The Emancipation of the Serfs: Causes

Students consider the main problems facing Imperial Russia when Alexander became Tsar, and how each of these could be improved by the Emancipation of the Serfs. A good way of providing an overview of the situation, and of encouraging students to link factors.

Alexander II: An Introduction

Students consider accounts about the assassination of Tsar Alexander II to start considering why he was a figure who divides historical opinion.

Worst Jobs in History

A totally updated version of this interactive, self-contained game designed to teach students about some of the worst jobs available to young people in Victorian, Tudor and Middle Ages Britain. Simply answer a series of questions about your personality and preferences, and get a full description of your perfect working-class job. A workheet is provided…

Create a Map of Imperial Russia

In this worksheet, students are given a list of cities, regions and natural features in Imperial Russia, a knowledge of which is essential for an understanding of the topic. They then have to produce a labelled, colour-coded map which they will be able to refer back to throoughout their studies.

World War One Simulation: Life in the Trenches

A brand new release of this popular decision-making game for GCSE History. In this game you will be a British soldier who joins the army in 1914 to fight the Germans. You will have to make decisions in tough circumstances. At the end you will be given a score. By playing this game you will…

Castles Game

An updated version of the “Attack the Castle!” game for Year 7 Medieval Realms. A game of strategy: Spend your budget on your choice of features, then read a story of how your castle fares when faced with attack! In this new version, students are asked factual knowledge questions as they progress, and then their…

Year 7 Medieval Realms: Was Life Good or Bad in the Middle Ages?

A new lesson plan to accompany the popular Time Machine Journey to the Middle Ages. Students are divided into two groups. The “Good” group approach their argument by producing a tourist brochure highlighting all of the great jobs, places and people in the town and the village. The “Bad” group instead write an angry letter…

Are you Left-Wing or Right-Wing? – Simulation

This brand new interactive simulation is designed for use within Government and Politics lessons, or as a PSHE activity. The simulation lasts 15 minutes, and the follow-up activities a similar amount of time.

Transatlantic Slave Trade – Unit Starter

Students are presented with a series of images of objects, then of people from different continents, and have to deduce from this evidence what the next topic of study is likely to be.

Causes of the Spanish Civil War: Interactive Newsfeed

Students complete a series of notes “against the clock” using this interactive newsfeed activity which gives them a detailed account of the main events in Spanish History leading up to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936. They then use their completed notes to complete this timeline worksheet, organising their ideas into those which…

The Assassination of Peter Stolypin

For IB / A-Level historians. A primary source account. Was Stolypin the last hope that the Tsarist regime had to survive? Would his reforms have succeeded given “Twenty years of peace”?

Why did Hitler Hate the Jews?

This worksheet explains not merely why Hitler hated the Jews, but also why the Jews have been persecuted throughout the ages in countries across Europe. Students connect these factors in a flow diagram and categorise them as religious, racial, economic and social. This worksheet is supported by this antisemitic propaganda for children, and antisemitic propaganda…

Opposition in Nazi Germany

After looking at the different versions of the famous Niemoller poem in the powerpoint starter, Students use the main worksheet to compare how different social groups opposed the Nazis, and then use this information to complete one of several suggested tasks after completing a factual test. My own students produced “Hollywood Trailers” which can be…

Connecting Factors: The Causes of World War Two

With the main themes revised, students now have to connect the Causes of the Second World War together meaningfully and summarise three essential points of information about each theme using this flowchart.

Nazi Religious Policies

Nazi Religious Policies: By means of a venn diagram, students investigate the various ways in which the Nazis tried to control replace and weaken the Catholic and Protestant Churches.

Alexander III: Primary Sources and Questions

The next stage is to conduct some in-depth research based around primary sources from the time which cover some of the big themes: politics, education, the famine, the pogroms. These sources come complete with questions and discussion points to further understanding.

In-Depth Analysis of the Alexander III’s Reign [interactive]

Students make notes from this interactive newsfeed exercise and then organise their findings into various themes and categories using this worksheet. By so doing they start to formulate a view as to how far Alexander’s reputation as a reactionary is deserved.

Countdown Timer

This online countdown timer allows you to choose from a number of tunes!

