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History

Staffing

Head of Department: Mrs S Bashir

History Teachers: Mrs J James, Mr A Oliver, Mr L Farmer, Miss Hussain, Mr Galloway and Miss Ali

Key Stage 3

The KS3 scheme follows a general chronological framework to aid chronological understanding. After reading many pupil’s feedback forms and staff suggestions, we have tried to keep in the most popular and inspiring topics as well as trialling some different ones. The study should include overview, depth and thematic studies.

Though all aspects of the course are important, we will focus on certain areas. By the end of KS3 we hope that the majority of pupils will have:

(a) Enjoyed their history lessons- feeling challenged as well as successful

(b) A clear chronological framework and understand key features of different periods

(c) Studied and considered the cause and consequence of significant events

(d) Looked at different interpretations of key individuals

(e) Worked as individuals and in pairs and groups when investigating topics

(f) Used and analysed a range of sources to prove their ideas

(g) Communicated clearly in a structured way

Year 7:

(a) Ancient Roman History including work on ‘Was the Roman Empire really great?’

(b) 1066 and how William controlled England

(c) The Black Death

(d) Power and Kings in the Medieval times including the Murder of Thomas Becket

(e) Religion and life in the 1500’s

(f) Henry VIII

(g) Did ‘Bloody Mary’ deserve her nick-name?

(h) Local History of Birmingham

Year 8:

(a) Introduction to Henry VIII

 (b) The reign of Queen Elizabeth I: A depth study (Including an assessment)

 (c) Charles I and the Civil War

(d) The Restoration and power of Parliament

 (e)The Trans-Atlantic slave trade

(f) The Civil Rights Movement inc the Murder of Emmett Till

(g) The British Empire

 (h) 19th century living conditions including: What was life like for people in the 19th century?

 (i) How did women win the vote?

Year 9:

(a) Causes of WWI, WWI propaganda and conditions in the trenches

(b) The rise of Hitler and Hitler’s control over Germany

(c) Causes of WWII

(d)The Holocaust:  Jewish life in Germany, Ghettos, Concentration camps and the Final Solution

(e) Chronological depth study- teacher choice of topic (women, crime and punishment, warfare or migration)

Key Stage 4

We follow the new Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9–1) History course which consists of three externally examined papers. Students study Medicine in Britain, c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches, Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88, The American West, c1835–c1895, as well as Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39. Paper 1: Thematic study and historic environment is worth 30%* of the qualification and is a 1 hour and 15 minutes written examination. Paper 2: Period study and British depth study is worth 40% of the qualification and is a 1 hour and 45 minutes written qualification. Paper 3: Modern depth study is worth 30% of the qualification and is a 1 hour and 20 minutes written examination.

A variety of pupils choose to take History each year. History requires hard work and discipline but it is also an enjoyable and challenging subject. History requires a lot of reading and writing which immediately helps raise literacy standards in other subjects as well as preparing you for A-level work.

Key Stage 5

The Department currently runs AQA History A-level History (7042).

A Level History consists of the following units:

• Breadth Study 1K The making of a Superpower: USA, 1865-1975 [40% of A-level]
• Depth Study 2S The Making of Modern Britain, 1951-2007 [40% of A-level]
• Historical Investigation (Coursework unit) [20% of A-level]

The breadth study and depth study are both externally assessed via a 2 hr 30 minute written examination at the end of Year 13.

Homework

Homework is seen by the History Department as an extension of pupils’ learning and therefore view its completion as important and necessary. Homework is set regularly by all History teachers and pupils should have recorded the details in their Homework Planners. The department also work alongside other departments to set a variety of homework projects, giving pupils the opportunity to see the common links between skills and subject content. The homework projects allow pupils to undertake research and present their work in a range of creative ways of their choosing.

Additional reading, websites, activities

There are many historical websites and magazines available for pupils to increase their knowledge of the topics we are studying and we actively encourage pupils to take independence for their own learning in and outside of the classroom. Pupils have access to the Department’s own Historical reading and DVD library as well as a large selection of books in the school library. Pupils are regularly set homework tasks on SENECA and GCSEPod.

Useful websites for pupils;

Useful revision guides for GCSE History pupils are the ‘Revise Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History Revision Guide and Workbook’ series published by Pearson and the ‘My Revision Notes: Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History’ series published by Hodder Education.

There are also many Historical television programmes suitable for pupils such as ‘Horrible Histories’ or programmes on the History Channel or National Geographic.

Wider reading for Key Stage 5

The Making of a Superpower: USA, 1865-1975

Key texts for classroom and individual study

H Brogan, The Penguin History of the United States of America, Penguin, 2001

P Clements, Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal: 1890-1954, Hodder, 2008

J de Pennington, Modern America: 1865 to the Present, Hodder, 2005,

D Murphy et al, Flagship History – United States 1776-1992, Collins, 2001

C Rowe, AQA History AS: Unit 1 – USA, 1890-1945, Nelson Thornes, 2008

Useful books for students 

P Boyer, American History: A Very Short Introduction, OUP, 2012

P Clements, Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal, Hodder, 2005

R Dallek, Hail to the Chief, Oxford University Press, 1996

J Diggins, The Proud Decades 1941-60, Norton, 1989

H Evans, The American Century, Random House, 1998

N Ferguson, Colossus, Penguin, 2004

D Reynolds, America: Empire of Liberty, Penguin, 2010

H Zinn, The Twentieth Century: A People’s History, SOS Free Stock, 2003

The Making of Modern Britain, 1951-2007

Key texts for classroom and individual study

C Rowe, The Making of Modern Britain 1951-2007, Nelson Thornes, 2009

M Lynch, Britain 1945-2007, Hodder, 2008

S Waller, A Sixties Social Revolution? British Society 1959-1975, Nelson Thornes, 2008

Useful books for students 

S J Lee, Aspects of British Political History 1914-1995, Routledge, 1998

N Lowe, Mastering Modern Britain, Palgrave, 1998

A Marr, A History of Modern Britain, Macmillan, 2007

A Mayer, Women in Britain 1900-2000, Hodder, 2002

D Murphy (ed), Britain 1914-2000, Collins, 2000

M Pearce, British Political History 1867-200: Democracy and Decline, Routledge, 2001

C Rowe, Britain 1929-1998, Heinemann, 2004

Extra-Curricular Activities

Throughout the academic year, revision classes are scheduled for all examination year groups. Parents and carers will be notified of these activities and asked permission for pupils to attend, as with off site visits.

Careers

Pupils are taught a variety of skills and shown how these can be transferred into further education and a number of jobs. They are shown how the study of History can lead them to careers in teaching, journalism, law, archaeology and others. You may wish to refer to the following websites for more information on careers with history: