An active lesson in which pupils generate adjectives and then use a Diamond-4 ranking activity, followed by hot seating, to ascertain Grace’s motivation.   A broader context is achieved by asking …Read More »

This session comprises two very simple tasks: matching objects to the young children who would usually play with them, followed by a follow-up task, this time on the theme of …Read More »

Those of you who have shown an interest in this topic will be pleased to know that enough schools have enquired about it so that we have promoted it up …Read More »

Just to let you know that we’re making rapid progress with the new Louis Braille famous person topic. . We hope to be comparing her to Helen Keller to fit …Read More »

This enquiry asks students to look critically at the depiction of the massacre in the film Gandhi as a way into trying to determine the motivation of Dyer.  Students are …Read More »

Even though we will have had the National Curriculum for history ( albeit in different guises) for nearly 30 years, there hasn’t been a great deal of  attention paid to, …Read More »

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A HIGH QUALITY PLANNER FROM WHICH WE HAVE TRIED TO CREATE ALL THE RELEVANT LESSONS BUT NOT ALL ARE LIVE ON THE WEBSITE AS AT …Read More »

Optional question: What toys did our grandparents get as Christmas presents when they were your age? Objectives Children are able to describe at least two differences between toys from 60 …Read More »

This smart task complements the existing lesson on the site using ICT . Rather than re-write the whole lesson this is added as an extra task. Using slides 2-5 show …Read More »

The top 10 things you need to know about chronology at KS2, but were afraid to ask. 1.There is more to chronology than sequencing. While sequencing is fundamentally important, you …Read More »

For many schools this is new topic and one to be taught with particular sensitivity in the 21st century. Try wherever possible to think of the reasons it is on …Read More »

This lesson draws on some excellent resources you may not have come across, produced by museums in Bedfordshire and Warwickshire.  Not only do they look at old and new and …Read More »

  When the inspector entered, the pupils were sitting on the carpet around the teacher. She was gently exploring whether they understood the concepts ‘old’ and ‘new’ and the differences …Read More »

Coinciding with children returning to school after Christmas , hopefully with a few presents to their name, this brand new planner and full set of fully-resourced lessons will be launched. …Read More »

This KS2 enquiry comprises three outstanding activities: 6a. Advising the film director to imaginatively reconstruct the scene using a variety of evidence 6b. Prove it!  Using a gallery of images …Read More »

10 things you need to know about leading history and the new 2019 OFSTED framework You will have to show that you are in fact teaching history (and not just …Read More »

  In a recent article in the Historical association’s Primary History Sue Townsend makes a very strong case for introducing the teaching the volcanic eruption at Pompeii at KS1. One …Read More »

If you are looking for a great 20 slide PowerPoint presentation on the Home Front in World War Two, you would be hard-pressed to find one better than the Imperial …Read More »

This short but engaging task precedes any detailed analysis of the terms of the treaty itself. It has four distinct elements: prediction; analysis of a rarely seen German poster; attaching …Read More »

As you know, the requirement to study Life in Tudor Britain was mysteriously and inexplicably removed from the Key Stage 2 curriculum in 2014. As one of the best-taught and …Read More »

This KS2 history enquiry revolves around Henry VIII’s divorce and the break with Rome, one of the best-known stories in English history. At first, Henry, this larger than life figure, …Read More »

We all need reminding of what our core purposes are from time to time as we get caught up in the daily round of frantic activity that is school life …Read More »

The Unholy Alliance: why on earth did Hitler and Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact when they clearly hated each other? Starting with the historical puzzle of why Stalin and Hitler …Read More »

This short advice sheet invites schools to consider how they will commemorate the centenary of armistice day and provides an illustrated PowerPoint presentation offering 8 attractive ideas to set you …Read More »

E Lots of thinking has taken place to decide the best way to structure the new Edexcel 9-1 GCSE history course. The rationale behind this plan comes straight from successful classroom practice.. …Read More »

Really helpful resources provided for KS4 teachers of GCSE Migration topic written by University of Oxford academics. This is just the sort of collaboration we need to see. Allows teachers …Read More »

If you are teaching Islamic civilization at KS2 you might like to watch a short podcast which looks at the start of the building of Baghdad on 31 July 762.Read More »

Pupils have to answer 10 fairly open ended questions for which answers are provided reflecting the knowledge and understanding outlined in the medium term planner. Q1 How can we know …Read More »

If you haven’t already come across this School Run website offers 13 different ideas for making history come alive with your pupils, including games, story books, visits, history re-enactments etc. …Read More »

OFSTED-approved Outstanding new medium term planning for Ancient Greece, matched to 2019 history national curriculum and OFSTED requirements The main foci throughout this planner are: Ideas, Beliefs, Attitudes (especially the …Read More »

The Museum of London has a wonderful selection of teaching resources on its website including an infographic poster, an interactive story and perhaps best of all a Minecraft version of 1666’s tragic tale. Find …Read More »

How can we possibly know so much about the Ancient Greeks who lived over 2,500 years ago? Any study of ancient Greek society must begin with an appreciation of the …Read More »

