements) at a very successful History department in an outstanding school.
If used at KS3 it also acts as a grounding for any History of Medicine modules they might encounter at KS4 (hence the focus on public health and inventions).
The SOW covers the following topics:
Introduction to the Industrial Revolution (free)
Population Boom (free)
Factories
Coal Mining
Transport
Robert Stephenson
Industrial Revolution inventors
Child Labour
Public Health Problems
Public Health Solutions & Government Intervention
Source Question on the Big Stink
Luddites
British Empire
Source Question on Empire
Revision Guide & EAL activities.
WolseyAcademy.com, a non-profit resource provider, directs all profits to various charities, including refugee support, youth sports, educational programs, and carbon capture, achieving a carbon-negative status. Explore our site for resources and free history role-playing games loved by students. Thank you for your dedication to teaching and for supporting our mission.
Hope it helps.
This lesson on the Haitian Revolution is designed to engage students with a range of activities that build their understanding of the historical context, key figures, and significant events surrounding the revolution. The lesson involves several interactive components:
Reading and Contextual Understanding: Students begin by completing a reading exercise to understand the background of Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti), its role as a French colony, and the conditions that led to the revolution.
Video and Question Writing: After watching a video on the Haitian Revolution, students create and answer their own questions, encouraging critical thinking and peer engagement.
Research and Fact Files: Students research key figures such as Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and Henri Christophe, and create detailed fact files using provided templates or their own research. This helps develop research skills and reinforces the importance of these historical figures.
Sorting Activity: Students are tasked with identifying and sorting the causes, events, and consequences of the Haitian Revolution, allowing them to better grasp the chronological and causal relationships in history.
Narrative Writing: Students write a three-part narrative essay on the Haitian Revolution, practicing structuring a historical argument with evidence-based explanations.
Analysis: Students are encouraged to analyse and justify which factors were most important in the revolution, promoting higher-order thinking skills as they debate the key causes or consequences.
Reflection on Memory: Finally, students investigate how different cultures remember the Haitian Revolution, comparing perspectives from Haiti and other nations, which fosters an understanding of how history is viewed through different lenses.
This dynamic lesson allows for a mix of individual and group activities, ensuring that students engage deeply with the material through research, writing, discussion, and analysis.
From a series of 100s historical lessons made by Wolsey Academy. They provide a thorough foundation of knowledge and focus on developing key historical skills. To find the complete bundle search on the Wolsey Academy website.
Wolsey Academy operates as a non-profit, with all proceeds supporting our charity partners. Use code ‘WOLSEY’ for 10% off at the Wolsey Academy Web Store.
Please help us, help you, help them. Thank you.
Hope it helps. W
Overview: Investigate Amelia Earhart’s achievements in aviation, her record-setting flights, and the enduring mystery of her disappearance.
Activities:
o Video Analysis: View documentaries on Earhart’s solo transatlantic flight and her impact on women in aviation.
o Timeline Activity: Arrange key events in Earhart’s career and her final flight in chronological order.
o Extended Writing: Examine Earhart’s motivations for flying and the theories surrounding her disappearance.
20 Lessons to support your teaching of IGCSE/GCSE History - Nazi Germany.
Great value. All tried and tested and each lesson includes all the resources you need.
Ready to teach.
Industrial Revolution:
From a Scheme of Work on the Industrial Revolution. Target is KS3 but all assessments throughout are GCSE and use Edexcel criteria. Each lesson contains a lesson plan, quick start guide, printable resources, mini plenaries, challenge questions, mark schemes, writing frames, lots of differentiation, a nice mix of activity types and a lesson specific EAL activity sheet. There are 14 lessons in total, but each lesson has enough material to last 2 or 3 lessons for even high ability classes.
Most lessons include some high-level source analysis.
The lessons also include a link to a site hosting a self-marking End of Unit quiz and a revision guide which make for nice homework activities. The SOW has been used for several years (with continual updates and improvements) at a very successful History department in an outstanding school.
