This resource pack is designed to help teach students the ‘historic environment’ element of the AQA GCSE History course on Elizabethan England. It is designed to be taught across four lessons, with a ‘task booklet’ to be given to each student, and an accompanying PowerPoint to be used by the teacher to guide students along. The lessons have been divided as follows: The History of Theatre Who was involved? Elizabeth I and the Theatre The exam question Each lesson uses information from the official AQA information booklet on the Globe Theatre, and has designed tasks for students to complete based on the information. Students should be able to complete these tasks relatively independently, but the PowerPoint contains a brief summary of the information included in the booklet, along with answer slides to be discussed after each task. Once students have completed the first three lessons-worth of tasks, the final lesson involves planning the final essay. This may be edited according to the ‘angle’ of the question you wish your students to prepare for, but is currently based on the assumption that the final exam question will focus on the biggest reason for the growth of the Elizabethan theatre. There is an ‘empty’ version of the planning grid for students to fill out independently, along with a completed essay plan which can be discussed as a class.

KS3 History lesson on the development of castles in the Medieval period. Contains lesson PowerPoint, two activity worksheets, and worksheet answers. The lesson begins on the first slide of the PowerPoint with an introductory discussion of why William the Conqueror began building castles. This helps students begin thinking about what sort of features a castle might need in order to fulfil these purposes. The next slide of the PowerPoint then introduces students to the concept of ‘Motte-and-Bailey’ castles, introducing them to the different components of that type of castle, and providing a couple of ‘prompt’ questions about why certain decisions may have been made about the way they were constructed. This is followed by the first activity worksheet, which asks them to annotate the diagram of a motte-and-bailey castle using the key words and descriptions provided. Answers to this are then on the following PowerPoint slide. The PowerPoint then continues to go through the stone-keep and concentric castles, with modern-day examples provided. The final activity is a simple gap-fill exercises, which asks students to recall the knowledge they have acquired through discussion from the PowerPoint. The activity sheet contains a short paragraph on each type of castle with approximately 6/7 key words missing from each. Missing words are listed at the bottom of the sheet. There is an additional optional sheet on the second page of the word doc for the second activity for SEN/low-ability students, which divides the list of missing words into paragraphs to help them narrow them down.

Full lesson, designed for use with KS3 students to introduce them to some of the key inventions made in Britain during the period of the Industrial Revolution. The lesson introduces them to six key inventions: the Steam Engine, the Locomotive (steam trains), the Water Frame, Tarmac, the Bessemer Converter and the Seed Drill. It begins by prompting students to think about which of these they may have heard of before and to discuss in pairs what they think each one might do judging by the name of it. They will then be given a worksheet (included) which gives them a diagram of each invention, and a short sentence describing what each one does for them to try and match up. This should be followed by a quick discussion explaining why / how each invention was significant. Finally, students will be given an information sheet with a short summary of each invention’s history and how it was significant. They will use this information to ‘rank’ each invention by significance (in their own opinion), cutting and sticking a small image of each one onto their ranking sheet and writing a short explanation of their decision/thought process in the explanation box next to each diagram. Includes lesson PowerPoint, two task worksheets and an information sheet. All can be edited to adjust lesson if desired.

Full lesson, designed for use with KS3 students to explore the early battles of the Wars of the Roses, including the Battle of Wakefield and the Battle of Towton. This lesson works on the premise that students have already covered reasons for the conflict, along with the first Battle of St Albans. It begins by recapping the first Battle of St Albans and providing context on the Battle of Wakefield. Students then watch a video on the Battle of Towton – England’s ‘bloodiest battle’, and have a series of questions to answer as they watch. This is followed by a discussion surrounding the discovery of a mass burial pit from the battle, discovered by archaeologists in 1996 – and what skeletons can tell us. The lesson also contains an optional homework, which involves students completing a timeline of key battles in the Wars of the Roses. This download includes a lesson PowerPoint, a set of questions to be answered from the linked video, and homework sheets. All can be edited to adjust lesson if desired. This lesson is designed to be used as the second installment in a five-lesson unit. Full five-lesson bundle is available on my profile.

