HISTORY DEPARTMENT
Aims:
The teaching of History at The Towers aims to follow the school Mission Statement and uphold all that it promotes.
History recognises its particular role in highlighting the importance of collective responsibility as well as the pursuit
of truth, and ensuring that all aspects of the syllabus are delivered within the context of Christian values.
All staff are committed to safeguarding the children and young people in our care.
Since History is taught to all pupils up to year 9 and, while it is natural to look ahead for those who will carry on to
G.C.S.E and beyond, it must be part of the role of the department to prepare pupils for their lives in general,
rather than their lives as professional historians. Thus the subject contributes significantly to the development of
the rounded individual, fostering tolerance, understanding and an informed critical awareness. As such, it is an
essential component in the education of a “good citizen”. Above all, pupils are encouraged to develop an enthusiasm
for the subject and a love of learning.
- Learn about the past in Britain and the wider world
- Consider how the past influences the present
- Find out about what past societies were like, how these societies organised themselves, and what beliefs and cultures influenced people’s actions
- Develop a chronological framework
- See the diversity of human experience and understand more about themselves as individuals and members of society
- Reflect on their personal choices, attitudes & values
- Use evidence, weigh it up and reach their own conclusions
- Study interpretations of the past developing a healthy critical awareness and wariness of absolute truths
- Research, sift through evidence & argue a point of view
- Develop powers of communication – both written & oral
Objectives/attainment targets In history, pupils acquire and apply knowledge, skills & understanding in five main areas:
-
Chronological understanding
Pupils should be taught to recognise and make appropriate use of dates, vocabulary and conventions that describe historical periods & the passage of time. -
Knowledge & understanding of events, people & changes in the past
Pupils should be taught:- to describe & analyse the relationships between periods & societies
- about social, cultural, religious & ethnic diversity of societies, both in Britain & the wider world
- to analyse & explain reasons for, & results of, historical events and changes in periods studied
- to identify trends across periods & links between local, British, European & world history
- to consider the significance of main events, people & changes studied
-
Historical interpretation
Pupils should be taught:- how and why historical events, people, situations and changes have been interpreted in different ways
- to evaluate interpretations
-
Historical enquiry
Pupils should be taught to:- identify, select and use a range of appropriate sources as a basis for independent historical enquiries
- evaluate the sources used, select and record information relevant to the enquiry and reach conclusions
-
Organisation & communication
Pupils should be taught to:- recall, prioritise and select historical information
- accurately use chronological conventions and appropriate historical vocabulary to organise historical information
- communicate knowledge and understanding, using a range of techniques, including spoken language, structure narratives, substantiated explanations and the use of ICT
| History Staff | ||
| History Co-ordinator: | Ms S Garlick | MA (Oxon) PGCE |
| History Teacher: | Dr T Martyn | PhD MA (Cantab) PGCE |
Outline of Content
KS3
During key stage 3 pupils learn about significant individuals and events in the history of Britain from the Middle Ages
to the twentieth century. They also learn about key aspects of European & world history.
They show their understanding by making connections between events and changes in the different periods & areas studied,
and by comparing the structure of societies and economic, cultural and political developments.
They evaluate and use sources of information, using their historical knowledge to analyse the past & explain how it can
be represented and interpreted in different ways.
(click to view more)
hide| Year 7 | |
| Britain 1066-1500 | |
| Unit 2 | How did medieval monarchs keep control? |
| Unit 3 |
How hard was life for medieval people in town & country? Was medieval medicine all doom & gloom? |
| Unit 4 | How did the medieval church affect people’s lives? |
| Year 8 | |
| Britain 1500-1750 | |
| School Unit | The early Tudors & Religious changes |
| Unit 5 | Elizabeth I: how successfully did she tackle the problems of her reign? |
| Unit 7 | Images of an age: what can we learn from portraits? |
| School Unit | Tudor society - Four sorts of people, leisure, women, food |
| Unit 5 | Elizabeth I continued – poverty |
| School Unit | James I – interpretations of his personality |
| Year 9 | |
| Britain 1750-1900 | |
| Unit 11 | Industrial changes: action & reaction |
| - industrial revolution | |
| - living conditions in the towns | |
| Unit 16 | The franchise: why did it take so much longer for British women to get the vote? |
| World Study after 1900 | |
| Unit 18 | Hot war, cold war – why did the major events of the 20th C. affect so many people? |
| Themes of: Why do wars happen? | |
| How & why did 20th C. warfare change? | |
| How did war affect civilian lives? | |
| - World War One: causes, trench warfare, battle of the Somme, how civilians were affected, poetry | |
| - World War Two: causes, the fall of France, impact on civilians including the Blitz | |
| World Study before 1900 | |
| Unit15 | Black Peoples of America: from slavery to equality? |
KS4
The History Department follows the OCR Modern World History B syllabus.
