Engaging and challenging History resources for Key Stages 3, 4 and 5.
Striving to produce well-balanced, well-paced, challenging and differentiated resources that cater to a variety of ages and ability levels.
Engaging and challenging History resources for Key Stages 3, 4 and 5.
Striving to produce well-balanced, well-paced, challenging and differentiated resources that cater to a variety of ages and ability levels.
***SALE*** - this resource is on sale at a reduced price.
This lesson focuses on the way in which Queen Elizabeth's image was controlled throughout her reign. It involves an analysis of several paintings from her reign, and an assessment of whether the reality of her appearance matched the image portrayed, particularly during her latter years.
Learning outcomes:
describe how Elizabeth’s image was controlled
explain why Elizabeth controlled her royal portraits so carefully
assess whether Elizabeth’s portraits matched the reality of her image
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An engaging lesson that explains the feudal system to students. This lesson can be brought to life through some student participation!
Learning outcomes:
Describe what the Feudal System was. (C)
Explain how the Feudal System helped William keep control. (B)
Evaluate how effective the Feudal System was as a way for William to keep control. (A)
Starter - A recap of the Domesday Book (this could easily be changed to Why William Won if you are skipping the Domesday Book in your scheme of work)
Main - The Feudal System. An analogy to the school pyramid and a cartoon strip should be combined with active student participation to explain the feudal system to students. Use an A3 piece of paper to represent all of the land in England! Give it to a chosen student (the King). Tell him he has to apportion a certain amount of land for his barons. What are the dangers of giving too much? What are the dangers of giving too little? Repeat down the Feudal System pyramid.
Main - Now that students are engaged and attuned to the concept of the Feudal System, consolidate their knowledge by asking them to explain the feudal system in their books. This activity includes differentiated word lists that students should use in their explanations.
Plenary - Covers how the Feudal System helped William to control England, linking to the Harrying of the North and the Domesday Book. Once the fourth method is covered (Castles), students are prepared for a longer piece of work / an assessment on William's control methods.
Quiz - Students have to match statements to who said them to consolidate understanding of the feudal system!
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Learning objectives:
describe the events of the Battle of Hastings
explain some of the reasons for William’s success
evaluate which is the most important reason and justify your opinion
This lesson covers the Battle of Hastings, and why William emerged victorious.
A quick word match acts as an engaging and focusing starter activity. This is followed by a short video about the battle - a useful way in which students can initially engage with what happened at the battle.
A gap-fill follows this video up and starts to move students onto the silver objective. Students then categorise reasons for William's success into three categories, before deciding what the most important reason for William's success was.
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Leading on from my '1066' lesson, this lesson recaps the main contenders to the throne and covers the events of the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
Learning objectives:
describe the events of the Battle of Stamford Bridge
explain the reasons why Harold Godwinson won
evaluate which is the most important reason and justify your opinion
Starter: Fun Contenders Quiz
Main: Comic Strip Activity
Plenary: Assessment of Why Harold Won.
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This lesson covers the question 'Who should be the next King of England?'
Learning objectives:
identify the three men who want to be king in 1066
explain why they should and shouldn’t be king
justify your opinion as to who has the best claim to the throne
The topic is introduced through an engaging picture of the Bayeux Tapestry. Students are then asked to think about what qualities a good king should have.
They then 'meet the contenders', drawing a table in their books about why each candidate should/shouldn't be king.
This is followed by an assessment of the best candidate, with students justifying their choices. This plenary could easily be extended into an extended writing homework task or a speech to be given at the beginning of the next lesson.
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LOs:
describe the ways in which Victorians spent their leisure time
explain why the amount of free time increased in the 1800s
plan a weekend for your friends
assess the extent to which free time activities have changed/stayed the same
Contains:
- a starter relating the topic to students' own activities and interests
- a brief summary of why free time increases
- a letter writing activity with a challenge extension and a self-assessment sheet (that could also be easily adapted for peer assessment)
- a plenary on change and continuity since the Victorian era
- a word-memory activity if time allows
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This lesson - the final one in a scheme of work about the Cold War - introduces Year 9 students to the following issues.
- Ronald Reagan and his 'Tear Down This Wall' speech
- The problems facing the USSR and its allies
- Mikhail Gorbachev and his reforms
- Popular protest and uprisings in Eastern Europe.
It starts with an analysis of the Reagan speech (a short 4 minute video available on YouTube), before students categorise the problems facing the USSR and Gorbachev's potential solutions. These solutions are discussed, with students prioritising the problems and solutions, and identifying that the 'solution' for problems in Eastern Europe isn't really a solution at all! This leads nicely on to a brief discussion of popular protest in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and East Germany, before students assess the relative importance of the above four factors in the fall of Communism.
This lesson is ideal as an overview of the topic, or as an introduction. It could easily be stretched over two lessons with a little improvisation and expansion of the section on popular protest in Eastern Europe.
Contains: Starter (Video discussion), Main (Card sort/Table activity), Main (Discussion), Plenary (Assessment), Plenary (Exit Questions for Students)
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What made the Roman Army such a successful fighting force? This lesson, part of a scheme of work on the Romans, focuses on this question. Contains a labelling of a Roman activity, and a worksheet with information which students are then asked to distil and prioritise.
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A lesson from a scheme of work on the Romans, focusing on the legacy of the Romans. Contains a presentation PowerPoint and two accompanying handout files. These contain a variety of legacies from the Roman Empire, and a 'diamond 9' assessment activity. Ideal for Year 7 Key Stage 3 students.
