Creativity in Key Stage 4 history
Creativity in Key Stage 4 history

When the demands of the examination, and the results, loom large over our GCSE teaching, you might be forgiven for…

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KS4 lesson
What is history at Key Stage 4?

You may be forgiven for thinking that this is a really crass question.   If you don’t know by now, and…

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renaissance medicine
SMART TASK: GCSE questions on Renaissance Medicine

Using Zones of relevance to answer two possible questions on Renaissance Medicine. Have you ever despaired of GCSE history students…

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great fire experience
KS1 | Great Fire interactive resource

Just thought I’d bring to the attention of those who haven’t yet seen it the interesting resource put together by…

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keystage history
Defenders of the new history curriculum have their say: a dozen dons can’t be wrong?

In this morning’s Times, supported by a front page and leader aticle, a dozen dons have come out of the…

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minted
Smart Tasks – Minted: Telling the story of changing British rulers by exploring 10 significant coins

If you are looking for an interesting way of offering pupils overviews or of looking at the concept of significance,…

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slave trade
Dread of the lash: How harsh were punishments on slave plantations?

This enquiry-led lesson really does make pupils think as historians. Not only are they introduced to authentic slave punishment records,…

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abolitionists
Reasons for the abolition of the slave trade: poacher turned gamekeeper

This lesson turns on a paradox. If the transatlantic slave trade was prospering in 1787, why was it abolished just…

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middle passage
How should we film the Middle passage? How accurate are Roots and Amistad?

This varied lesson challenges pupils to use evidence constructively to create their own version of conditions on the Middle Passage….

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slavery
What can we learn about the slave trade from just one poem?

This lesson uses a very simple source to help pupils to get a feel for some of the issues they…

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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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SMART TASK – How did a small country on the edge of North West Europe manage to rule a quarter of the world’s land surface and 400 million people?

This lesson asks an important question that the textbooks rarely cover and comes after students have looked at events in…

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Empire
Smart Task: End of Empire: Why did it all end so quickly?

This SMART task ask pupils to classify a number of different smaller reasons why The Empire declined and fell, under…

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wine
Smart Task: Popping corks? What is the best analogy to explain the causes of the French Revolution

A smart task for Gifted and Talented pupils in Y9. Towards the end of your study of the causes of…

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french revolution
What should we write on Robespierre’s plaque?

In his home town of Arras, the plaque commemorating his achievements has been vandalised and replaced so often that it…

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louis xvi
Execution of Louis XVI

Enquiry question: When the French Revolution started in 1789, few wanted the death of the king or the end of…

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evacuation
Smart Task: Evacuation: was it worth it?

Many primary schools look in detail at evacuation in World War Two and you may not want to go over…

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ww3
Smart Task: How close to World War Three did the world come in the 65 years after World War Two?

Helping pupils to develop overviews of different timescales is central to the Key Stage 3 curriculum.  When so few carry…

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bomber harris statue
Smart Task: Was the bombing of Dresden justified?

Should the statue to Bomber Harris be removed? It is now 20 years since the statue to Bomber Harris was…

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dunkirk
Teaching Dunkirk at KS3 – WW2 – Spinning Dunkirk

Rather than simply asking pupils passively to read examples of propaganda surrounding the evacuation of Dunkirk they are asked to…

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History mystery. Why did Ernest join up in 1914, aged just 15?
Why did 15 year-old boys want to join up in 1914?

At the heart of this lesson lies a history mystery. Many of you will have seen something similar in Peter…

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German football team 1935
GCSE Modern World history: Using history of football to interest boys in Inter-war relations 1919-39

If you have ever found it difficult to motivate boys looking at the Inter-war years from 1919-39, why not try…

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wall street crash
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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medieval churches
What can we learn about medieval churches from the outside and inside?

