Sale History Bargains!

I have just spotted a couple of the films we used in Y10 at very low prices on DVD.

Hitler: The Rise of Evil

You all loved this one last year and it is an excellent way to revise Nazi Germany. It is (mostly) historically accurate and covers the rise of the Nazis very well. It is rated 12 (despite the website saying it is an 18).

Only £3.99 at the moment from www.play.com!

Downfall

We didn't get chance to see all of this one last year (I was a bit mean on videos) but it is also excellent. Covers the last weeks of Hitler's life and the end of Nazi Germany.

Only £2.99 on www.play.com!

Theses are all free delivery from www.play.com but they may well be available from other websites (possibly even cheaper).

A good way to revise and a much better use of pocket money than McFly CDs (I think you will agree).

Back in Action!

After the mocks and coursework time, the blog is back by popular demand.

Over the next 6 months, especially after Christmas, I will be posting regular updates on here relating to the lessons.

Deadlines now...


The dreaded 'Deadline Demon'!

* Swinging 60s first draft before the Christmas break.
* Jack the Ripper by the end of January 2009.

I will mark the 60s and return for improvements after Christmas.

Well done Y11 on some smashing mock exam results and keep up the good work!

The Swinging Sixties

Here is the link to a good (but a bit basic) introduction to the 'Swinging Sixties'. Try to add extra information to your coursework, that is not contained in the booklets.

UKTV History 'Swinging Sixties' pages

The 'Wall Street Crash' of our time?

2008

You have all no doubt seen and read about the current financial problems around the world. Is this the Wall Street Crash of out time? What are the similarities/differences between 1929 and 2008?

1929

Hopefully history has helped you make some comparisons. Greed, lack of government regulation/involvement, a sense that the 'bubble will never burst', etc...

Check out this link for a picture history of the 'bubble bursting'.

And look here for information on the Causes of The Wall Street Crash, 1929 (click 'show hints' to reveal the information).

Superb video of the 1929 Crash.

Was America really a great place to live in the 1920s?

Here are some links to help you with your extended essay question on America in the 1920s.

'The Roaring Twenties' - Is this a good description of the USA in the 1920s?

This is from the superb 'John D. Clare' History revision website and shows both sides of the argument.

This is a superb video from another History teacher, that asks a very similar question. I will use it in class.

Well done ex-Year 11!

A big well done to last year's Y11. They got their results last week and the 'Class of '08' did very well indeed. With possibly History's best ever set of results, 64% of them got A*-C grades.

They have set the bar high for this year's Y11 but I'm sure that you will raise to the challenge.

The Scopes 'Monkey Trial'

Just to highlight the fact that the huge evolution versus creationism debate is still going on, above is an info graphic story from the awesome joke website 'The Onion' about a modern education argument. 'Intelligent Design' is the new name for what Christian fundamentalists believe (that evolution is wrong and that God created everything i.e. there was an 'intelligent designer').

Below is a link to a superb joke newspaper front page from The Onion about the Monkey trial. It is written as if it is from 1925 at the time of the court case. I may well use this in class soon but remember that both articles are a humorous joke satire and are not meant to be taken seriously.

Is science being taught in our schools?

And here is much more information on the 'trial of the century'!

Scopes 'Monkey Trial' Wikipedia entry

The 'Young Turks' Take Over!

The History 'baton' has been passed! You are now the oldest (and wisest) pupils.

This blog has been created for you. It is designed for people to post revision questions, get homework and find the best History websites. I hope that you enjoy it and use it as much as my last class. Feel free to browse their (sometimes) witty comments. The challenge is on for you lot to use it more and better than they did! ;-)

Your first task is to ALL post a comment on this thread. Just click on the 'Comments' link and post. Use your name and then I will know that you have done it.

PS - Any previous Y11s should also feel free to post advice and tips to your former school mates.

PPS - Bonus points for anyone who can add in their comment what/who the 'Young Turks' were. It's a history mystery!

This is the end...

Well done for all of your hard work and revision. I'm sure that it will pay off when you get your results in August.

Your two year history journey is over. This blog will in the next few weeks become the new Y11's History Blog but I will leave all of the postings up here as they are and you should all still visit to give friendly advice to your younger peers.

See you all at the Prom!

One down, one to go...

Cartoon message: Keep writing until the end!!

So how did you all find the exam today? Mr Harris and I thought that the Germany paper was a bit easier than the America one. Hopefully you all did well on the compulsory source questions. I will try and post the grade boundaries on here tomorrow.

The workshop for the BIG USA paper is going to be on Thursday 5th June from 2pm in room 11. Tell anyone that hasn't checked the blog.

There are lots of bits on the blog about the BIG USA paper but I want to draw your attention to two files that are particularly useful.

