IB History - Revision

These resources are specifically designed for teachers and students of the International Baccalaureate History Syllabus.

They should be used in conjunction with the IB History QuizBank that I also provide.

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A. Stand-Alone Resources (e.g. for homework / extension tasks)

Defining weasel terms: Guerrilla, interstate, civil wars; populist v. military dictators; and much more besides
"If you are called upon to use case studies of such things as guerrilla warfare, civil wars, interstate wars, crises and conflicts, it is vitally important that you justify your chosen example(s) in the introduction of your essay. If you fail to do so the examiner might disagree with the validity of your choices! What follows gives you a summary of definitions to use, and case studies that can then be justified. What follows is a selection of case studies that could be used for various types of crises, conflicts and states".

Analysing Essay Quesion 'Command Terms': The examiner is very keen that students demonstrate a clear understanding of central terms when they are used in essay questions. In this activity, students work in pairs then as a class to design a clear definition of such key terms as 'Guerilla Warfare' and 'Totalitarianism'. The worksheet uses the examples of Stalin and Mao but others could just as easily be used. Some teacher notes are also available.

Analysing Examiner Reports: Students are given guidance in how to get the most from the Chief Examiner's Report.

Essential Historiographical Terms for IB: A condensed, one-sided summary sheet defining clearly and with examples such historiographical terms as Determinism, Accidentalism, Intentionalism, Structuralism.

Using Key Quotes: A series of short, memorable quotes relating to the key topics being studied. Students have to reflect on how they may best be used in the examination.

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Rights and Protest

Overview of IB Paper 1 Rights and Protest

Sample Sourcework Exercises and Model Answers

Video Documentary covering both topics: Complete with quiz / detailed viewing notes

Apartheid South Africa

Apartheid South Africa (main topic page with complete scheme of work)

Timeline Quiz: Apartheid South Africa 1948-1964 | Teacher answer sheet
Twenty questions in the format of a 'fill the gaps' timeline.

Classroom Debate - 10 key issues | Teacher notes
Students are given a range of possible issues to debate.. Each pair of students will debate one of the focus points. One person in the pair will argue "YES" and the other will argue "NO". During each debate, the rest of the class should take notes. At the end of each debate, each member of the class needs to produce a synthesis conclusion which will bring both sides of the argument together in a balanced judgement which will hopefully be acceptable to both sides.

Civil Rights in the USA to 1964

Civil Rights to 1964 (main topic page with complete scheme of work)

Debate: Who was the most significant figure in promoting civil rights for Black Americans?
Students are guided through a brainstorm of key characters, and then link and categorise this as a way of drawing the topic together. There is also a link to a useful online video and a databank of past examination questions for students who also study this subject for Paper 3 Americas.

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Causes, Practices, Effects of War

Overview of Past Questions: Students are asked to collate a list of past paper questions from the most recent examination papers, to categorise these into causes, practices and effects questions, and offer some initial observations on the sorts of demands made by each.

Main topic pages: Origins of Wars | End of WW1 | WW1 / WW2: origins compared | Spanish Civil War | Chinese Civil War | Arab-Israeli War (1948-1949) | Korean War (1950-53) | Vietnam War (1954-1975) | 6-Day War (1967) | Yom Kippur War (1973)

1. Causes

Causes of Wars - Comparisons and Contrasts: Students are provided with detailed information about the causes of three major wars in the form of a grid, broken down into key themes (political, economic, etc). Their task is to complete the grid by providing further examples of other wars that they have studied and try to make some overall observations. Specific instructions for how students should feed back to the rest of the class are provided in this PowerPoint Slide. A completed teacher version is also available.

Causes of World War One - Who was Responsible?: A summary grid for revision purposes.
Causes of World War One: What was Responsible?: An analysis grid which moves towards linking and prioritising the various factors that caused World War One. Students are invited to complete the blank cells using their own knowledge.

Causes of the Spanish Civil War: Summary and suggested linkage: A summary diagram for revision purposes.

Causes of the Chinese Civil War: A detailed summary grid for revision purposes.

Model Essay: What were the most frequent causes of 20th Century Wars?: A sample essay produced by Russel Tarr (author of this website) in timed conditions in the style of a Paper 2 answer.

2. Practices

Practices of War - Comparisons and Contrasts: With a central focus on the issue of "Limited War v. Total War", students are provided with detailed information about the practices of three major wars in the form of a grid, broken down into key themes (political, economic, etc). Their task is to complete the grid by providing further examples of other wars that they have studied and try to make some overall observations about whether any 20th Century Wars can be described as "Total" wars.

