Please fill in the following form to contact the author, Russel Tarr (@russeltarr)
ActiveHistory provides entertaining, educational award-winning interactive simulations, decision-making games, self-marking quizzes, high-quality worksheets and detailed lesson plans for teachers and students. View the top 50 activities here.
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ActiveHistory.co.uk is the work of Russel Tarr. I am Head of History at the International School of Toulouse. Prior to this I worked at Wolverhampton Grammar School. I have a degreee in Modern History from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University. I am also a fully-qualified teacher with a PGCE from the School of Education at Birmingham University.
I was recently listed as one of the Top History Teachers to Follow on Twitter by The Guardian.
ActiveHistory.co.uk (est. 1998) provides interactive simulations, decision-making games, self-marking quizzes, worksheets and lesson plans for teachers and students of World History. It provides materials on scores of topics from the Middle Ages to the present day, aimed at every age range between 11-18 years. It provides a highly effective means of teaching history using all the benefits of modern internet technology.
ActiveHistory is a practical, continually evolving resource produced by a full-time history teacher for his students and his colleagues. All of the top activities have been produced with the classroom in mind, and are continually amended after being tried out in class by myself and other visitors. As a result the site has earned some glowing testimonials from its loyal subscribers and praise from newspapers such as the Sunday Times and the New York Times.
Roger Frost in The Sunday Times wrote, "To see teaching creativity bubble onto the internet, and regain any lost joy for school, take a trip to Active History. Pick your year and topic, and discover an enjoyable, intensely hands-on learning environment...The exercises are witty, irreverent and often brilliant". Becky Hewlitt, writing the Times Educational Supplement, was of the opinion that, "If the Queen taught history then Russel Tarr would be a knight of the realm. His superb site has saved me thousands of hours of planning and is a constant source of innovative and exciting ideas."
In May 2013 I was the subject of an attack by the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, in what became known as his “Mr. Men” speech. According to Mr. Gove, my approach to teaching is apparently symptomatic of all that is wrong with UK secondary education in general, and history teaching in particular. The following morning I found the story all over the national newspapers including the front page of The Times [image]. Mr. Gove later repeated his criticisms on the BBC's Andrew Marr show.
My full reply to Mr. Gove, and links to various interviews and articles relating to this affair, can be found here.
In one evening, upwards of 500 people changed their Twitter image to express their support for me against Mr. Gove
I am the administrator of the IBDP History Teachers Support Group on Facebook.
I am the author of "Tarr's Toolbox", which collates my favourite teaching strategies and resources in one place:
I am also author of Classtools.net, a popular website which provides free, customisable flash templates to embed into blogs, wikis and websites:
The Head2Head Interviews were awarded first prize in the BECTA / Guardian Educational Website Awards way back in 2002, beating off competition from over 320 other sites and described as a "brilliant concept" that won "hands down" "for sheer ingenuity". I was presented with an award at a ceremony at BAFTA in London. Based on ActiveHistory, Wolverhampton Grammar School was given membership of ENIS, the European Network of Innovative Schools.
ActiveHistory is updated on an almost daily basis with new worksheets, games, lesson plans and quizzes. The best way of getting a feel of what the site is all about is to keep an eye on the "What's New?" page on the site; if you prefer, you can subscribe to its RSS Feed, or follow its Twitter Feed, or follow the site on Facebook Fanpage.
I would very much welcome any suggestions for improvements to the site - mail me using the Feedback Form. You can also follow me on Twitter (@russeltarr / @activehistory).
Events (200 years ago today): 1818 - The case of Ashford v Thornton ends, with Abraham Thornton allowed to go free rather than face a retrial for murder, after his demand for trial by battle is upheld.
Events (100 years ago today): 1918 - Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.
Events (50 years ago today): 1968 - English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood speech.
Births (300 years ago today): 1718 - David Brainerd, American missionary (d. 1747)
Births (200 years ago today): 1818 - Heinrich Göbel, German-American mechanic and engineer (d. 1893)
Births (100 years ago today): 1918 - Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
Births (50 years ago today): 1968 - Yelena Välbe, Russian skier and manager
Deaths (100 years ago today): 1918 - Karl Ferdinand Braun, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
Deaths (50 years ago today): 1968 - Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (b. 1877)
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In what ways, and with what results, was Germany a source of Cold War tensions between 1945 and 1962?
Model Essay: To what extent did the French Revolution deliver on its promises of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity?
Model Essay: By what methods, and with what success, did Fidel Castro try to eliminate domestic opposition?
Model Essay: Castros mastery of guerrilla warfare was the main reason why he was able to take control of Cuba. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
40+ Model History Essays by Russel Tarr
Who is your historical hero?
Outcome from the Balloon Debate: Paper People Project | More on the Paper People approach
Crime Board: Who was Jack the Ripper?
Turbo-Timeline Generator!
How did Cromwell rule England 1649-1658?
Levellers and Diggers: A song by Gerard Winstanley (1648)
England without a King: How should the country be governed?
Oliver Cromwells Life and Career
What sort of a man was Oliver Cromwell?
Rule of Pinochet / 1973 Chilean Coup: Dialogue Poem Starter Activity
...more