1. All of the questions from the last 2 years
   
2. Revision booklet #1 & revision booklet #2
   

These are the essentials but there is plenty more on here to go through. I have also updated the YouTube videos on the side.

Also the USA Revision Website is all about the topics in the next paper.

*Update*

Here is the 'model' answer for the USA & The Wider World 10 mark question. a little warning is that this answer is longer than you would be expected to provide in the actually exam but it is very useful as a guide.

'How did America develop its role as a world power between 1929 & 1990?'

I will post the race question model answer ASAP.

*Update No.2*

'How were the American people affected by changes in the USA between 1929 and 1990?'
Model Answer

'Did Black Americans develop equally with white people in the USA between 1929 and 1990?'

Grade Boundaries

*Update No.3*

'How were the American people affected by changes in the USA between 1929 and 1990?'

The exam is nearly here...

The two year journey is nearly done.

Hopefully you are not feeling too stressed. A little pressure is a very good thing but too much can be counter productive. Don't spend all night revising before the exam and try to remain calm on the day.

Checkout the website below for some superb tips about how to deal with exam stress.

Exam Stress Tips

What do examiners really want?

What do examiners want - History

Here is a new way of reading the really useful 'What do examiners want?' document. I know that some you had trouble downloading the .pdf because it was so large. Give this one a try and let me know what you think.

It's kind of my new online toy!

Also this document covers both exams and should be used with the past exam papers.

Revision Tools

I want to put together some tools and tips that you can use for revision. We are now about one week away from the first history exam and the quality/quantity of your revision this week can make or break your chances.

I've banged on about Mind Maps since year 10 but here is a really good explanation of how and why they work. Get Mind Mapping!



The 'Get Revising' website might also be of some help to you. I've not played around with this one much but looks very good (and free!).

Get Revising

The BBC has some great tips as well.

BBC Revision Tips

And to finish, some great memory tips that have been proven to work.

The Memory Experience

The tips are in the box on the left hand side of the page (above the fish and the elephant).

The New Deal - Passnotes

Here is a really handy article about the New Deal and its success or otherwise. Well worth a read and very useful for the USA 1929-1990 (outline study) paper 'US Society' question.

Hope it helps.

The New Deal - Passnotes

(Post a comment if you can't download it or just want to have your say!)

Team Marande!

Ah the old gang! Seems like ages ago now ;-)

Seriously though, 2 weeks or so to go. Brush up on that exam technique and live, eat, sleep, breath Germany 1918-1945 and USA 1910-1929.

Remember that you will soon be making some of your own 'history'!

The Tools for GCSE Success!

Here are two really useful 'tools' to help you with your revision.

USA 1929-1990 (outline or 'BIG USA' topic)

Here are all of the questions from the last two years of papers put together. Use this by going through them and checking that you can answer them all.

What do examiners want? (large download)

A very useful breakdown of how examiners mark your papers. This is gold dust and if learnt will improve your exam technique beyond measure.

You should be settling into a revision routine by now. You all have the choice over what grade you will achieve. Be bold, go for top marks and remember that only you can make it happen!

Summits 'Depth DVD'

The next 'depth DVD' is now available from me in room 11. This one has two 1 hour documentaries on about Cold War summits (meetings between the USA and USSR). They are excellent and will help a lot if you are planning to answer the USA and the Wider World 1929-1990 question.

Vienna 1961
How Kennedy and Khrushchev's meeting in Vienna in 1961 nearly led to world war.

Geneva, 1985
How Reagan and Gorbachev's 1985 meeting in Geneva saw an unlikely end to the Cold War.

History Revision Notes

Below are electronic copies of the three revision notes booklets that you have been given in class. These are very useful to have alongside your class exercise books and they will give you the knowledge that you need to do well. You might want to use these with some of the 'Revision Pig' techniques.

Germany 1918-1945 Revision Notes

USA 1910-1929 Revision Notes

USA 1929-1990 Revision Notes (part I)

USA 1929-1990 Revision Notes (part II)

Thirteen Days - 'Depth DVD' film

I have avaliable lots of DVDs of this film about the Cuban Missile Crisis recorded from the TV. It is fairly long but it is excellent and will REALLY help if a question on this topic comes up (it often does!). Collect a copy from me in room 11. I should have enough for everyone who wants one.

What is the film about?

What was the 'Cuban Missile Crisis'?

This is the first in a number of future 'depth DVDs' that will let you explore an issue in far more detail than we have time for in lessons.

PS - Please only take a copy if you really are going to watch it...

Past Exam Papers

'Cross train your brain!'

Follow the links for the last two years exam papers and marking schemes for each of our three topics. These are massively useful for your revision. You can use them to go through each paper and test yourself. Work out the gaps in your own knowledge and revise these bits. Work smarter, not just harder!

