History

Can I talk about events and people in my life?

Can I talk about stories and real-life events that I remember?

Can I order the season and days of the week?

Can I order my daily events?

Can I talk about events that have happened in the past and make suggestions about plans for the future?

Can I talk about the lives of the people around me?

Do I know some similarities and differences between things in the past and now, drawing on their experiences and what has been read in class?

How do we travel around today?

What transport did people use in the past?

How have boats changed over time?

How were the first trains different from trains today?

How did trains change people’s lives?

History not studied

What different types of toys are there?

Can I describe my favourite toy?

Which toys did our grown-ups play with?

How do we know that some toys are from the past?

How are toys today different from toys in the past?

Can we put toys in order?

History not studied

How has road transport changed?

How have bicycles changed since they were first invented?

How has air travel changed over time?

Why can we only find some types of transport in certain areas?

History not studied

Who was Queen Victoria and what were some of the key events that occurred during her lifetime?

What were the similarities and differences between rich Victorians and poor Victorians?

Who were some of the key Victorian scientists and inventors and what did they create?

What is a monarch?

Why is King William I known as ‘William the Conqueror’?

Why is King John I known as ‘Bad King John’?

Who was Queen Elizabeth I?

Who was Charles I and what was the English Civil War?

What does the monarch do today?

What makes someone significant?

What are human rights?

Why is Nelson Mandela remembered?

How did Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King stand up for Black people’s rights?

How does Malala Yousafzai fight for girls’ rights?

How did these people make a difference?

How do artefacts inform us about prehistory in Britain?

How did life change during the Stone Age in Britain?

What was life like in Bronze Age Britain?

What was life like in Iron Age Britain?

What does Stonehenge tell us about prehistoric Britain?

How did prehistoric beliefs and rituals change?

History not studied 

When and where was Ancient Egypt?

Why was the River Nile important?

Who ruled Ancient Egypt?

Why did Ancient Egyptians build pyramids?

How was Ancient Egyptian society structured?                       

What are hieroglyphics?

What gods did Ancient Egyptians believe in?

What did Ancient Egyptians believe about the afterlife?

How do we know about the Ancient Egyptians?

What did Ancient Egyptians discover?

History not studied 

Who were the Romans and why did Julius Caesar want to invade Britain?

Who were the Britons and why did Claudius invade Britain in 43CE?

Why was the Roman army so successful in spreading the Roman Empire?

Who was Boudica and how did she challenge Roman rule in Britain?

How did the Romans try to defend the land they took while taking more?

How do we know who lived in Roman Britain?

Why did Romans build towns and what were Roman towns like?

What can we learn about Roman Britain by investigate an archaeological site?

How did the Romans link together the places they ruled?

What did the Romans believe, and did they bring their beliefs to Britain?

What influences have the Romans had on our words and numbers?

History not studied

When and where did the Ancient Maya live?

What do we know about the Ancient Maya cities?

What did the Ancient Maya believe and how did they worship?

How did the Ancient Maya feed their people?

How do we know that the Ancient Maya could read, write, and do complex maths?

What happened after the Romans left?

How do we know about the Anglo-Saxons?

How was Anglo-Saxon England ruled?

What was daily life like for the Anglo-Saxons?

How did the Anglo-Saxons converting to Christianity change England?

Why is King Alfred known as Alfred the Great?

Who were the Vikings?

How do historians know about how the Vikings traded?

What were the Viking raids and why were they so successful?

What was the Danelaw?

How did England become a unified country?

Did the Vikings rule England?

History not studied 

How and why was Baghdad built?

Why was this period called the Golden Age of Islam?

How did Baghdad become a centre of learning?

Who advanced science, mathematics and medicine and why are they important?

How did Baghdad compare to London in 900CE?

How did the First World War begin and why did Britain fight?

Who fought for Britain in the First World War?

What was trench warfare?

What did women do during the First World War?

History not studied 

Why did a second world war break out in 1939?

How did Britain fight in the Second World War?

What was the impact of the Second World War on Britain?

How successful was Britain in rebuilding after the Second World War?

Who were the first Greek civilisations and how do we know about them?

How was Ancient Greece ruled?

Why were the Persian Wars and democracy part of the Golden Age of Greece?

Who were the Athenians and Spartans, and how did they compare?

What did Alexander the Great achieve and why was he influential?

