Eisenstein meets Figes in the Year 9 classroome

It was period 5 on a wet Wednesday afternoon deep into the winter term. Year 9 were even more difficult than usual. Being cooped up inside at lunch, without supervision, had not helped the situation. What was I going to do with this untamed bunch? Put on a trusted video? Play historical hangman? Shout at Kieran ... again? No. We were going to dissect the written prose of an academic historian and put his interpretation to the test. Was I optimistic or just plain daft? 9A are a mixed ability group, legendary for their unruliness. Were they really going to engage for fifty minutes, without doing any writing? Of course they were. I had both Orlando Figes and Serge Eisenstein working for me!