(click to view more)
hide| Year 10 | |
| Core Content: International Relations 1919-1939 | |
| - Were the Peace Treaties of 1919-1923 fair? | |
| - To what extent was the League of Nations a success? | |
| Main Depth Study: Germany 1919-1945 | |
| - Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start? | |
| - Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1934? | |
| - Nazi regime: how effectively did the Nazis control Germany 1933-45? | |
| - Nazi regime: what was it like to live in Nazi Germany? | |
| Year 11 | |
| British Depth Study 1906-1918: How was British society changed? | |
| - Liberal reforms 1906-14 | |
| - Women & the Vote | |
| - The Home Front 1914-18 | |
| Controlled Assessment: USSR 1929-1939 | |
| - How did Stalin gain & hold onto power? | |
| - How was the impact of Stalin’s economic policies? | |
| Core Content: International Relations 1919-1939 | |
| - Why had international peace collapsed by 1939? |
The Delivery of History
In lessons we aim to cover a variety of teaching modes, using cross-curricular activities.
Variety makes the lessons more stimulating & generally adds to the enjoyment of the subject.
We do not believe in ‘passive learning’ such as dictation or copying notes
from the board or out of the textbook. History is about active thinking!
History is delivered through "chronology, source work (bias), varying interpretations of the past & empathy exercises (eg diary)".
But also through:
Music – Gregorian chant, Tudor dance music, learning World War 1 songs round the piano (with me playing!), jazz
Art – historical portraits, designing pamphlets/posters, propaganda poster analysis, historical cartoons, collages,
use of film/photos as propaganda, paintings as historical sources
Maths – graphs, Venn diagrams, pie charts, flow diagrams, timelines
Geography – historical maps = essential for understanding Modern History
Drama – role-plays, enactments, speeches
English – debate, slogans, headlines, newsflashes, presentations, biased words, specialist vocab.
ICT – use of smartboard, dynamic learning programmes, research tasks on internet, production of pamphlets, newspaper articles
Citizenship, SMSC-government, monarchy, democracy, workers’ rights, position of women, beggars, class, faith, conscientious objectors
Accelerated Learning techniques are actively employed throughout KS3 & KS4:
Use of the ‘big picture’
Mind maps, spider diagrams, flow charts etc
Colour-coding exercises/notes
Precise note-taking skills
Mnemonic
Cards
Different learning styles for revision (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic)
Study buddies
Extra-curricular Activities To support the taught curriculum, the department arranges a range of trips. Over recent years we have visited Bodiam Castle, Penshurst Place, Parham House, the battlefields of the Somme and the Imperial War Museum. There is a KS4 History Film Club where the students are able to watch films/documentaries with strong connections to their GCSE syllabus to enhance their feel for the period, including classics such as “Cabaret” and “Some Like It Hot”! KS4 students are also encouraged to read literature linked to their studies, such as Solzhenitsyn’s “A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”. KS4 pupils can access our GCSE History software from home and can follow numerous weblinks from it.
Bodiam Castle trip:
Year 7 were to be seen peering at carp in the moat, scrambling up spiral staircases, peeking over battlements between the machiolations (alarming Ms Garlick), looking down through murder holes, tiptoeing past snoozing bats in the belfry and trying on extensive amounts of armour (heavy!). Medieval times were definitely tough times.
Penshurst:
Year 8 visited the beautiful Elizabethan house of Penshurst Place. The Great Hall was highly impressive with a high chestnut beamed roof (to keep the spiders at bay!) and a minstrels’ gallery. The girls took particular interest in the Elizabethan portraits & some got excited about two costumes on show from the film “The Other Boleyn Girl”. All round the house we spotted the ‘badge’ of the Sidney family: a fetching porcupine and bear.
The Somme:
Uniforms and trenches...
Henry Allingham:
A few years ago the last surviving veteran from World War One, Henry Allingham, came to the school to take part in two question & answer sessions about his childhood, his memories of the suffragettes and his experiences in the Great War. It was a thoroughly moving occasion and there was scarcely a dry eye in the house. I t made us all think more deeply about the sacrifices in war.
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Towers Convent School