Wy are some of the achievements of the Ancient Greeks still important today?

What drove Baghdad’s thirst for knowledge? 

What light can one saint’s story shed on western Christian worlds?

How disruptive were the Normans?

Why did Alexios’ empire survive?

Who was affected by English expansion [in Wales and Scotland]?

Order and disorder in Walsham: how did one village respond to the Black Death?

What does the story of Mansa Musa reveal about medieval Africa?

Who were the Elizabethans?

What changed in the village of Morebath from 1519 to 1574?

Mughal Empire (enquiry)

Two West African kingdoms (story summary)

Puritanism and politics, 1603-57 (enquiry)

Ireland: story across 17th and early 18th centuries (enquiry)

Transatlantic slave trade (story summary)

Virginia and Massachusetts compared (enquiry)

East India Company (story summary)

Changing rural technology: ideas, land, and power in Britain (enquiry)

Factories & mines: emergence in the economy, seen through working peoples’ experiences (late 18C/early 19C) (enquiry)

French Revolution (story summary)

Change and continuity in the Caribbean (enquiry)

1832 Reform Act (story summary)

Reform from above: state / elite efforts to address the ‘condition of England’ question (1840s-60s) (enquiry)

Story summary: European empires in c. 1880 (1) 

Story summary: Karl Marx

What did Hannah Mitchell want to change?

How did Sergei’s photographs portray the Russian empire?

Why did so many European leaders declare war in 1914?

Did Stalin transform the Soviet Union?

Why did so many German people support the Nazi Party?

How typical was Lien’s story of European Jews in the 20th century?

Why did decolonisation become so contested in Kenya?

How can we describe the lives of the Black diaspora in the 20th century?

Why did the Vikings, Normans and Jews migrate to Britain from c800 and what impact did they have?

Explain how relationships formed between migrants and existing population.

Why did English society change significantly in the 16th and 17th centuries?

How did migrants successfully settle in Britain?

How did migrants impact upon industry, trade and agriculture?

Why were the Huguenots so successful in London?

Why did the Industrial revolution make Britain an attractive country for migrants?

When Irish and Eastern European Jews arrived in Britain, they faced a range of problems.  How far were the problems similar?

Explain the most significant change brought about by migrants to Britain in the years 1700-1900.

Why do you think many people in Liverpool disliked Irish migrants?

Explain how the hunt for Jack the Ripper increased hostility towards Jews.

Why did people migrate to Britain from the Caribbean in the period 1947-1960?

Why did migration from Europe to Britain increase after 1973?

Explain why Germans living in Britain during World War One were treated differently from Germans living in Britain during World War Two?

How did people experience racism in institutions such as the NHS and London Transport?

Why was the Bristol Bus Boycott successful?

Conduct source enquiries on themes such as:

Why did Britain need to encourage migration from the Empire?

Why was there Caribbean migration to Notting Hill?

Why and how did the black community develop its own identity in Britain?

Why were there riots in Notting Hill in the 1950s.

How did ideological and military differences after WW2 bring about the Cold War?

How did the cold war intensify with the creation of armed camps (NATO and Warsaw Pact) in Europe?

Why were the Hungarian uprising for relations between East and West significant?

Why did the build-up of arms in intensify the cold war in the 1960s?

Why was détente significant in improving east to west relations in the 1970s?

Why was Gorbachev’s new thinking significant in bringing an end to the Cold War?

Why was there segregation and discrimination in the South in the 1950s?

Why was there success in challenging segregation in education and transport in the 1950s?

What impact had non-violent, direct action had on the civil rights movement by 1963?

What impact did the changes to federal law on civil rights have on the lives of Black Americans?

Why did a Black Power movement grow in the 1960s?

Explain the different views on the progress of the civil rights movement by 1975?

Why did the USA become involved in a conflict in Vietnam in the 1950s?

Why did the role and involvement of the USA in Vietnam increase up to 1969?

What tactics were used by the Vietcong and USA in fighting the war?

US defeat in Vietnam 

Why did Nixon’s Vietnamisation fail up to 1975?

Why did opposition to the war in Vietnam grow in the USA?

Why was the USA defeated in Vietnam by 1975?  

Why were the problems faced by Elizabeth at home and abroad as she succeeded the throne of England in 1558 significant?

How did the religious settlement impact on Elizabeth’s reign up to 1569?

