AQA GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present The aim of the lesson is to understand why and how the NHS was introduced to Britain in 1948 and despite initial sets backs and opposition, why it is still an amazing institution and still the envy of the world. Students analyse the reasons how the NHS was introduced by the Labour government and have to explain why. Key people are discussed such as Nye Bevan and Sir William Beveridge and using source analysis and GCSE exam question practice, students evaluate how some doctors were opposed to Bevan and the NHS from the start. Video footage at the time shows how the Government tried to calm some fears and how its message on health has changed through the centuries. There is some text analysis with colour coding and evaluation throughout as well as a focus on literacy in the plenary. 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.

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 French Revolution The aim of this lesson is to investigate if Napoleon was a hero or villain. Students are introduced to Napoleon and make some initial judgements with reference to his upbringing and his early life. The main task is to analyse some giebn evidence which is focused on his career, personal life, his reforms in France and how he became Emperor of France. They are required to complete their analysis with some extended writing, complete with key words and a writing frame if required. The plenary questions whether we should regard him as a legend with links to people in the modern era. The lesson comes with differentiated materials, suggested teaching and learning strategies and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning. It is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.

The American West, c1835-c1895, GCSE 9-1 Edexcel The aim of this lesson is to explore the consequences of the Battle of Little Big Horn as public perceptions of the Plains Indians changed from weak savages to a real threat. Students are introduced to General Custer before analysing some text on the causes of the Battle and his subsequent defeat. For further challenge, they are then given some fragments of sentences which they have to fill out and complete. They are also required use key words to evaluate the consequences of the battle and recognise a new direction of policy for the US Government when dealing with the Plains Indians. The plenary is to create a brewing pot of ingredients which led to Custer’s last stand and defeat. The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. Some retrieval practice is also included to recall the significance of treaties. It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.

The Middle Passage and its horrendous journey for the slaves is shown in this lesson through video, audio and source based evidence. Students analyse how the slaves were treated and the conditions they endured. They then have to catalogue these conditions in a grid before trying to persuade a film director, who is making a film on slavery, that he is being misled about the journey. The advise the director is being given is from a slave ship owner, Captain Thomas Tobin. Some differentiated key questions check their understanding through the lesson. Students finally have to prioritise the worst conditions the slaves faced and justify their choices in an extension activity. 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: 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.

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.

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.

The Cold War The aim of this lesson is to explore the winds of change within the USSR as Perestroika and Glasnost are introduced with the appointment of Gorbachev as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. But despite all the achievements he made, was it all in vain and just how successful was he with the Soviet Union in his short six years in office? Students are required to emoji rate the problems facing Gorbachev in 1985 and then justify the most serious one using a pressure gauge. Furthermore they have to evaluate how successful his policies were and how they were received in the west as compared to back home. A thinking quilt at the end challenges their thinking as they have to group all they have learnt into categories and then explain the significance of each fact. The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons is to ask why did civilians fear for their lives during the Cold War? Students will map out their ideas each lesson (which can be plotted in different colours or dates to show the progress of their learning and centred around the key question) and build up a picture of how these and different countries in the world responded and acted in this new nuclear age. The resource comes in PowerPoint formats if there is a wish to adapt and change and is differentiated. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.

The Industrial Revolution This lesson aims to examine the revolution in transport which affected Britain between 1750-1900. Students first look at the problems of transport in Britain. They examine the roads (if you could call them that) and look at how they were changed and improved in conjunction with the railways and canals. There are sources to analyse and a differentiated group work task as well as video footage giving further clarity. Ultimately students have to evaluate the biggest impact these changes made in Britain, whether it be increased wealth and international trade to the standardisation of time or being connected throughout the British Empire. 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.

Edexcel 9-1 Medicine in Britain, Thematic study and historic environment This lesson aims to explain to the students the tricks and skills of answering the source questions set in this part of the exam. They will learn how to comment on the utility and purpose of sources, by questioning their provenance as well as using their own knowledge. They will analyse a variety of sources and be able to question their relevance and well as their limitations. Students will also write about the details of a source and follow these up with questions of their own. I have provided exemplar answers in this lesson and examples of the skills to use when completing GCSE exam questions. Activities also include recall and retrieval, analysis and evaluation of different types of sources as well as GCSE exam question practice. The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. It comes in Powerpoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.

World War II The aim of this lesson is to analyse the reasons behind Hitler’s invasion of Poland and to evaluate if his actions were justified. Within this lesson, students learn about Blitzkrieg, making comparisons with the static and attritional First World War and understanding how the German Army had learnt from their previous mistakes. Students have to also complete a thinking quilt to test their comprehension and literacy skills as it requires them to explain and justify these initial German successes in 1939 and 1940. The plenary finally asks the students to predict what is about to happen in the future through conjecture and formulation their opinions using the information from the lesson. 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.

