History Department

History is taught within the Social Sciences Department suite of classrooms, which are all equipped with a data projector that is linked to a computer and a visualiser. History teaching at Yavneh College aims to provide opportunities to:

Stimulate every child’s curiosity and imagination about the choices, beliefs and choices people had in the past
Encourage every child to develop a chronological overview of the history of their community, Britain, Europe and the world.
Develop every child’s ability to become a critical thinker by providing opportunities for pupils to ask questions about history, evaluating historical evidence, identifying and analysing different interpretations of the past and learning to substantiate arguments and judgements they make about events from the past.

A variety of teaching methods are used by members of staff within the department to help encourage our pupils to achieve these aims, including whole class discussion, group work and the use of ICT.

Curriculum

Key Stage Three (KS3) Curriculum

Pupils have two History lessons and one homework every two week cycle. The textbook series used at KS3 is Think History, published by Heinemann.

Autumn Term
The Norman Conquest and Medieval England (1)

Spring Term
Medieval England(2) and The Romans

Summer Term
Roman Britain

The Bayeux Tapestry
Edward the Confessor
The Battle of Hastings
Medieval villages
Expansion of towns
Role of religion
The Black Death

King John
The Magna Carta
The Peasants’ Revolt
Crusades or Invasions
Roman villages
The Roman Empire

How Rome was governed
Life in Rome
Roman provinces
Roman Citizens
Life in Roman Britain
Collapse of the Roman Empire

Topics studied in History in Year 8 include:

Autumn Term
Henry VIII and Change in
17th Century Britain

Spring Term
The Slave Trade and Change 18th Century Britain

Summer Term
The Big History of Fun and The History of Japan

Henry’s Wives
The Catholic Church
The Rse of Protestantism
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Plague
The Great Fire of London
UK Regional Differences

The Slave Triangle
The Middle Passage
Life on the Plantations
The Abolition of Slavery
British Success in the 18th and 19th Centuries
Child Labour
The Industrial Revolution

Theatres and Music Halls
The History of Football
The History of Books, Literature and Holidays
Japanese Religion
Samurai
Japanese Culture
Pearl Harbour

Topics studied in History in Year 9 include:

Autumn Term
World War One and
Europe in the 1930’s

Spring Term
The Holocaust and
Britain in the 1960’s

Summer Term
The History of Protest

Europe in 1900
Causes of World War One
Life in the trenches
Weapons of War
Treaty of Versailles
The Wall Street Crash
The Great Depression
Germany 1933
The Spanish Civil War
Mussolini and Italy

History of Anti Semitism
Anti Semitism in Nazi Germany
Nazi Schools
Propaganda
Affluence in 1960’s Britain
Political Change
The British Class System

Methods of Protest
Communism
China
Northern Ireland
The Civil Rights Movement
The Poll Tax Rights

GCSE History: Edexcel specification (2HB01)

Course Outline

Pupils have three History lessons and one hour of homework every week. The textbooks used at GCSE are the Crime and Protest Student Book & Germany Student Book published by Pearson. Pupils who wish to study History at A level must have studied History at GCSE.

GCSE History is likely to appeal to pupils who are interested in finding out about the events that happened in the past as well as the causes, consequences and different interpretations of these events. GSCE History is also suited to pupils who enjoy looking at different points of view and enjoy learning about topics which don’t always have a ‘right’ answer. It is useful that pupils who study History at GCSE demonstrate an ability to communicate their ideas in writing as a large component of the course is assessed through essay style response questions.

Course Content and Assessment

The GCSE History course studied at Yavneh College is the Edexcel GCSE in History B (Schools History Project). This course consists of 4 units which each contribute 25% to the final GCSE grade.

Unit 1: Project Development Study - Crime and Punishment from c1450 to the Present Day

This unit is assessed through a 1 hour and 15 minute examination taken at the end of Year 11 and consists of 5 questions worth a total of 50 marks.
In this unit pupils will explore changes in criminal activity from c1450 onwards, the changing nature of punishment and law enforcement, the development of the prison system and the police force and the factors which have influenced changing social attitudes to criminal activity and punishment

Unit 2: Project Depth Study - Life in Germany from c1919 to c1945

This unit is assessed through a 1 hour and 15 minute examination taken at the end of Year 11 and consists of 5 questions worth a total of 50 marks.
In this unit pupils will explore the reasons for the rise of the Nazi party in Germany during the 1920’s, the reasons why Hitler was able to gain total power in Germany, local and national methods of control used by the Nazi’s, Nazi policies towards women and minorities and the discrimination which occurred leading up and including the ‘final solution’

Unit 3: Project Source Enquiry - Protest, Law and Order in the Twentieth Century

This unit is assessed through a 1 hour and 15 minute examination taken at the end of Year 11 which consists of 5 questions on six to eight sources worth a total of 50 marks.
In this unit pupils will explore the cause and tactics of economic protests such as The Miners Strike in 1984, political protests such as the Suffragettes and the factors that influenced these protests such as leadership and the role of the media and government.

