Author: onebighistorydepartment

curriculum and planning, local networks, subject leadership

A History HoD gives us seven steps to stay subject specific…

This week, Ruth Lingard (@YorkClio), Head of History at Millthorpe School, addresses the very real problem of the subject-specific getting squeezed by the generic… It is the second week in September and this is the department meeting agenda once I have added what SLT expect to it: GCSE results analysis Predicted grades for year 10 Conduct scores for Year 9 Year 7 walking tour staffing … Continue reading A History HoD gives us seven steps to stay subject specific…

Unknown's avataronebighistorydepartment1 Comment
beginning teacher, CPD, curriculum and planning, disciplinary knowledge, GCSE and A level, historical scholarship, KS3, subject leadership, substantive knowledge, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning ideas, teaching and learning resources, websites and publications

Teaching Medieval History? – websites!

There’s no substitute for reading Exploring and Teaching Medieval History – an introduction by Ian Dawson of course. However, knowing how we all need things easily to hand, Henry Walton (@HenryWalton5), Head of Humanities @manorceacademy, has extracted some of the websites and texts it mentions and added others into one handy list. He’s kindly shared it with us… Objects associated with the Conquest: http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/exhibit/iALiB6XML3gmJQ Archaeology: http://www.archaeology.co.uk/ – website with hundreds … Continue reading Teaching Medieval History? – websites!

Unknown's avataronebighistorydepartment1 Comment
display materials, GCSE and A level, historical literacy, historical scholarship, teaching and learning resources

A Level bookmarks – OBHD in action!

This week there was a great example of OBHD in action on @twitter. It goes like this… a history teacher reads a Teaching History article, has a great idea and produces a nifty resource to help her students. Thank you to Rachel Lines (@historyweights) of Purbeck School for this super idea. Here in her own words… Preparing my Year 12s for their coursework and tackling … Continue reading A Level bookmarks – OBHD in action!

Unknown's avataronebighistorydepartment1 Comment
display materials, diversity and inclusion, GCSE and A level, historical scholarship, KS3, local networks, teaching and learning resources, websites and publications

Meanwhile, elsewhere – a great team effort!

Last summer my history team began the gargantuan task of revising our KS3 curriculum. When we had agreed bits I often shared our work on Twitter (I tweet under the stupid name @kenradical). I had posted our Year 7 overview one evening and Ben Walsh (@History_Ben) replied asking where the global history was. He was right, we had hardly any. The next day I went back … Continue reading Meanwhile, elsewhere – a great team effort!

Unknown's avataronebighistorydepartment1 Comment
historical scholarship, reviews, substantive knowledge, teacher knowledge

What did you read this summer?

In this year’s March issue of Teaching History, Helen Snelson wrote in the Secondary Committee pages about making a ‘connecting with historical scholarship’ resolution. Richard Kerridge has picked up this theme in his blog about his summer reading… Like most history teachers, and teachers of other subjects, I read a lot. I guess mainly it’s to increase my knowledge of a period or topic although … Continue reading What did you read this summer?

Unknown's avataronebighistorydepartment1 Comment
curriculum and planning, teaching and learning ideas

Planning substantive concepts over time

It’s Department Improvement Planning time in many schools. At Millthorpe School the History department have chosen to focus upon mapping where students at Key Stage 3 encounter specific substantive concepts, such as monarchy, parliament and church. They are focusing their planning on what the students are thinking rather than what they are doing. They started by highlighting where each concept appears on their current Key … Continue reading Planning substantive concepts over time

Unknown's avataronebighistorydepartment1 Comment
curriculum and planning, diversity and inclusion, KS3, subject leadership, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning ideas, teaching and learning resources

Rethinking how we teach about transatlantic slavery

As history teachers we put a great deal of time and effort into our work to make learning about the past enjoyable, meaningful and relevant. One our greatest challenges is in finding out what to do when we start teaching a topic that is without joy and indeed especially horrific. The Holocaust and transatlantic slavery are the two topics that best fit this description and … Continue reading Rethinking how we teach about transatlantic slavery

Unknown's avataronebighistorydepartment2 Comments
display materials, diversity and inclusion, historical literacy, historical scholarship, teaching and learning resources

Historians for your classroom – free resource!

The Historical Association at Stratford last weekend was a happy and enriching experience. So many people passionate about history teaching learning from each other. We had chance to update our subject knowledge, share great teaching strategies, think about progression, talk to examiners, find out about new resources, feel less alone… One session I was inspired by was Sally Burnham’s session (@salburnham) about teaching interpretations at … Continue reading Historians for your classroom – free resource!

Unknown's avataronebighistorydepartment2 Comments
speaking and listening, teaching and learning ideas

‘Imagine it as a pizza…’ and other dodgy analogies!

I was talking to a scientist this week who told me a great story about Isidor Rabi who is a Nobel Prize winner for his work on nuclear magnetic resonance.  Apparently, when Rabi was working on a device that created microwaves specifically for use with radar, someone in the group asked the pertinent question: How does it work? After much scratching of heads one member … Continue reading ‘Imagine it as a pizza…’ and other dodgy analogies!

Unknown's avataronebighistorydepartment1 Comment
beginning teacher, historical scholarship, reading listening watching, substantive knowledge, teacher knowledge, teaching and learning resources

Subject knowledge as you commute!

Update Oct 22 with a Open Spotify playlist of history teacher subject knowledge podcasts created by a University of York PGCE trainee. This term’s Teaching History is on the topic of ‘Historians’. It’s full of ideas about ways to ensure that your students encounter historians in your History classroom. If you haven’t read your copy, and term is feeling crazy already, there’s the Bank Holiday … Continue reading Subject knowledge as you commute!

Unknown's avataronebighistorydepartment3 Comments