If used at KS3 it also acts as a grounding for any History of Medicine modules they might encounter at KS4 (hence the focus on public health and inventions).
The SOW covers the following topics:
Introduction to the Industrial Revolution (free)
Population Boom (free)
Factories
Coal Mining
Transport
Robert Stephenson
Industrial Revolution inventors
Child Labour
Public Health Problems
Public Health Solutions & Government Intervention
Source Question on the Big Stink
Luddites
British Empire
Source Question on Empire
Revision Guide & EAL activities.
WolseyAcademy.com, a non-profit resource provider, directs all profits to various charities, including refugee support, youth sports, educational programs, and carbon capture, achieving a carbon-negative status. Explore our site for resources and free history role-playing games loved by students. Thank you for your dedication to teaching and for supporting our mission.
Hope it helps.
Napoleon, Nelson and Trafalgar
1 lesson from a series of 7 on the Napoleonic Wars, The Royal Navy and the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
The lessons are as follows:
Napoleon and the threat to Britain
The Making of Nelson’s Navy
Nelson v Villeneuve
Life in Nelson’s Navy
The Battle of Trafalgar
Napoleon and Trafalgar Pokémon revision game
Each lesson works as a standalone, but they are designed to be taught in sequence, with each lesson adding a new layer of context and skills ready for the final writing task in lesson 4. Each lesson comes with 4 Pokémon style key word cards which are all gathered with a range of factor and skill word cards in the 5th lesson – this allows students to use them in their writing.
Each lesson includes a range of activities and resources all contained within the same PowerPoint file for ease of use.
The activities are as follows:
Lesson 1: Napoleon and the threat to Britain
• French Revolution context
• Trading card keywords activity
• Napoleon info cards and CV writing task
• Napoleon’s conquests and the Continental System
• Comprehension questions
Lesson 2: The Making of Nelson’s Navy
• Age of sail video and question/answers
• Assemble a fleet discussion task with prompts
• 8 Factors of success – table fill
• PEE prioritisation task
• Writing a letter to family task
• Trading card keyword activity
• Reading comprehension questions
Lesson 3: Nelson v Villeneuve (and life on a sailing ship)
• Nelson video and question/answers
• Reading comprehension questions
• Trading card keyword activity
• Nelson’s Victories place and describe map activity
• Nelson: Hero and Villain extended reading and debate task
Lesson 4: Life in Nelson’s Navy
• Video and questions
• Teach Roulette – life as a sailor group task
• Nautical English terms task
• Write a diary entry as a sailor task
• Trading Card Activity
Lesson 5: The Battle of Trafalgar
• Recap task
• Events of the day info slides (enabling teacher talk)
• Extended reading – Bernard Cornwell – the gruesome side of a war at sea
• Cartoon strip of the battle with info slides
• Why did Nelson win the Battle of Trafalgar? Essay task to include all factors studied thus far (the recap reminder sheet from activity 1 is useful here).
• Trading Card Activity
Lesson 6: Battle of Trafalgar Keyword Trading Card Game
• 20 Pokémon style keywords
• 11 General factor history and skill cards
• An excellent and engaging way to stimulate writing tasks!
Bonus: Trafalgar History Club Activity
• Flag making – Re-create Nelson’s famous flag signals!
• Battle Snowballs – create the line of battle, act out the fight and see who wins in the rematch!
These lessons have been created by Wolsey Academy
We are a non=profit with all our earnings going to support one the charities found on our website.
We hope it helps.
#BetterTeachingBetterPlanet
12 of 22 lessons that together teach the entire Vietnam Conflict, 1945-1975.
Ideal for all specifications. Each lesson comes with a range of activities, flash cards for revision and assessments and checks throughout. Almost all include a written assessment with guidance and activities that ask students to consider a range of different historical interpretations of the events. All resources needed for the lesson are self-contained within the PowerPoint with printer friendly versions ready to go.
