AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603 The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the success of Henry’s foreign policy after Wolsey from 1529-1547. Students recap events leading up to the Battle of Pavia ands Charles V’s dominance in Europe. They are introduced to Henry’s policy of defence during the divorce and his quest for further military glory afterwards. They then analyse his policy towards France, Spain, Ireland, Scotland and the Holy Roman Empire and evaluate how successful Henry was in his pursuit of glory. They must be able to justify this with examples and details. There is some exam practice to complete together with a writing frame, prompts and a markscheme to use if required. There is an enquiry question during 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.

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.

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.

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.

World War II The aim of this lesson is to explore how and why the D-Day landings were a success. Students are given the details about the Atlantic Wall and learn how Hitler’s attempts to design and build it ultimately led to its flaws and weakness in repelling the Allied forces in June 1944. Furthermore, students have to decide which landing site would be more advantageous to the Allies, the port of Calais or the beaches of Normandy. They also analyse the various ingenious inventions of the Allies from the Mulberry Harbours to the underwater PLUTO pipeline. There are some excellent visual sources to accompany the lesson and well as video footage from the BBC. 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 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 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.

Cold War The aim of this lesson is to explain how Germany was divided post 1945, as agreed at the Potsdam Conference and analyse the subsequent Berlin blockade and airlift which followed. Students learn the intentions of both the USA and USSR and how this played out in the Cold War theatre of Europe. This is a great opportunity for students to be creative as they plot the preceding events on an airport landing strip, using symbols and signs found in every international airport. They will track the obstacles thrown up by Stalin and the immediate problems this caused in Berlin as he attempted to prevent any further western moves in Germany and with his aim of starving the West Berliners into submission. Therefore this is intended to be a fun, challenging and engaging lesson to suit all abilities. The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons is to ask why did civilians fear for their lives? 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 format if there is a wish to adapt and change and is differentiated. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.

This 40 page revision guide is tailored to the Edexcel Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918-1939 specification for GCSE 9-1. It is broken down into 4 main sections: The Weimar Republic, Hitler’s rise to power, Nazi control and dictatorship and life in Nazi Germany. This revision guide includes 21 GCSE practice exam questions throughout on the 6 main questions and gives examples on how to answer each using model answers. This will enable all learners to achieve the higher grades required by the exam board, including the skills of explanation, inference and interpretation as well as source utility. The information is also broken down into an easy to use format to aid the students in their revision programme. I have also included some useful mnemonics for specific areas of study which have really helped in the past to remember subject content. This Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and come in PDF format. It can be used for revision, interleaving, homelearning as well as class teaching. Any reviews on this resource would be much appreciated. Please email me for a free copy of my Edexcel Weimar and Nazi Germany revision summary guide if you do.

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.

Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship The aim of this lesson is to analyse the terms of the Treay of Versailles and its impact upon Weimar Germany. From the start, students have to understand how difficult it was for the Allies (the Big Three) to decide how to treat Germany at the end of the war. Moreover when they did eventually agree, how did it affect Germany and what were it terms? The emphasis is also on how students can remember the terms of the treaty, especially with the land lost, complete with difficult spellings such as Schleswig-Holstein and Alsace-Lorraine. Learning tasks include making notes from video evidence, creating a chatterbox, analysing sources, completing quizzes and filling in a ‘find someone who can’ worksheet (a brilliant idea from Aaron Wilkes). The second part of the lesson focuses on GCSE exam practice using cartoon sources related to the Treaty as well as how to answer the first three source questions on the exam, with help on how to answer each. 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 The aim of this lesson is to assess how scary the Black Death was in1348. Students are introduced to the idea of why the Black Death was so scary, learning about the symptoms of the Bubonic Plague and Pneumonic Plague and the devastation that lay in its wake from empty villages today to paintings showing devastation and death. They learn key words such as contagion, flagellants, humours and miasmas and how these words link to the learning objective through a thinking quilt. They will also find out how the peasants gained in status as a result of the reduction of the workforce and how this gave them more bargaining power with their landlords over wages. The plenary is a Black Death connecting wall which requires students to link four key phrases and to explain how and why they link together. This lesson is therefore designed to be interactive, fun, challenging and engaging and could be used over two lessons. 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 British Empire The aim of the lesson is to assess the importance of apartheid in South Africa both politically and economically. The lesson begins by giving the context of South Africa being part of the British Empire and it move toward independence and the introduction of apartheid. Students have a quiz to complete as well as source scholarship on its introduction in 1948. They also evaluate the restrictions it imposed on the non white population of South Africa, where they are required to give their opinions on it as well as the significance at the time, overtime and nowadays. The lesson also focuses on the impact of the ANC and Nelson Mandela’s contribution to a modern South Africa and the part he played in ending apartheid. There are some excellent video links to his life and work as well as the Soweto uprising of 1976. The lesson concludes with a diamond nine activity to prioritise the main reasons why apartheid came to an end. The lesson comes with 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 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.