This KS2 smart task places pupils in the role of detectives trying to prove that the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur may actually have been been a fact.  First …Read More »

Children discuss the reasons they might have for going on a seaside holiday NOW and then think of the different reasons why people might have gone 100 years ago.  Slides …Read More »

There are three distinct parts to Key Question 2 but each centrally based around the need for pupils to use evidence of different forms.  The introductory PowerPoint shows 4 contrasting …Read More »

This KS2 history lesson, in which the decoration of a Greek pot is slowly revealed, features two cracking activities designed to set pupils thinking deeply, laterally and creatively.  It is …Read More »

This simple lesson on life for women in Ancient Greece, based around a PowerPoint presentation, makes an excellent contribution to literacy and also makes pupils aware of the nature of …Read More »

Part 1 looks at characteristic features of Classical Athens. This is a simple teacher-led explanation using a few PowerPoint clues. Part 2 Looks at the causes of the unlikely victory …Read More »

This lesson on the Battle of Marathon makes a major contribution to pupils’ thinking skills. They are presented with a paradox.  How could the David of Athens beat the Goliath …Read More »

This full lesson is a role-play activity looking at Greek democracy in the context of the rebuilding of the Parthenon. It starts with a link to the building of the …Read More »

This last key question of 6 on the medium-term planning, focuses on her legacy and why we should commemorate her. It introduces pupils to a number of ways in which …Read More »

One of the great challenges of teaching KS1 history is to avoid the pitfall of turning history into just stories from the past. Of  course we want our youngest children …Read More »

You have told us that you need more help on assessment at KS1. So we have now gone beyond principles, suggestions, actual tasks and mark schemes to assessing actual pieces …Read More »

This lesson finds children producing a questionnaire, collecting data from grandparents, feeding data into a database and then drawing conclusions.  When they then compare their findings with those of another …Read More »

Just to let you know that we’re piloting a new short diagnostic assessment task on going to the seaside 100 years ago, using the picture here as a stimulus. We’ve …Read More »

As you know we have been working hard to create a complete set of simple, easy-to-run and easy-to-mark assessment tasks that can be used formatively as well as summatively. Our …Read More »

Given that there is no subject-specific data on history at KS1 this might seem a strange inclusion on the site.  Those of you who feel that there is quite enough …Read More »

On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood just 100 yards away from the concrete barrier dividing East and West Berlin and uttered some of the most unforgettable words of …Read More »

This topic provides an exciting addition to the usual famous events taught at KS1. Not only is there a clear, compelling narrative that pupils can relate to, it also offers …Read More »

Pupils are employed as safety advisers to the UK and US governments in the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic?  Their job is to come up with the best, …Read More »

In this problem-solving activity, pupils have to speculate, using a stimulus image and then evaluate a range of given reasons based on their plausibility, placing them on a spectrum. To …Read More »

Most anachronism activities used in schools are the rather naff ones put before Y7 pupils in an introduction to What is History. You know the sort of thing: Roman soldiers …Read More »

What was so special about life on board the Titanic? and was it the same for everyone? KQ2 In this enquiry pupils play Prove it! using a gallery of images …Read More »

Pleased to announce that final Moon Landing lesson resources for KQ3 are available on request as we find the last missing piece of the copyright jigsaw!  Subscribers simply email us …Read More »

This lesson focuses on the idea of evidence and proof. Can pupils find evidence to back up statements made in books? Can they tell which is the strongest piece of …Read More »

All the lessons for this topic have now been uploaded along with the Medium-term planner.Read More »

What do we already know about the Titanic and what can we work out from a picture? KQ1 This lesson’s activities are designed to release any prior knowledge pupils might …Read More »

This is the first of two lessons on transportation and owes its genesis to an idea from Richard McFahn when an Advanced Skills Teacher for history in Hampshire. It starts …Read More »

This history puzzle focuses on a well-known painting, Across the Continent, but one which is actually more puzzling than might at first appear. The task starts simply and then becomes complex. …Read More »

This is a very straightforward, yet highly effective task which asks students to distinguish between the generic and the specific, to speculate about possible reasons from clues, to think creatively …Read More »

Students are taken back to the year 1860 before there was a transcontinental railway. They are asked to speculate about the likely impact of the coming of the railroad.  In …Read More »

This lesson draws heavily on the ideas of Sarah Herrity, Advanced Skills Teacher, Wyvern Technology College, near Winchester. It moves students from their own initial perceptions of cowboys, through to …Read More »

This lesson worked really well with lower attaining Y10 students who had already studied the Plains Indians and the contact between the early mountain men at the trading posts. This was …Read More »

News flash Pearson have now released draft chapters for their new GCSE book for the 2016 specification. You can find it here Useful set of free resources on this topic …Read More »

Your best place to start is undoubtedly the AQA scheme of work which offers learning foci for each of the three strands. Unlike the schemes of work for the other options, however, …Read More »

In this short activity students are shown two contrasting images of a physician inspecting a patient’s urine. Students have to guess the provenance and date. It transpires that they are …Read More »

