I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
I am a History Teacher with a love for producing high quality and easily accessible history lessons, which I have accumulated and adapted for over 20 years of my teaching career. I appreciate just how time consuming teaching now is and the difficulty of constantly producing resources for an ever changing curriculum.
The British Empire
This lesson aims to question whether Britain was in India for the right reasons.
The subject matter is the East India Company and a study of how it slowly took over the country of India taking with it a precious diamond and making a fortune out of its trade. There are some great video links used here from the BBC and Dan Snow which help bring reasoning and clarity.
Students are asked if we should return the Koh-i-Noor diamond to India, the jewel in the British crown, after analysing some important evidence.
Students are also given key words to help them with their arguments as to whether the diamond should be returned to India or not.
The final activity focuses on the legacy of the East India Company and who benefitted from their rule before the company’s eventual collapse.
The lesson comes with retrieval practice activities, 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 of who benefitted from the Empire 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.
The Tudors
The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the consequences of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries and who were the winners and losers.
The start of the lesson gets the students to imagine walking into a monastery, with accompanying music to set the tone. They are given character cards (for both monks and nuns) and introduce themselves to each other to learn about their various roles.
Students then have to analyse information, which is starting to make them scared of the changes that are happening all around them and subsequently decide what will happen to their character as a consequence of the dissolution.
The plenary tests them in a six minute challenge of what they have learnt in the lesson and adds a competitive edge at the end.
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 examines the different punishments that the slaves endured on the plantations.
Different sources are analysed showing the positive and negative aspects of plantation life as students have to extract fact from fiction.
Students then look at the different forms of resistance from passive to active resistance and decide the best and most effective form of resistance and justify their reasons.
There is also a chance of being more interactive as students are selected to take on some forms resistance which the class have to find out and decide.
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 analyse the character and motives of Henry VII when he became King.
The lesson focuses on some crucial and important decision making for Henry VII upon his accession to the throne.
He has six decisions to make and students plot these on a grid giving their own judgements before finding out and evaluating how ruthless Henry was in charge.
The lesson hinges upon whether he was a Gangster or not (judged on the criteria at the beginning of the lesson) in an extended and differentiated written answer with a checklist for guidance.
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 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.
The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Elizabeth’s government.
Students will analyse a number of key institutions of Government ranging from Parliament, the Royal Court and the Privy Council on a national level to Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs and Lord Lieutenants on a local level.
There are a number of slides within this PowerPoint and it is therefore recommended to deliver it over two lessons.
Students will also learn details of conflicts Elizabeth had with Parliament and her Privy Council, the factions which developed in her reign and how she was able to overcome these through her diplomacy and strength of character.
A 20 question quiz concludes the lesson as well as some exam question practice if required with some guidance and a mark scheme provided.
There is an 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 A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603
The aim of this lesson is to assess the threat posed by Mary, Queen of Scots throughout her life to Elizabeth.
The lesson begins with some context of Mary’s life before students’ decide her threat to Elizabeth before she flees to England from Scotland.
In the second part of the lesson, students learn about the different plots against Elizabeth involving Mary and how Elizabeth and her Privy Council dealt with each in turn.
There is also a diamond nine prioritising exercise as to the main reasons why Elizabeth was so reluctant to execute Mary after the Babington plot.
Some literacy and extract exam practice is also included with help given and a markscheme supplied
There is an 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.
World War II
The aim of the lesson is to question whether the America was justified in dropping two atomic bombs of Japan in 1945.
Students will give their initial thoughts and reasons why before evidence is presented before them.
Various modern interpretations suggest that Japan was about to unconditionally surrender and therefore the use of the atomic bomb was unnecessary.
Therefore students are given the context of the war in the Pacific with four scary facts - the Japanese refusal to surrender in battle, the treatment of prisoners of war, the role of Kamikaze pilots and the end of the war in Europe in April 1945.
There are some fabulous video links and visual images to analyse.
The final task requires students to categorise information into reasons why America decided to use its lethal weapons, including a show of power to Stalin and the Soviet Union.
The plenary uses a true or false quiz to check recall and understanding.
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 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.
Who was Genghis Khan and how did he rule the largest land area in history?
Students learn about his early life and background and how he became such a powerful ruler.
They are required to judge two things about him; how good a leader was he and was he was unifier who brought peace and stability or did he bring chaos and destruction to his Empire?
