Teaching GCSE History – USA 1900-1990
Outstanding GCSE history lessons on America
You will be on largely familiar ground here, but you will love the new approaches to the 1920s and the New Deal updated for the new 2016 GCSE curriculum. Students are campaign managers for the 1936 election, counsel for the prosecution of Roosevelt’s New Deal and analysers of adverts about women in the 1920s. As more specifications now feature a detailed study of post-war America, you will find the very best of the old Edexcel Divided Union topic, alongside new material on social change.
This section currently focuses mainly on the earlier period. More lessons on the post-45 era will appear soon. You might like to look at the International Relations 1945-2005 section for the lessons looking at US involvement in the Cold War and Vietnam.
Lynching in the US in the 20th century 1919-54
Crammed into this very active lesson are: slow reveal of an arresting image; interesting information about the role of the…
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Smart Task: How popular was the Vietnam war? What can we learn from just two photographs?
This simple starter uses just two contrasting photographs, one showing the popularity of Johnson’s policy towards Vietnam, the other opposition…
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SMART TASKS: Why did the US get involved in the Vietnam War?
Three separate short activities help students produce a top grade answer to the question. Task I – brainstorming early ideas…
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SMART TASK: How significant was the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the history of Civil Rights?
Quick ranking activity for GCSE/AS students Students are asked to consider the relative significance of 11 possible arguments that have…
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SMART TASK: Causes of the Wall Street Crash
Students are given a set of influence cards which help them to work out the answer to an apparent paradox….
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Hoover’s rubbish: Roosevelt moves in
This lesson on a fairly familiar theme approaches GCSE cartoon analysis in a different way. Instead of showing the students…
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Teaching USA 1900-1990 to Key Stage 4
The first batch of lessons focuses on four examination favourites but each adds a different subtle twist that lifts the…
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Did everyone benefit equally from life in the USA in the 1920s? A market place activity. SMART TASK KS4
This activity is great for getting students off their feet and talking to every other students in the class –…
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Thoroughly Modern Millie: How do we know this song is about Flappers? A quick musical starter
Students are given the lyrics of a song about flappers (copy provided) and have to find 10 references that prove…
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When Prohibition was so popular when it was introduced, why had it failed within 12 years? SMART TASK
In this varied series of activities, students predict from pictures, categorise influence cards, and create a tweet before structuring an…
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SMART TASK Key Stage 4 – Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis
With the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile crisis in the news, it is worth spending time reviewing Kennedy’s reputation….
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New Deal or No Deal? How has the New Deal been criticised?
This lesson is an active one in which students co-operate in order to put the best case they can against…
Read MoreWhy was there a boom in the US economy in the 1920s?
This lesson was designed for Y10 students on the C/D borderline who were underachieving and were falling down on the…
Read MoreRoosevelt and the 1936 election: can you write his manifesto?
It is the year 1936 and Roosevelt wants to be re-elected. Students work in groups to create his campaign manifesto…
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Rosa Parks – the true story
This open-ended enquiry explores one of the most abiding stories of American Civil Rights. Students are invited to advise a…
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Marking the anniversary of the Wall Street Crash
To mark the 80th anniversary of the Wall St. Crash in 1929, the Guardian produced a simple guide to the…
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