History Mysteries: Lesson Plans, Worksheets and Markschemes

I’ve just launched a brand new section on the website called the “ActiveHistory Mysteries“. I have been trialling these with my own students this term and they have proven to be a big hit! If you try them out with your own students, and / or you have any ideas for other “mysteries” I could…

UN Debate on Partition of the Middle East

UN Debate on Partition of the Middle East: The Reality: (a) Plans prior to 1947 UN Debate on Partition of the Middle East: The Reality: (a) Plans of 1947 Whilst the three “judges” are deliberating which partition plan is the most appropriate, the members of the other two groups can be completing these two worksheets.

UN Debate on Partition of the Middle East: Roleplay

Three people in the class will be in role as members of the UN. They will have vote later on which of the proposals presented to them is the most likely to bring lasting peace to the region. The other members of the class are in role as Arabs & Jews. Each pair of people…

UN Debate on the Future of the Middle East: The Reality

In the event, UNSCOP was divided about which of these proposals was the best way forward. The Majority Plan (8 votes) supported partition qualified by economic unity. The Minority Plan (3 votes) supported the federal state solution. In this activity students read through primary sources relating to the decision-makers and decide whether they agree with…

World War One Battlefields Tour: Itinerary and Resources

WW1 Battlefields Tour Resources Following the successful conclusion of a school Battlefields Trip with 34 students in Years 11-12, I’ve uploaded my full itinerary, with worksheets, teacher notes, Google Earth Tour and so on. I hope this is useful for other teachers developing / constructing their own visit.

UN Debate on the Future of the Middle East: Roleplay Investigation

In 1947, UNSCOP (the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine) was given the task of working out a proposal for the future of Palestine. They considered 6 possible courses of action. In this activity students will consider the advantages and disadvantages of the schemes they put forward and decide if they settled upon the correct…

Why did Britain decide to pull out of the Palestinian Mandate in 1947?

Using syllabus points and past examination questions, students start to form an independent judgement on the key question. They will also be required to focus on a short period to research in-depth and report back to the class (here is a sample Prezi Presentation that can be used as a guide). There are two sets…

The July Crisis: Decision-Making Exercise

The overall result was the July Crisis and the outbreak of World War One; in this exercise students learn about the crisis through a decision-making exercise which gets them thinking in terms of who was responsible. The teacher version is important for this lesson.

Trench Warfare Simulation: Now with a live Highscore board

I’ve updated the popular “Life in the Trenches” simulation so that students’ ongoing scores are automatically recorded in a highscore board throughout the lesson. The highscore board can be viewed by students and teachers throughout the lesson for added interest and competition, and the teacher can use its results as an instant markbook!

Causes of World War Simulation

I’ve now added a HighScore board to the simulation – in other words an instant markbook for teachers to access at the end of the session. Any scores submitted within a one-hour period are displayed and can be copied into a markbook. Click the “Leaderboard” option to see how it works.

Timeline of the Arab-Israeli Conflict up to 1939

Using video, web and textbook sources, students start developing a timeline overview of the Middle East Conflict up to 1945. This image could be used as a teaching aid to clarify the borders of the Palestinian Mandate.

Introduction to the Middle East Conflict

A class brainstorm about what students already know about the Arab-Israeli conflict is followed by a preliminary write-up. This worksheet could be followed by (a) Going through this PowerPoint Presentation followed by this short video about 9/11. (b) watching this YouTube Video for extra notes.

James Spod: Undercover in Mussolini’s Italy

In this brand new simulation, learn about the political, economic and social landscape of Fascist Italy as you fly across the British Channel and journey around Italy on a mission to assassinate Mussolini!

Mussolini and Fascist Italy

Research Task: Short Version Eight main policy areas will be researched (students later boil these down to five, then link them). The teacher will provide details on the first one using a model research piece and students should make notes. The class will then research the other rows and feedback with their findings.

Mussolini and Fascist Italy: Overview

Mussolini (a former schoolteacher and socialist) was appointed prime minister in October 1922 . As Duce (leader), he initially headed a coalition of Fascists and nationalists, but soon assumed dictatorial powers, although muted parliamentary opposition continued until the murder of Matteotti in 1924. As an extension activity, read through Mussolini’s answer to the question “What…

MazeGame: The Chinese Civil War and the Rise of Mao

Meet some of the key characters relating to the topic, learn about some of the key documents and artefacts, and take a series of tests before being given an overall score in this decision-making adventure.

Chinese Civil War – Essay Writing Task

Students are presented with three possible essay titles, which the teacher can either divide between the class as a homework task OR one of which can be randomly chosen in a subsequent lesson and answered by the entire class in timed conditions.

Jigsaw Table Exercise: The Chinese Civil War and the Rise of Mao

After the class has had a feedback session based on the individual research tasks, students should complete this interactive exercise which tests their knowledge of the essential points and which additionally provides them with a thorough, completed table of information with which to develop their original notes. Each student is also given a score, which…

The Chinese Civil War – Individual Research Task

For the next task, students are provided with a blank version of this grid. Each student is allocated one cell, and use timelines, textbooks and websites to produce a PowerPoint presentation on it. The class should start by going back through the source pack and deciding where and why each source can be placed in…

History Mystery: Antoine de St. Exupery

An ActiveHistory Mystery. The “History Mysteries” lessons are designed as stand-alone projects which each last 3-4 hours. Through engaging historical topics, they teach skills of research, groupwork, structured writing. There is a standard teacher lesson plan and student record sheet / markscheme for each activity.

