Simply input your items here, one per line, and click ‘submit’ to create a quick and easy drag-and-drop exercise [sample]. TIP: Split items with an asterisk to create a quiz with a fixed left-hand column, as in: July 1916 * Battle of the Somme begins
Category: Knowledge
“On School Report!” – A fun way of evaluating factors and individuals
When assessing the successes and failures of a particular historical figure, consider approaching the task in the form of a “school report”. This can be the basis of a consolidation exercise at the start of the topic, or an intensive and efficient way of covering fresh material step-by-step. Start by identifying the main ‘subjects’ that…
“Takeaway Homework”
In a ‘Takeaway Task’, students are given the flexibility to design their own project assignment based on one cell, row or column of the table. The task is constructed so that the table in itself provides a useful overview of the topic (in this case, the Origins of the British Empire). When students are told that they will be…
Creative Acronyms for Topic Revision/Introductions
For revision purposes, creating memory words, with each letter representing the first letter of another key word, is an effective way of getting students to reflect on factual information and construct an effective way of recalling a larger amount of information. At the start of a topic too, it can also be used as a…
QR Code Treasure Hunt
A QR-Code Treasure Hunt is a fun, simple way to get students using their mobile devices to continue learning outside of lesson time. Here’s how we set one up at the International School of Toulouse with some guidance on how to do the same with your own students using the QR Treasure Hunt Generator at ClassTools.net.
“Design a new page for your textbook”
Students identify an aspect of the topic that is not covered in sufficient detail in their standard level textbook. They then have to produce a page or a double-spread in the same style of the textbook covering that particular topic area, complete with sources, questions and other tasks as appropriate. Thanks to @BSB_Humanities for the…
Students design a Hollywood Film about the study topic
A great way to get students familiar with the key events of a historical person’s life and consider concepts of significance. Stage 1: Start by outlining the central task [themify_box style=”purple comment rounded” ] You are a Hollywood director producing a film about [person / topic]. You will produce a poster advertising your film, including: –…
Image Wipe
Provide students with an image with key details partly obscured. Ask them to anticipate what might be going on, when and where it comes from, and any other relevant questions (see image slideshow for ideas). Then uncover the image and ask them the same questions again. Finally, ask them to speculate about what happened before /…
“Open Me” Display Pieces
When producing a display poster summing up several ideas, students should identify a ‘cover image’ for each main part of the piece. This should be ‘lifted up’ to expose the written detail. See the image for an idea of how this works. Taking it further: An even simpler method is to take a piece of A4,…
Silent Discussion
This is a great way of getting students to conduct some close reading of detailed sources. The lesson is framed around a key question for investigation (which could be about causes, consequences, significance…), and then carefully selected sources are placed at different points around the room. Students move between the sources in pairs, in silence, annotating and…
Students design a cover image for their topic packs
Overview: When you provide your students with a printed work pack, or even if they have their topic notes in a ring binder with separators, ask them to decide upon an appropriate cover image with an explanation of its relevance directly underneath. The image here shows examples from my Year 10 students, who produced front…
Timeline Jigsaw
Overview: Provide students with a list of events running down the page. To the right of the events are two columns as so: Event My Guess Correct Answer Difference William has himself crowned as King of England Edward the Confessor dies Harold Godwineson swears to support William as the next King of England In “my…
Curate a Museum Exhibition
Provide students with a range of images relating to the topic. They imagine they are curating a museum exhibition on four separate walls. How will they categorise the images into four categories? How will they caption them? Examples: Portraits of Napoleon, Stalin or other dictators with a penchant for propaganda. Images of the Middle Ages. Images…
Using Hexagon Learning for categorisation, linkage and prioritisation
The ability to select, prioritise, categorise and link evidence is a valuable skill that students learn in History. It is also highly transferable to other subjects. Using hexagons is a particularly simple and effective way of developing these skills. Read a detailed case study here. I have created an Online Hexagons Generator at ClassTools.net. …
Tic Tac Know
Great idea by @sallyluane: ‘Tic Tac Know’: Write a grid of keywords. Each student gets a point for each sentence they construct using all the words in a particular horizontal / vertical / diagonal line. Taking it further: Get the students to decide upon the words. If more than one student opts for the same…
