Trailblazing pioneers set out to conquer the vast continent west of the mountains, but find the land already claimed. Wagon trains meet danger and hardship on the road to unprecedented riches in California’s golden hills.
BBC - Orbit: Earth’s Extraordinary Journey Episode 2
Kate Humble and Dr Helen Czerski follow the Earth’s voyage around the sun for one complete orbit, this time travelling from January to the March equinox.
Right now you’re hurtling around the sun at 64,000 miles an hour (100,000 kms an hour). In the next year you’ll travel 584 million miles, to end up back where you started.
Presenters Kate Humble and Dr Helen Czerski follow the Earth’s voyage around the sun for one complete orbit, to witness the astonishing consequences this journey has for us all.
In this second episode we travel from January to the March equinox. Kate Humble gets closer to the Sun than she has ever been before, whilst Helen Czerski visits a place that gets some of the biggest and fastest snowstorms on Earth.
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 the resource can be saved as a PDF for A4 printing
Written to support the Edexcel Paper 1 Migration Environmental Study on Notting Hill c1948-c1970
The worksheet is based upon the 2003 Timeshift episode and includes a variety of data retrieval activities to support an overview or consolidation of the Environmental Study
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 the resource can be saved as a PDF for A4 printing
This is a 5 page resource
BBC - Trouble in the Family: 1337-1360 Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War
Dr Janina Ramirez explores the fallout of the longest and bloodiest divorce in history, when little England dared to take on the superpower France.
Edward III rips up the medieval rule book and crushes the flower of French knighthood at the Battle of Crecy with his low-born archers. His son, the Black Prince, conducts a campaign of terror, helping to bring France to her knees.
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 the resource can be saved as a PDF for A4 printing
BBC Horrible Histories - Awesome Alfred The Great Special
A special episode about King Alfred the Great, starring Tom Rosenthal. Watch Alfred argue with his older brothers then defeat the Vikings using his cunning hit-and-run tactics, summoning the spirit of Ed Sheeran. Meanwhile, across the world, Ant and Dec host a very special Chinese edition of I’m a Celebrity, and the Egyptians tell us how healthcare should really be done. With of, course, our host Rattus to guide the way!
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 the resource can be saved as a PDF for A4 printing
BBC - Orbit: Earth’s Extraordinary Journey Episode 1
Right now you’re hurtling around the sun at 64,000 miles an hour (100,000 kms an hour). In the next year you’ll travel 584 million miles, to end up back where you started.
Presenters Kate Humble and Dr Helen Czerski follow the Earth’s voyage around the sun for one complete orbit, to witness the astonishing consequences this journey has for us all.
In this first episode they travel from July to the December solstice, experiencing spectacular weather and the largest tides on Earth. To show how the Earth’s orbit affects our lives, Helen jumps out of an aeroplane and Kate briefly becomes the fastest driver on Earth.
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 the resource can be saved as a PDF for A4 printing
Robert Cecil is the son of Elizabeth I’s original spymaster. He has been groomed since birth to inherit his father’s network but when he finally steps into his father’s shoes, the Queen’s enemies are stronger than ever and Cecil must also watch his back. The Earl of Essex has established a rival network and is trying to oust Cecil as Elizabeth’s spymaster.
Essex is everything Cecil is not. Cecil is bent-backed and under five foot tall. Essex is an athlete and a war hero who flirts with the Queen. But the two men have known each other since childhood. And now they are locked in a battle that is part court theatrical but which is also a lethal spy war in which people die horrifically violent deaths. The stakes are huge. For the winner, untold power. For the loser a one-way trip to the scaffold.
Cecil is also aware that the sun is setting on the reign of Elizabeth, who is in her sixties. He and Essex are not just battling for control of the Queen, but for control over who will be her successor. For the power to select the next King of England. Essex begins a spy war within the spy war by secretly approaching James VI of Scotland and striking a deal to put him on Elizabeth’s throne when she has passed away. So Cecil must somehow oust Essex from Elizabeth’s court without making an enemy of James who Cecil also wants to inherit the throne.
This is a secret conflict, involving double agents, coded letters, treachery and treason. It is a world that Cecil proves to be an absolute master of. Cecil ruthlessly manoeuvres Essex to the execution block and becomes the man who puts James on the English throne.
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 the resource can be saved as a PDF file for A4 printing
The Mayflower Pilgrims: Behind the Myth - Worksheet to support the BBC Documentary
The voyage of the Mayflower in 1620 has come to define the founding moment of America, celebrated each year at Thanksgiving. A lavish new drama documentary by Ric Burns, based on governor William Bradford’s extraordinary eye-witness account, the Mayflower Pilgrims reveals the grim truth behind their voyage across the Atlantic.