Timeline of the Chinese Civil War – Overview using Video

After copying down the information from the presentation , students then watch the first 8.5 mins of this video and make detailed notes to develop their basic timeline. Students then develop their timeline by organising it under the following headings and clarifying dates by using textbooks and / or the web: * Background (to 1927)…

Decline and collapse of communism in eastern europe

An end-of unit “Fling the Teacher” challenge with 30 possible questions. All students should start the quiz at the same time, with 10 minutes available. Award 10 points to anyone finishing the quiz successfully within the first minute, 9 points to anyone finishing within the second minute, and so on. I build up a “leaderboard”…

IGCSE Collapse of Communism – Interactive Cartoon Analysis

In this activity, students analyse 5 separate political cartoons relating to the decline and collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. They are then able to compare their answers to a series of model answers. A useful way of revising the 2010 IGCSE Paper 2 Topic.

History Mystery: The Dreadnought Hoax

An ActiveHistory Mystery. The “History Mysteries” lessons are designed as stand-alone projects which each last 3-4 hours. Through engaging historical topics, they teach skills of research, groupwork, structured writing. There is a standard teacher lesson plan and student record sheet / markscheme for each activity.

The Suez Crisis: Historiography and Conclusions

The Suez Crisis: Historiography and Conclusions Students consider an orthodox and revisionist interpretation of the Suez Crisis to consolidate their understanding of this topic and reach an independent judgement. There are teacher notes available for this activity.

USA/USSR: Reagan and “Star Wars”

President Ronald Reagan contributed to the decline and fall of the Soviet Union by adopting an aggressive, uncompromising policy towards communism. Students investigate his policies and their impact upon the USSR through a timeline and some source work questions.

USA/USSR: The Nuclear Arms Race

Another pressure upon the Soviet Union was the massive cost of keeping up with the United States in terms of nuclear weapons. Students answer questions based around a timeline and as an extension activity conduct some research into the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Problems for the USSR: Afghanistan 1979-89

In this card-sort activity students piece together the causes, course and consequence of the war with Afghanistan, which caused such havoc for the military and the economic position of the Soviet Union.

Eastern Europe: Rebellions 1956-68

Students investigate the uprisings in Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia to develop their understanding of the poor socio-economic conditions in the Eastern Bloc.

Overview: Eastern Europe in 1989

Students are provided with essential terminology and produce their own account of the events of 1989-91 by comparing and making deductions from two maps of Europe during the period.

Why did Germany Lose World War One?

Students then use this interactive essay planning tool to submit a suggested way of linking the four factors, and get – at the simple click of a button – a very detailed model essay plan suggesting not only the content of each paragraph but also – crucially – how they should be linked together. In…

The Reichstag Fire: Roleplay Lesson

The Reichstag Fire Roleplay exercise A roleplay exercise designed to take place over a one-hour lesson. Students investigate the evidence and reliability of the main witnesses after dividing into prosecution and defence teams. A separate team of judges prepare “surprise evidence” for each side. This teacher promptsheet is also necessary.

Origins of World War One: Essay Planning Tool

A new activity – CLICK HERE! How can I use this tool in class? a. Students should each spend 10-15 minutes reading through various essay plans. Particularly convincing essay plans should be COPIED and PASTED into a Word Processor. b. Then, students spend a further 5 minutes settling upon their favourite essay plan. The others…

The Decline and Collapse of Soviet Control over Eastern Europe

I have put together a new section on the website covering “The Decline and Collapse of Soviet Control over Eastern Europe”, which is the compulsory sourcework paper for IGCSE History, Summer 2010. I plan to teach this unit to my students at the International School of Toulouse in the New Year as their final topic….

History in the Headlines

The latest “History in the Headlines“! This newsfeed is updated (almost!) daily. It provides a hand-selected digest of the automated newsfeed at ClassPress.net. This provides a great way of adding contemporary relevance to your classroom studies. Why not print some of the articles out and stick them on a news board? Or get your students…

Introduction to the Spanish Civil War

“Introduction: The Outcome of the Spanish Civil War was by no means a foregone conclusion” This worksheet will later be used as the basis for the introduction to the main essay “Why did Franco win the Spanish Civil War?”

GCSE Modern World History – Google Earth Tour

After watching the film, students should watch this Google Earth Tour and list the 10 key personalities shown in it based on what they learned from the film. As the tour progresses, give some clues / anecdotes about each character to maintain interest. Award merits to the best scoring students in the class. A full…

GCSE Modern World History – Video!

A three-minute video I put together to give students an overview of some of the main events and personalities of the 20th Century. The appropriate point at which to watch this video is made clear in the PowerPoint presentation above. Before students watch the film, warn them that there will be a quick factual test…

Why did Germany and her Allies Lose World War One?

Essay Project: Gathering the Information [interactive] Students begin by using interactive running dictation exercise to complete this worksheet. This will enable them to get a thorough grounding in the political, military, cultural and economic reasons why Germany and her allies lost World War One. It will also get them to consider whether Allied strengths, or…

The Wall Street Crash Simulation

A completely overhauled version of the simulation game about the Wall Street Crash. Students are presented with historically accurate details about the events of the 1920s and decide whether to buy or shares at each stage. A great way of analysing the causes and events of the crash; complete with a worksheet.