Neil Bates wrote this post a few years back. Never has it been so relevant as now. What with the recent wave of right wing riots, it is more important than ever that we use history to contextualise what happened. Read Neil provides you with brilliant advice on how to[…]
AQA
Five minute tricks to make learning stick for the 9-1 GCSE
With the 9-1 GCSE there is more content to remember than there was with the older GCSE. Fact! We all need to develop short sharp ideas, or ‘tricks’ to make learning stick.
A Traveller’s guide to planning for success in the 9-1 GCSE
A Traveller’s guide to planning for success in the 9-1 GCSE: I have recently become fascinated by the history of the American West. There are so many great personalities and stories when you start to look. Visiting a number of these sites in the summer really made this history resonate[…]
The problem with exam questions and teaching to the test
Over the last year I have been working hard creating resources for the new GCSEs. This has led me to look really carefully at many things: different topics, the details of the content, and the assessment approaches of the new GCSEs on offer. These exam questions can be predictable. Fact.[…]
Six strategies for using YouTube clips in the history classroom
Here are 6 Strategies for using You Tube clips in the history classroom. YouTube is such a fantastic resource that when you take a step back it is almost impossible to comprehend. If you’d have told me 20 years ago that I could type a few words into a[…]
Join our new membership service
Over the last term we have been working very hard to support you by improving the way our site works. Lots of people have contacted us to ask if we offer a subscription or membership approach. We have listened and the answer is now, ‘yes we do’.
What 2016 History GCSE offers the best approach to assessment?
What 2016 History GCSE offers the best approach to assessment? We offer you a simple comparison tool. You may well have already decided what you think the best course is for you and for your students. I have blogged about this before. But, just to remind you, I think you need[…]
How will interpretations be assessed at GCSE in 2018?
How will interpretations be assessed at GCSE in 2018? Teaching historical interpretations at GCSE in 2016 will be more important than before. There is no getting away from this. As we stated in our last post, this has got be a good thing. After we really should be teaching students[…]
Future 2016 GCSE History exam specifications : what is on offer? Video Blog
Future 2016 GCSE History exam specifications : what is on offer? For more information about the proposed changes to the 2016 history GCSE examination specifications read our blog pages on AQA and OCR/ A, or Edexcel and OCR/B. If you want to know how the content proposed in the exam specifications varies from board to[…]
2016 History GCSE: Looking carefully at the specification content
So, I have spent the last couple of days looking again at what AQA, Edexcel, OCR/A, OCR B and WJEC are proposing for the 2016 History GCSE. And my oh, my the devil is in the detail! I know that these specs are only in draft form at the moment, but[…]
Review of AQA and OCR/A proposed new History GCSE specifications for 2016
Having spent time last week looking at the proposed GCSE specifications and assessment materials for OCR/SHP and Edexcel, here I repeat the exercise for the AQA and OCR /A courses. Whilst reading the materials and quaffing tea, I was attempting to look at the proposals through a number of lenses: how[…]