When so much of Key Stage 4 time is spent making sure that students know enough to answer any GCSE question that might arise, it is tempting not to stray too far from the conventional exam preparation routines. Ever so often you might want to ring the changes, not least to keep students motivated. When history is more exam technique focused than any other subject, and I mean any, we probably need the occasional varied lesson more than most. As part of this variety, and partly to cater for different preferred learning styles, it may be helpful to think of putting students in roles other than a16 year old GCSE history student.
20 different roles for learners in history at KS 4
1. Press officer (offering an explanation of policies such as NEP or War Communism that does not reflect badly on the client e.g. Lenin)
2. Forensic scientist (Reichstag Fire, Snow and the Broad Street pump, death of the Romanovs)
3. Archaeologist (evidence of prehistoric medicine such as trephinned skulls)
4. Lawyer (defending record of Lenin, attacking that of Roosevelt, both Outstanding Lessons)
5. Archivist (analysing documents such as political cartoons). See Outstanding Lessons on the Invasion of the
