What's New? & What's the News?
This page is our notice board recording what's new on the site as well as 'news' items of potential interest to history teachers.
Newest Material & Activities
Added January 2010
Every war between 1066 and 1900 in one activity - creating links across KS3? (Added January 10)
The body in the bog becomes the body in the classroom to build students' enquiry and source skills. Activity by Susan Edwards and Nichola Boughey (Added January 10)
Added Xmas 2009
How safe were air raid shelters for the poor in Britain's cities?
Ian Luff demonstrates the weaknesses of air–raid shelters and provides a documentary activity exploring the destruction of one shelter in London. (Added December 09)
Turn your class into bomb aimers to discover how difficult their task was - and why civilians were so at risk in bombing raids. (Added December 09)
How powerful was an atomic bomb compared with other weapons? All you need is an egg - and some egg-proofing! (Added December 09)
Will students risk trying to cross the Berlin Wall? A practical activity that really improves discussion, thinking and understanding. (Added December 09)
Ian Luff explains how to introduce students to Hitler’s rise to power and then build in complexity. (Added December 09)
Enquiry Skills
We have created a new section on the site, ‘Developing Enquiry Skills’, arising from a series of Inset sessions last year. It contains a broad discussion of ideas for developing Enquiry skills from KS3 to A level and supporting resources, including activities designed to help KS3 students understand the enquiry process and a model A level activity.
Happening History
You may have encountered the wonderful re-enactment work of Wel and Karen Hamilton-Viall in their former guise as 'Discovering Medieval' - they have provided many primary and secondary schools with memorable sessions on various aspects of medieval life, including coverage of both medieval Medicine and Crime for GCSE and the Wars of the Roses at A level. We also involved them in creating the medieval medicine film extracts for SHP's Medicine resources in Hodder's Dynamic Learning CD range.
They have now widened their scope to include re-enactment sessions on aspects of World War Two and have plans for even greater variety in future, hence their change of name to 'Happening History'. If you're looking for re-enactors who will provide students of all ages with a really memorable and worthwhile experience then take a look at their website - I've always found them highly professional to work with, full of ideas but equally aware of schools' needs. Highly recommended!
SHP INSET Courses
5 regional Inset courses (London, Manchester, Bristol, Coventry and Sunderland) in February and March led by Michael Riley on ‘Helping your students to become independent enquirers in history’.
Historical enquiry, the constructive use of historical sources and creative forms of communication should form the bedrock of school history. Michael and staff at the museums will use case studies of planning, activities and resources to show how you can help your students to develop enquiring minds and to think for themselves.
Full details at:
www.schoolshistoryproject.org.uk/conference/courses/
SHP Recent Publications
KS3 Resources for 2008 PoS
Series Editors Ian Dawson, Chris Culpin and Dale Banham
Pupil books, teacher books and CDs for Y7, Y8 and Y9 – all now published (except Y9 CD).
For more information [ click here ]
GCSE ‘Smarter History’ - Medicine
Series editors: Dale Banham and Ian Dawson
This new GCSE series provides resources for each of the awarding body specifications.
Student and Teacher's books – all now published.
For more information [ click here ]
SHP – Publishing Plans
For publication in 2010
GCSE – publishing new resources as follows:
• Edexcel– Source Enquiry: The Transformation of Surgery c.1845-c.1918
by Dale Banham, Ian Dawson and Dan Lyndon
For more information visit the Hodder education site [ click here ]• OCR– Crime and Punishment through Time
by Richard McFahn and Chris Culpin
For more information visit the Hodder education site [ click here ]
KS3 – completing our series for the 2008 PoS with Year 9 Dynamic Learning resources to accompany the Y9 student book and TRB. For more information on the series and ordering options [ click here ]
For publication 2010-2011
GCSE – publishing new resources as follows:
• Edexcel – Source Enquiry: The impact of war on Britain 1914-1950
by Ian Luff and Michael Riley
For more information visit the Hodder education site [ click here ]• Edexcel – Source Enquiry: Protest, Law and Order in the Twentieth Century
by Joanne Philpott and Michael Riley
For more information visit the Hodder education site [ click here ]• Edexcel – Crime and Punishment through Time
by Donald Cumming
Dynamic Learning Resources
From autumn 2010 these resources will be available by subscription on the Hodder Education website rather than on CD.
