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Move Me On 174: Not doing all the thinking for the students
The problem page for history mentors
This issue’s problem: Alex Spotswood finds that the activities that he devises tend to involve him, rather than his students, doing all the real thinking and processing of information.
Alex Spotswood is well established in his main placement and has taken responsibility for regular GCSE and Key Stage 3 teaching. He is highly...
Move Me On 174: Not doing all the thinking for the students
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The Blitz: All we need to know about World War II?
Primary History article
The Blitz of 1940 is certainly a significant event in Britain’s past, one which has repeatedly been drawn upon as a symbol of national consciousness. It was a time when most of Europe had been defeated by the Nazi regime in Germany, typically through ‘Blitzkrieg’ – or lightning war methods...
The Blitz: All we need to know about World War II?
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Was the Indian Independence movement a unified movement?
A History of Modern India
In this podcast Dr Pritipuspa Mishra of the University of Southampton discusses to what extent the Indian Independence movement was a unified movement.
Was the Indian Independence movement a unified movement?
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Henry II, the Common Law and Becket
Podcast
In this podcast Professor Nicholas Vincent of the University of East Anglia looks at the reign of Henry II, the establishment of the Common Law and relations with Henry's relationship with Thomas a Becket.
Henry II, the Common Law and Becket
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The Language & Politics of the Indian Independence Movement
A History of Modern India
In this podcast Dr Pritipuspa Mishra of the University of Southampton discusses how the language and politics of the Indian Independence movement changed between 1847 and 1947.
The Language & Politics of the Indian Independence Movement
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Book for the Literacy Hour
Primary History article
Jo Barkham reviews 'Asha in the Attic' written by Gill Howell and illustrated by Alan Marks.
Book for the Literacy Hour
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The Spanish Armada of...1597?
Article
Graham Darby gives an anniversary account of the later Spanish Armadas, long forgotten, but comparable in size and as threatening to contemporaries as the more famous Armada of 1588. As every schoolboy and schoolgirl should know, the Spanish Armada set sail in 1588: ‘God blew and they were scattered.’ However,...
The Spanish Armada of...1597?
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The Origins of the Norman Conquest
Podcast
In this podcast Professor David Bates of the University of East Anglia looks at the origins of the Norman Conquest.
The Origins of the Norman Conquest
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New, Novice or Nervous? 173: including BME history in the curriculum
The quick guide to the ‘no-quick-fix’
This page is for those new to the published writings of history teachers. Each problem you wrestle with, other teachers have wrestled with too. Quick fixes don’t exist. But in others’ writing, you’ll find something better: conversations in which history teachers have debated or tackled your problems – conversations which any history teacher...
New, Novice or Nervous? 173: including BME history in the curriculum
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‘I need to know…’: creating the conditions that make students want knowledge
Teaching History journal article
Chloe Bateman recognised the value to her Key Stage 3 pupils of developing rich subject knowledge, but wanted to find a way of encouraging them to value that knowledge for themselves. In this article she explains how she provided that inspiration by setting her Year 7 class the challenge of...
‘I need to know…’: creating the conditions that make students want knowledge
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My Favourite History Place: The North Wessex Downs and Cwichelm’s Barrow
Historian feature
My Favourite History Place: The North Wessex Downs and Cwichelm’s Barrow
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Webinar series: Making substantive and disciplinary knowledge work together in the secondary history curriculum
HA on-demand webinar series for secondary history teachers
The last few years have, rightly, seen a lot of discussion about 'what' we include in the history curriculum. This has meant that many schools now teach a wider-ranging and more inclusive form of history. As this work has an impact, it is important to continue to think about how...
Webinar series: Making substantive and disciplinary knowledge work together in the secondary history curriculum
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Couching counterfactuals in knowledge when explaining the Salem witch trials with Year 13
Teaching History journal article
Puzzled by the shrugs and unimaginative responses of his students when asked certain counterfactual questions, James Edward Carroll set out to explore what types of counterfactual questions would elicit sophisticated causal explanations. During his pursuit of the ‘gold standard’ of counterfactual reasoning, Carroll drew upon theories of academic history in...
