Overview: After playing the Middle Ages Time Machine Adventure at activehistory.co.uk, Sidney wrote a complaint letter to the Time Travel Holiday Agent about her experiences. One half of the class wrote similar complaint letters focusing on the negative dimension; the other half wrote travel brochures focusing on the positive experiences! Examples: This approach can work for any…
Month: February 2015
Curate a Museum Exhibition
Provide students with a range of images relating to the topic. They imagine they are curating a museum exhibition on four separate walls. How will they categorise the images into four categories? How will they caption them? Examples: Portraits of Napoleon, Stalin or other dictators with a penchant for propaganda. Images of the Middle Ages. Images…
Source Evaluation Overlay Template
Overview: This template is designed to be placed over a written or visual source and provides a scaffolding framework to help students develop source work evaluations skills. Taking it further: Ask students to focus on the issues highlighted in the left-hand column first and make annotations as appropriate. Then they swap with a partner, read…
Causes of the French Revolution – Model Essay: “What were the Causes of the French Revolution?”
Causes of the French Revolution Model Essay: “What were the Causes of the French Revolution?” (teacher password required) A sample essay which I wrote myself in timed conditions for the benefit of my students. Part of the comprehensive ActiveHistory materials on the Causes, Events and Legacy of the French Revolution.
Peer Assessment Slips
When conducting group work, there is always a danger that certain students might take a bit of a back seat and let their teammates do all the work. To avoid this, provide the students in advance with a ‘peer assessment’ slip. At the end of the lesson / project, each student should complete the slip by…
Causes of the French Revolution – Keyword Checker: “What were the Causes of the French Revolution?”
Causes of the French Revolution Keyword Checker: “What were the Causes of the French Revolution?” Students can run their essay through this tool prior to handing it in (and the teacher can also do so in the marking phase) to provide a quick check of which key terminology has been used in the essay. Part…
Causes of the French Revolution – Historiography: Causes of the French Revolution
Causes of the French Revolution Historiography: Causes of the French Revolution After producing the first draft of their essay (“What were the main causes of the French Revolution?”), students are then provided with this detailed summary of some of the key schools of thought surrounding the French Revolution. Their task is to research some of…
ActiveHistory: Year in Review
It’s been a typically busy year developing ActiveHistory with new resources based on the interests of my students and feedback from visitors to the website! A rundown of resources and events can be found *here*.
