‘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!
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!
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!
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
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
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
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
Exploring and Teaching Medieval History – an introduction by Ian Dawson
Exploring and Teaching Medieval History has just been published by the Historical Association. A copy of the shorter, 96 pages edition has been sent to every secondary school in England and Wales. The extended 140 pages edition is available open-access on the HA website – http://www.history.org.uk Where did this publication come from? In summer 2017 the Agincourt600 organisation gave the HA a sum of money … Continue reading Exploring and Teaching Medieval History – an introduction by Ian Dawson
Enquiry questions – the back story!
Over the weekend @LeeDonaghy asked history teachers on @Twitter if ‘an enquiry-focused history curriculum is a bit overrated for KS3’. It’s a good question. History-subject specialists learn from their subject-specialist ITT training that being able to construct an effective enquiry is a breakthrough moment in becoming a history teacher. But why? And how can we explain why? In response to @LeeDonaghy there followed a lengthy … Continue reading Enquiry questions – the back story!
Resources for history lessons that reflect diversity … and the HA conference
‘How far does the past talked about in your history classroom reflect the diversity of modern Britain?’ This was the question posed recently to PGCE History students at the University of York. Following the posing of this question, the students rolled up their sleeves and put together a short ‘Guide for busy teachers’ that you can find here: Whose histories? – diversity ideas and resources The … Continue reading Resources for history lessons that reflect diversity … and the HA conference
OBHD 