The Norman Conquest This lesson explores the role of monks and nuns in Medieval society and questions their importance. Students learn how people joined the monastic community and how they helped the local community. Students also analyse their dress code and the reasons behind it, before engaging in literacy tasks such as linking their daily life to particularly headings and writing a narrative account. There are accompanying worksheets and video links to reinforce the learning. The plenary of ‘find and fix’ challenges the students to rewrite and correct a number of statements made. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end using a rate ‘o’ meter to show the progress of learning. The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.

World War I The aim of this lesson is to question the integrity of Field Marshal Douglas Haig, one of the most controversial figures of the war. Does Field Marshal Douglas Haig deserve the nickname of ‘The Butcher of the Somme’? Students are given the context of the ‘Lions led by Donkeys’ argument and are then led through a journey of audio, video, and source evidence from which they have to make a judgement at the end if he deserves his nickname. They will also recognise and analyse how views about Haig have hardened and then softened over time. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout the lesson and this unit of study to show the progress of learning. The resource includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 The lesson aims to explore the development of nuclear weapons and their significance in the Cold War. Students will first learn the devastating effects of a nuclear fallout before examining why they were developed by the USA and how the Superpower rivalry spurred the Soviet Union on to develop weapons of her own in a comprehension exercise. Students will also complete a fill in the gaps exercise of how nuclear weapons were meant to act as a deterrent to a nuclear war. There is also some excellent Pathé news footage of the tests conducted at the time, from which students use inference to evaluate the real propaganda behind the headlines given. There is some GCSE question practice to complete at the end with help and prompts given if required. The final task is to complete a road map as students attempt to answer questions correctly to reach the safety of a nuclear bomb shelter. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout this and subsequent lessons to show the progress of learning. The lessons in this bundle are therefore linked together to build up a picture of how diplomacy, propaganda and spying led two Superpowers with opposing political ideologies to create tensions, rivalries and distrust as well as subsequently forming mutual understanding and cooperation over the time period in question. The resource includes retrieval practice, suggested teaching strategies, differentiated material and GCSE question practice. It comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

**AQA GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People c1000 to present ** This is an introductory lesson and sets out to establish some key dates, people and discoveries associated with this unit of study. Moreover it introduces the concepts of beliefs, ideas and treatments through the different time periods and questions whether these improved or regressed over time. Students plot these key people, events and ideas on a timeline, which they can develop in the class and/or at home. I have also included a personal tracker which the students can stick at the front of their books and track various assessment points throughout the unit using different colours for achievement. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning. The resource comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson and there are differentiated materials included.

AQA GCSE 9-1 Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present The aim of the lesson is for students to understand the role of war in medicine and how many strides are made due to investment made by Governments to treat its wounded soldiers. The lesson begins with the students linking war and its effects on medicine before they have to distinguish which advances have been made in both world wars. The second part of the lesson is based on the wonderful information given by BBC I Wonder on the plastic surgeon Harold Gillies and his attempt to focus on the physical appearance of soldiers affected by war. This part of the lesson is differentiated and requires students to analyse, prioritise and evaluate their judgements. The plenary requires the students to find and fix the statements from what they have learned during the lesson. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning. The resource comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson and there are differentiated materials included.

World War II The aim of this lesson is to evaluate the reasons why the RAF won the Battle of Britain. With Hitler having conquered France, he soon began his preparations to invade Britain. But with a numerical advantage in planes and skilled fighter pilots, how were the RAF able to defend Britain so effectively? How were they able to overturn another certain disaster into a victory? Students analyse video footage and a ‘top secret report’ to evaluate how the RAF gained an advantage. They also judge how effective the Government’s poster campaign was to convince the public they were in safe hands with the RAF. Ultimately students decide and explain why the RAF won, be it through pilot skill, fuel advantage, the technology of radar, winning the propaganda war or through sheer determination and grit. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning. The resource includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

Cold War This first lesson aims to set the scene of Europe from 1945 with the defeat of Germany. The first part of the lesson investigates Hitler’s death, as the students break down and summarise some text into headings before writing a narrative account of the events. The second part investigates the aims of the Big Three and what they agreed should happen to Germany and Berlin at the end of the War. Students scrutinise and decide what each of the leaders (Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill) might have said at Tehran and Yalta and complete a suspicions grid to be able to explain and justify these growing tensions. The central theme throughout this and the proceeding ten lessons is to ask why civilians feared for their lives? In a new era after World War 2, suspicions and rivalries arose between the two new superpowers, the USA and the USSR. Each lesson explores these growing tensions and ultimately questions why people thought a nuclear war was imminent. The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change and is differentiated. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.

