History
Curriculum
Introduction
GCSE History teaches you about events, changes, people and issues in the past. You will learn how to interpret events and to use historical sources to understand what happened. The GCSE course at Kimberley spans content timewise from Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman conquest right up to medicine in modern Britain. Additionally, we look at world history that includes the expansion of the USA in the 19th century and challenges facing Germany in the twentieth century.
R.Brett
Subject Performance Leader
Key Skills & Understanding:
analysis · inference · use of sources · historical context · communication · explanation · knowledge & retention · critical thinking · cultural awareness
let's take a look...
Theme/Unit
Class Content
Independent Study
Assisted Study
Welcome to
History!
What is History? Students will be
introduced to different historical skills such as chronology, significance and using sources. Through this we will explore local of the East Midlands.
Around 2 pieces. May include source work and some local research.
Research the history of your local area or your family.
The Norman Conquest
Students will study life under Edward the Confessor and the dangerous position England is left in once he dies. From here students will study the different contenders to the throne in 1066 and the 3 battles that shaped England. We then explore the changes that happened in England after William was crowned King.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the Bayeux Tapestry.
Ask your son/daughter about the skills needed to be a good historian.
Life in the Middle Ages
Students will learn about the role of the Church in Medieval England and the power struggle between Church and Crown through the case study of Thomas Becket. After this they will look at different ways there was conflict between the Crown/people/Church in Medieval England and how events like the Black Death and Peasants Revolt shaped Britain.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the Magna Carta.
Check homework is completed on time.
The Tudors
During the reign of the Tudor family England (and much of the wider world) underwent a series of major changes. Students will look at the reigns of some of the Tudor monarchs and look at the changes they brought to religion and the way the country was governed as well as exploring how this was the start of the colonisation of the ‘New World.’
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the Spanish Armada.
Research subject areas and discuss ideas.
The Stuarts
and the English
Civil War
The death of Elizabeth and the establishment of the Stuarts as the rulers of England will be studied. We will look at the beliefs that brought James and then Charles into conflict with Parliament, and how this led to the English Civil War. They will then explore life during the Protectorate and the role of Oliver Cromwell, before looking at the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the restoration of the monarchy.
.
Life in the
Renaissance
Students will study life in Renaissance England. They will look at changes to day-to-day life and how the catastrophic events of the Great Plague and Great Fire shaped life in London. Students will
also explore how new ideas shaped the way people lives and how society changed during this period and how this compared to life in the Middle Ages.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the Great Fire of London.
.
History
Y7 | Key Stage 3
History
KS3
7
YEAR
Transatlantic
slave trade
Students will start Y8 by looking at African empires. They will then study how the growth in overseas trade helped to establish the slave trade triangle. From that they will go on to explore how the slave trade worked and the journey the slaves went on from their capture through the middle passage and then on to life on the plantations. After looking at resistance students will study why the slave trade end when it does. Within this students will look at Britain’s role in this.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the Mali Empire.
Research subject areas and discuss ideas.
Civil Rights
movement
This will start by linked to the end of the last unit and students will study the American Civil War and what it meant for the end of slavery in the USA. From here they will explore how segregation was implemented across the southern states of the USA and what this looked like in reality. This will allow students to then move on to how the Civil Rights movement started and different forms of resistance. Here students will also explore different global Civil Rights movements including Britain’s.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the Bristol Bus Boycott.
.
The Industrial
Revolution
Students will look at how Britain industrialised through the growth of large factories in the industrial revolution. They will study what life was like for children in the mills through looking at living and working conditions. Students will explore why children were forced to work and the impact it had on them.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like Arkwright’s mill.
.
Life in
Victorian
Britain
This unit explores everyday life in Victorian Britain and will explore themes such as law and order, migration and political changes. Here students will also explore the British Empire and the impact of colonisation.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the Southwell Workhouse.
.
Fighting for
the vote
Linking on from the previous unit this topic explores how the vote was extended to more men in the 19thC before moving on to the Suffragette movement. Within this students will explore different methods used by the suffragettes to gain support and will do a case study on the death of Emily Davison.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the work of Emmeline Pankhurst.
.