Model Essays by Russel Tarr

• Compare and Contrast the Impact of Foreign Involvement in the Russian Civil War and the Spanish Civil War
• Why did Germany Lose World War One?
• To what extent was Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War due to the involvement of foreign powers?
• Why did Mao win the Chinese Civil War?

3. Effects

Effects of War - Comparisons and Contrasts: Students are provided with detailed information about the practices of three major wars in the form of a grid, broken down into key themes (political, economic, etc). Their task is to complete the grid by providing further examples of other wars that they have studied and try to make some overall observations. A completed teacher version is also available.

Model Essays by Russel Tarr

• Compare and Contrast the Impact of World War One and World War Two
• What was the Social and Economic Impact of World War One upon two of the Countries Involved? (plus essay plan)
• Summary Grid - The Impact of World War One on various countries.
• With reference to two examples from two different regions, assess (a) the reasons for the use of guerrilla warfare, and (b) its effectiveness. (compares Cuba and Vietnam).

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Rise and Rule of Single Party States

Authoritarian States - Random Essay Question Generator!
This tool is desiged to help teachers and students prepare for the IB Paper 2 exam by generating possible questions to practice and discuss. It is based on the command terms and syllabus bullet points provided in the IB syllabus. Use this tool to generate a random question for a timed essay, or to sketch out various essay plans during revision season to keep minds open, flexible, and prepared for anything!

Main topic pages: Rise of 20thC Dictators | Rule of 20thC Dictators | Germany - Rise of Hitler | Germany - Rule of Hitler | China - Mao | Italy - Mussolini | Chile: 1973 | Cuba: Castro | Stalin: Rise to Power | Stalin: Rule

1. Rise

The Rise of Single Party State Rulers: Summaries and Contrasts: Students first have a brainstorm about what are the most frequent causes for the rise of single party state rulers. They then analyse the key methods and conditions which led to the rise of particular individual dictators, then compare and contrast them. In this way they are prepared thoroughly for various types of examination question. Students should use this template for their research so that their findings can be shared with other people in the class who will have compared different dictators.

Historiography: Causes for the Rise of Dictators / Outbreak of Civil Wars / Revolutions
A useful summary grid outlining the main historians and their theories.

Completed Resources by Russel Tarr

• Model Essay: Why did Mao emerge as leader of China? (summary notes also available)
• Model Essay: Compare and Contrast the Rise of Mao and Pinochet
• Model Essay: Compare and Contrast the Rise of Mao and Stalin
• Model Essay: Compare and Contrast the Rise of Pinochet and Franco
• Summary Notes: Compare and Contrast the Rise of Stalin and Lenin
• Summary Notes: Compare and Contrast the Rise of Lenin and Mao

2. Rule

How Communist were Lenin and Stalin?: This activity gets students thinking about the nature of communism, and then measuring the success of each ruler on these criteria. It thereby covers a lot of ground very efficiently. A completed teacher version is also available.

High Stalinism: What policies characterised Stalin's final years?: The main study unit for my students ends in 1941. However, to give students the full picture of Stalin's Russia, this is a good activity to bring the various policies right up-to-date. Detailed notes are available for Economics 1945-53 and Other Policies 1945-53.

Historiography of Stalin's Russia: These detailed handouts provide plenty of material for discussion and further research:
Books on Stalin
Detailed Article
Summary of the Main Historiographical Issues

How far is Fascism different from Marxism? How similar were Stalin and Mussolini as rulers of their countries?: Building on from the previous activity, students now consider the nature of Fascism by looking at various policy areas (economy, society etc) and comparing the Fascist to the Communist approaches to them. A completed teacher version is available.

Model Essays by Russel Tarr

• How Fascist was Fascist Italy?
• How Successful was Mussolini as Ruler of Italy?
• Evaluate the political and economic impact of military rule in Chile between 1973 and 1989

 

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The Cold War

Cold War - Random Essay Question Generator!
This tool is desiged to help teachers and students prepare for the IB Paper 2 exam by generating possible questions to practice and discuss. It is based on the command terms and syllabus bullet points provided in the IB syllabus. Use this tool to generate a random question for a timed essay, or to sketch out various essay plans during revision season to keep minds open, flexible, and prepared for anything!

Main topic pages: Cold War Origins 1917-49 | Korean War 1950-53 | Cuban Missile Crisis | Vietnam War | Decline/Collapse of USSR

Origins of the Cold War: 25-question factual test | teacher answers

Cold War Crises Compared
A detailed revision summary comparing and contrasting key Cold War crises, with tasks for students to complete.

