Transform your history classroom
ActiveHistory provides interactive simulations, self-marking quizzes, lesson plans, worksheets and multimedia activities designed by full-time history teacher Russel Tarr.
Build and deliver complete history courses with resources for classroom teaching, remote learning and independent study - from multimedia lectures to interactive games and historical simulations.
World History teaching resources for the high school classroom: lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes and simulation games for KS3, IGCSE, IB and A-Level teachers.
ActiveHistory Newsletter: August 2026
Events of the French Revolution
Could your students steer France away from revolution, or simply keep their heads when events spiral out of control? In this historical simulation, they make decisions against the turbulent backdrop of late eighteenth-century France, confronting the pressures that destabilised the monarchy and transformed the nation. As choices meet consequences, students explore causation, contingency and the limits of individual agency. They will need to weigh competing interests, consider how different groups might respond, and test whether alternative decisions could realistically have changed events. It is a lively way to consolidate knowledge of the French Revolution while challenging hindsight and the idea that 1789, or the violence that followed, was inevitable. Use it to spark debate, support revision, or launch a written reflection on survival, responsibility and historical turning points.
![Mao's rule of China: Decision-making roleplay [part 2]](/newsletter/issues/images/resource-57381149729a5db631d845ceaa626af8.jpg)
Mao's rule of China: Decision-making roleplay [part 2]
Step into the pressures and possibilities of Mao’s China with the second part of this decision-making roleplay. Students are invited to consider the choices facing the Communist leadership as it sought to transform China’s economy, society and political culture. Working through competing priorities and likely consequences, they must weigh ideology against practical realities, then justify decisions from the perspective of historical actors rather than with the benefit of hindsight. The multimedia format makes this a lively option for whole-class discussion, paired deliberation or independent review. It develops knowledge of Mao’s rule while sharpening causal reasoning, judgement and an understanding of contingency. Teachers can use it to challenge simple narratives and prompt valuable discussion about why revolutionary policies were adopted, and who gained or suffered as a result.
What were the causes and consequences of the Berlin Crisis of 1961?
The events leading up to the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 is a great example of a Cold War crisis for Paper 2 IBDP history, as it also brings in two cold war leaders: Kennedy and Khrushchev. This podcast is on the CAUSES of the crisis (and who was perhaps most to blame for it); how close it came to war between the superpowers; how and why it was resolved; and with what consequences.
BrainyBox
BrainyBox turns revision into a purposeful piece of digital making. Students build a 3D animated cube that summarises a topic, event or historical figure, using each face to organise carefully chosen text and multimedia. A class might divide the cube into causes, key developments, consequences, interpretations, evidence and significance, or use it to compare six moments in a longer story. The real value lies in selection: learners must decide what matters, condense complex material, choose sources or images that genuinely
Visual essay-writing: cartoons, sticky-notes and plenty of collaboration!
To develop analytical and essay-writing skills in a collaborative and engaging manner, start by gathering a series of photographs relating to the topic in question: A pile of cartoons and photographs (maybe about 20 of these) Podcasts Video clips Textbooks Articles Next, divide the class into groups. Within each group, three students should be responsible for organising the cartoons […]
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