OUP's KS3 Series
This series was published in the early 1990s when the National Curriculum was introduced but still offers challenging ideas for investigations and teaching approaches. One notable element of the series was that, along with Hodder Education's Discovering the Past books, it was the earliest series to feature key questions as the way to structure content and so paved the way for much future development. The details of the books below give you a flavour of these investigations.
Most of the books are still in print but if you're interested in seeing the books that are out of print contact me using the [ contact form ] or follow the links to second-hand sources.
KS3 Series – Book details – scroll down to view
Medieval Realms
Authors: Ian Dawson and Paul Watson
‘ Thorold wiped the sweat from his eyes and took a fresh grip on his battle-axe.’
Possibly not the most predictable beginning to a textbook but this one contains four brief stories, each of which sets up a major theme within the overall investigation of ‘Was the Middle Ages a time of change?’ The themes covered are Living and Working, the Power of the King, England at war and Religion and the People.
Buy/browse on Amazon: Medieval Realms 1066-1500 (Oxford History Study Units)
Expansion, Trade and Industry
Authors: Jon Cresswell and Peter Laurence
The core investigation is ‘Did the changes between 1750 and 1900 make life better or worse?’ Pupils use reconstruction drawings to create a hypothesis and then investigate the major changes of the period to decide how accurate that hypothesis is and develop a fuller answer.
Buy/browse on Amazon: Expansion, Trade and Industry (Oxford History Study Units)
Britain and the Great War
Author: Neil DeMarco
This book contains two investigations:
- Why did the war last so long?
- In what ways did it change Britain?
It provides clear coverage of the causes and events of the war and its impact on everyday life.
Buy/browse on Amazon: Britain and the Great War (Oxford History Study Units)
The Era of the Second World War
Author: Neil DeMarco
Not just another survey of events but an investigation into ‘Could things have happened differently?’ and exploring two questions:
- Why didn’t the Second World War break out before September 1939?
- Could the Axis powers have won the war?
Buy/browse on Amazon: The Era of the Second World War (Oxford History Study Units)
Native Peoples of the Americas
Author: James Green
A wide-ranging topic investigating three questions:
- What similarities and differences were there between native peoples?
- Why were these native peoples successful?
- What effects did Europeans have on native peoples?
The peoples covered are wide-ranging – the Inuit, Wood land Indians, Plains Indians, Maya, Aztecs and Inca
Buy/browse on Amazon: Native Peoples of the Americas: Key Stage 3 (Oxford History Study Units)
Black Peoples of the Americas
Author: Nigel Smith
The best-selling book in this series asks two main questions:
- How have black people been treated in the Americas
- How has the experience of black people affected the course of American history?
Content ranges from the importation of slaves from Africa and the lives of slaves to the American Civil War and on to the civil rights movement in the late 20th century.
Buy/browse on Amazon: Black Peoples of the Americas (Oxford History Study Units)
Imperial China
Author: Carol Gleisner
This book is still selling steadily, a tribute to its structure and interest. It is built around the investigation ‘Was Imperial China a great civilization?’.
Chapters include:
- Was China a peaceful county?
- What ideas were important in China?
- What did the Chinese invent and create?
- How comfortably did the people live?
The investigation also asks pupils to think about ‘what makes a great civilization?’ before they reach their conclusion.
Buy/browse on Amazon: Imperial China (Oxford History Study Units)
Castles and Cathedrals
Authors: Ian Dawson and Pat Dawson
An investigation into life in the Middle Ages, using castles and cathedrals as evidence.
And instead of devoting half the book to castles and half to cathedrals, this book tackles both together, as evidence that can be used to answer the following questions:
- Why were castles and cathedrals needed?
- How skilful were medieval builders?
- Was life comfortable in the Middle Ages?
- Did castles and cathedrals change in the Middle Ages?
This book is now out of print but can easily be obtained second-hand or contact me using the [ contact form ].
The Crusades
Author: Ian Dawson
This book is structured round 4 investigations:
- Why couldn’t Christians and Muslims live together peacefully?
- Why was Saladin successful?
- Why couldn’t the Crusaders re-capture Jerusalem?
- Were all Crusades the same?
And concludes with the question What can we learn from the Crusades?
This book is now out of print but can easily be obtained second-hand or contact me using the [ contact form ].
The Roman Empire
Author: Ian Coulson
The core question 'What was it like living in the Roman Empire?' is open ended so that it can be answered by pupils of different abilities.
This book is now out of print but can easily be obtained second-hand or contact me using the [ contact form ].
The Making of the UK
Authors: Charles Maltman and Ian Dawson
This book focusses on the question: Which changes were most important between 1500 and 1750?
Pupils investigate changes in everyday life, religion, the power of the monarch, England’s power in Britain and involvement overseas and grade each of these topics against criteria for significance, enabling them to reach a clear conclusion about the important changes in this period.
This book is now out of print but can easily be obtained second-hand or contact me using the [ contact form ].