Compare and Contrast the Rise to Power of Two Single Party State Rulers

With the research on Pinochet completed, the students now move on to compare and contrast his rise to that of Mao in China. This worksheet provides them with structured guidance on how to go about this process. As a popular format of question in the IB examination, this is a very useful exercise.

Interactive Simulation Game: The Events of the American Civil War

In this multiplayer interactive simulation, you will take the role of an advisor to either President Davis, or President Lincoln. You will be given a series of military, economic and political problems to deal with. Your first objective is to choose the course of action which you think your President took in real life (his…

Individual Research Task: The Rise to power of Pinochet in Chile

Students are given this worksheet framework to help structure their investigation about why Pinochet became leader of Chile. They should use any sources available to them (books, video, websites). A particularly good video is the 10-minute drama film by Ken Loach which can be found on YouTube.

20 years ago today – 19 Aug 1991 Attempted coup in the Soviet Union.

20 years ago today – 19 Aug 1991 Attempted coup in the Soviet Union. Hard-line members of the Communist Party tried to seize control from President Mikhail Gorbachev. The coup failed after just 3 days, and eventually led to the collapse of communism and the disintegration of the USSR

The Rise to power of Pinochet in Chile: New IB study unit

A brand new study unit. The IB History examination is very keen that students learn to compare and contrast the methods and conditions which led to the rise to power of single party state rulers – sometimes insisting that they are from different parts of the world, and / or that one is a right-wing…

Musicians in the Civil Rights Movement – Feedback on Musicians

Students complete this worksheet following from the image, and then students in the class who researched musicians as their “Fakebook” project now feedback to the class with their findings by identifying the one most important event in their lives which illustrates their importance to the civil rights struggle. Everyone in the class uses this to…

Historical Anniversaries for August 2011

75 years ago today – 1 Aug 1936 The XI Olympic Games opened in Berlin, Germany. It was the last Olympics for 12 years due to World War II 75 years ago today – 1 Aug 1936 Birth of Yves Saint-Laurent, Algerian-born French fashion designer 75 years ago today – 2 Aug 1936 Death of…

Politicians in the Civil Rights Movement – Feedback on Politicians

Students complete this worksheet following from the image, and then students in the class who researched politicians as their “Fakebook” project now feedback to the class with their findings by identifying the one most important event in their lives which illustrates their importance to the civil rights struggle. Everyone in the class uses this to…

400 years ago (18 Jul 1610) Death of Caravaggio, Italian artist

Arrogant, rebellious and a murderer, Caravaggio’s short and tempestuous life matched the drama of his works. Characterised by their dramatic, almost theatrical lighting, Caravaggio’s paintings were controversial, popular, and hugely influential on succeeding generations of painters all over Europe [more].

QR Code Generator for Classroom “Treasure Hunts”

This new tool allows teachers to create “Treasure Hunt” challenges based on QR codes. You can create your own QR Treasure Hunt by simply providing a list of questions and answers. You can even go back and edit it later if you like. This program will then dynamically create QR codes for each question which…

Sportspeople in the Civil Rights Movement – Feedback on Sportspeople

The students in the class who researched sportspeople as their “Fakebook” project now feedback to the class with their findings by identifying the one most important event in their lives which illustrates their importance to the civil rights struggle. Everyone in the class uses this to start developing a thematic timeline document.

25 years ago (13 Jul 1985) Live Aid. Two simultaneous concerts in London and Philadelphia, plus other venues including Sydney and Moscow, raised millions of pounds for victims of famine in Africa

Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the “global jukebox”, the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom (attended by 72,000 people)…

75 years ago (12 Jul 1935) Death of Alfred Dreyfus, French soldier whose treason trial in 1894 (‘The Dreyfus Affair’) became one of Europe’s most tense political dramas

The Dreyfus affair (French: l’affaire Dreyfus, pronounced: [a.f?? d??.fys]) was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent. Sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly having communicated French military…

Sportspeople in the Civil Rights Movement – PowerPoint Starter

Students are presented with a famous image of two black sportsmen raising one hand in the air, wearing black gloves. What do the students think this means? Why are they wearing their gloves on different hands? A good way of setting up the focus on sportspeople.

25 years ago (10 Jul 1985): The Greenpeace campaign ship ‘Rainbow Warrior’ was sunk by two bomb explosions in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand

The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, codenamed Opération Satanique, was an operation by the “action” branch of the French foreign intelligence services, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE), carried out on July 10, 1985. It aimed to sink the flagship of the Greenpeace fleet, the Rainbow Warrior in the port of Auckland, New…

70 years ago (10 Jul 1940) World War II: The Battle of Britain began

The Battle of Britain (German: Luftschlacht um England or Luftschlacht um Großbritannien, literally “Air battle for England” or “Air battle for Great Britain”) is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940. The objective of…

The Civil Rights Movement – Overview of civil rights campaigners

Students are given groups of politicians, musicians and sportsmen. Their job is to use Google Images to locate a picture of each person and paste them into the document. As they do so they start thinking about which character they would like to research in more depth if given the opportunity.