The Pilgrims story has come to define the founding moment of America and all it stands for. Celebrated each year at Thanksgiving, it is remembered as a pious crusade aimed at founding a Puritan paradise. However their journey from a harsh, often violent part of England to a colony assured of survival less than ten years later is also one of wealth, cruelty and entrepreneurial genius.
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 the document can edited and saved as a PDF for A4 printing
Introductory/Revision Booklet based around the Pearson Christie & Christie textbook.
The PDF version includes scans of existing free resources available from my shop. Planned to be used as the core course notes for next years teaching and a class based or independent learning resource.
This resource deals with content and knowledge and does not contain any assessment.
9-1 Edexcel History Learning/Topic Placemats for Russia and the USSR 1917-41
Written in PowerPoint
Topics Covered:
Topic 1 - The early settlement of the West, C1835 - 1862
Topic 2 - Development of the Plains, c1862 - 1876
Topic 3 - Conflicts & Conquest, c1876 - 1895
(The reverse side of the placemat remains the same throughout this study unit).
These interactive learning placemats were designed to meet the challenges of the new 9-1 GCSE. They build upon the successful Medicine Through Time Placemats that I previously designed (and which received 5* reviews by all who have purchased them up to the time of launching these new materials – see: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/9-1-edexcel-gcse-history-of-medicine-place-mat-question-structure-11627611 ). The new placemats have been identified as best practice during a ‘Challenge Partners’ review as well as being identified as best practice by other History teachers on the Olevi ‘Outstanding Teacher Programme’.
The new design learning placemats support both teachers and students in addressing the:
a) dramatic increase in the curriculum content needed for the different units
b) support the need for increased literacy demands
c) help students become familiar and more confident in recognising the correct response needed for the unprecedented number of different question styles
The placemats are designed to be double sided. One side focuses on the CONTENT: providing an overview of key knowledge and understanding needed (this will change for each topic area within this GCSE unit).
Every placemat across the GCSE range is designed to encourage greater understanding of:
Historical Context - through timelines, picture prompts and key words
Awareness of the ‘big picture’ so students can see how individual lessons fit into the unit and make clearer links between prior and future learning – through ‘Big Picture’ questions.
Better Literacy – through selected ‘language for learning’ vocab box.
Memory prompts to support revision – through the use of carefully selected images.
Increased awareness of metacognition – through PME (Progress, Monitor and Evaluation Time) questions to encourage students to deconstruct their learning and identify key factors (eg. Social, economic, political) or key individuals and make links between features. A pictorial metacognition man with 5 question prompts will support student reflection.
The reverse side contains guidance on EXAM TECHNIQUE through:
Identifying the nature of the question styles for each GCSE Unit and the allocated marks available
Examiners levelled mark schemes
Support writing frames with generic sentence starters
Twentieth Century Battlefields - Stalingrad - Worksheet to support the BBC Documentary
Worksheet written to support the documentary through a variety of data collection and analysis activities. Written as an enrichment/ independent learning rsource it can be edited as appropriate.
Written in Publisher formatted to A3 but the sheet can be edited and saved as a PDF file for A4 printing
BBC Twentieth Century Battlefields - Ep1 - Western Front - Worksheet to support the BBC Documentary
Written as an enrichment/flipped/independent learning activity the worksheet contains a variety of data collection activities for the video.
Covers the Battle of Amiens, and in particular the innovative tactics invented, most notably the close coordination of infantry, tanks and aircraft which characterises modern battles shown by the British commander Douglas Haig, as well as basic infiltration tactics. Peter and Dan Snow observe a combined-arms exercise.
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 the worksheet can be amended and saved as a PDF for A4 printing
BBC Twentieth Century Battlefields - Ep8 - Iraq - Worksheet to support the BBC Documentary
Written as an enrichment/flipped/independent learning activity the worksheet contains a variety of data collection activities for the video.
Dan and Peter Snow go to Kuwait to tell the story of Operation Desert Storm. Dan describes how revolutionary new technology like stealth bombers and precision-guided bombs would make this a battle unlike anything anyone had seen before. The Iraqis may not have had such cutting-edge technology but, back in 1991, they did have weapons of mass destruction - gas attacks were an ever-present fear amongst the Allied soldiers. Dan experiences how just a simple gas mask would have restricted a soldier’s ability to fight in such extreme conditions and Peter shows how both sides chose their tactics in a war dominated by cutting-edge technology and ruthless political calculation.