Full lesson, designed for use with KS3 students to explore the role of the Earl of Warwick and Margaret of Anjou in the Wars of the Roses. This lesson works on the premise that students have already covered reasons for the conflict, along with the first Battle of St Albans, the Battle of Wakefield and the Battle of Towton. It begins by recapping the the outcome of the Battle of Towton, after which Edward IV was crowned king, largely due to the Earl of Warwick. The first student activity then explores why Warwick and Edward’s relationship began to decline, by colour-coding a set of cards into different categories / reasons for fallout. The focus then shifts to Margaret of Anjou, who Warwick seeks to make an alliance with following the breakdown of his relationship with King Edward. Students are provided with an information sheet in order to help them fill out a timeline template of Margaret’s life, including the point at which she agrees to ally with Warwick, and the events which follow. The lesson concludes with a teacher-led summary of the Battle of Tewkesbury. This download includes a lesson PowerPoint, a set of cards to be colour-coded, a timeline template for Margaret of Anjou, and an accompanying information sheet. All can be edited to adjust lesson if desired. This lesson is designed to be used as the third installment in a five-lesson unit. Full five-lesson bundle is available on my profile.

Full lesson, designed for use with KS3 students to introduce them to the origins of the Wars of the Roses. The lesson introduces them to the reasoning behind the tension between the Houses of Lancaster and York. It begins by examining and labelling the Plantagenet family tree, to provide the necessary conflict of where the Lancastrian and Yorkist claims to the throne derive from. This is a teacher guided activity, outlined on slides 5-8 of the PowerPoint. Students will then be provided with some context on the rule of Henry VI, before being given a set of cards (included) which outline the various reasons aspects of his rule. These cards can be colour-coded into ‘foreign affairs’, ’Henry’s personality’, ‘inherited problems’ and ‘powerful nobles’. This is followed by context on Richard, Duke of York, referring back to the family tree from earlier in the lesson to emphasise / explain his claim. Finally, students will be given some information on the first Battle of St Albans (included) with five key questions to answer. This download includes a lesson PowerPoint, a Plantagenet family tree, a task worksheet and an information sheet. All can be edited to adjust lesson if desired. This lesson is designed to be used as the first in a five-lesson unit. Full five-lesson bundle is available on my profile.

This resource pack is designed to help teach students the ‘historic environment’ element of the AQA GCSE History course on Elizabethan England. It is designed to be taught across four lessons, with a ‘task booklet’ to be given to each student, and an accompanying PowerPoint to be used by the teacher to guide students along. The lessons have been divided as follows: Who was Bess of Hardwick? In what ways was Hardwick Hall designed to reflect the ‘fashions’ of the time? In what ways did Hardwick Hall help to display the wealth and status of its owner? Planning the 16-mark essay Each lesson uses information from the official AQA information booklet on Hardwick Hall, and has designed tasks for students to complete based on the information. Students should be able to complete these tasks relatively independently, but the PowerPoint contains a brief summary of the information included in the booklet, along with answer slides to be discussed after each task. The final two pages of the booklet are included as a separate document, so as to allow for the diagram to be printed A3. Once students have completed the first three lessons-worth of tasks, the final lesson / page of the booklet involves planning the final essay. This may be edited according to the ‘angle’ of the question you wish your students to prepare for, but is currently based on the assumption that the final exam question will focus on what purpose Hardwick Hall was built to serve. There is an ‘empty’ version of the planning grid for students to fill out independently, along with a completed essay plan which can be discussed as a class.