Historical Anniversaries for July 2011

200 years ago (5 Jul 1810) Birth of P.T. Barnum, American showman and circus founder 50 years ago (6 Jul 1960) Death of Aneurin (‘Nye’) Bevan, British politician responsible for establishing the National Health Service 200 years ago (9 Jul 1810) Napoleon annexed Holland and made his brother Louis its King 70 years ago (10…

Medieval Cathedrals: Interactive Game

In this brand new activity, students answer a series of questions asked by King Henry II. Based on the quality of the responses he then decides how likely he is to let them build a cathedral. Complete with a worksheet and a live “leaderboard” to build up a sense of competition, this is a great…

Fakebook – New Helpsheet

I’ve created a double-sided handout that can be used as a helpsheet for students using “Fakebook” for the first time.

“Renaissance Day” – a whole-school, cross-curricular project

At the International School of Toulouse, Year 8 students (aged 13-14) are taken off-timetable during the summer term for what we call “Renaissance Day“. The event is popular with both teachers and students. It promotes cross-curricular awareness, gets students working effectively as teams, develops analytical ability and improves presentational skills. The resources to develop your…

Historical Anniversaries for June 2011

50 years ago today (6th June 1961) Death of Carlth Juneg, Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist, founder of analytical psychology 250 years ago today (7th June 1761) Birth of John Rennie, Scottish civil engineer, built bridges, canals, docks and harbours throughout Britain 20 years ago today (12th June 1991) Boris Yeltsin became the first directly elected…

Medieval Cathedral Building: Worksheet

This new workpack gets students to think about the layout, design and engineering of Medieval Cathedrals. They learn about the terminology of Church architecture, watch video clips and make deductions from paintings from the Middle Ages showing church building.

History Teachers on Twitter

I have created a (dynamically updating) directory of History Teachers on Twitter. Follow the link to view the directory and to add your own name to it if you wish!

Who Am I? Revision Challenge Quiz for IGCSE Modern World History

The “Who Am I?” Interactive team challenge has now been developed to cover some of the main topics in the IGCSE Modern World History syllabus (e.g. Origins of World War One, Peace Treaties, League of Nations, Causes of World War Two, Origins of the Cold War).

The Yom Kippur War

A series of structured questions to help students make sense of the causes, course and consequence of the Yom Kippur War. There is also a completed teacher version.

The Palestinian Diaspora

A worksheet of questions to help students understand the fate of the Palestinians between 1948-1973. A good review exercise. There is also a completed teacher version.

Sourcework Assignment Pack: Weimar Germany

A comprehensive pack of sources and questions in the style of GCSE/IGCSE examinations, designed to be printed off at the beginning of the unit and used as homework exercises over the course of several weeks.

The Six-Day War – Classroom Debate

Classroom Debate Students use their completed timelines to get into role as different characters from different countries and reach an independent judgement about which of the three key interpretations listed at the outset is the most convincing. They are then given guidance on how to construct a written essay answering the central question. There are…

Historical Anniversaries for May 2011

50 years ago today (1st May 1961) Fidel Castro declared Cuba a socialist state and abolished multi-party elections 80 years ago today (1st May 1931) The Empire State Building in New York City, USA was officially opened 75 years ago today (2nd May 1936) Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie left the country and went into exile…

IGCSE History Revision Quiz for 2011

A new version of the Play Your Dates Right Quiz, complete with a Highscore Board, testing your knowledge of the main events of the period 1871-1949. Great for IGCSE History Revision, including Origins of the Cold War 1945-1949.

IB Revision Quiz – “Who Am I?” interactive team challenge

“Who Am I?” Revision Quiz Students are placed in teams, and have to guess the historical character presented to them through a series of clues. The quicker they identify the character, the more points they gain. A really great way to revise the entire course.

The Six Day War of 1967: Timeline Analysis

Timeline Analysis Students construct a timeline of events broken down into events relating to Jordan, Egypt and Syria. The teacher can then test their understanding using this classroom challenge and this answer sheet.

Timeline Challenge: The 1967 6-Day War

In this activity, Organise the class 5 teams. Display the first event by clicking the button. All the students should copy this information into their worksheet as instructed. The first team can play for up to 10 points depending on their confidence. They have to not only identify the mistake in the account, but correct…