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 the worksheet can be amended and saved as a PDF for A4 printing
This edition focuses on how Elizabeth presided over a golden age following the defeat of the Armada. National pride followed in the wake of the flourishing of literature, an age of prosperity and a new sense of England being a world power. But problems continued to plague the Queen as she got older. Elizabeth, the virgin Queen, the most powerful woman in English history. She emerged as a young princess against a backdrop of civil unrest, political intrigue, executions and coups. She ruled for 45 years and presided over a new kind of state. Her reign saw England emerge from the threat of European annexation to burst forth in a unique flowering of culture and became the world’s leading sea power. In this four part series David Starkey charts the rise and fall of her reign and reveals the powerful resonance it has for the present. This series covers one of the most glamorous and exciting reigns in English history, with bloodthirsty tales of sex, lust, murder and mayhem.
Written as an extension and enrichment task for GCSE 9-1 or A Level teaching
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 it is also saved as a PDF for A4 printing
In this section Starkey focuses on the early years of Elizabeth’s rule and her reluctance to marry. Her dalliances with court favourites like Lord Dudley provoked speculation, but what concerned her advisers was her refusal to consider a suitor from France or Spain, powers which constituted a military threat. She was in a precarious position: a Protestant Queen in a Catholic country, and Mary, Queen of Scots, who wanted to claim the throne and return the nation to Catholic rule, was a great threat to Elizabeth. Elizabeth, the virgin Queen, the most powerful woman in English history. She emerged as a young princess against a backdrop of civil unrest, political intrigue, executions and coups. She ruled for 45 years and presided over a new kind of state. Her reign saw England emerge from the threat of European annexation to burst forth in a unique flowering of culture and became the world’s leading sea power. In this four part series David Starkey charts the rise and fall of her reign and reveals the powerful resonance it has for the present. This series covers one of the most glamorous and exciting reigns in English history, with bloodthirsty tales of sex, lust, murder and mayhem.
BBC - American History’s Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley - Ep 3 Supremacy
In the third and final film in the series, Lucy Worsley reveals the historic myths and deceptions told following the United States’ emergence as a superpower after the Second World War. We often remember the 1950s and early 1960s in America as a golden era of abundance, harmony and the American dream made real. This film reveals that to be a carefully constructed illusion. In truth, the era of America’s supremacy was a time of government deception, racial conflict and fears of nuclear annihilation
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 the resource can be saved as a PDF for A4 printing
BBC Lucy Worsley Episode 2 The First Georgians: The German Kings Who Made Britain
Lucy Worsley’s inside story of Britain’s imported German dynasty, made with extensive access to the Royal Collection, reaches the reign of George II. She shows how he had to adapt to a growing ‘middling rank’ in society no longer content with being downtrodden subjects. Affairs of state were being openly discussed in coffee houses, while the king and his ministers were mocked in satirical prints and theatres.
George II was an easy target - grumpy, and frequently absent in Hanover. To his British subjects he became The King Who Wasn’t There. But his wife, the enlightened Caroline, popularized a medical breakthrough against smallpox. However, it was their son, Frederick Prince of Wales, who really understood this new world - he had the popular touch monarchy would need to survive into the modern era.
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 the resource can be saved as a PDF for A4 printing
BBC Twentieth Century Battlefields - Ep7 - The Falklands - Worksheet to support the BBC Documentary
In 1982, Argentina triggered the last battle on British territory when it invaded the Falkland Islands. Peter and Dan Snow fly 8,000 miles to the South Atlantic to tell the story of how the British Task Force fought back to regain control.
With his high-tech graphic mapcase, Peter shows the challenges faced by the British, thousands of miles from home. Dan feels the force of the Sea Harrier fighter jets, so crucial to the survival of the British fleet in these icy waters, and goes on a night-fighting training exercise under live fire to experience for himself the tactics used by the British ground troops in their fight to dislodge the Argentinians.
Written in Publsiher and formatted to A3 the resource can be saved as a PDF for A4 printing
This section focuses on what was to be Elizabeth’s finest hour - the rout of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Ironically, Elizabeth loathed war - as a woman, she could not lead her own troops and distrusted her military commanders. Several factors contributed to the outbreak of War, including the assassination of William Prince of Orange and Elizabeth’s decision to execute her Catholic cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. Elizabeth, the virgin Queen, the most powerful woman in English history. She emerged as a young princess against a backdrop of civil unrest, political intrigue, executions and coups. She ruled for 45 years and presided over a new kind of state. Her reign saw England emerge from the threat of European annexation to burst forth in a unique flowering of culture and became the world’s leading sea power. In this four part series David Starkey charts the rise and fall of her reign and reveals the powerful resonance it has for the present. This series covers one of the most glamorous and exciting reigns in English history, with bloodthirsty tales of sex, lust, murder and mayhem.
Written as an extension and enrichment task for GCSE 9-1 or A Level teaching
Written in Publisher and formatted to A3 it is also saved as a PDF for A4 printing