The lessons are as follows:
Vietnam Overview and Timeline
Colonial Vietnam
General Giap
Dien Bien Phu 1954
Geneva Accords 1954
Domino Theory & McCarthyism
Ho Chi Minh
The Vietcong
Strategic Hamlet Program
Overthrow of Diem 1963
Gulf of Tonkin Incident 1964
Vietcong Tactics
US Tactics
Khe Sanh, Tet & Hue
Nixon Doctrine & Vietnamization
Opposition to the War – Media & Atrocities
My Lai Massacre 1968
Opposition to the War – Students, Kent State and the Draft
Support for the War – Hard Hats
Peace and the Fall of Saigon 1975
Why did the US Fail?
80 Flashcards
Wolsey Academy is a non-profit with every penny we make going to good causes, see our website, Wolsey Academy (Google us), for more information and to access free History games and lots more resources.
Hope it helps.
W.
This lesson examines the life and achievements of Amelia Earhart, the pioneering aviator who became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Students will learn about her significant flights, contributions to aviation, and her mysterious disappearance. Activities include video analysis, timeline sorting, guided reading, and writing PEEKA paragraphs. The lesson concludes with a discussion on Earhart’s legacy and her impact on women in aviation and beyond.
Lesson Content and Activities:
Introduction:
Discuss Amelia Earhart’s background and significance in aviation history.
Introduce today’s keywords: Aviator, Solo, Transatlantic.
Video Task:
Watch videos on Amelia Earhart and answer key questions about her life and achievements.
Timeline Activity:
Sort the timeline cards into the correct chronological order.
Primary Source Analysis:
Read through extended writing on Amelia Earhart and answer comprehension questions.
Ranking Activity:
Rank key events in Earhart’s life based on their significance.
Historian Analysis:
Compare viewpoints of historians on Earhart’s legacy and write a paragraph summarizing the agreement and disagreement.
Writing Task:
Write a PEEKA paragraph explaining Earhart’s most significant impact on world history.
Class Discussion:
Share and discuss the PEEKA paragraphs.
Recap Quiz:
Participate in a recap quiz to reinforce key points from the lesson.
Resources:
Video links on Amelia Earhart
Timeline cards
Primary source documents
Guided reading text
PEEKA paragraph guidelines and planning sheet
From a series of over 50 lessons made by Wolsey Academy on the history of the United States. They provide a thorough foundation of knowledge in this vital period of world history and provide an excellent foundation for all future study. Each lesson looks to focus on a range of historical skills and exam techniques to equip students with knowledge and transferable research, analysis and study skills.
To find the complete bundle search on the Wolsey Academy website.
Wolsey Academy operates as a non-profit, with every penny we make going to one of our charity partners or into the Ipswich Initiative, funding good works across the town and county. Search for Wolsey Academy to see our website for more details and to purchase resources at a discount.
Use code ‘WOLSEY’ for 10% off at the Wolsey Academy Web Store.
Please help us, help you, help them. Thank you.
Hope it helps.
W
The Cold War IGCSE Edexcel
One lesson from over forty on the Cold War, designed for the IGCSE Edexcel specification but instantly transferable to any other GCSE (or non-GCSE) curriculum.
It begins before the Second World War, with the origins of Communist thinking and the Russian Revolution and continues right through the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the USSR.
Each lesson comes with a range of activities, keyword cards and assessments. Focus on developing analytical and writing skills.
Wolsey Academy, a non-profit resource provider, directs all profits to various charities, including refugee support, youth sports, educational programs, and carbon capture, achieving a carbon-negative status. Explore our site for resources and free history role-playing games loved by students. Thank you for your dedication to teaching and for supporting our mission.
Students investigate the legend of Atlantis, exploring its origins in Plato’s writings. Activities include watching videos, relaying map details, and breaking a Caesar code. They analyse sources, discuss the historical basis of the legend, and create their own theories about Atlantis’ existence. The lesson blends mythology with historical skills, engaging students in critical thinking and code-breaking tasks.
