This lesson follows on well from the studies of individuals (see entire unit here). Students consider the big changes – transport, agriculture, smelting and so on – and try to link them together in a meaningful way. I have now added are some samples produced by my own students: Olivia | Hanif | Grace

The full study unit covering the causes and the events of the French Revolution takes up to 15 hours. However, in this condensed study unit, designed to last about 7 hours, students will learn about the main causes of the French Revolution. The Three Estates System, the mistakes of King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, the…

The full study unit covering the causes and the events of the French Revolution takes up to 15 hours. However, in this condensed study unit, designed to last about 7 hours, students will learn about the main causes of the French Revolution. The Three Estates System, the mistakes of King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, the…

I’ve just uploaded a template for a “Wanted” Poster which can be used to conclude the Year 9 unit on ““Who was Jack the Ripper?”

I’ve updated the Horatio Ramsbottom game with a simpler worksheet, a second test, a leaderboard and new questions.

I’ve added a high score board to the French Revolution simulation, so that teachers can quickly get a full set of marks for students at the end of a lesson.

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.

This Victorian Worst Jobs in History simulation can be used as a stand-alone lesson, homework assignment or as part of a broader unit on “Was life Good or Bad during this particular period?”. The worksheet has basic activities for a 30 minute lesson, and extension tasks that could be followed up later.

Essay-Planning Task This worksheet is designed to be used in conjunction with the mid-unit assessment in this unit. Students compare, contrast and connect 6 key factors to produce a detailed essay plan.

Part 2 of the French Revolution simulation. It is 1789. You are the French aristocrat, the Count of Camembert. You are an advisor to King Louis XVI of France. Your job is to give him good advice when he faces difficult decisions. The game is complete with sound effects and a worksheet.

A major update to this popular simulation, which now includes sound effects and improved playability. Students journey around pre-revolutionary France and provide advice to the King in the hope of saving his dynasty. Worksheets provided.

A selection of quizzes and activities designed to help Year 9 History students revise the year’s work prior to their summer exams.

A new workpack to accompany the Coalbrookdale Interactive Census. This completely stand-alone workpack provides 5-6 hours worth of lessons and is a great way to develop sourcework analysis skills.

Students conduct a “round robin” exercise, gathering information from their classmates after each student is given just one piece of information from this list. They then have to categorise their points and put them into a diagram using classtools.net.

Primary sources and discussion points relating to the events leading to the death of King Louis XVI (and of Marie-Antoinette).

A worksheet to run alongside this innovative activity designed to bring the drama of King Louis XVI’s desperate gamble alive

A role-play lesson. Students consider how they would have voted on each of the key issues discussed at the Tennis Court, then compare these to what was actually decided.

Students are provided with a list of possible questions for a GCSE-style test. In a subsequent lesson, the teacher should pick one question at random and the students write their answers in a timed exercise.

The teacher should start by showing students this PowerPoint Presentation of stills from the Kirsten Dunst film to decide what impression is being created. They then use the worksheet to decide how accurate the interpretation actually is.

A good King? A good man? both? neither?! Students reach their verdict after looking at a variety of primary sources.

Which of these three were the most important? And what nasty “dirt” can we find out on each of these philosophers to minimise the damage to the King?

An innovative activity designed to help students learn about the opening stages of the Revolution. There is a worksheet that can be used to accompany the activity.

A presentation designed to generate student interest and establish the relevance of the subject.

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…

The Trade Triangle is explained and then students produce a “living graph” of the experience on board the ships using www.classtools.net.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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?

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…

Students are presented with a series of images and explanations and placed into teams for a competition over several rounds to test knowledge and understanding of life on the slave plantations. Instructions for the game can be found here.

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.

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

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!

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.

A new quiz on Jack the Ripper, created using www.classtools.net.

Mini-Sourcework exercise on Jack the Ripper. Complete with markscheme to test knowledge and understanding (30 minutes).

Maxi-sourcework assessment Complete with markscheme to test knowledge and understanding about the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888 (1 hour).

A consolidating lesson which looks at the social outcomes of the Ripper murders. Students are given a sourcework test, complete with a markscheme.

Students are presented with other key facts about Jack and use this to make their own deductions about the killer. These ideas can then serve as the basis for a lively discussion in class.

Students analyse the gruesome “Dear Boss” letter to make deductions about Jack’s character. Was he educated? Was he an egomaniac? Can we trust this evidence?

This worksheet accompanies the first 40 minutes of the video available from Amazon. It provides a good overview of the East End, the victims and the problems faced by the police.

In this worksheet, using witness reports from the crime scenes, students build up their own profile of the killer. How old was he? What social background? What witnesses can be trusted? Why are there such discrepancies between the witness reports?

This worksheet introduces Charles Warren and Sir Robert Anderson, the policemen in charge of the investigation. Students consider a detailed list of the measures that could have been taken and try to deduce which ones were simply not possible at the time; which ones were possible but which were vetoed by the Home Office and…

Students investigate the sad lives of each of Jack’s victims: Polly Nicholls, Annie Chapman, Lizzie Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly – and compare similarities and differences between them by construcing parallel timelines. Were these women to blame for the condition they found themselves in by 1888, or were they victims of the system?

A worksheet designed to be used as a ‘back to back’ exercise in the classroom. The teacher copy should also be downloaded.

In this worksheet, students are introduced to the terrible social conditions that prevailed in East End of London and make deductions about how these could have helped “Jack”. They are presented with a list of the problems and deprivations in the East End and consider how each would have helped the killer. They also analyse…

Take on the role of a kidnapped young African in this simulation and see how well you can maintain your strength in the gruelling “Middle Passage” across the Atlantic in this decision-making activity. Complete with five different lesson plans. Part of an up-and-coming new Black History unit which I am currently developing which will be…

I have now added a new factual test to the popular “Horatio Ramsbottom: Victorian Entrepreneur” computer simulation. The game itself has also been expanded to include a new decision point relating to Brunel’s “Great Eastern” project.

A balloon debate lesson plan and worksheet. Each student produces a single powerpoint slide as a key figure from the industrial revolution period explaining why “they” deserve to be remembered as the most important character overall. The debate which follows is a great way of encouraging students to link and prioritise different types of achievements.

Armed with the profiles that they have built up using the worksheet unit about Jack the Ripper, students go to this ActiveHistory Simulation which asks them a series of questions about what they think they now know about the personality and appearance of the Ripper. The computer then analyses their responses to present them with…

An essay assignment for Year 9 to round off their study of the Causes of the French Revolution.

This worksheet accompanies the final 20 minutes of the video available from Amazon. In this part of the documentary, the top suspects are suggested and the video narrator offers his own view on who the murderer was. This is a stimulating way of following the classroom debate and usually provides some lively discussion.

I spent some time over half term completely rewriting the activities based around the Coalbrookdale Interactive Census of 1861. There is now a complete history lesson pack to accompany the searchable database, which I’ll be trialling with my own Year 9 students over the next two or three weeks. Hope you like it!

A brand new activity for Year 9 History, based at ClassTools.net: Interactive Whiteboard Resources