They are required to debate and complete an extended piece of writing with argument words and a scaffolding structure to help them decide.
The plenary consolidates their learning about Genghis Khan with key words used in the lesson, from which examples must be given for each.
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
AQA GCSE 9-1 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 Vesalius, Pare and Harvey with their individual specialisms and contributions at the time of the 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 GCSE 9-1 Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship
This 33 page Revision Guide is broken down into 3 main sections: Germany 1890-1918, the Weimar Republic 1918-1933, Nazi Dictatorship 1933-1945
This Revision Guide includes practice exam questions and gives examples and tips on how to answer each.
It will enable all learners to achieve the higher grades with clear guidance on how to achieve them. The questions target the main questions in the exam from interpretations and source analysis, cause and consequence, change and continuity, significance and evaluation.
The Guide also gives the students some useful mnemonics to remember some of the key details such as the Treaty of Versailles, problems in the Weimar, recover under Stresemann and Hitler’s consolidation of power for example.
The information is also broken down into an easy to use format to aid the students. The Guide can be used for revision, interleaving, home learning as well as class teaching. For home learning, each student taking GCSE History in my school has a copy assigned to them on the google drive and it is used frequently when using google classroom assignments, such as homework and revision for assessments.
This Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and can be edited and changed to suit, It comes in both Word and PDF format.
Any reviews on this resource would be much appreciated. Please email me for a free copy of any of my resources worth £3.00 if you do.
I have also made similar revision resources for AQA GCSE 9-1 include Britain: Health and the People c.1000 to the present day, Elizabethan England c,1568-1603, Conflict and Tension and Power and the People.
Britain: Health and the People c1000 to present
This 29 page Revision Guide sets out the four main types of questions to be asked from the start and gives ideas and easy ways of how to answer them.
The course starts with the Greek ideas of the four humours and Galen’s contribution before tackling medieval medicine through to the present day.
Each topic is set out in a clear and easy format for students to learn, remember and help them in their revision programme.
The Revision Guide gives 18 typical exam questions asked on each topic (from significance, to how useful, similarities and the factors) and how to put this into practice with model answers.
Furthermore it shows how the highest marks can be achieved, which can be different from other Revision Guides which focus more on content than skills for this course.
This Revision Guide can be used for revision, interleaving, within the classroom as well for homework purposes.
This Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and can be adapted and changed to suit using PDF and Word formats.
Any reviews would be gratefully received. Please feel free to follow me on X (twitter) @pilgrim17.
The Industrial Revolution
The aim of this lesson is to question how far the Factory and Mine Acts went to reform working conditions.
Students have to decide how much credit the Government of the day should receive for reforming the conditions of workers in the factories and mines.
Furthermore they will evaluate how effective the laws were that were passed and were they adhered to.
Finally they will judge how much credit should be given to a number of dedicated and philanthropic individuals who were ahead of their time
This lesson explores these questions by examining the evidence of children and discovers how factory owners like Titus Salt in Bradford were determined to help their workers themselves to create a harmonious and thriving community.
Students have to think which Acts applied to whom using numbers as well as evaluating how much lives improved as a result of the Factory and Mines Acts.
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 English Civil War
The aim of this lesson is for the students to decide whether Charles I was guilty or not guilty at his own trial of ‘subverting the fundamental laws and liberties of the nation and with maliciously making war on the parliament and people of England.’
The lesson starts by questioning the types of hat the judge should wear followed by a series of biased images depicting Charles at his trial, of which students have to analyse and explain why.
Students then examine and evaluate information about Charles’s actions to come up with a guilty or not guilty verdict. If found guilty then they will have to sign his death warrant!
There is some sentence scaffolding and argument words provided if help is required.
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 resource includes retrieval practice, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.
Norman Conquest
The aim of the lesson is to understand how WIlliam asserted his control over the population using the feudal system.
Students get to know how the feudal system works by interacting with each other in a Norman style ‘party’.
They each have a card to read which tells them their status and their oath to William. However they will have to decide and justify if they are happy with their status or not.
This lesson is designed to be fun, with students required to interact with each other and show their status by using the tables and chairs in the room.
The lesson uses video footage and music to engage and connect the learning.
Further learning tasks include creating a feudal system diagram using differentiated prompts, as well as explaining how it worked and analysing how pleasant it was to be a peasant under this system.
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 is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies.
It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.