New GCSE resources will include:
• American West
• Medicine through Time – extension activities
For details of the free trial offer until July 2010, go to Hodder’s ‘Dynamic Learning’ website [ click here ]
For publication 2011 and after
KS3 – extension of This is History! series – 2 books per year.
A level – New packages of student books and teachers' materials. The students’ books aim to help students enjoy learning about a period or topic, deepen their knowledge of the topic/period and develop independent enquiry skills, including awareness of the latest published research. Teachers’ materials will provide resources for classroom use including detailed active learning strategies. These books and teachers’ resources are not constrained by, or limited to particular awarding body specifications.
Recent Correspondence
More emails received recently, sparking ideas of different kinds.
This seems a handy way of communicating without turning this into a blog!
1. Reviving teachers!
This from a teacher in Stoke - more evidence that activities don't just help students.
I did a lesson this morning for an observation on the revolt by Boudicca. It was with a very enthusiastic and somewhat talkative class. It took some time in terms of settling them and getting them to come to grips with the fact that we were outside the restraints of a classroom. They all grasped the main points of the story and I found that it ticked all sorts of boxes with regards to thinking skills, speaking and listening as well as historical skills. I have been teaching for twelve years and the last decade in particular, I became far more conservative in the teaching and learning that took place. Throwing the shackles off and doing things in a different way has not only given the students greater enjoyment (They all said they preferred it) but also has given me renewed enthusiasm for the job, so thank you to all who provided resources and advice on how to approach the lesson.
2. Adapting Dan Lyndon's Germany 1918-1939 living graph
From Leanne Whittaker on Tyneside. This is the sort of feedback I really enjoy - not just using an activity but developing and improving it.
It relates to Germany 1918–39: A Living Timeline
I used the Germany Living Graph but adapted it as I wanted to focus on rise of Hitler and Chacellor to Dictator specifically therefore I added more cards on these e.g enlargement of SA, Nazi votes grow to 230 etc. I also had some of the pupil wearing factor cards and they had some on paper on tabards-e.g Nazi Tactics, Weaknesses of Weimar etc and they had to take their factor sheets to the relevant events eg enlargement SA= Nazi Tactics. They then used a ball of coloured wool to 'tie up' similar factors which showed a rise and fall of some of these- i.e a lot of Nazi tactics deployed prior to 1929 yet ineffective until depression. I did this instead of colour coding the sheets as I wanted pupils to identify the factors themselves. It also created debate i.e was Hitler being handed the position of Chancellor due to his own tactics or inability of Weimar. I also asked pupils to identify differences and similarities between his rise to Chancellor and Chancellor to Dictator as they can get these muddled up during an exam. I have now done the Weimar Living Graph and this and pupils say it really helps them with writing essays and also stimulates debate about factors which makes them memorable.
Feedback
Your Feedback
So do you have feedback that's worth passing onto others? It may be how you adapted an activity, how activities have affected your teaching or a warning about classroom management issues and how to solve them?
If so please contact me, using the Contact Form [ click here ]
More Feedback
And to see more feedback from other teachers [ click here ].
Websites for History Teachers
The Purposes of School History
Terry Haydn, PGCE tutor at UEA, has recently added a new section to his website on the Purposes of School History.
In his brief introduction, Terry argues that we need to work hard at helping students understand why ‘history is helpful and relevant to the lives they will lead outside school and after school’. This has stemmed in part from his research into pupils’ perceptions of History as a school subject which showed just varied those perceptions are and what impact this has on take-up at 14. What follows is a treasure chest of quotations from a very wide range of sources, many of which will be very useful in building your arguments, some of which will leave you muttering and incredulous.
You can find this material at [ click here ].
Optimus Education
Optimus Education publishes Peter Fisher's excellent ‘Thinking Through History’ book.
This resource collection should be on every department shelf. It provides introductions to the nature and value of nine types of learning strategies MORE …
Also, just published by Optimus, is ‘History Mysteries’ by Claire Ward and Sarah Logie.
Don't be deceived by the main title, focus on the sub-title ‘Innovative thinking skills activities for KS3’. This package of resources is a direct descendant of Peter’s ‘Thinking through History’. MORE …
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