The Body on the Balcony EPISODE 1 – a Historical Mystery! In this exercise, based on a real historical event, students have to put events into their correct chronological order to make some initial speculations about what has happened. Through doing this they learn about the importance of chronology and understand the meaning of anachronism….
Month: September 2013
Model IB Essay: How Important was Lenin’s Role in the October Revolution?
Historiography and Essay Writing (there is also a teacher feedback presentation available, as well as a sample timed essay by RJ Tarr) Three broad schools of historiography are considered and students are asked which of the three most closely matches their own views. They are then provided with three essay questions. Homework is to prepare…
Was the October Revolution a Popular Uprising, or a Coup D’Etat?
Classroom Debate: Popular Uprising, or Coup D’Etat? (completed teacher version also available) The format of this debate and the worksheet provided to students is laid out in such a way that it also helps students decide whether methods or conditions were the most important, which is another popular format of question. Students formulate questions against…
Causes of the October Revolution Timeline Roleplay Exercise
Timeline Roleplay Exercise (interactive exercise using the Online ActiveHistory Presentation). In this exercise, students are asked to start organising evidence under four headings: (a) Provisional Government mistakes/weaknesses; (b) Bolshevik mistakes/weaknesses; (c) Provisional Government strengths/successes; (d) Bolshevik strengths/successes. The teacher will use this Online ActiveHistory Presentation to guide students through the key events between February and…
Fakebook – Relaunched, Reprogrammed!
The very popular “Fakebook” Application at ActiveHistory’s sister site www.classtools.net has been completely reprogrammed to bring it up to date with what Facebook now looks like in 2013. Use “Fakebook” to chart the plot of a book, the development of a character, a series of historical events, the debates and relationships between people, and so…
Posters – “What’s going on in my History Classroom?”
These posters (click on each for a larger version!) are designed to be printed, laminated and displayed outside your classroom so that passers-by can get a flavour of what’s being studied in your history classroom. They can be changed at appropriate points and they are a great way of highlighting the great topics that your…
The Arab-Israeli Conflict 1948-49 (30 question quiz)
Another revision quiz – this time with 30 possible questions – designed to help students revise the Middle East Paper 1 depth study as part of their IB revision programme. I give students 10 minutes at the start of the lesson to try to complete the quiz. Anyone completing the quiz within the available time gets a score…
