Keystage history

Why was Anne Boleyn executed? Which of these seems most plausible?

In this short task students work out for themselves the key inter-related reasons why Anne Boleyn was executed. Using the…

Using living graphs in history at KS4 and 5: don’t let the activity replace the thinking and long-term recall

I have long been a fan of using living graphs, especially to help students appreciate extent and speed of change…

10 commandments for successful source work at A-level

Although it grieves me to say it, these strategies may not have much to do with better teaching or understanding…

Outstanding medium-term planner for Vikings

This KS2 Vikings planner, judged outstanding by an OFSTED history inspector now links to all the fully-resourced outstanding lessons and…

Teaching Anglo-Saxons: Alfred and the Danes at KS2

Many of you have kindly written to say how much your pupils have enjoyed the lesson where they have to…

New resource for teaching evacuation at KS2 using sources critically

If you are teaching about evacuation World War Two, possibly as part of our innovative Thematic unit ‘Beyond Face vale’…

Causes of World War One: problems of evidence. Why is it so difficult to work out who caused the First World War? Smart Task

This is a very short 5 minute warm-up activity to help students get a feel for the partisan sources that…

On the move: teaching the theme of migration at KS3 Smart Task

CONTEXT When looking at movement and settlement as a theme you will clearly want to look at: • the reasons…

International relations overview 1914-2004 using a piece of COAL Smart Task

Starter Start the lesson dramatically by thumping a lump of coal on the desk. Explain that this lump of coal…

The execution of Charles I – advising a film director: a study in source analysis and evaluation

This lesson uses a set of 4 contemporary images and a secondary narrative account to examine how the author seems…

Useful resource on Peterloo massacre KS3

Really useful short video on Peterloo , ‘Manchester’s Tiananmen square’. Presented as a graphic novel, the visuals are really clear…

Teaching Anglo Saxons & Vikings Outstanding lessons for KS2 history

The National Curriculum has afforded separate status for individual units of work on the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. Whilst this may…

Vikings – KQ1 – What image do we have of the Vikings?

This two part session gives the topic on the Vikings a really active start. Following an introduction to the Vikings…

Vikings – KQ2 – Why have the Vikings gained such a bad reputation?

Having explored the nature of the stereotypical Viking image in the first session, it is now time to examine the…

Vikings – KQ3 – How did the Vikings try to take over the country and how close did they get?

This task encapsulates the struggle between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings in an engaging way that really makes pupils think…

Vikings – KQ3 Additional Resource – How did the Vikings try to take over the country and how close did they get?

This article supports KQ3 The first raids early 790s 1. In 789 three ships from Norway landed in Dorset. The…

Just how great was Alfred? Can we beat the BBC website? Anglo-Saxons Key Question 5

In this outstanding lesson, pupils are asked to critique and then improve the BBC children’s website entry for Alfred. But…

Vikings – KQ4 – How have recent excavations changed our view of the Vikings?

Evidence of Viking occupation Using the Mantle of the Expert approach, pupils help a confused museum curator to write high…

Vikings – KQ4 Supporting information – The invisible Vikings?

Key Question 4 address the key issue of evidence to support, or contradict, the idea that the Vikings were simply…

Too many Cooks? Too pale, stale and male to be worth studying?

Australians are currently deep in debate about the enormous cost involved in yet another celebration of Cook’s voyages to Australia….

£2.2. million to be spent on time-saving curriculum materials in hist, geog and science

Sounds great doesn’t it. Even better when you realise that the money is to fund school-based initiatives rather than top-down…

Using History Hits as a starter at KS3 and GCSE

Nearly all of us have asked pupils to jot down 10 things about a topic as a useful starter to…

Early Islamic civilization – KQ1 – Why should we study the early Islamic civilizations in school today? SMART TASK

One of the misfortunes of a long history of stereotyping and conflict between Islam and the West is that it…

Early Islamic civilization – KQ2 – How was the Islamic civilization able to spread so far, so quickly?

In this demanding but important overview session pupils have to work out from clues the key reasons for Islam’s growth…

Early Islamic civilization – KQ3 – What can we learn about early Islamic civilization from the way they set up the capital at Baghdad?

Pupils are first asked to design a picture showing what Baghdad would have looked like 1,000 years ago. It is…

Early Islamic civilization – KQ4 – What was so special about Baghdad in its Golden Age?

In it’s Golden Age, ten times more people lived in Baghdad than in London. So what was so special about…

Early Islamic civilization – KQ5 – Just how amazing was daily life for rich people in Islamic cities such as Baghdad and Cordoba?

Pupils in role as rich Saxon visitors to 10C Islamic cities, have to capture the essence of these amazingly sophisticated…

The best way to plan your history topic at KS1 and 2 for September

It may seem odd that I’m still peddling advice on how to plan a primary history topic when schools have…

Mayan civilisation – KQ1 – Why do we study the Maya in history at KS2?

Following a brief introduction to locate the Mayan civilization in time and place, stress that we knew very little about…

Mayan civilisation – KQ2 – Reasons why the Maya empire grew – When so much of the land they lived in was mountain and jungle, how did the Maya manage to become so important?

This is a contentious area and historians cannot be sure so it is a quick overview type lesson. Learning objectives…

Mayan civilisation – KQ3 – What was everyday life in Mayan civilization? How different was it for rich and poor?

Having been introduced to the nature of Mayan society with its clear hierarchy, and having seen various models and artists’…

Mayan civilisation – KQ4 – How can we possibly know what was life like for the Mayan people 1,000 years ago? SMART TASK

Introduction This multi-faceted enquiry ranges from scene-setting story telling, and making deductions (using the strategies Zones of Inference and Prove…

Mayan civilisation – KQ5 – Mayan civilization and human sacrifice

KQ5 If the Maya were so civilized why then did they carry out human sacrifice? SMART TASK Please note that…

Mayan civilisation – KQ5 additional information – Ideas to support your teaching of the Maya religious practices

How will you present cultural practices that differ from our own, such as human sacrifice, as practised by the Maya?…

Mayan civilisation – KQ6 – Why did the Mayan empire decline? How can we solve the riddle of why the Mayan empire ended so quickly?

When there are apparently 88 competing theories about the end of the Mayan civilization where do pupils start? Well, having…

Y6 pupils play film detectives to learn about government propaganda SMART TASK

Using a short Ministry of Information film, which last just 8 minutes and can be accessed online here (please note…

Mayan civilisation – KQ6 – Additional information – Why did 90% of Maya ‘disappear’ around 900AD?

This article comes largely from the Historical Association website https://www.history.org.uk/primary/categories/934/module/8747/resource-sharing-hub-key-stage-2/9839/non-european-society Around 900AD, most of the Maya disappeared from the historical…

Keystage history

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