Unit 4: Representations of History –Government & Protest in the USA between c1945-c1970

This unit is assessed through a single internally assessed, externally moderated assessment consisting of one task completed under controlled conditions.

In this unit pupils will be have a choice of four topics to base their enquiry on and will be required to conduct their own research into this area and then compare the events from their research with similar events that happened in a later time period. Pupils will also be required to analyse and evaluate the sources that they used for their research.

Assessment

AFL (assessment for learning) is used throughout the school and is an integrated part of the learning experience for all pupils studying geography. Assessment of pupil progress is made through:

Oral and written starter activities
Directed and undirected questions and answers throughout lessons
A range of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning activities in lessons
Plenaries which enable pupils to self-assess their achievement of learning objectives
Homework activities which test understanding of material covered in lessons
Regular level marked assessments which link to National Curriculum Criteria
Self assessments which enable pupils to monitor their own progress and achievement
Peer assessments which allow pupils to evaluate the strengths and improvements other pupils can make to their work.

National Curriculum levelled assessments are completed by pupils every term - the assessments for each term are as follows:

Year 7

Autumn Term:	Level marked assessment: paired presentation and individual report on ‘Life in Medieval England’
Spring Term	Level marked assessment: independent research and written magazine article on the arrival of the Romans in Britain
Summer Term	Written examination on the topics studied in The Norman Conquest, Medieval England and Roman Britain

Year 8

Autumn Term:	Level marked assessment: presentation and written report on ‘Life in 17th Century Britain’
Spring Term	Level marked assessment: independent research and written newspaper report on the Industrial Revolution
Summer Term	Written examination on the topics studied in Henry VIII, 17th and 18th Century Britain, the Slave Trade, The Big History of Fun and the History of Japan

Year 9

Autumn Term:	Level marked assessment: Independent research and written report on the Impact of World War One
Spring Term	Level marked assessment: Paired presentation and written report on the significance of the Holocaust
Summer Term	Written examination on the topics studied in World War One, Europe in the 1930’s, The Holocaust, Britain in the 60’s and The History of Protest

Facilities

History is taught within the Social Sciences Department suite of classrooms. Each classroom has a data projector linked to a computer and a visualiser. At Key Stage 3 the textbook series used is Think History, 2 and 3, published by Heinemann.

Sixth Form

AS and A2 History: (specification Edexcel 8H101/9H101)

Students wishing to study A level History must have achieved at least Grade B in GCSE English Language and History. History A Level will appeal to students who have an interest in the world around them, the society in which they live and how it has developed; like learning about people, how they interact and what motivates them; like learning about different countries, societies and cultures; enjoy discussion, debate and argument; like to think for themselves and develop their own views; enjoy research and analysing material to check for bias and propaganda.

AS History

The AS course consists of two units which are both examined through a 1 hour 20 minute written examination taken at the end of Year 12.

Unit 1: Historical Themes in Breadth

The examination paper for this unit consists of two essay questions (one on each topic studied) which are worth 30 marks each.
Option E: The Challenge and Expansion of Nationalism is studied for this unit which concentrates on the themes of nationalism and conflict in Europe from the 1900’s. With this option, students will study ‘The Road to Unification: Italy, c1815-1870’ and ‘Germany Divided and Reunited, 1945 - 1991’.

Unit 2: British History Depth Studies

The examination paper for this unit consists of two source based questions. The first question (a) is worth 20 marks and requires students to focus on reaching a judgement by analysing, cross-referencing and evaluating source material. The second question (b) is worth 40 marks and requires students to address an historical view or claim using two sources in conjunction with their own knowledge.
Option E1: British Political History, 1945-90: Consensus and Conflict is studied for this unit and explores the Labour election victory of 1945, The Conservative governments of 1951-64, Labour and Conservative governments, 1964-79 and the Conservative election victory of 1979

A2 History

A2 History also consists of 2 units. Unit 3 contributes 60% to the final A2 grade (30% to the full A level grade) and is examined by a 2 hour written examination. Unit 4 contributes 40% to the final A2 grade (20% to the full A level grade) and is examined by an internally assessed, externally moderated 4000-word essay.

Unit 3: Depth Studies and Associated Historical Controversies

The examination paper for this unit consists of two essay questions – the first essay question is worth 30 marks and the second essay question is worth 40 marks.
Option D1: From Kaiser to Fuhrer: Germany is studied for this unit and explores The Second Reich — society and government in Germany c1900-19, The democratic experiment, 1919-29, The rise of the Nazis: origins to 1928 and Life in wartime Germany, 1939-45.

Unit 4: Historical Enquiry