Year 7 History Revision: Timeline worksheet

Revision of Events – A worksheet to accompany the newsfeed exercise; students are given a list of quick-fire events then have to choose 10 of them to place into a timeline to “prove” that the Middle Ages were either a good or a bad time to be alive.

Year 7 History Revision

A worksheet for Year 7 History Students of Medieval Realms. Students go through their notes on each of the key topics studied this year and decide which aspects suggest that life was “Good” during this period, and which aspects suggest life was “Bad”. They then write their findings up as an overall conclusion which distinguishes…

Place name challenge – knockout competition!

An optional lesson for Year 7 History. Students compete to see which group can come up with the most place names from a particular origin. Any repetition, hesitation or incorrect answers knocks them out of the competition.

Surnames from the British Isles – What do they tell us?

Year 7 Students research the origin of surnames of students / teachers in the school and either plot these on a Google Earth map (if the names originate from places) or in a Diamond9 Diagram from www.classtools.net to distinguish between high-status and low-status professions that existed.

Weimar Germany 1918-21 Quizzes

A new set of quizzes on Weimar Germany 1918-21 for GCSE-Level History. Choose from Manic Miner, Wordshoot, Cannonball Fun or Matching Pairs.

Place names in the British Isles – What do they tell us?

A new worksheet for Year 7 History. Students are given advice on how to spot Celtic, Roman, Norman, Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon place names, research the meaning of some of the most famous places, then plot a whole series of them on a map to try to identify meaningful patterns.

Podcast Test Post

This is just a test post to determine whether podcasts can be directly uploaded to WordPress Testing.

Year 7 History: Medieval Realms Quizzes

A series of quizzes designed to be used as end-of-year history revision: Manic Miner: Medieval Realms Wordshoot: Medieval Realms Cannonball Fun: Medieval Realms Matching Pairs: Medieval Realms

Everyday Vocabulary – What does it tell us?

A new worksheet for Year 7 History. Why does the English language have so many German, French, Celtic and Scandinavian words within it? An original way of looking at the waves of immigration that have characterised British history in the past 1000 years.

Starter Activity: Arguments of the Anti-Abolitionists

Students read an extract from the “Gentleman’s Magazine” of 1789 and underline all the arguments the writer puts forward in defence of the slave trade, the considers how these arguments could feasibly be challenged.

The Slave Trade – Test

Students are provided with a selection of possible questions in the GCSE Paper 1 format (a. Describe, b. Explain, c. Assess). They are told that one of these three-part questions will be set as the end of unit assessment – it is up to the teacher which to choose!

Conclusion: How was the Slave Trade Abolished?

Students are presented with a detailed timeline of the process of abolition, and then provided with four different tasks to choose from which will enable them to make sense of the information. Students can choose one or a combination of these tasks to complete.

The Balloon Debate – Who was the most important abolitionist?

Each student is allocated a different character to research and to produce a wiki about. The class then has a balloon debate over several rounds to determine the overall winner. The debate from students at the International School of Toulouse can be seen here.

Stalin and Collectivisation

A new running dictation exercise providing students with thorough details about Stalin’s policies for agriculture, including the Ukrainian Famine of 1932. Designed to accompany the full IB / A-Level unit on Stalin’s USSR.

Starter Activity: Methods of the Abolitionists

This PowerPoint provides students with an overview of the actual methods used by the real abolitionists. How do they compare with the campaigns the students came up with for Alan Sugartrader?

The Rise of Stalin

A new interactive running dictation exercise which outlines the main events in the final years of Lenin’s life which led to the Rise of Stalin as dictator of the USSR.

The Apprentice – A Campaign to Abolish the Slave Trade!

Alan Sugartrader of the good ship Amistrad leads the abolitionist movement in your local town. He has invited ambitious young businesspeople to come up with a brand new national campaign designed to generate support for the anti-slavery cause. Using a range of sources and a structured framework for preparation, groups of students have to produce…

Why Appeasement? (GCSE History)

A new diamond 9 diagram for GCSE Historians studying the causes of World War Two. Get students to elaborate on each factor and rearrange them in an order that makes sense to them. They can then use it to answer the question “Why did Britain pursue a policy of appeasement?” Click here for full screen…

Head2Head Worksheets

I have uploaded two worksheets to accompany the Head2Head Virtual Interviews. These are designed to work “off the shelf” and provide focus and direction to students conducting their virutal interviews with Hitler, Henry VIII, Martin Luther King, Dr. Fox and Stalin. 1. Newspaper Interview Task 2. Truth or Fiction Task

Flash Stopwatch

Type in your time, select a theme tune, and then click a button to start the countdown! A great tool for interactive whiteboards.