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An introduction to the topic of the Romans for Year 7, focusing on the extent of the Roman Empire and why Rome wanted an Empire. Contains presentation and accompanying handout.
KS3 History resources: 50 mins-1 hour PP, worksheets, well differentiated.
These resources have been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow. All resources are editable (so easy to adapt for your classes) and are designed to last between fifty minutes and one hour each.
***SALE*** - this resource is on sale at a reduced price.
A two-part, Year 7 lesson on the mystery of the Bog Man aka the Tollund Man. Focus on evaluating historical evidence to reach a judgement. Contains two presentations, a worksheet on evidence and a newspaper article worksheet allowing students to express their opinions on the mystery.
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KS3/KS4 History resources: 50 mins-1 hour PP, worksheets, well differentiated.
These resources have been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow. All resources are editable (so easy to adapt for your classes) and are designed to last between fifty minutes and one hour each.
***SALE*** - this resource is on sale at a reduced price.
This ‘outstanding’ rated lesson doesn’t really need any handouts - it can be run from the presentation alone.
Two starters are included - a recap of the Berlin Blockade and Korean War, or a source analysis hook into the ‘arm wrestle’ between JFK and Khrushchev.
The main part of the lesson is a game that puts students in the shoes of John F Kennedy, responding to events in Cuba. This is followed by an assessment of the consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis, with differentiated learning objectives.
An optional handout and gapfill are included, however it is better when students simply record their options for each decision without the handout, as having the handout gives the game away. However the handout could then be distributed to ensure that students have understood the events.
In order not to rush this lesson it could easily be expanded over two lessons.
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This Presentation and accompanying worksheets address a key question asked on many GCSE History courses: How and why did Hitler become Chancellor?
The lesson contains a focus on the following areas: the failure of Weimar democracy: election results; the role of Papen and Hindenburg and Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor.
***SALE*** - this resource is on sale at a reduced price.
A lesson focused on the events of the Berlin Blockade and Airlift, and the consequences of these events for the development of the Cold War. Can be used with a high ability Year 9 class, or as part of a GCSE scheme of work (particularly suited to AQA History B Cold War course). Also contains a source Starter and Plenary that nicely links the topic to some source evaluation.
***SALE*** - this resource is on sale at a reduced price.
A lesson focused on the events of the Korean War, and the consequences of these events for the development of the Cold War. Can be used with a high ability Year 9 class, or as part of a GCSE scheme of work (particularly suited to AQA History B Cold War course).
KS3 History resources: 50 mins-1 hour PP, worksheets, well differentiated.
These resources have been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow. All resources are editable (so easy to adapt for your classes) and are designed to last between fifty minutes and one hour each.
***SALE*** - this resource is on sale at a reduced price.
A Key Stage 3, Year 8 observation lesson designed to test students’ understanding of the historical concept of significance by deciding which Industrial Revolution inventor’s face should be on the next banknote.
Differentiated learning objectives:
Gold: Argue why one inventor is more significant than another, justifying your choice.
Silver: Assess how significant an inventor was using Partington’s model of historical significance.
Bronze: Describe the key inventors of the Industrial age, explaining their impact on Victorian Britain.
A ‘hook’ starter designed to get students engaged with the topic, asking about the most important inventions in their lives.
An information gathering activity using five sources giving information about five key Industrial Revolution inventors.
A speech writing activity on the most significant inventor, with differentiated learning objectives.
A plenary for student-led sharing of ideas and a class vote.
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An 'outstanding' rated lesson asking the controversial question 'Were Britain and France responsible for the outbreak of war?' in order to get students thinking about appeasement, causation and the contributing factors to the outbreak of World War Two.
Contains:
Starter - what do you know about the causes of the Second World War
Main - why did Hitler hate the Treaty of Versailles?
Main - 'Path to War' chronological card sort
Main - evidence sort. Who was to blame?
Main - speech writing activity on the main question.
Main - peer assessment
Plenary - class vote and discussion
Gold:
Assess the extent to which Britain and France were also responsible for the outbreak of the Second World War.
Silver:
Explain why he wanted to revise the Treaty of Versailles.
Bronze:
Describe Hitler’s foreign policy aims.
KS3/KS4 History resources: 50 mins-1 hour PP, worksheets, well differentiated.
These resources have been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow. All resources are editable (so easy to adapt for your classes) and are designed to last between fifty minutes and one hour each.
***SALE*** - this resource is on sale at a reduced price.
An ‘outstanding’ rated lesson. Contains:
presentation with starter activity on Oppenheimer quote
evidence collecting activity (two options - either walk around the room sources or a single source sheet that can be shared at desks between two students)
two differentiated tables for collecting the evidence (or that gives more time for slower students by being partially filled in)
opportunity for students to write a speech either justifying or opposing the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
two options for either self- and peer-assessment or just peer-assessment
Learning Objectives:
Gold: Assess the extent to which Britain and France were also responsible for the outbreak of the Second World War.
Silver: Explain why he wanted to revise the Treaty of Versailles.
Bronze: Describe Hitler’s foreign policy aims.
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***SALE*** - this resource is on sale at a reduced price.
A Key Stage 3 History lesson with differentiated learning objectives and tasks, picture and keyword starters, speed reading and Facebook profile completion activities and a plenary session focussing in on the key issues.
***SALE*** - this resource is on sale at a reduced price.
Introducing the 'Age of Discovery' to students. Lesson contains differentiated learning objectives, starter activity, plenary and extension wordsearch for fast finishers.