Taken from a series of 10 lessons on The Bronze Age. They provide an excellent and engaging introduction to the ancient world and addresses many of the founding civilisations, stories and achievements that shape the rest of history.
No study of history would be complete without these lessons. Each lesson is designed to cover a range of historical and exam skills to build up students knowledge and exam skills ready for any exam board, external and internal. They are also a huge amount of fun to teach!
Those lessons are:
Bronze Age Overview
Sumerians and Mesopotamia
Indus Valley
The Magan People of Arabia (The UAE & Oman)
Minoans on Crete and the Minotaur
Mycenaeans and the Trojan War
The Shang & Zhou Dynasty
The Legend of Atlantis
The Sea Peoples – Migration or Conquest?
The Mystery of the Bronze Age Collapse
Wolsey Academy operates as a non-profit, with every penny we make going to one of our charity partners or into the Ipswich Initiative, funding good works across the town and county. Search for Wolsey Academy to see our website for more details and to purchase resources at a discount.
Use code ‘WOLSEY’ for 10% off at the Wolsey Academy Web Store
Please help us, help you, help them. Thank you.
Hope it helps.
W
Perfect for History Club sessions – or active and creative lessons - at primary or secondary level. Includes information and video about the topics and a fun practical activity (which can often take more than one session to complete). All sessions include a weekly advertising poster for display boards, websites and screens around the school. Also included is a loyalty card for students to claim rewards after attending enough lessons.
Designed by Wolsey Academy and tried and tested with secondary students in the UK.
Topics are as follows:
Ancient Egypt – Drama Production
Battle of Trafalgar 1805 – Arts and Craft.
Guy Fawkes, 1605 – Gunpowder Hunt.
Charles Lindbergh, 1927 – Design & Fly a Plane.
Pirates – Make a Movie.
Thanksgiving – Fancy Dress and Card Design
Benjamin Franklin – Make and fly a Kite.
Tudor Christmas – Card Making.
Battle of Atlantic – Code Breaking Game
Medieval Coat of Arms – Research and Heraldry Making.
Brunel – Bridge Building
Darwin –Voyage of the Beagle, Art Competition.
D-Day – Landing Craft Construction and Testing
World Cup History – Kit Designs
Battle of Quebec – Crane Construction
Angkor Wat – Sunrise Drawings
Historical Fashion – Clothing Designs
Henry Ford – Assembly Line Competition
Roman Army – Shield Design and Battle Tactics Role Play
Local History: Ipswich Town Football Club – Badge Design.
Explore Marco Polo’s epic journey from Venice to the court of Kublai Khan in China between 1271 and 1295.
Activities include:
o Video Analysis: Students watch and analyse videos to track Polo’s route and understand the significance of his travels.
o Guided Reading: Engage in a reading activity that highlights Polo’s observations of the wealth and customs of the East.
o Creative Postcard Writing: Students create postcards from Polo’s perspective, describing his experiences and observations from different locations.
o Group Discussion: Evaluate the impact of Polo’s travels on European trade and exploration and their long-term influence on the global understanding of Asia.
This lesson aims to provide an understanding of Marco Polo’s contributions to the knowledge of Asia’s geography and culture, inspiring a new era of exploration.
Second part (15 lessons) of the larger bundle of all China lessons. Covers the CCP, Mao’s influence and then Deng’s capitalist reforms. Each lesson comes with all the resources you need to teach it ‘out of the box’ including activities, worksheets, recap tasks, stretch and differentiated questions where appropriate – and each lesson comes with keywords and a revision slide and a writing homework exercise.
The 28 lessons of the complete bundle (Part 1 and 2) are as follows:
Part 1:
China Intro
Causes of the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion Events & Consequences
1911 Revolution
May 4th Movement
Sun Yat-Sen
Recap Lesson
United Front
Northern Expedition
Recap lesson
Part 2:
Causes of the Long March
Consequences of the Long March
Second Sino-Japanese War
Chinese Civil War
Why was the CCP victorious in the Civil War?