Accelerated Learning Cycle

Kolb’s Learning Cycle: The learning cycle model, developed by David Kolb, identifies four stages in learning. Peter Honey and Alan Mumford connected each stage in this learning cycle with a preferred learning style.

Create a Target Diagram Online!

A Target diagram is a fantastic way of getting students to break down a key question. Three factors are placed in the centre of the diagram. In the next layer, each factor can then be broken into two examples. In the final layer, each of these examples can then be substantiated with factual detail /…

Flash Game Generator

The Game Generator at www.classtools.net now has a feature which allows you to specify the type of quiz you would like the player to be directed to rather than allowing them a completely free choice. Check it out here!

Life on the Slave Plantations [1] – Slave Narratives

Students are placed in role as a real-life slave and read a first-person narrative from this sourcepack. They are then interviewed by the class, who records their findings in an attempt to determine the sorts of punishments inflicted for different types of “crimes” on the slave plantations.

Causes of Spanish Civil War: Conclusion

Students use this worksheet to summarise – and then crucially to connect – the various factors relating to the Origins of the Spanish Civil War. They are then given advice on how to structure an essay.

Runaway Slave Advertisements

This PowerPoint displays a series of advertisements for runaway slaves. Students are encouraged to read through each to deduce the sorts of conditions that slaves had to endure

The Spanish Second Republic

A worksheet in which students are given detailed information about The Spanish Second Republic and then asked to analyse it in various ways.

Fling the Teacher Challenge: The Rule of Primo de Rivera

An interactive computer game to test factual knowledge. The first student to finish should be given 20 points; the second student 18; and so on. I build up a “Fling the Teacher Leaderboard” over the whole course to build up a bit of competition…!

The Art of JMW Turner: PowerPoint Starter

This powerpoint presentation encourages students to analyse two of Turner’s greatest paintings: The Slave Ship and The Fighting Temeraire. Each painting is a great comment on the British Empire and its Slave Trade. A good cross-curricular link!

Primo de Rivera

Interactive Jigsaw Table Exercise: The Rule of Primo de Rivera [interactive]: Students have to read each key event, then decide whether it represents success or failure and in what particular policy area. The computer gives a score at the end, writes up the information in the correct order, and provides follow-up questions.

IB History, new syllabus resources

A new page outlining how I plan to teach the new International Baccalaureate syllabus as from September 2008, complete with links and resources.

Spanish Civil War: Map Task

Spain in 1923: Mapwork Task (Recommended as a homework at any point so far in this unit): Students are provided with essential information about the main locations relating to the economic, military, political, regional and social issues within Spain in the years immediately prior to the Spanish Civil War. This information is used to construct…

What were the main events of the Spanish Civil War?

Students should be provided with this interactive newsfeed covering the main events of the Spanish Civil War and then divide these into “Good news for the Republic” and “Bad news for the Republic”. They then have to use their own knowledge of international events in the 1930s to add a final column in the timeline…

Germany and the Spanish Civil War: Guernica

The most notorious example of German involvement in the Spanish Civil War was when the Nazi Condor Legion bombed the Basque city of Guernica. This lesson investigates the event through a detailed analysis of Picasso’s painting provided by Simon Schama’s excellent documentary (available here).

What did Nazi Germany contribute to the Spanish Civil War?

A decision-making exercise. Students are asked a series of questions about how they think Hitler should have organised his help to Franco’s Nationalists. The teacher then tells the students what actually happened in each case so that the class can discuss the merits and drawbacks of each policy. Sourcework questions round the exercise off.

Origins of the British Empire

Students have to copy and paste key details into the appropriate cells of a table which outlines who, why, where and how the British Empire developed. A great way of providing an overview of the growth of the British Empire.

Why did Germany get involved in the Spanish Civil War?