Who was the Greatest US Foreign Policy President, 1945-1980?
Standard/Higher Level Revision Debate framework, complete with a detailed databank of past examination questions on this topic.

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Higher Level (Americas) Revision

• Truman and McCarthyism

• Korean War: Cause, Course, Consequence

• Eisenhower's Foreign Policy

• Kennedy's Foreign Policy

• Johnson's Great Society

• Nixon's Foreign Policy

• Chile - the Rise of Pinochet

• Cuba - the Rise/Rule of Castro

Who was the best US President for the Americas?

Classroom debate: Which President achieved the most for the USA and for Latin America?

Stage 1: Decide as a class upon the three main themes to look at for domestic policy. Add these as the headings in the right-hand side of the table.
Stage 2: Start by completing a chronological-based summary in the row of the table allocated to you. Aim to include around three key points in each cell.
Stage 3: go back through and highlight successes / failures in different colours.
Stage 4: Frame TWO prosecution questions against the President you have been allocated ("It is not true that...and my evidence for this is...").
Stage 5: Share these questions before the end of the lesson. You will then be given a different president to DEFEND. Prepare your responses over the weekend in preparation for the debate that will take place in a later lesson.

Detailed summary sheet for revision

This comprehensive printout provides a thorough breakdown of the domestic and Latin American policy achievements and failures of every US president between 1945-1980. An ideal revision resource in the run-up to the final examinations.

Who was the best US President on the World Stage?

Classroom debate: Which President achieved the most success outside of the Americas?

Stage 1: Start by completing a chronological-based summary in the row of the table allocated to you (NOTE: Your teacher may ask whether you would rather 'swap' to a president you have neither prosecuted nor defended yet). Aim to include around three key points in each cell.
Stage 2: Go back through and highlight successes / failures in different colours.
Stage 3: Frame TWO prosecution questions against the President you have been allocated ("It is not true that...and my evidence for this is...").
Stage 4: Share these questions before the end of the lesson. You will then be given a different president to DEFEND. Prepare your responses over the weekend in preparation for the debate that will take place in a subsequent lesson.

One sentence summaries: conclusions on the Presidents

At the end of the debate outline above, each member of the class at the International School of Toulouse had to sum up each President's performance as a 'topic sentence'.
Suggested task: Consider which sentence you think is the best expressed; which sentence agrees / disagrees with your own view; what particular evidence you would use to develop / challenge different viewpoints.

Model Essays:
In what ways, and with what results, did the Cold War influence relations between Latin America with the United States in the period 1945 to 1957?
Analyse the successes and failures of President Kennedy's foreign policies towards Latin America between 1961 and 1963.

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Higher Level (Europe) Revision: Russia c.1864-1914

Alexander II / III

Alexander II/III: Analysis of Past Paper Questions: Students work through a list of about 20 past examination questions focusing on spotting and addressing the 'hidden assumptions' within each question. They can then look at some sample markschemes to determine if they were on the right lines with their analyses.

Model Essay by Russel Tarr

• How far is it accurate to describe Alexander II as a reformer, and Alexander III as a reactionary?

Completed Resources by Russel Tarr

• The Reforms of Alexander II: Summary Grid
• The Reforms of Alexander III: Summary Grid
• Alexander II and Alexander III - Contrasts and Comparisons Grid

Nicholas II

Why did Tsarism survive in 1905, but not 1917? How similar were the Causes of the February and the October Revolutions?: Detailed notes on the key questions, with activities for students included.

Lenin and Trotsky

Compare and Contrast the Role of Lenin and Trotsky between 1917-1924: A popular question in the exam, and this worksheet helps students frame an approach to it in a logical way. A completed teacher version is also available.

Worksheet for the decision-making adventure: Lenin's Russia 1917-24: I often don't have time to use the computer simulation during the normal teaching year. When this is the case the students do the simulation as a homework activity. A completed teacher version is also available. There is a also a factual test based on the simulation with teacher answer sheet.

Classroom debate about Lenin's Russia: This completed grid records a debate I had with my students. The format is easily adaptable for use with your own classes.

Historiography Handouts with Associated Tasks

• The February Revolution: Caused, or Merely Accelerated, by the Great War?
• The October Revolution: Popular Uprising, or Coup d'Etat?
• Lenin: Hero or Villain?
• Stalinism: The Betrayal, or the Natural Conclusion, of Leninism?

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Russel Tarr is Head of History at the International School of Toulouse, author of the website www.activehistory.co.uk

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