Author: onebighistorydepartment

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

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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

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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!

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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!

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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!

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teacher knowledge, teaching and learning ideas

Fixed ideas about teaching the Feudal System? Time to change!

The Norman Conquest marked the start of a new long evolutionary process. Those living in The Middle Ages were sophisticated people. It was a time of building. Building not just in the sense of undertaking the construction of magnificent cathedrals and impregnable castles made from stone, but building ways of organising life, faith, government and society. If it’s time to refresh your teaching and build … Continue reading Fixed ideas about teaching the Feudal System? Time to change!

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local history, teaching and learning ideas

Learning history outside the classroom

You might have seen @TomRogers writing in the TES this week about getting outside the classroom and doing history specific schools visits. Here at #OBHD we know from many years of experience the power of school trips. Tom is right when he says: “Educational visits in history have a special curriculum value and they don’t have to be super costly or tough to organise.” As … Continue reading Learning history outside the classroom

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speaking and listening, teaching and learning ideas

The Old Lady in the Post Office – how to teach writing a strong line of argument to any key stage

If you’re finding it difficult to teach students in any Key Stage what an argued piece of writing that offers a substantiated judgement looks like, you need to meet someone. She’s called the Old Lady in the Post Office and nothing I’ve tried has been more effective in helping students understand what a line of argument looks like when it runs throughout an essay. Here … Continue reading The Old Lady in the Post Office – how to teach writing a strong line of argument to any key stage

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teaching and learning ideas

Using Living Graphs to support making supported judgements

We all face a challenge to help our students understand change over time and to make judgements about the most important factors contributing to change. I use Living Graphs a lot, especially with my A-level historians. Living graphs are a visual way to assess the relative importance of events or actions. Students create a line graph showing change over time in relation to specific criteria. … Continue reading Using Living Graphs to support making supported judgements

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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

Later Middle Ages: Teaching Fellowship Resources

Hopefully you have managed to find the free copy of Teaching Medieval History that has been sent to your school. The online expanded version is Here. This has been made available thanks to Agincourt600. In 2015, they also granted the HA funding to start the first of its Teaching Fellowship programmes. A group of teachers spent an intensive weekend updating their subject knowledge with academics. They then … Continue reading Later Middle Ages: Teaching Fellowship Resources

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