The Suffragettes
The aim of this lesson is to analyse the Cat and Mouse Act of 1913 and the actions of the Liberal Government against the Suffragettes in their quest for the vote
But as the students will have to work out, this act was used for propaganda purposes by both sides to put each other in an unfavourable light. It was after all the Suffragettes who coined the phrase the Cat and Mouse Act and made sure everyone knew the callous actions of the Liberal Government!
As well as completing a prioritising exercise and a literacy challenge, an excellent video allows students to question how it worked and why the Government used it (petrified they might have Suffragette ‘martyrs’ dying in prison).
At the same time, they had no doubts about criminalising the Suffragettes with mug shots from prison as the Suffragettes refused to accept their actions as ‘criminal’ and instead ‘political’ (thus refusing to have their photographs taken as shown on the opening slide).
Students have to analyse the various propaganda sources from each side and decide the messages, who they were targeted against and how effective they were in their aims.
These opinions have to then be tweeted according to various people in society and how they might have be influenced by seeing them.
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 A Level 1C The Tudors: England, 1485–1603
I have produced this bundle of resources on Elizabeth to help A level history students access the course and make the transition from GCSE to A Level smoothly.
Elizabeth’s 45-year reign is generally considered one of the most glorious in English history. During it a secure Church of England was established. The image of Elizabeth’s reign is one of triumph and success. However, it faced many difficulties with threats of invasion from Spain through Ireland, and from France through Scotland. The nation also suffered from high prices and severe economic depression, especially in the countryside, during the 1590s.
The enquiry question throughout this bundle of resources will be to question what sort of a Queen Elizabeth was throughout her reign and how and why she changed or adapted over time .
Students will learn how Elizabeth dealt with religion in the Religious Settlement of 1559. They will assess her character and aims and how Elizabeth’s Government worked on a local as well as National level.
They will judge the significance of her foreign policy in relation to Catholic threats at home and abroad as well as her attempts to tackle poverty with increasing inflation and poor harvests.
Finally they will evaluate how much the arts, education, exploration and colonisation can be attributed to a Golden Age.
The lessons are as follows:
L1 Introduction
L2 Problems
L3 Consolidation of power
L4 Government of Elizabeth
L5 Elizabeth and marriage
L6 Background to the Religious Settlement
L7 Elizabethan Religious Settlement
L8 Catholic threats and rebellion
L9 Mary, Queen of Scots
L10 The Puritan threat (free resource)
L11 Foreign Policy introduction
L12 War with Spain
L13 Elizabeth and Ireland
L14 Economy and Society
L15 Trade and exploration
L16 Elizabeth Golden Age
The lessons include the two types of exam question used, with examples of how to tackle them, using model answers, helpful hints and tips, structuring and scaffolding as well as markschemes. However, please refer to the AQA website for further assessment materials as they are subject to copyright.
The lessons are also differentiated and fully resourced and allow students to reach the very top marks.
This is the final bundle of four I have created for the Tudors A Level history course.
If you have any questions about the lessons, please email me via my TES shop, or any other information about the course. I would also welcome any reviews, which would be gratefully received.
World War II
The aim of this lesson is to challenge the Government’s claim that during World War Two, 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 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
The aim of this lesson is to show a different approach to achieving Civil Rights pursued by Malcolm X.
The start of the lesson asks why Malcolm Little changed his name and makes a link to the film by Spike Lee.
It follows his early life chronologically and some higher order thinking questions are posed.
The lesson then looks at his later life and beliefs and analyses some of his views and most famous quotations in a fun and engaging way.
Students have to finally decide the most important aspects of his legacy and prioritise them, as well as deciding the fundamental differences of his beliefs and approach compared to Martin Luther King.
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 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603 **
The overarching aim of this and the subsequent 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 first lesson is an introduction to the reign of Queen Elizabeth and starts by finding out what the students know already using a true or false quiz, source material, video evidence and portraits of Elizabeth.
The emphasis is also on the precarious nature of her early life which has a major impact on how she rules when she becomes Queen.
The second part of the lesson uses differentiated resources and requires the students to plot, explain and prioritise her early problems on a tree (using the trunk, branches and leaves).
The third part focuses on a typical GCSE question on the usefulness of a source giving tips and notes on how to answer this question.
The lesson also gives a brief introduction to the course and includes a tracking sheet which the students stick in their books detailing the assessment objectives of the course and the four main question types.
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.