Y8 | Key Stage 3
History
Theme/Unit
Class Content
Independent Study
Assisted Study
8
YEAR
Y9 | Key Stage 3
History
WW1
Students start Y9 by exploring what the world was like at the start of the 20thC. From here they will explore the escalating conflict of WWI and why it is a ‘world war’. Students will look at the life for soldiers in the trenches and will explore major battles such as the Somme.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Research subject areas and discuss ideas
Roaring
Twenties
Linking on from the last unit students will look at the Treaty of Versailles and how the USA emerges as a world superpower. They will look at wider cultural and political changes that happen in the 1920s and will consider whether they deserve to be called
‘roaring’?
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the League of Nations.
.
WWII: Germany
the
Holocaust
Students will explore how the challenges of the 1920s and early 1930s led to the Nazi party coming to power and establishing a dictatorship. They will look at life in Nazi Germany and the growing persecution of the Jewish population before studying the events of the Holocaust.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the Reichstag Fire.
.
Impact of WWII
Here students will explore how WWII effected different parts of the world. They will look at the impact of the blitz, the war in Africa and the Pacific and the dropping of the atomic bombs.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the bombing of English cities.
.
World after 1945
We will finish the Y9 schemes of work by looking at major world events that happened after 1945 and how they have shaped the world we live in today.
Mixture of SMHW quizzes and research tasks on things like the Cuban Missile Crisis.
.
Theme/Unit
Class Content
Independent Study
Assisted Study
9
YEAR
Module
1;Thematic study: Medicine in Britain c.1250 to present (12
Weeks)
Medicine in Medieval England
-
Medieval beliefs about the cause of disease and how to treat or prevent illness
-
Medieval care and the role of the Church
-
Case study: The Black Death 1348
-
The Medical Renaissance
-
Changing and continuing ideas of cause of disease
-
Attempts to prevent and treat disease in the Renaissance
-
New understanding of anatomy
-
Changes to care after the Reformation of the Church
-
Case study: William Harvey
-
Case study: The Great Plague 1665
-
Medicine in Industrial Britain
-
New ideas about the cause of disease including the Germ Theory
-
Continuation of treatments
-
Developments within surgery
-
Attempts to prevent illness including the Public Health Acts
-
Changes to care including the work of Nightingale
-
Case study: Jenner and the first vaccination
-
Case study: Snow and Cholera in London
-
Modern Medicine
-
New understanding of the causes of illness including DNA and lifestyle choices
-
New treatments including the magic bullets
-
Ways to prevent illness including the role of the government
-
The creation of the NHS and developments in care
-
Technological developments that aide diagnosis and treatment
-
Case study: Fleming, Florey and Chain and Penicillin
-
Case study: The fight against lung cancer in the 21stC
-
Research activities
-
Writing tasks
-
SMHW quizzes
-
Consolidation and revision tasks
-
Exam questions
-
Wider reading and research based on the reading lists
Support with revision activities such as quizzing students. Checking workbooks and helping with research.
Paper 1: Historic Environment The British sector of the Western Front,
1914-18: injuries, treatments &
the trenches
The historical context of medicine at the start of WWI
-
Conditions of the trenches and development of weapons and how this led to medical problems
-
Key battles and issues with transport of the injured
-
The chain of evacuation
-
Common injuries and illnesses within the trenches
-
The work of the RAMC and FANY
-
Medical developments made in WWI in areas such as blood transfusions and experimental brain and plastic surgery
Research activities
• Writing tasks
• SMHW quizzes
• Consolidation and revision tasks
• Exam questions
• Wider reading and research based on the reading lists
Research activities
Writing tasks
SMHW quizzes
Consolidation and revision tasks
Exam questions
Wider reading and research based on the reading lists
Paper 2: British Depth Study Anglo-Saxon & Norman England,
c1060-1088
Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest, 1060-1066
-
Anglo-Saxon society
-
The last years of Edward the Confessor and the succession crisis
-
The rival claimants to the throne
-
The battles of 1066
-
William I in power: securing the kingdom, 1066-87
-
Establishing control (castles, rewarding followers, land ownership)
-
The causes and outcomes of Anglo-Saxon resistance, 1068-71
-
The legacy of resistance to 1087
-
Revolt of the Earls 1075
-
Norman England, 1066-1087
-
The feudal system and Church
-
Norman government
-
The Norman aristocracy
-
William I and his son
-
Research activities
-
Writing tasks
-
SMHW quizzes
-
Consolidation and revision tasks
-
Exam questions
-
Wider reading and research based on the reading lists
Support with revision activities such as quizzing students. Checking workbooks and helping with research.