Germany 1919-1945 (2007)
Germany 1919-1945 (2006)

USA 1910-1929 (2007)
USA 1910-1929 (2006)

USA 1929-1990 (2007)
USA 1929-1990 (2006)

Mark Scheme (2007)
Mark Scheme (2006)

They are all provided in .pdf format and some are quite large. Feel free to share any questions as 'comments' that you are not sure about and everyone can chip in to help answer them (I will as well).

I hope that you find these useful and well done to everyone who came to today's history workshop. It's all about the mental toughness!

History Revision Workshop - 15th April 2008

Hello everyone,

We are having our Easter revision session on Tuesday 15th April (tomorrow!) from 10am until 2pm in room 11. Here the focus will be on what you want. Need help with Germany? Last minute coursework polish? Stuck on the outline USA? etc...

Mr Harris and I will be on hand to help out.

Revision Guides

Here are some resources that you could buy to help with your revision...

This is our standard class textbook, fairly basic but it covers ALL of our topics and has exam questions. It is written by the same people who write our exam. £16.25.

I have not personally seen this one but it ties in with the very good BBC bite size website and promises to be 'an interactive revision tutor' (a bit like the blog then!). Only £5.99.

Lots of pictures (!) and exam questions, very colourful and covers most of our topics but not all. £8.99

From a very good author and it looks like it will cover most of our topics, possibly not the full USA outline up to 1990. £6.59.

I have linked all of these to amazon.co.uk but there are other places to buy them from. Try www.bookbrain.co.uk or www.find-dvd.co.uk (books tab) to compare prices across the web.

We are basically doing a Modern World History course. The big difference with our WJEC Spec A syllabus is that the America outline study is very large, most books will not cover all the way to 1990. Hope this helps.

On a lighter note...

Here, as promised is an exclusive video clip from the staff history Christmas party last year. Mr Harris and I 'clubbing', laying down some phat tunes and showing off our Charleston moves, fo' shizzle. Enjoy...

Original UpRock

The Charleston Dance

Revision Pig

Below is the great 'Revision Pig' video. I suddenly thought to myself that I have been going on about getting properly started with revision for some weeks now but we have yet to discuss ways of doing it.

Now this is similar to our mind maps note taking discussions. You need to do whatever suits you and revise however you feel is best. It could be to write flash cards, doing mind maps, tape recording your notes, etc...

Revision REALLY pays off. Last year we had two Y11 girls who we were worried about being C/D borderline pupils. One achieved an A the other a B and they basically put the whole thing down to solid revision. True story.

We are now looking at minimum 3 to 4 hours history revision per week. Sounds a lot? With history being so much fun, time will just whizz by.

Enjoy the video!

Causes of the Cold War (BARE)

CAUSES OF THE COLD WAR [BARE]

1. Beliefs: Russia was a Communist country, ruled by a dictator who cared little about human rights.
America was a capitalist democracy, which valued freedom.
2. Aims: Stalin wanted reparations from Germany/ a buffer of friendly states.
Britain and the USA [led by President Truman] wanted to help Germany recover/ to prevent large areas of Europe from coming under Communist control.
3. Resentment about history: The USSR did not trust Britain and the USA – They had tried to destroy the Russian Revolution in 1918/ Stalin thought they had not helped the USSR enough in WW2.
Britain & USA did not trust USSR – Stalin had signed the Nazi-Soviet pact in 1939.
4. Events turned the mistrust into war: Yalta/ Potsdam/ Salami tactics/ Fulton/ Greece/ Truman Doctrine/ Marshall Plan/ Cominform/ Czechoslovakia

Explore more

There is also an excellent, fairly in dpeth podcast on this topic. Again I recommend that you give it a go.

Causes of the Cold War Podcast

Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' Speech

Hello Team,
Below is an excellent website that we would have used during the lesson today if we had had time. It is an interactive resource that lets you listen to Churchill's famous Iron Curtain speech (we saw a clip in the video today). Worth exploring as added depth to the causes of the cold war issue.

Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' Speech

JFK Podcast

Below is the link for a short podcast on the life of JFK. I think that this would be really useful for everyone to listen to. It's only about 15 minutes long and it would be a great way to revise differently...

JFK Biography Podcast

Welcome!

Hello boys and girls,

This is our first attempt at a History blog and it is a bit of an experiment. I will announce it to you all in tomorrow's lesson.

This is for your benefit and we will get the most out of it if people post. Ideally we should host some lively debate and discussions. It would be great, no awesome, if people posed questions and other people answered them.

I will be requiring everyone to post at least one comment/question over Easter as part of their homework/revision. This site should act as a springboard for your own personal revision. I will update it frequently while you are on study leave. You can use it in several ways...

• Pose questions to me
• Pose questions to the group
• Share good resources with each other
• Get revision aids from me
• Keep up to date with what/when you should be revising
• Use this as a resource

We have only a little time left until the exams but I really believe that everyone will do just fine.

And just think about the 3 months off!