American Civil Rights I have always been fascinated by the contribution Martin Luther King made to the Civil Rights Movement and his leadership which was inspired by Gandhi to promote non-violent struggle. This lesson focuses on five main events in his life, from his speeches and letters, to his marches and boycotts. Students are given information about each of them and they have to evaluate their significance and make a judgement in numerical form. Students then conclude their findings and present them to the class. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 The aim of this lesson is to understand and discover how Stalin retaliated and reacted to the formation of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid. Students are given the key information about the setting up of Cominform (to counter the Truman Doctrine) and Comecon (to counter Marshall Aid). Students will then have to evaluate how much help and support Stalin gave to Eastern Europe. They will complete this using an evaluation grid by colour coding the decisions made from not at all to significantly or extremely. This will enable them to complete a choice of two GCSE practice question, will help given if required including a student friendly markscheme. This resource also includes differentiated questions using Blooms taxonomy at the beginning as well as in the plenary to check understanding. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout this and subsequent lessons to show the progress of learning. The lessons in this bundle are therefore linked together to build up a picture of how diplomacy, propaganda and spying led two Superpowers with opposing political ideologies to create tensions, rivalries and distrust as well as subsequently forming mutual understanding and cooperation over the time period in question. The resource includes retrieval practice, suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and GCSE exam practice and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

The Industrial Revolution The aim of this lesson is to introduce the new breed of Factory Owner in the Industrial Revolution What made Richard Arkwright such a success and how far did he change social and economic fabric of Britain forever? Students learn how he built up his business and the steps he took became a millionaire and questions how people at the time felt about this. Activities include completing a thinking quilt and a worksheet on the steps to his success with an explanation as to why, analysing video evidence as well as studying and evaluating text before making a conclusion at the end. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning. The resource comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson and there are differentiated materials included.

The aim of this lesson is to understand the causes and consequences of Harold Hardrada’s invasion of the north of England. Students learn through narrative and video evidence of the forthcoming battle of Stamford Bridge and how Harold was able to win, despite the hurdles Hardrada’s army put in front of him. Furthermore students have to analyse how much power Harold’s army had and efficiency rate (as with a house) why Hardrada eventually ran out of energy. The resource is differentiated and gives suggested teaching strategies. It comes in PowerPoint format which can be amended and changed to suit.

I have put together a few ideas I have had on retrieval practise, which is helping my students discuss and debate more than ever before. Many thanks to @mrfitzhist for the inspiration to make them. They come in PDF and Powerpoint format so you can change and adapt if needed. If you like these resources, please follow me on twitter for more ideas @pilgrim_17

World War II The aim of this lesson to analyse and evaluate the part played by women in World War 2. Students will analyse a number of propaganda posters used at the time, with particular reference made to the use of headings, colour, messages and the images used. Traditional teaching has always focused on work undertaken by women such as nursing, the W.A.A.F. or the Women’s Land Army. Although the students will learn the about the vital role women played in these jobs, they will also learn about the Special Operations Executive set up by Churchill as he recruited sixty women to operate behind enemy lines to ‘set Europe ablaze’. There are four case studies to unpick as well as some great video links to accompany the lesson. The plenary requires the students to match the key word to the images shown. It is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited throughout to show the progress of learning. The resource includes retrieval practice activities, suggested teaching strategies and differentiated materials, and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