Edexcel GCSE 9-1 Medicine Through Time c.1250 to present. This 42 page revision guide is broken down into 5 main sections: Medieval Medicine, Renaissance Medicine, Medicine in 18th and 19th Century, Modern Medicine and the Historic Environment, British sector of the Western Front . This revision guide includes 29 GCSE practice exam questions throughout on the main questions and gives examples on how to answer each using model answers. This will enable all learners to achieve the higher grades required by the exam board, including the skills of description, explanation, interpretation, change and continuity, source utility and cause and consequence. The information is also broken down into an easy to use format to aid the students in their revision programme. This Guide has been designed to be engaging, detailed and easy to follow and comes in Word and PDF format if there is a wish to change. It can be used for revision, interleaving, home learning as well as class teaching. 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.

The English Civil War This lesson aims to question the character and personality of Oliver Cromwell. Students will decide if he set out to kill the King from the start and make himself a despot or did circumstances dictate that this was his only option? Moreover, with his puritanical ideas, did he make England and the Commonwealth a better place for it, or was it exclusive only to the minority? This will ultimately be down to students’ own judgement as they plot his actions on a grid and justify their own conclusions. Analysis of video evidence also helps to track his ideas and personality and gives the students ideas for writing his obituary and question why his burial place in Westminster Abbey bears the inscription 1658-1661. 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 suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

The English Civil War The aim of this lesson is to understand why James lost his crown in the Glorious Revolution and how and why the lessons of his father were not learned. Students will define what they think a Glorious Revolution might be, before learning about the reign of James. They will have to judge how seriously Parliament saw him as a threat to the stability of the monarchy and how they could avoid turning the world upside down yet again. They also have to assess the impact of the Magna Carta on the Stuart dynasty as well as completing a thinking quilt, defining key terminology such as Whigs and Tories under James II. The plenary requires students to find and fix statements which will consolidate their learning 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 suggested teaching strategies and 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.

World War II The aim of this lesson is to understand how the British Government prepared for war and if they were successful in doing so. The lesson begins by analysing a source and making inferences about the precautions to be taken in times of war. Furthermore students will also have to decide the Government’s priorities by making judgements as to whether they are low or high, from ideas such as rationing to aid raids or war work to conscription. They will then complete some research focusing on four areas: warning people of air attacks, the Homeguard, the use of gas masks and the blackout. Students will plot what the government did or didn’t do on a grid and then after analysing and processing the evidence, justify their conclusions using a colour coding evaluation table as well as completing an extended written task. The plenary requires students to answer differentiated questions to check their understanding. It 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.

Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship This lesson focuses on the change in policy towards the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis. Students have to put events into chronological order and understand why the beginning of World War II changed everything. Students also learn about the Wannsee Conference and the experimental attempts by the Nazis to murder the Jews in Europe from shooting to mobile gas vans before deciding upon the use of Zyklon B crystals. Using numbers and figures they also discover the sheer scale of the atrocities involved in this genocide and what happened in the concentration camps. There are some excellent links to video evidence to accompany the lesson, which are suitable to show. 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 Holocaust The aim of this lesson is to understand why we should remember the holocaust and why we commemorate it every year. Some misconceptions are given at the start, such as what the holocaust actual means and the differences between concentration and extermination camps. Throughout the lesson the students build up their ideas and add them around a lightbulb to focus on the central aims of the lesson. Students are also given numbers and have to decide the significance of each from 6 million to 2 minutes and 2 seconds or 90cm by 90cm for example. The final part of the lesson refers to the powerful and moving story of Erica, thrown off the train by her parents before she reached Auschwitz and therefore knowing very little about herself. The plenary focuses on some odd ones out exercises and recent genocides to emphasise the importance of remembering the holocaust. There is some excellent video footage to accompany the lesson. 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.