A smart task based on an original idea from Lorna Hunter, of Swanmore Technology College. This deceptively simple example of a familiar technique takes students from the known to the …Read More »

To help students remember who the key individuals were in the history of medicine, you might like to present them as members of two opposing football teams…. You need to …Read More »

This is a short, fun SMART task.  All the instructions are on the PowerPoint presentation.  Start with slide 2 which sets the puzzle, a paradox.  If Jenner was so highly …Read More »

This quick activity asks students to explore the detail in Rowlandson’s cartoon called ‘Amputation’.  They score one mark for each of the 10 labelled examples of relevant detail and 3 …Read More »

Every so often you see an inspiring example of history and numeracy working together seamlessly.  Such a lesson was taught by Ros Boulton of South Farnborough Infants.  She wanted her …Read More »

This Year 1 lesson on historical interpretations starts with a stark comparison of 2 images of the rescue showing very different detail.  Pairs of pupils are then given 1 of …Read More »

The lesson starts with a glass of water which you have filled to roughly half way. Students have to say whether they would describe the bottle as half full or …Read More »

This short task was designed to combat the tendency many students have to simply describe rather than evaluate the policy.  To help them make judgments they are given up to …Read More »

For suggestions for 20 top ICT activities using a wide range of data and applications click here to download PDF file. Resources Myth of the Blitz: Professor Overy’s view: Writing in History Today …Read More »

From mime to movie. SMART TASK This fun activity is carried out by children working on tables of six.  Half the class work on one image, the other half  on …Read More »

This advice with associated downloadable resource below is for KS1 teachers planning a cross-curricular topic and focuses on how to integrate history, geography, literacy and ICT. Start the topic with …Read More »

Fascinating starter in which students have to spot and then explain the differences between three pairs of photos of Soviet leaders Lenin and Stalin taken between 1920 and 1930.  Excellent …Read More »

This simple starter uses just two contrasting photographs, one showing the popularity of Johnson’s policy towards Vietnam, the other opposition to it.  How can we explain the difference?  Students generate …Read More »

Three separate short activities help students produce  a top grade answer to the question. Task I – brainstorming early ideas This first introductory task simply asks students to consider the …Read More »

Quick ranking activity for GCSE/AS students. Students are asked to consider the relative significance of 11 possible arguments that have been used by historians who claim that the Montgomery bus …Read More »

Students are given a set of influence cards which help them to work out the answer to an apparent paradox. If people were getting rich quick in the 1920s, why …Read More »

This lesson on a fairly familiar theme approaches GCSE cartoon analysis in a different way.  Instead of showing the students the cartoon they are to interpret, they are simply given …Read More »

This Smart task uses a Punch cartoon as part of a lesson on the Korean War.  It carefully steers students through several thinking processes.  To start with they have to …Read More »

Prior to writing an answer to this question students will need to organise their thinking. These factor cards might help. Ask students to think of different ways in which to …Read More »

This task is run along the lines of a newsroom simulation. Students take on the role of an editorial team whose job it is to make sense of a complex …Read More »

To support the teaching of the  GCSE thematic study, Crime and Punishment, the Digital Panopticon team has developed Criminal Lives, 1780-1925 an exhibition and education pack for schools. This is …Read More »

1. Were witches burned in English-speaking countries? A. No, they were hanged not burned, because witchcraft was a felony. This was also true in North America. 2. Were millions of …Read More »

Just being uploaded is short diagnostic set of questions (and answers!) to get a feel for how well pupils have grasped the key ideas  and modern scholarship on this topic.Read More »

As always there is a balancing act to be done. On the one hand you have to deal with the immediate and the urgent; on the other you know that …Read More »

Teaching GCSE presents its own set of challenges, not least learning the code that you will need to crack to bring your students GCSE success.  Because the GCSE  history exam …Read More »

The best way of monitoring students’ performance is to set frequent exam based activities, broadly under test conditions and then to mark them WITH the students using GCSE criteria. Students …Read More »

Twelve years or so ago the only meaningful data we had for GCSE was the percentage of students achieving each grade. The headline everyone was interested in was of course …Read More »

Students have to divide a $100 million bequest to those people who did most to develop penicillin. But in what ratio? Should Fleming get it all? What about the Oxford …Read More »

This is a really fun, practical lesson involving smashed pottery, writing in Ancient Greek through black wax and deciphering each other’s writing . Pupils actually decipher the names of people who …Read More »

We thought we would offer you a range of different cameos showing how the history of the Olympics could be imaginatively integrated into your current teaching. The teaching activities below …Read More »

This key question is divided into two distinct parts, starting with Part 1 – the Olympics. This has its own outstanding fully-resourced series of tasks which can be found on …Read More »

To introduce the notion of the Greeks having a major influence on our lives today use the activity called Under the cloth. Simply place copies of the pictures 2 –23 …Read More »

This section focuses mainly on ways of helping students become more effective independent leaners. The crucial role of the Student planner It has always a been a concern that students …Read More »

This scheme of work, judged outstanding by an OFSTED history inspector now links to all the fully-resourced outstanding lessons and activities making the teaching of this topic completely self-contained. Not …Read More »