Students analyse a series of written sources – primary and secondary – to develop an understanding of why Germany got involved in the Spanish Civil War. By comparing, contrasting, organising points under key headings and summarising their findings, students will end this lesson with a sound grasp of Germany’s motives. Sourcework questions invite students to…

IGCSE History: Causes of the Spanish Civil War

In this worksheet, students use this interactive newsfeed to develop an understanding of the main events leading up to the Spanish Civil War, which they then categorise into social, economic, military and political factors. They produce a biased account from either a Republican or a Nationalist perspective, then consolidate their knowledge by producing a learning…

German Involvement in the Spanish Civil War

A complete scheme of work with interactive exercises and worksheets for IGCSE History. Nazi involvement in the Spanish Civil War is the sourcework paper for examinations in 2009!

Who was Responsible for the Holocaust?

A thorny subject, but an important one: were the German people “Hitler’s Willing Executioners”? GCSE History Students consider the evidence for both sides to reach their own judgement.

Nazi Policies for Jews, 1939-4

The development of the Final Solution in the Third Reich is examined and students produce their own classroom presentation.

Nazi Policies for Jews, 1933-39

Students consider whether each antisemitic policy in Hitler’s Third Reich was designed to threaten, humiliate or physically weaken the Jewish people. They consider how the international community responded to Nazi policies. They then consider what the law should really be regarding the treatment of immigrants and national minorities.

Nazi Propaganda

An analysis of a whole range of Nazi propaganda techniques from Hitler’s Third Reich including sport, posters and cinema. For each, students have to assess evidence of success and failure.

IGCSE / GCSE History Paper 1 Sample Answers

Paper 1 Structured Questions focus – Interactive Cartoon Analysis A large range of cartoons covering the 1919-39 period. For each one, students are asked a sourcework question focusing on the message of the source, and then a three-part Paper 1 style question. When they have written their answer in timed conditions, the computer provides model…

Create a Burger Diagram

A burger diagram is a simple essay planning tool. Students make basic notes covering their introduction, three main sections, and a conclusion. It is a useful way of ensuring that students think about structuring their essays in a logical format.

Chatshow Challenge: the Arab-Israeli Conflict

An end-of-unit activity which tests sourcework skills as well as factual knowledge. Students take on the role of either a Palestinian or an Israeli and go “Head to Head” with an opponent to answer key questions from their own biased perspective. The computer produces two scores for each student for teachers to record in the…

Nazi Policies towards Women

In this worksheet GCSE history students analyse one of Hitler’s speeches to determine how the Third Reich justified the Nazi policy of “Kinder, Kirche, Kuche”. They then categorise his actions according to whether they encouraged women to stay at home or have more babies.

The Renaissance – End of Unit Test / Assessment

Following directly on from the classroom debate, students then write an essay. This worksheet contains detailed instructions on how to link the characters together rather than simply focusing on what each one individually contributed. A clear markscheme is also provided; I get each student to mark 4 different essays, then we collate all the marks…

The Renaissance – Who was the most important person of the Renaissance?

A detailed lesson plan for year 8 history students. A class list is put into the Fruit Machine Name Picker at www.classtools.net to choose the Renaissance character each student should produce a research project on. This Renaissance project will be written in the first person to ensure that the student reads the information, under three…

Nazi Youth Policies: [1] Schools in the Third Reich

Youth Policies: [1] Schools Students match entries from Nazi School Textbooks to the subjects they describe, then each student in the class has a “Napola” school report written for them by several people in the class.

1453 Siege of Constantinople

An introductory worksheet. Perhaps the main reason why the Renaissance took off in Italy – this activity gets the narrative across in an engaging way. Students are given an interactive “news feed” of events, then can choose to produce EITHER a biased news report in Publisher OR a radio broadcast using their microphone OR a…

Nazi Germany – Social Policies [3]: The Moral Maze

Social Policies [3]: The Moral Maze: Students are presented with a logical defence of the principles of Eugenics and Social Darwinism as they existed in the Third Reich. They are then asked how they would nevertheless challenge some of its assertions both on rational and on moral grounds. One to get them thinking and debating!

Bayeux Tapestry Slideshow

View a series of Flash animations from the Bayeux Tapestry with analysis of their meaning. Designed to accompany the Year 7 History worksheet that comes with the Battle of Hastings Decision Making Simulation.