History
Y10 | Key Stage 4
Theme/Unit
Class Content
Independent Study
Assisted Study
10
YEAR
Paper 2:
Period Study
The American
West c1835-
c1895
The early settlement of the West, c1835-c1862
• The Plains Indians: their beliefs and way of life
• Migration and early settlement
• Conflict and tension
Development of the Plains, c1862-c1876
• The development of settlement in the West
• Ranching and the development of the cattle industry
• Changes in the way of life of the Plains Indians
Conflicts and conquests, c1876-c1895
• Changes in farming, the cattle industry and settlement
• Conflict and tension (continuing issues with gangs and ineffective
law and order)
• The destruction of the Plains’ Indians way of life
Research activities
• Writing tasks
• SMHW quizzes
• Consolidation and
revision tasks
• Exam questions
• Wider reading and
research based on
the reading lists
Support with revision
activities such as
quizzing students.
Checking workbooks
and helping with
research.
Paper 3: Modern Depth
Study Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-1939
The Weimar Republic 1918-29
• The origins of the Republic, 1918-19
• Early challenges to the Republic, 1919-23
• The recovery of the Republic, 1924-29 (the Golden Years) Hitlers rise to power 1919-1933
• Changes in society, 1924-29
• Early development of the Nazi party 1920-22
• The Munich Putsch and lean years, 1923-29
• Growth in Nazi support, 1929-32
• How Hitler became Chancellor, 1932-33
Nazi control and dictatorship, 1933-39
• The creation of a dictatorship, 1933-34
• The Police State
• Controlling and influencing attitudes (propaganda and
censorship)
• Opposition, resistance and conformity
Life in Nazi Germany, 1933-39
• Nazi policies towards women
• Nazi policies towards the young
• Employment and living standards
• The persecution of minorities
.
.
History
Y11 | Key Stage 4
Theme/Unit
Class Content
Independent Study
Assisted Study
11
YEAR
What is 'History' at KS5?
History is the study of the past. At A Level, students develop expertise in historical skills and acquire knowledge and understanding through the ability to study a wide range of topics in British, European and World History from the Early Modern period through to the early 21st Century.
Who is it for?
History is for anyone who has an interest in the past and how it effects the world we live in today. The skills that are needed in History such as the ability to investigate and interpret events and people, are skills that are in great demand in the world of work. History is a highly regarded qualification because of its academic rigour and the transferability of the skills it develops.
12&13
YEARS
What will i study?
If you opt for the History A level, you must cover the 4 units below over the course. Papers 1 and 2 follow the Revolutions in early modern and modern Europe pathway.
Course Content:
Paper 1: Breadth study with interpretations
Britain, c1625-1701: conflict, revolution and settlement
This option comprises a study in breadth, in which students will learn about key features of monarchical and republican rule in Britain in the seventeenth century, set within the context of broader social, economic and religious change. The events of this period saw a decisive shift in the balance of power between crown and parliament. Within this students will cover the quest for political stability and within this the different types of rule within the period such as personal rule, republican rule, the restoration of the monarchy, and the collapse of royal power.
They will also look at religious changes and conflicts during this period. Additionally, students will study social and intellectual change which covers things like the growth of urban development, the changing structure of society, the impact of religious and legal changes on the status of women, the new radical political ideas of the era and the scientific revolution.
The last theme looked at is economy, trade and empire where they will look at how agriculture changes, changing domestic trade patterns, the growth of London and its impact, and then the impact of imperial expansion which explores the impact of British control of the triangular trade. The historical interpretations in the unit all look at the impact of the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89.
Assessment: Exam Paper - 2 hour 15min [30%]
Section A: one breadth essay
Section B: one breadth essay
Section C: one interpretation question
Paper 3: Themes in breadth with aspects of depth
Civil rights and race relations in the USA, 1850–2009
Together, the breadth and depth topics explore the British experience of war in different aspects of major overseas conflicts and the changing relationship between the state and the people as the government attempted to create an effective fighting machine and prepare the people for war. Within the primarily military focus on the experience of warfare, this option also gives students the opportunity to explore its political, social and economic dimensions and their part in generating pressure for change.
The two themes explored as part of the changing perceptions of race relations, 1850-2009 look at the changing geography of civil rights issues and the changing portrayal of civil rights issues in fiction and film. Then in the aspects in depth units explore emancipation and the move towards greater equality. Within this students study the events around the Thirteenth amendment and the reconstruction post the Civil War. They also look at the backlash to this including the growth of the Ku Klux Klan and the development of the Jim Crow laws and methods of segregation.
