Causes of World War One: What was Responsible?: An analysis grid which moves towards linking and prioritising the various factors that caused World War One. Students are invited to complete the blank cells using their own knowledge.

Causes of World War One – Who was Responsible?: A summary grid for revision purposes.

Causes of Wars – Comparisons and Contrasts: Students are provided with detailed information about the causes of three major wars in the form of a grid, broken down into key themes (political, economic, etc). Their task is to complete the grid by providing further examples of other wars that they have studied and try to…

Overview of Past Questions: Students are asked to collate a list of past paper questions from the most recent examination papers, to categorise these into causes, practices and effects questions, and offer some initial observations on the sorts of demands made by each.

Using Key Quotes: A series of short, memorable quotes relating to the key topics being studied. Students have to reflect on how they may best be used in the examination.

Historiography Handouts with Associated Tasks – The October Revolution: Popular Uprising, or Coup d’Etat?

Essential Historiographical Terms for IB: A condensed, one-sided summary sheet defining clearly and with examples such historiographical terms as Determinism, Accidentalism, Intentionalism, Structuralism.

The examiner is very keen that students demonstrate a clear understanding of central terms when they are used in essay questions. In this activity, students work in pairs then as a class to design a clear definition of such key terms as ‘Guerilla Warfare’ and ‘Totalitarianism’. The worksheet uses the examples of Stalin and Mao…

This worksheet is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

This resource is part of a new roleplay unit for teaching this topic at IB / A-Level. The teacher takes on the role of the Tsar, and the students as his ministers. Over several hours the ‘reformers’ and the ‘reactionaries’ debate the issues whilst the teacher uses the 30-slide presentation to guide the debate and…

This PowerPoint is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

This worksheet is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

This worksheet is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

This resource is part of a new roleplay unit for teaching this topic at IB / A-Level. The teacher takes on the role of the Tsar, and the students as his ministers. Over several hours the ‘reformers’ and the ‘reactionaries’ debate the issues whilst the teacher uses the 30-slide presentation to guide the debate and…

This worksheet is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

This resource is part of a new roleplay unit for teaching this topic at IB / A-Level. The teacher takes on the role of the Tsar, and the students as his ministers. Over several hours the ‘reformers’ and the ‘reactionaries’ debate the issues whilst the teacher uses the 30-slide presentation to guide the debate and…

This worksheet is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

This worksheet is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

This resource is part of a new roleplay unit for teaching this topic at IB / A-Level. The teacher takes on the role of the Tsar, and the students as his ministers. Over several hours the ‘reformers’ and the ‘reactionaries’ debate the issues whilst the teacher uses the 30-slide presentation to guide the debate and…

This worksheet is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

This resource is part of a new roleplay unit for teaching this topic at IB / A-Level. The teacher takes on the role of the Tsar, and the students as his ministers. Over several hours the ‘reformers’ and the ‘reactionaries’ debate the issues whilst the teacher uses the 30-slide presentation to guide the debate and…

This resource is part of a new roleplay unit for teaching this topic at IB / A-Level. The teacher takes on the role of the Tsar, and the students as his ministers. Over several hours the ‘reformers’ and the ‘reactionaries’ debate the issues whilst the teacher uses the 30-slide presentation to guide the debate and…

This worksheet is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

This worksheet is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

This worksheet is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

This worksheet is part of the new Scheme of Work through which the entire topic of Lenin’s Russia is taught through an extended roleplay with students taking the role of different Politburo members.

A worksheet to help students plan their essay assignment. A completed teacher version is also available.

A worksheet activity designed to get students thinking about the key historiographical debate.

Two model essays, written by RJ Tarr to help students understand how to structure an effective essay: 1. How Fascist was Fascist Italy? 2. How Successful were Mussolini’s Domestic Policies?

A student test; there is also a completed teacher version available.

A series of notes [1][2][3] to help teachers with their planning and preparation.

This resource is designed to get students turning their timeline into a thematic analysis. A completed teacher version is also available.

A PowerPoint presentation getting students to reflect on the nature of Fascism.

