This lesson teaches both the Blitz and the Battle of Britain, and could be used over 1 or 2 lessons. It’s a teacher-led lesson, which will get your class learning and writing a lot, and could be easily adapted for an ECT observation lesson. It was made for a class with challenging behaviour. Student instructions are in yellow boxes. The Do Now Activity recalls some basic information about the start of WWII. I used it for a class who had not studied it recently, so don’t worry if this is the first lesson in the scheme of learning or the class is lower ability. Toward the end they have several sections of a YouTube video to watch, answering 4 questions. Carefully chosen timestamps are included. The plenary ensures they leave the lesson understanding the key concepts.

I created this lesson for Year 8 for a Sikhism scheme of learning. It will get them to remember the names of each of the 5 Ks and become confident to use the terms through vocal practice. There is also short element of reading, a link to a video - with a related writing exercise about how the 5 Ks affect daily life. The Do Now Activity has some recall questions about the process of becoming a Khalsa Sikh (the people who wear the 5 Ks). The DNA is fairly simple so it can be attempted by students who have not had a lesson on the start of the Khalsa and the process of Amrit. Students will need their exercise books, but no other resources.

This lesson is designed to give students the opportunity to think about gathering evidence / using sources in order to make a judgement and construct a written argument. It can be used as teacher-led lesson, but also contains an optional 45 minute documentary which would enable it to be used as a cover lesson. The lesson seeks to get students’ interest by asking them to identify a diverse group of detectives. Slide 4 explains the death of Emily Davison and the two broad historical perspectives. Slide 5 models the two column that students can create in their exercise books (Detective’s notebook). Slide 5 also contains the link to the long form documentary if you choose to use this. Slides 6 to 12 contain mostly visual sources, but other written sources can easily be added if you want to increase the reading in the lesson. Slide 13 asks students to write up their notes into an argument, supported by some scaffolding. Slide 14 allows for a plenary for students to share their analysis.

I love this lesson, as it isn’t the usual broad lesson from the textbook. Instead it focuses on a couple of different cases from the British and French empires. It was designed for Year 8, but I have used it once with Year 10 and it worked well - with a slightly deeper discussion. I teach in a school with a large proportion of students of South Asian descent and the information about the British Indian Army emphasises the diversity of the soldiers within it. The lesson includes a reading handout and link to a 3 minute video. The attention of football fans is sought by asking them to name a well known Senegalise player who pictures appears on the screen.

This is a lesson about Public Health during the Industrial Revolution that I developed for a job interview. It was used as a Year 11 revision lesson, but it is simple and could be easily adapted for key stage 3 introduction of Medicine through Time / Health and the People. This power point provides a PowerPoint, including a slide to be printed as an A3 worksheet. No exercise books are needed and no other resources. You can easily guide the students through the A, B and C sections of the sheet. There is a short class reading, after which students need to think of four additional reasons why public health did not improve more quickly during the industrial revolution. The challenge question on the DNA refers to Louis Pasteur, so you can change this if they have not studied or do not need to know about him.

This worksheet was designed for a Year 9 RE lesson in a scheme of learning about Relationships. Students will explore how their own identity and belief might be expressed through a marriage / wedding ceremony. It is designed to be printed on A3 paper, and to follow a classroom discussion. Students undertake this activity without much teacher input, but it could be accompanied by a slides showing pictures of weddings in different religious traditions - asking the students to identify the religion or different aspects. Questions include: What is the purpose of the wedding? Why do the people want to get married? Where will the wedding take place? What is the significance of the building or location? (Draw or write your answer) Are there any religious or spiritual ideas in the wedding? Does God or any religious minister play a role? Prayer? Worship? Sacrifice? Are there any non-religious traditions that you will include in the wedding? What will the couple wear? Will there be an exchange of rings?

This lesson tells the story of Emmett Till, but focuses on the courage of his mother (Mamie Till-Mobley) rather than the victimhood of Emmett (as suggested in Teaching History and also following some student feedback). Students will leave the lesson with a good understanding of the story and having had a chance to write an extended answer. Criteria for a self assessment activity has also been included. You can use this content in 1 lesson, but it is better over 2 lessons. It works well with an additional reading text, but this is not necessary. The teacher needs to be able to explain the basics of the story of Emmett’s murder at slide 5 or 6. Slide 13 is a handout / activity for all students, but is specifically designed to help SEND students. The plenary works best as a stretch for a higher ability class so you may want to simplify it if you think it is too deep for your group.

These two lessons were designed for a class who found it difficult to understand the relevance of learning about 16th and 17th Century England. An unusual approach is taken in the first lesson in order to teach about the Gunpowder Plot, and specifically to address some misconceptions (such as the exaggerated role given to Guy Fawkes). This approach is to create a modern day scenario based on the Gunpowder Plot which is set in a school, but uses the first names and approximate roles and circumstances of the real plotters. It is important that the students do not know that the lesson is about the Gunpowder Plot until after they have completed the first exercise. The lessons are accompanied by three handouts, as separate Word documents. These are the reading for the first part of lesson 1, a missing words sheet for students to get to grips with the plotters in more detail, and a recall exercise for lesson 2. The lessons include a Gunpowder Plot mind map, and for each lesson a link to a video clip and written questions for students to answer with some modelling and scaffolding.

This lesson teaches about who lived in the USA in 1865 and how long these population groups had been there. It is designed to be the first lesson in a scheme of learning on the US Civil Rights movement, giving a grounding that some schemes of learning skip over. Slide 4 is the main teacher-led section. There is a reading sheet to accompany slide 5 giving some examples of African-American culture and its connection with Western and Central African culture. Other activities help students to know where in the world the USA, Caribbean and West Africa are, learn some key terms needed in the study of the US Civil Rights movement and find them in a word search. Some additional comments can be found in the notes section on individual slides.