History is full of assumptions in that teachers often assume that students have a certain level of knowledge. Topics that are discussed regularly are very rarely explained because it is assumed that students know about them and understand them. One such example is the ‘state’ or ‘country’. ‘A’ level students will have heard the terms many times but will have rarely thought about what such a thing is, what it means and what influence it has. This unit aims to get the students thinking about what a country is and the decisions that go into its creation. The students will discuss and work together to create their own country and then apply what they have talked about to the states and countries that they encounter in their studies.

Rationing had a huge impact on the lives of everyone in Britain during the Second World War but often gets overlooked in the curriculum or at least left as a sidebar. This lesson pack aims to explain what rationing was and lets the students have a go at dealing with rationing as people would have had to. The pack contains everything you need to explain rationing and to play the rationing trading game. This really gets the students to actively participate in the lesson and understand the problems that rationing and the Black market could produce.  Aims:  To explain what Rationing was in Britain during and after the Second World War  To explain what the Black market was.  To have a go at a rationing / trading game. To think about the benefits that rationing brought.

This is a sensitive yet challenging collection of activities that can be used by all ages and abilities to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. They require focus on the students thinking about two key areas: 1. Why should we remember the Holocaust? 2. Thinking about the people who were killed in the Holocaust. The students have a range of practical activities available, all of which can be used in some form of display if needed.

This unit gives hours of lessons including activities, questions and discussion points about the reign of Mary Tudor. The unit is primarily aimed at the theme of a Mid Tudor Crisis but can easily be used for most Tudor examinations. The corresponding PowerPoint is available in the Premium section.

This is a brilliantly interactive resource that makes the students think from the very moment the lesson begins. They have to crack various codes in order to work out the next part of the lesson. What's more this is a useful way to discuss numeracy within history as codebreaking has mathematics at it's heart. This is all part of an exercise that encourages the students to think about the activities at Bletchley Park and the breaking of the Enigma code. This works as a stand alone lesson or as part of work on the D Day landings or the Atomic Bomb as it is all about secrecy and codes.

This is a must have resource pack for A level Students (and some higher GCSE Groups). Regardless of the subjects being studied all students need to learn and develop core educational skills in order to help them maximise their potential. There are ten lessons included in this pack, all fully resourced (stationary aside). This includes plans, PowerPoints, and handouts. The topics covered are: Problem Solving Time and how to manage it Money- how it works as a motivator and how students could view its importance. Code Breaking- we all write and talk in code, learning about codes helps us ask the right questions Deviance- doing something the wrong way can sometimes bring benefits. Graffiti- Thinking creatively Perspective- how we need to alter our perspective to see things differently Fight the Power- Why do we organise and make notes in just one way? Think about doing it differently Design a school- thinking about how we learn can make us better learners A letter to yourself- how you would explain your own strengths and weaknesses. The titles may be cryptic but that is because they best describe the activity and they get the students thinking.

This pack contains four useful activities based around remembrance week as well as the broader topic of remembering and thinking about those that have gone and died in conflicts around the world. The tasks are particularly suited to history but there are aspects that could be used in RS as well or used as a whole school activity. All are aimed at trying to get the students to really think about past conflicts and the loss that occurred. The activities encourage creativity and empathy and will be an excellent addition to any work planned. The work can be developed for wall displays and there are opportunities to expand the work to fit around other topics on the curriculum as well as extension tasks for homework.

The decision to drop the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima had consequences far beyond the people in that Japanese city. It changed the world. This activity aims to give a little background to the development as well as some information about the actual consequences on the people in the city. Firstly the students will look at the science of the Atomic Bomb. What is it that makes it work? Secondly, they will look at what happened when the bombs were dropped. The third aspect is the most important one. The aim of the task is for the students themselves to decide if the decision was the right one. This is not just empathising with the people who suffered or even those who made the decision. The students will have to decide themselves and then try to influence their classmates about what the correct decision was. Includes Lesson Plan, PowerPoint and Handouts. PowerPoint presentation contains sensitive image(s) and teachers are advised

Understanding what is being asked of you is an important skill. The average person is not expected to crack complex codes but we are meant to understand instructions and work independently in order to complete a task. Most things have a coded element, or at least an understanding of a pattern, whether its language or maths, geography or music. Code breaking forces us to see patterns and fully understand something. Too often people make mistakes or get work wrong because they do not fully understand something; they rush into a task. It is often useful to try and work with others on similar task to see if everyone’s task might be completed more efficiently. Activity Aims: 1. To develop individual and group problem solving skills 2. To encourage the students to see patterns in their work 3. To encourage the students to think differently. 4. To develop interpersonal skills

This resource is a counterpoint to the standard view of D-Day in that it focuses on the invasion from the point of view of the Germans trying to stop it. Through three tasks the students will be asked to use their knowledge of the Second World War before 1944 to determine whether or not the D-Day landings were likely to be prevented. The tasks ask the students to develop their arguing skills as well as drawing on evidence they have collected. The key is that it gets the students to think differently and therefore is a vital companion to traditional D-Day teachings.

This is a complete unit of work that covers Hitler's rise to power from the before the Munich Putsch to becoming Fuhrer in 1934. The main work is completed through a workbook and there is a very strong emphasis on the students planning and completing their own work. The pack contains notes, work, questions, sources and a variety of resources across 12 handouts that make up the workbook. There is even a PowerPoint to go with all the lessons. This is a huge piece of work that will save you hours of work and also be refreshing for the students.

This topic focuses on the difficult and dangerous short reign of Edward VI. It covers all of the major events of his reign but in the context of how this caused rebellion and disorder. Thus the changes to religion are discussed and are then shown to be a cause of a specific problem for Edward and his councillors. This is a complete unit of work with a matching PowerPoint. Therefore it contains everything you need to teach the subject, saving hours and hours of work.

This is a brilliant resource pack full of creative ways for getting your students to revise independently, differently and most importantly, successfully. Ten lessons are included and that means PowerPoints and handouts as well. Trial and error has gone into creating lots of resources that really get the students thinking about their revision. No two students are the same so adopting just one method of revision is limiting. Vary the methods and increase the outcomes. Topics included: Image is everything- revising using images Reverse the process- based on reverse engineering to see how a good answer is made Elementary- using Sherlock Holmes to help thinking Help Lights camera action Maps- a look at how mapping can help revision News Report- how putting a news report help focus revision Postcards- writing revision postcards Revision Game Thinking- different ways of thinking The title are varied because so are the methods, however, they are creative approaches to getting the most out of your students.

A collection of handouts to aid your delivery of the Second World War. Includes: 1 War in Europe Map 2 Map of Japan and the Pacific 3 Holocaust Source & Question sheet (contains a moderate image which some may find uncomfortable) 4 Normandy Landings Map 5 Atomic Bomb Arguments for and Against Source Sheet 6 Nazi Germany Wordsearch

This very detailed and lengthy PowerPoint is designed for the unit of work available in the Free section. The unit of work gives all the references to the PowerPoint.

This lesson is not on a specific topic nor is it a series of activities. Instead it is a whole class activity based around a major theme or topic in history. The aim is to create a visual summary of an historical event, from the main topic down to some of the key people involved. The Tree can be created as a piece of research on a new topic. The students can add to it as the topic develops. Alternatively the Tree can be created as a conclusion to a major class project. Each student can be given a task and once completed it will sum up all of their work.