Britain: Health and the People, C.1000AD to present With revision constantly in full swing, I have started to make these revision workbooks which my Year 11 students love (as an alternative to death by Powerpoint). We pick certain sections each lesson to revise and come up with model answers and discuss the best way to tackle each question in the best way, considering exam time constraints. I print out the sheets in A5, which the students stick in their books and use to colour code Students answer the questions next to or underneath the sheets. They can also be used for homework or interleaving. The resource comes in Word format if there is a need to change or adapt.

Edexcel GCSE 9-1, Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 This 22 page Revision Guide is tailored to the above Edexcel specification for GCSE 9-1. It is broken down into 4 main sections: Origins of the Cold War, Increasing tensions, Détente and the end of the Cold War. I have been inspired to write this Revision Guide on account of the students I teach struggling with the course content of this unit and applying the skills in how to answer the GCSE questions. This Revision Guide therefore includes 21 GCSE practice exam questions and gives examples on how to answer each, using model answers. This guide will enable all learners to achieve the higher grades with clear guidance on how to achieve them. The questions target consequence, significance and analytical narrative with a focus on analysing events and finding connections that explain the way in which the events unfolded. 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 has a copy assigned to them on a google drive and it is used frequently when using google classroom assignments such as revision for assessments. This Revision Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and can be edited and changed to suit in Microsoft 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 up to £3.50 if you do.

AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603 The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the success of Northumberland’s rule in comparison to rule of the Duke of Somerset. Students focus from the start on Somerset’s legacy and the dilemmas now facing Northumberland, such as finance, foreign policy, religion and vagrancy. They then have to predict what Northumberland will do at home and abroad before being given the information to allow them to make a judgement of how successful he was. Finally the lesson analyses of the Treaty of Boulogne and Somerset’s foreign policy. There is some exam question practice to complete at the end, using sources , with help, prompts and a markscheme is required. 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.

This resource in booklet form sets the AQA GCSE 9-1 Germany 1890-1945 Democracy and Dictatorship course out in two sides of A4. This is ideal for the student who wants a quick recap of the course as it sets out all the main details, people and events in bullet form. It is also great for quickly printing and giving out for revision lessons, interleaving or for homework, especially when the course content has now doubled for the GCSE 9-1 exam. I have included PDF and Word formats if there is a need to change or adapt. This is cheap to photocopy and includes a summary of the exam questions from the start. If you like this resource, please check out my full revision guide for AQA GCSE 9-1 Germany 1890-1945 here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/aqa-gcse-9-1-revision-guide-germany-1890-1945-11764985

The British Empire This lesson aims to find out whether we should be proud or ashamed of gaining an Empire and how the indigenous peoples we conquered ‘benefitted’ under British rule. This lesson will best be delivered over 2 lessons . The opening slides give some context to the debate and define what an Empire is and which countries Britain owned by 1900. Through video and source analysis, the students have to explain their choice of being proud or ashamed or both and as the lesson progresses justify whether they are sticking to their decisions. Analysis focuses on Victorian propaganda, the recent views of British Prime Ministers as well as how museums refuse to engage about how they have obtained their imperial artefacts. The second part of the lesson examines a number of countries acquired by Britain and focuses on the ‘benefits of Empire’. Students then make their final decisions at the end before drawing conclusions on the legacy of the British Empire. A homework task is to design an Empire plate (photographic examples given) to celebrate Empire day from 1902. The lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies, differentiated materials and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question 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.

Germany 1890-1945:Democracy and Dictatorship This lesson focuses on two key questions - how were the Ruhr crisis and hyperinflation so closely linked together and how did they create both economic and political problems for the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1923? The lesson is split into two parts; the first focusing on why the French decided to invade the Ruhr region of Germany and secondly the consequences for them and for Germany when they did. Students have to answer key questions on the invasion and analyse sources which infer French brutality. A literacy task to follow challenges students’ understanding of the key words used. The second part of the lesson explains the causes and consequences of hyperinflation with a focus on the winners and well as the losers. Some GCSE question practice at the end gives a student friendly markscheme to peer and self assess. There is a plethora of video footage and primary sources to analyse throughout the lesson as well as simplified and chronological explanations. 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.

Norman Conquest This lesson further explores the theme of William’s control and tightening grip on England as rebellion and opposition dominate his early years. Students will study his castle building program, from the Motte and Bailey through to stone keep castles and analyse their strengths and weaknesses. They will question why the Normans placed their reliance on these eye sores and how their features gave them control and defence against a hostile population. Furthermore they will evaluate how much control he was able to exert over the population using a control ‘o’ meter. Finally there is an interactive question and answer session with an Anglo-Saxon castle builder at the time who has some interesting things to say about his compliance in all of it. This lesson is therefore designed to be fun, challenging and engaging. 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.