Designed for those teaching AQA A-Level Sociology Paper 1 – Education with Theory and Methods Download includes: A sheet summarising the main aspects of content for the ‘class differences’ aspect of the course, along with the names of key sociologists for each theory A three-page glossary of key sociologists with a brief description of their theories / findings. These sheets are designed to be use as revision materials for students, so that they have a ‘quick’ document to refer to where they are able to find all relevant sociologists in one place. Both included documents are attached as editable word documents so can be altered/edited as desired. Any bold text indicates ‘key’ sociologists. Any red text indicates criticisms of the theories which can be used to aid them with the ‘evaluation’ elements of essays. A resource bundle is also available on my profile, including sociologist glossaries for ‘class differences’, ‘ethnic differences’ and ‘gender differences’ in educational achievement.

Designed for those teaching AQA A-Level Sociology Paper 1 – Education with Theory and Methods Download includes: A sheet summarising the main aspects of content for the ‘ethnic differences’ aspect of the course, along with the names of key sociologists for each theory A four-page glossary of key sociologists with a brief description of their theories / findings. These sheets are designed to be use as revision materials for students, so that they have a ‘quick’ document to refer to where they are able to find all relevant sociologists in one place. Both included documents are attached as editable word documents so can be altered/edited as desired. Any bold text indicates ‘key’ sociologists. Any red text indicates criticisms of the theories which can be used to aid them with the ‘evaluation’ elements of essays. A resource bundle is also available on my profile, including sociologist glossaries for ‘class differences’, ‘ethnic differences’ and ‘gender differences’ in educational achievement.

Designed for those teaching AQA A-Level Sociology Paper 1 – Education with Theory and Methods Download includes: A sheet summarising the main aspects of content for the ‘gender differences’ aspect of the course, along with the names of key sociologists for each theory A five-page glossary of key sociologists with a brief description of their theories / findings. These sheets are designed to be use as revision materials for students, so that they have a ‘quick’ document to refer to where they are able to find all relevant sociologists in one place. Both included documents are attached as editable word documents so can be altered/edited as desired. Any bold text indicates ‘key’ sociologists. Any red text indicates criticisms of the theories which can be used to aid them with the ‘evaluation’ elements of essays. A resource bundle is also available on my profile, including sociologist glossaries for ‘class differences’, ‘ethnic differences’ and ‘gender differences’ in educational achievement.

Knowledge organiser for section 1 of the AQA GCSE History unit ‘Britain: Health and the People, c1000-present day’ on Medieval medicine. Download includes PDF knowledge organiser and editable PPT slide Full pack of Britain: Health and the People knowledge organisers available on profile.

Full lesson, designed for use with KS3 students to look into how new forms of transport developed during the Industrial Revolution. Begins with a starter task, asking students to guess how long it would take to get from Manchester to London using various means of transport (modern day). Students are then asked to think about which method they would prefer to use and why. This starts them thinking about pros and cons of different types of transport (e.g., cost, speed etc…) This is then compared to how long this journey would take in the 1800s using the three main different forms of transport the lesson is focused on: roads, canal and railway. This is followed by teacher input, introducing them to what transport was like pre-revolution, and explaining how and why the road system developed during the 1800s. Students’ first task is then to complete a mini series of annotated diagrams to show how roads improved at different stages. They will then be given some information on the development of canals and railways, along with some maps to be shown on the board to display the extensive-ness of these networks in Britain. Students can then be asked to highlight ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of each form of transport on their information sheet, to be discussed as a class afterwards. The final slide includes links to three BBC videos on each form of transport, to be used as necessary depending on time remaining. Includes lesson PowerPoint, two task worksheets and an information sheet. All can be edited to adjust lesson if desired.

Knowledge organiser for section 2 of the AQA GCSE History unit ‘Britain: Health and the People, c1000-present day’ on Renaissance medicine. Download includes PDF knowledge organiser and editable PPT slide Full pack of Britain: Health and the People knowledge organisers available on profile.

Knowledge organiser for section 3 of the AQA GCSE History unit ‘Britain: Health and the People, c1000-present day’ on Industrial Medicine. Download includes PDF knowledge organiser and editable PPT slide Full pack of Britain: Health and the People knowledge organisers available on profile.