A student worksheet; a completed teacher version is also available.

A series of primary sources to help students with their essay planning task.

A resource to familiarise students with the historiographical issues.

A picture quiz designed to precede a more detailed factual test.

A worksheet to introduce the topic. Teacher notes are also available.

A worksheet to help students analyse Fascism through primary sources.

30 keywords are provided. If a student CUTS and PASTES their essay into the tool, it will then proceed to tell them how many of these keywords are currently included in it and which need to be added.

This short study unit should end with students writing an essay on the subject of “Compare and Contrast the Rise to Power of Two Single Party State Rulers” (focusing on Mao and Pinochet). I have written a model essay on this subject myself which is available in the teacher resources area.

Students then get into pairs and small groups to compare their approaches to the previous task. There is a lengthy list of “discussion points” provided too in this worksheet designed to get them thinking more (e.g. the USA opposed Mao, but failed to prevent his rise; but they favoured Pinochet, who succeeded. Why the difference?)….

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.

A detailed analysis of the causes for Pinochet’s rise to power presented as a “Fill the Blanks” quiz. There is a completed teacher version available.

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.

Students are presented with a series of images from which to draw their own initial deductions. They are then told what each one represents. A good introduction to the topic.

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…

Students are allocated or choose one of the musicians, sportsmen or politicians to research in more depth. They will present their work in the form of a “Fakebook” profile using the application based at www.classtools.net.

Students paste their essay into this interface and get a score based on how many keywords they have included. Excellent for ensuring topic coverage at first-draft phase.

A new revision quiz which can be played by students as independent revision or as a classroom group challenge.

In this structured debate, students are placed into two teams to formulate questions from their opponents designed to prove their case using references to all the major periods covered by the syllabus. The arguments and evidence put forward, and the synthesis reached, is a useful revision aid.

Mapwork: The growth of Israel. In this exercise, students firstly label all of the key regions and areas onto a large map. Then, in a series of smaller maps they shade the territory occupied by Israel over time by referring to a list of key points.

Timeline of Key Events: Match the Dates. An overview of the entire period, chronologically arranged but with no dates provided. Students see how many of the events they can correctly identify. The completed teacher version is also available.

Picture Round and Terminology Quiz. Students are instructed to locate some pictures of key characters, and produce quiz questions that can be turned into an interactive revision exercise at www.classtools.net.

In this worksheet, students are provided with a “mega summary” on one sheet of paper as a “gap fill” exercise. Covering the major events down the page, broken into columns which compare the role of Jews, Arabs and the International Community, this is an invaluable resource to help students refresh their memories and see the…

Students paste their essay into this interface and get a score based on how many keywords they have included. Excellent for ensuring topic coverage at first-draft phase.

An exercise to develop sourcework skills in the style of the IB examination. There are also some model answers available.

These five characters are very fascinating in themselves; and as they may well be quoted in the sourcework paper, it makes sense to have a little to say about each one.

A Quiz. There is also a completed teacher version available.

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.

To test understanding following completion of the previous worksheet.

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.

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…

An article in the style of an IB / A-Level essay, which I have written for History Review, due to be published in March 2011.

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.

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…

Introduction and Overview Students are introduced to the main debate that they will investigate: Interpretation 1: Israel was acting defensively. This was a pre-emptive strike against Arab armies who were about to invade her. Throughout the conflict Israel acted with admirable restraint. Interpretation 2: Israel was acting aggressively. She deliberately misread the situation to justify…

Students are provided with a detailed list of factors relating to Stalin’s rise to power. These are organised under 3-5 headings. The following headings might give you some ideas: Political | Economic | Personal | Stalin’s Strengths | Opposition Weaknesses | Stalin’s Successes | Opposition Mistakes | Lenin’s Mistakes | Lenin’s Weaknesses. There is a…

The Suez Crisis: Tension Erupts Students consider the causes, events and consequences of the Suez Crisis through a series of sources, including a short video from Andrew Marr’s History of Britain. There are teacher notes available for this activity and evidence slips for the main exercise, as well as YouTube Videos available: [1 – Sevres…