After this they will look at the New Deal and race relations, 1933-41, before moving on to the growth of the Civil Rights movement from 1954. This includes an exploration of the different Civil Rights organisations, the role of key individuals and different legislation that was passed. The last topic studied explores the political career of Obama including his early career as a senator in Illinois as well as his election victory in 2008.
Assessment: Exam Paper - 2 hour 15min [30%]
Section A: one source question
Section B: one depth essay Section C: one breadth essay
Paper 2: Depth study
Russia in Revolution, 1894-1924
This option compromises a study in depth of the causes, course and consolidation of the Russian Revolution of 1917, which had a momentous effect on twentieth-century Russia and throughout the modern world. Within this students will start their study by looking at the rule of Nicholas II and the way in which he ruled and the problems faced with this such as the Russo-Japanese war and 1905 Revolution. They’ll then move onto the end of Romanov rule and how in its final years repression and war shape Russia. After this students look at the Provisional government and its opponents between February- October 1917. In the last topic students study the events between October 1917-24 and within this they look at how power was consolidated under the Bolsheviks, the economic policies brought it, how internal opposition was dealt with and finish by looking at foreign intervention.
Assessment: Exam Paper - 1 hour 30min [20%]
Section A: one source question
Section B: one depth essay
NEA
Weimar and Nazi Germany Students will be given an overview of the time period and then students will complete an independently researched enquiry on different historical interpretations about a specific area. The enquiry will take the form of a 3,000-4,000 word essay. Support will be given support in lesson as to how to conduct the enquiry
Assessment: 3000-4000 word essay [20%]
Independently researched enquiry on historical interpretations
Y12/13 Guide to Independent Learning
History at KS5
After each lesson you should:
-
Review your lesson notes, go back through any resources and highlight anything that you do not understand so that you can ask about this in the next lesson
-
Read through the relevant section of the textbook and revision guide to add additional information to class notes
-
Ensure your class notes are in lesson order in your folder
-
Complete or plan relevant exam questions in text books, linking to lesson content
Each week you should:
-
If you have missed a lesson make sure you get the resources from your teacher and ensure you are up to date and understand the work
-
Review the work you have done over the week and make some active revision resources. Examples may include glossaries, timelines, mindmaps, flash cards, flow diagrams, quizzes, drawings for understanding
-
Be proactive when making revision resources – don’t just make them, use them to commit knowledge to memory
-
Re-read any advice you have been given on how to approach the different types of questions you face in the different parts of the History course – these need to become second nature
Throughout the year you should:
-
Complete past paper questions with mark schemes from the OCR website: AS and A Level - History A - H105, H505 (from 2015) - OCR
-
Unit 1 -Stuarts Unit Y108 / Unit 2 - Germany Unit Y221 / Unit 3 – Russia Unit Y318
-
Make sure you look at the ‘Candidate Exemplar’ work as well to see what grade standards look like
-
There is also a section about the NEA you can look at
-
You should work through these questions to test your knowledge and critically assess your work using the mark schemes. You could also ask your class teacher to read through any questions you have completed in your own time.
-
Take opportunities to complete wider reading or watching relevant History programmes
At least once per half-term you should:
-
Carry out a folder cleanse. Ensure work is in a sensible order (chronological or by theme) and that sections are clearly divided ( e.g. different teachers / different topics / assessments v class work)
-
Identify any missing work and take steps to fill gaps – email teacher for lesson resources, liaise with peers to catch up
-
Commit some time to memorising key facts / events / policies etc that you will need to use in exam questions
-
Use additional reading in the groups folder to complete further notes on lesson content and case studies
Where can this course take me?
Studying History opens the door to a huge range of careers. The wide range of communication skills that History gives you are recognised and valued by employers generally.
Students of may wish to progress to a number of related courses that offer such specializations as:
History
Law
Politics
Education
Sociology
English
Journalism etc.
Further Education or vocation based training would significantly help towards freelance practices or careers in:
Heritage
Museum work
Law
Education
HR
Civil service
Journalism
For more information of post-school progression please check out our dedicated Careers Page for related links and guidance.
For more information on this course throughout all key stages please contact Miss R. Brett
r.brett@kimberleyschool.co.uk