This innovative lesson uses the gallery strategy in which pupils compare a range of fascinating colour images to discover what…

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Thinking skills
‘100’ Great Teaching Ideas for teaching history at Key Stage 3

This is a massive section on the site, and one that you may quarry for years. I have listed here…

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progression in history
Progression in history – looking at specific strands

In this highly-rated post, with really important attachments, we show how it is even more important to get a really…

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KS3 History
Assessment for learning in history at Key Stage 3

I have tried to be careful here not to reproduce the mass of material that has been provided by the…

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KS3 History
Forward planning in history at Key Stage 3

There are probably four separate strands that you need to weave into your forward planning.  To start with there will…

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KS3 History
Using data in history at Key Stage 3

NB This section of the site is under development as we wait for best practice post-levels assessment to emerge. There…

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KS3 History
Literacy and history at Key Stage 3

In recent years there has been a much stronger emphasis in lesson observations on how well particular groups of pupils…

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KS3 History
Rationale for your Key Stage 3 history curriculum

The clever people at OneBigHistoryDepartment have come up with a list of questions to ask yourself about your KS3 history…

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Great Fire
Using De Bono’s Thinking Hats to develop thinking skills at Key Stage 1 via the topic the Great Fire of London. Smart Task

Two infant teachers from southern Hampshire, Julie Syms from Crofton Hammond Infants and Nicola Beazley from Sarisbury Green Infants, have…

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Louis Braille
Louis Braille – evaluating the video

This lesson comes at the end of the sequence of lessons which explore Louis Braille’s life and achievements.  Rather than…

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Is this what Dickens' London looked like?
Primary History: Teaching Victorian Britain Key Stage 2

Astonishingly, at a stroke, Gove removed the Victorians from the KS2 history curriculum where it had reigned supreme for decades….

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Teaching Roman Britain for Key Stage 2

Teaching the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain at KS2 Drafting the history content proved highly controversial. Many of…

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Forward planning in history at Key Stage 2

This section ties in with the others on prioritising and monitoring and the message is basically the same.  You need…

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keystage 2 history
Prioritising your work as history leader

When there is so little non-contact time to lead history, it is crucial that you spend your time wisely. This…

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monitoring
Monitoring in history at Key Stage 2

You will, at some stage, need to monitor standards and the quality of learning in history.  The quality of teaching…

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data
Using data to improve history teaching and learning at Key Stage 2

Given that there is no subject-specific data on history at Key Stage 2 this might seem a strange inclusion on…

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keystage 2 history
Raising attainment in history at Key Stage 2

The prospect of raising attainment across the whole key stage is quite daunting, especially when you consider how little non-contact…

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keystage 2 history
Self-evaluation in history at Key Stage 2

With the emphasis of school improvement and OFSTED inspection now firmly placed on self-evaluation this has become one of the…

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keystage 2 history
Personalised learning in history at KS 2

This is certainly one of the key areas to be focusing on in the next few years and lies at…

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keystage 2 history
Gender issues in history at Key Stage 2

It is hard to think of a teaching and learning strategy that one would use with boys.  We all know…

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gifted and talented
Gifted and talented pupils in history at Key Stage 2

Much has been written in general terms about identifying and then catering for able pupils in history.  OFSTED and others…

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keystage 2 history
Key motivational factors in history teaching at Key Stage 2

The essence of what appeals to pupils can often be summed up by the words, People, Puzzle and Point. Children…

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S.E.N. in history at Key Stage 1 and 2

By inclusion we mean three things here: setting suitable learning challenges, responding to pupils’ diverse needs, and overcoming potential barriers…

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keystage 2 history
APP in history: where are we now? Some key questions answered

NB. This section is no longer current, so please don’t base your action on its contents. It has been left…

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teaching
General resources for teaching A level

Resources I have included a section on resources as it is likely that keeping up-to-date with all the recent websites/articles…

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Ancient Greece
How to teach Ancient Greece to Key Stage 2

To all intents and purposes, the ancient Greek planning and all the outstanding lessons fit just as perfectly with the…

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victorian photo
Using a Victorian census to discover what life was like 100 years ago

There are 4 separate ways of approaching this topic, each becoming increasingly more ambitious. Stage 1 is featured below. Stages…

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