I am an old cynic – new ideas in teaching pah! For my sins that used to be my initial view when I saw a new idea presented to me by colleague who doesn’t teach our noble subject. But then I was introduced to this idea by an RE colleague. It must[…]
Teaching ideas
World War One through personal stories and real archive material
Neil Bates and myself were lucky enough to work with Worthing library developing four case studies of soldiers who fought and died in the First World War. This was part of an amazing project about The Great War in West Sussex. We are very proud of this work as it[…]
Music in the History Classroom
According to the Marxist scholar A. L. Lloyd, rebels in the 1381 peasants’ revolt sang the song, The Cutty Wren, in protest at feudal oppression – sadly he offered no proof to back up his claim. Nonetheless, folk music and protest songs provide a rich vein of source material which[…]
Appreciating our artistic heritage through history
Appreciating our artistic heritage through history. One of my favourite resources to use in the History classroom is the visual image. I simple love using images in general and paintings in particular. It never ceases to astound me how well students respond to well chosen paintings and how, if used in the[…]
Campaign for a blue plaque for Olaudah Equiano
As you might be aware, we have a massive thing about making history meaningful, rigorous and fun. W also have a massive thing about plaques, hence our Peterloo and London is the Place to be lessons. Well, here is an absolutely cracking idea from Donald Cummings, AHT and SHP regional[…]
Clever use of film clips in lessons
Clever use of film clips in lessons. With the omnipresence of YouTube we now have a wealth of film clips available to us as teachers. This is great in the 21st century classroom. Students should have a multi media experience in their lessons. But, how well are we using video in[…]
Why was Petworth Boys School bombed in 1942?
Around 32 people (28 boys) were killed when a Junkers 88 dropped bombs on Petworth Boys School on 29 September 1942. Why was Petworth Boys School bombed in 1942? Did the Nazis target a supposed top-secret meeting at Petworth House, was it a planned attack to undermine civilian morale or was it[…]
How does Leslie Speller’s war compare with the national view?
This thoughtful and engaging enquiry looks at the events of World War II from two different perspectives; the national and personal. Taking archive material from the life of Leslie Speller, a Littlehampton RAF Officer, the students compare Leslie’s war with the national picture. Are the two of them the same? This[…]
World War Two case study: How accurate was ‘The Great Escape’?
Why not use this fantastic enquiry comparing a real life survivor from Stalag Luft IIII, to the Hollywoood film, ‘The Great Escape’? At the beginning of the film the makers claim that what you are about to see is all but true. But was it really?This fully resourced scheme could[…]
Using real historians in lessons
We firmly believe that children from the earliest age possible should be taught that history is a construct. We love using the works of real historians at different points in lessons. Our pupils should see that history is created by historians and others who piece together the past from the evidence[…]
Improving literacy by recording written work
Isn’t it great when you get your kids to a point in their learning when they have done some really great history? But then, time and again, when you ask them to write something meaningful at the end of this process what you get just isn’t as good as you expect.[…]
Creating overviews – a few thoughts and ideas
I’m not sure who termed the phrase ‘parachutists and truffle hunters’ or when? But it is still as true today as ever: we need to help our pupils think about the big picture of history or a longer period of time. That’s why we thing creating overviews is a great[…]
Using Tea to teach History
Nearly every history teacher that I have worked with has said that they find teaching about the period 1750 -1900 really quite difficult. In fact when planning a Hampshire network session a few years ago one very successful head of department (now Deputy Head in Dorset) boldly said that we[…]
Using Historical Artefacts
Using historical artefacts and random junk stolen from the toy box of a small child. At one of the many Saturday evening plenary of the Schools History Project Conference I have attended, Ian Dawson demonstrated a revision technique using a table full of mystery objects – some were historical artefacts.[…]