Why was Mary Queen of Scots such a threat to Elizabeth up to 1587?

Why did Elizabeth face threats from home and abroad during her reign?

Why was there was a decline in Anglo-Spanish relations in the years 1569-1585, resulting the Armada?

How did the Elizabethans spend their leisure time?

How did the Elizabethans tackle the issue of poverty? 

Why did the Weimar Republic surmount so many political challenges in the 1920s only to collapse by 1933?

How did the business of government operate within the Nazi dictatorship in the years 1933-45

How far did the leaders of the FRG create a stable political state in the years 1945-89?

How effectively did opposition express itself in the years 1918—89?

How successfully did Germany’s governments control the German people in the years 1918-89?

To what extent did Germany’s governments rule by consent in the years 1918-89?

How successfully did the Weimar Republic respond to economic challenges in the years 1918-32?

How far did the Nazis control the economy in the years 1933-45?

What effect did the creation of a social market economy have on the FRG in the years 1945-89?

To what extent did the role of women and attitudes towards them change and develop in Germany in the years 1918-89?

Why were educational and cultural developments often controversial in Germany in the years 1918-89?

How far did attitudes towards ethnic minorities affect their status in Germany in the years 1918-1989? 

How far did German history influence Nazi foreign policy?

To what extent did Hitler shape Nazi foreign policy?

Why did Germany invade Poland in 1939?

To what extent did other nations contribute to the outbreak of war?

How to use interpretations: Is the extract an interpretation or just giving information?

Is there evidence to support any interpretation given?

Is there any sign of the methods used?

E.g. if a historian bases his interpretation on conversations, is it less useful than those historians who base interpretations on written primary sources?

Or:

Some historians put the philosophy of history, and perhaps, politics, first and research second.  Would this make their history weaker others?

Students research and produce a 3000-4000 word essay to answer this question:

Historians have disagreed about the significance of German Imperial ambitions in the origins of the First World War.

What is your view about the significance of German Imperial ambitions in the origins of the First World War?

How effective were the key developments in Tudor government and administration 1485-1603?

To what extent did the membership of the Council and relationship with the monarch change 1485-1603?

How did the relationship between the state and the Church change between 1485-1603?

What were the key problems facing Italy in the early part of the 20th century?

How did the government of Giolitti shape Italy’s political situation from 1911-1914?

How successful was the liberal government in dealing with Italy’s growing instability between 1912-14?

What was the impact of the First World War on Italy?

How effective was the government in dealing with Italy’s problems following WW1?

What were the key aspects of fascisms development from 1919-22?

How far was fascism’s rise to power due to the leadership of Mussolini between 1920-22?

To what extent was the creation of a fascist dictatorship between 1922-26 due to the mistakes of Mussolini’s political opposition?

How successful were Mussolini’s attempts to control the Italian population?

What was the nature and importance of Mussolini’s relationship with Italy’s political and economic elite?

How successfully did Mussolini’s economic plans achieve their aims?

How far did Mussolini’s relationship with the Catholic Church impact on his fascist dictatorship?

How successful was Mussolini in achieving his foreign policy aims before 1935?

How significant were the consequences of Mussolini’s more aggressive foreign policy in the years 1935-40?

What was the impact of Italy’s decision to enter WW2 on the side of Nazi Germany in 1940?

To what extent did the Italian nation change between 1943-46?

The break-up of Bismarck’s system of alliances after 1890 set in motion a chain of disasters that led towards the outbreak of the First World War.’ -How far do you agree?

Did the coming of Weltpolitik pose a real threat to the existing European situation at the start of the 20th Century?’

To what extent did crises in Morocco and the Balkans cause the war?

How convincing is the evidence that Germany had already been planning a war before 1914?

Did two bullets cause a world war in 1914?

How far can German foreign policy (1900-1914) be characterised as ‘aggressive?’

‘The Nations of Europe slither over the brink into the boiling cauldron of war’: How fair is this assessment of the outbreak of war in 1914?

Students research and produce a 3000-4000 word essay to answer this question:

Historians have disagreed about the significance of German Imperial ambitions in the origins of the First World War.

What is your view about the significance of German Imperial ambitions in the origins of the First World War?

How effectively were the localities governed?

How significantly did the government of the localities change from 1485-1603?

How far did the relationship between the Crown and the country change between 1485-1603?