CCP’s Agricultural Reforms
The Great Famine
The Great Leap Forward
Women in Mao’s China
Political Control in Mao’s China
USSR & China
Causes of the Cultural Revolution
Key Features of the Cultural Revolution
Consequences of the Cultural Revolution
The Sino-Soviet Split
The Gang of Four
Deng Xiaoping’s Reforms
Tiananmen Square
BONUS: China and the Opium Wars
BONUS: Guided Reading - Japan’s Invasion of China 1937
These lessons have been taught successfully for many years at a top international school and are very easily editable for your own students (they’d also work very easily without any editing!)
Wolsey Academy is a non-profit that looks to share and sell excellent teaching materials. Every penny we make goes to one of the charity partners listed on our website – from carbon capture (we take in more carbon each year than we put out!) to local youth sports to housing refugees – we aim to be a positive influence in the world.
Better Teaching, Better Planet.
Check out our mission and our other resources at our website, just search ‘Wolsey Academy’ to find us!
24 fully resourced lessons on Nazi Germany from 1919 to 1945. Each lesson is structured with starters, main activities, plenaries and keyword flash cards for revision. Combined the lessons cover a range of skills, including source analysis, essay writing, group work and debate. Designed while teaching IGCSE Edexcel – However, all lessons are appropriate for any module on German History and the development of the Nazis.
The lessons are as follows:
The Origins of the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Constitution
Early Challenges to Weimar
Other Challenges to Weimar
Hyperinflation Crisis 1923
Stresemann and Weimar Recovery
Weimar International Relations
Early Development of the Nazi Party
The Munich Putsch
Nazi Party Rebuilds
The Great Depression & The Nazis
Hitler’s Appeal
Hitler becomes Chancellor
Creation of a Dictatorship
Nazi Methods of Control
Nazi Germany & The Youth
Nazi Germany & Women
Nazi Germany & Religion
Nazi Germany & Persecution of Minorities
Nazi Germany & The Economy
Nazi Germany & The Final Solution (Holocaust)
Nazi Germany & The Home Front
Nazi Germany & Opposition to Hitler
93 Flash Cards and Revision Activities
Wolsey Academy is a non-profit that sends every penny it makes to one of the charities we support (see our website for details). We aim to make teacher’s and student’s lives easier and more fulfilling by providing well-resourced and ‘ready to teach’ off the shelf lessons.
Russian Revolution –
This is a completely fully resourced and integrated series of 17 lessons on the Russian Revolution. It was designed for junior/seniors but has also been used very effectively lower down the school.
Each lesson contains as a minimum:
• Recap from the previous lesson
• Keyword flashcards (in a unique ‘Pokémon card style’ template!)
• Writing skill challenges building up to fully developed PEEKA paragraphs (these increase in complexity as you move through the lessons)
• Text with comprehension questions
• A ‘reverse engineer’ essay question task.
• A model paragraph with a ‘how can you improve?’ task
• Stretch questions.
• Video links.
The 17 lessons are as follows:
Russia and its discontents (free)
1905 Revolution (free)
The First World War (free)
Rasputin
February Revolution
Mid-Module Revision Tasks and Knowledge Check
Provisional Government
October Revolution
Bolsheviks & Constituent Assembly
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War – Why did the Reds win?
Russian Civil War – War Communism
Russian Civil War – Kronstadt Naval Mutiny
Russian Civil War – New Economic Policy
Russian Civil War – Lenin’s Legacy
End of unit – all revision cards, revision tasks, assessment questions, models and criteria.
Hope they help.
Wolsey Academy, a non-profit resource provider, directs all profits to various charities, including refugee support, youth sports, educational programs, and carbon capture, achieving a carbon-negative status. Explore our site for resources and free history role-playing games loved by students. Thank you for your dedication to teaching and for supporting our mission.