Couching counterfactuals in knowledge when explaining the Salem witch trials with Year 13
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Recent Advances in the Study of Surnames
Article
Many surnames have a straightforward meaning. It is obvious that names such as Smith, Wright and Turner come from occupations; that names such as Pickering or York are from the names of places; and that Roberts, Robertson, Robson and Robinson are derived from the same personal name. It is not...
Recent Advances in the Study of Surnames
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A South African, a Welshman and a Scotsman and the birth of the Royal Air Force
Historian article
In this article Sebastion Cox explores the significant role of international involvement in the creation of the Royal Air Force. The RAF owes its existence to a number of people but high among those deserving of credit are a South African Field Marshal, a Welsh politician and a Scottish soldier.
A South African, a Welshman and a Scotsman and the birth of the Royal Air Force
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Scheme of Work: The Blitz: all we need to know about World War II?
Primary Scheme of Work, Key Stage 2 History (resourced)
This unit provides children with the opportunity to look at the Second World War as an aspect of British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066.
This 8-part enquiry is useable in full or to use sections of as stand alone shorter enquiries. Pupils will be encouraged to examine different...
Scheme of Work: The Blitz: all we need to know about World War II?
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The Catholic British Community 1800-present.
Podcast
In this podcast Michael Hodgetts examines the development of the British Catholic Community from 1800 to the present day.
The Catholic British Community 1800-present.
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Polychronicon 133: The Crusader States in the Levant
Teaching History feature
In my first Polychronicon article on ‘The Crusades' I pointed out that research historians are increasingly specialising either on the crusades themselves or on the crusader states. There are good reasons for this, but in my opinion it makes little sense for school or university teachers to treat these topics...
Polychronicon 133: The Crusader States in the Levant
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Using role-play to develop young children’s understanding of the past
Primary History article
Unknown, interesting artefacts can really capture a child’s enthusiasm for learning. In the Foundation Stage, children want to use all their senses to explore and play with objects, and so the planning of practical, hands-on activities is important.
The activities in this article were completed by Reception children in a...
Using role-play to develop young children’s understanding of the past
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For whose God, King and country? Seeing the First World War through South Asian eyes
Primary History article
In October 1914 France faced defeat on what would later become the Western Front. If the Germans captured the channel ports then the small British Expeditionary Force (BEF) supporting the French would be cut off from Britain, and the channel ports themselves might be used to launch a German invasion of...
For whose God, King and country? Seeing the First World War through South Asian eyes
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‘So why did they go into hiding?’ Anne Frank in her historical and social context
Primary History article
All too often Anne Frank becomes a symbol, used to show ‘the triumph of hope over evil’, even though she was killed during the Holocaust. Sometimes she is quoted utterly out of context to provide uplifting sentiments, or short phrases with redemptive messages.
What this lesson sets out to do...
‘So why did they go into hiding?’ Anne Frank in her historical and social context
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Cunning Plan 95: Medicine through Time
Teaching History feature
GCSE development studies require students to assess change over vast periods of time. How can we cover the content whilst ensuring that our students do not lose sight of the big picture? Look to your choice of big enquiries for the solution. Here is one efficient and motivating approach devised...
Cunning Plan 95: Medicine through Time
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Conducting the orchestra to allow our students to hear the symphony
Journal article
Alex Ford and Richard Kennett both welcome the renewed emphasis on knowledge within recent curriculum reforms in England, but are concerned about some of the ways in which the principle of a ‘knowledge-rich’ curriculum has been interpreted and transformed into particular pedagogical prescriptions. In this article they explain their reasons...
Conducting the orchestra to allow our students to hear the symphony
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Hitler’s British Isles: The Real Story of the Occupied Channel Islands
Book Review
Hitler’s British Isles: The Real Story of the Occupied Channel Islands, Duncan Barrett, Simon and Schuster, 2018, 413p, £20-00. ISBN 978-1-4711-6637-2
Having just read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Bloomsbury 2008), this very interesting book has now extended considerably my understanding of the nature of the experiences of...
Hitler’s British Isles: The Real Story of the Occupied Channel Islands
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The Origins of the LGBTQ+ Movement in the US
A History of the United States
In this podcast from 2017, Joshua Hollands of University College London discusses the early LGBTQ+ civil rights movement in the United States from the end of the Second World War, through the Stonewall Riots to political mobilisation and Pride events.
In the postwar era, gay men and women were still legally discriminated...
The Origins of the LGBTQ+ Movement in the US