Suffragettes Why were so many people in the Nineteenth Century prepared to die for universal suffrage? How had the Industrial Revolution created so many divisions and changes in society where towns such as Manchester, Sheffield and Birmingham had no MP’s and thus went unrepresented in Parliament? Could Parliament see the injustice of denying the vote to working class men and industrialists who were making Britain the workshop of the world? Thus the story starts with why having a vote is so important today and who had the vote in the Nineteenth Century. Students are given a slip at the beginning of the lesson only to realise many of them don’t have a vote much to their annoyance. The final part of the lesson is to analyse the events of the Peterloo Massacre (named after the battle of Waterloo) and why the magistrates of Manchester were so scared at giving people the vote. However the battlelines were drawn and so setting the seeds for the Suffragette movement at the turn of the century. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

The French Revolution The aim of this lesson is to examine the significance of the French Revolution today. Students are given information on seven ways it still has a lasting legacy; Bastille Day, the Declaration of the Rights of Man, Politics, the tricolour, Paris, the National Anthem, the Code Napoleon and the Legion of Honour. Students have to decide the most important part of this legacy in their opinion and explain why. There are some excellent video links to the BBC and Youtube as well as a virtual tour of the Eiffel Tower. The lesson comes with differentiated materials, suggested teaching and learning strategies and is linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question posed at the start of the lesson and revisited at the end to show the progress of learning. It is fully adaptable in PowerPoint format and can be changed to suit.

The Holocaust The aim of this lesson is to analyse and evaluate the reasons why anti-Semitism became the norm in Nazi Germany and how Hitler and the Nazis fuelled the flames of discrimination. Students build up a picture of the ideal Aryan according to the Nazis and how the Jews were made and expected to feel inferior using source analysis. They will also organise themselves into a continuum line of importance in Germany pre 1933, only to see their roles reversed according to the numbers on the German citizen lists provided. They also complete a colour coding exercise which maps the persecution of Jews within Nazi Germany as well as a plenary linking exercise to challenge understanding. The central enquiry of this and subsequent lessons in the bundle is to ask who was to blame for the holocaust? Students will map out their ideas each lesson (which can be plotted in different colours or dates to show the progress of their learning and centred around a lightbulb) and build up a picture of how difficult it is to blame a single individual or event for this catastrophe. There is some excellent video footage to accompany the lesson and printable worksheets. The resource comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change. I have also included suggested teaching strategies to deliver the lesson.

Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 This lesson analyses the other treaties which were placed upon Germany’s Allies, notably Trianon, St Germain, Neuilly, Sevres and Lausanne. Students recap quickly on the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and are introduced to the other treaties, which they recognise follow a similar punitive pattern. As they unpick each of the treaties bestowed upon Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, they have to question why the Allies reversed their original peace treaty of Sevres and evaluate the impact this had on the international community. This lesson comes with worksheets, differentiated questioning and a plenary which challenges their learning for the lesson. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, some retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 This lesson aims to explain and evaluate the Allied response to Hitler’s reoccupation of the Rhineland. Students learn why this event was significant in the road to war and how Hitler’s gamble paid off. They analyse video footage of the time, complete a caption competition, a true or false quiz and a text mapping exercise before they answer a 12 mark GCSE practice question (with some guidance and help if required). The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, some retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship This lesson focuses on why the new Government was so unpopular and why there were so many political uprisings against it. Students have to question whether these putsches were merely political in nature or whether there were economic forces at play as well. Students also have to analyse the Spartacist rising and the Kapp Putsch and understand their causes and why they ultimately failed. There are some excellent links to video footage as well as a colour coding literacy thinking quilt. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.

Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship The focus of the lesson is to analyse the problems Hitler faced in January 1933 on becoming Chancellor. Students need to know and understand the background to Hitler becoming Chancellor in January 1933, which can be quite challenging given the complex political machinations involving the President, Papen and Von Schleicher. Students are given the context of Hitler’s rise to power, before using a revision thinking quilt to match key questions to specific key words and terms. There are also some excellent video links to bbc bitesize Students are thus prepared to tackle the GCSE exam practice question at the end. The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning. The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in PowerPoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.