#BetterTeachingBetterPlanet
Explore the fascinating world of Ancient Greece with this comprehensive 10-lesson series from Wolsey Academy. Each lesson is fully resourced and ready to teach, packed with engaging activities and historical content that bring this vibrant civilisation to life. Covering key topics such as the Minoans and Mycenaeans, the Trojan War, Athenian democracy, the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars, and the conquests of Alexander the Great, these lessons are designed to captivate students aged 11-14.
With interactive tasks like role-plays, creative projects, debates, and timelines, students will actively participate in their learning, developing a deep understanding of Greek philosophy, architecture, mythology, and more. All materials are scaffolded to ensure inclusivity, making the series accessible to learners of varying abilities. Perfect for history teachers looking for a complete, engaging package on Ancient Greece!
The Lessons in the series are:
The Minoans - Students will re-enact a Minoan bull-leaping event by writing and performing the commentary for a mythical bull-leaping competition, bringing this ancient tradition to life.
The Mycenaeans & The Trojan War - Students will create their own version of the Trojan Horse, constructing and presenting how they would use it to infiltrate an enemy city.
Homer and Greek Literature - In this lesson, students will work in groups to storyboard key scenes from The Iliad or The Odyssey and present their adaptations to the class.
Olympia & The Olympic Games - Students will write and produce a mock newspaper report on the Ancient Olympic Games, discussing the sports, competitors, and the religious significance of the event.
Greek Gods & Delphi - Students will engage in a Gods and Myths role-playing activity, where they act as various Greek gods debating their importance in front of the class.
Athenian Democracy - This lesson includes a mock Athenian assembly where students participate in a democratic vote on a key issue, experiencing the decision-making process of ancient Athens.
The Persian Wars - Students will work together to create a battle strategy for either the Greeks or Persians, then simulate the famous battles using maps and counters to analyse the outcomes.
Sparta & The Peloponnesian War - Students will debate the strengths and weaknesses of Sparta versus Athens in a classroom debate, acting as representatives from each city-state.
The Athenian Golden Age - Students will set up a museum showcase in which they create displays on different aspects of the Golden Age, including philosophy, architecture, and science, and then present their work to their peers.
Alexander the Great - Students will create a timeline of Alexanders major battles and conquests, illustrating his route across Asia and presenting key moments in his empire-building journey.
• Overview: Examine the life and achievements of Thomas Slade, the naval architect behind the HMS Victory, and explore his impact on British naval power.
• Activities:
o Video Analysis: Students will watch videos to understand Slade’s contributions and the historical context of his work.
o Timeline Activity: Organize timeline cards to understand the chronological order of Slade’s life events and key naval advancements.
o Extended Writing: Delve into the significance of HMS Victory in British naval history and discuss Slade’s design innovations.
Overview: Analyse the naval battle known as the Glorious First of June, where the British sought to intercept a vital French grain convoy during the French Revolutionary Wars.
• Activities:
o Video Review: Study the naval strategies employed by both the British and French fleets.
o Guided Reading: Explore the tactical decisions of Admiral Lord Howe and the outcomes of the battle.
o Role Play: Engage in a simulation of naval command decisions during the battle.
o Group Discussion: Evaluate the long-term naval and political consequences of the battle outcomes.
Overview: Explore the challenging life of ‘Jack Tar’ sailors in the Royal Navy during the Age of Sail. Understand their key roles in naval battles, exploration, and maintaining British maritime supremacy.
• Activities:
o Video Analysis: Students watch videos to learn about the daily hardships and duties of these sailors.
o Guided Reading and Discussion: Delve into the harsh living conditions and strict discipline experienced by Jack Tars.
o Role Play: Simulate the life aboard a ship to understand the discipline and duties of a sailor.
o Group Discussion: Evaluate the impact of Jack Tars on British naval power and their personal experiences of maritime life.