Full lesson, designed for use with KS3 students to look into how working conditions improved during the Industrial Revolution. Begins with teacher input outlining how demand for raw materials impacted colonised areas across the world. This is followed by a colour-coding card task, identifying how the revolution impacted Britain vs. other countries in positive / negative ways. The PowerPoint then features a map of how the Industrial Revolution spread across the rest of the globe, and provides students with some information in order to construct a timeline of how this developed across the 18th and 19th centuries. Finally, the lesson then asks students to think about the world they live in today, and reflect on how things would not be the way they are had it not been for the Industrial Revolution. In their pairs, they should then try to think more broadly about the positive and negative long-term impacts of the revolution, and construct a list in their books. This can be followed by a class discussion, and rounded off with the final slide of the PowerPoint which reflects on whether we have reached the limit of industrialisation, or whether further progress is to come. Includes lesson PowerPoint, two task worksheets and an information sheet. All can be edited to adjust lesson if desired.

Knowledge organiser for section 4 of the AQA GCSE History unit ‘Britain: Health and the People, c1000-present day’ on Modern medicine. Download includes PDF knowledge organiser and editable PPT slide Full pack of Britain: Health and the People knowledge organisers available on profile.

Full lesson, designed for use with KS3 students to introduce them to the Industrial Revolution. The lesson begins with an explanation of the concept/definition of what is meant by ‘Industrial Revolution’. I try to use this opportunity to think about where they may have encountered the term ‘revolution’ before in History. Students then engage in a ‘spot the difference’ activity, circling differences between images of how a typical English town might look in 1750 vs 1900. This encourages them to begin acknowledging some of the major changes which happened to society during this period. They can then watch a short video to help consolidate their understanding of the term, which begins to explore some of the reasons Britain underwent such a revolution. Depending on the class, you may or may not wish for students to take notes during this. Finally, students will be given an information sheet, explaining three major causes of the Industrial Revolution: The British Empire, the Steam Engine, and the growth of Transport. Alongside this, they will have a worksheet on which they need to explain in their own words how each of these factors contributed to the revolution. Lesson includes a PowerPoint, an information sheet, video link and two worksheets. All can be edited to adjust lesson if desired.

Full lesson, designed for use with KS3 students to look into working conditions in the factories and the workhouses during the Industrial Revolution. Begins by prompting students to think about what they may prioritise when choosing their future jobs e.g. high pay, good hours etc… This is then placed in contrast to the reality of what 18th-19th century workers experienced in their jobs. This is followed by a look at the lyrics of folk song ‘Poverty Poverty Knock’, which was written to show a first-hand perspective of conditions in the mills during this time period. Students are asked to find examples of lyrics which demonstrate the various unpleasant aspects of working life, then complete some analysis on the meanings of various lines of the song. There is then a short video (link in slide notes) outlining two of the main jobs done in the workhouse: breaking stone and picking oakum. This video is accompanied with some questions for students to answer. Includes lesson PowerPoint, two task worksheets and an information sheet. All can be edited to adjust lesson if desired.

Knowledge organiser for section 3 of the AQA GCSE History unit ‘Conflict and Tension: The inter-war years, 1918-1939’ on the causes of World War Two. Download includes PDF knowledge organiser and editable PPT slide. Full pack of Conflict and Tension knowledge organisers available on profile.

Full lesson, designed for use with KS3 students to explore the shift from cottage industry to the factory system, including why this change occurred, what the impact was, and how people responded. The lesson begins with an introduction to ‘cottage industry’, accompanied by a short video (video link in slide notes). This is followed by teacher input to explain why this changed to a factory system. Students will then complete a task evaluating whether or not the shift to the factory system had a positive or negative impact, by colour-coding a set of cards to show which impacts had a positive / negative impact on the workers and / or on industry. Students will then move into looking at the response to the new factory system, including the protests carried out by the ‘Luddites’. This includes a short video (link in slide notes) accompanied by some questions for students to answer as the video plays (I recommend playing the video twice through as it is only two minutes). Includes lesson PowerPoint, two task worksheets and an information sheet. All can be edited to adjust lesson if desired.