This issue's problem: Helen Troy is uncertain how to provide appropriate support for certain students without restricting what they can achieve. Helen showed considerable determination in securing her teacher training place. Her own education had been within a highly selective school system and her first application was unsuccessful because of...

Which women were executed for witchcraft? And which pupils cared?  Paula Worth was concerned that her low-attaining set were only going through the motions when tackling causal explanation. Identifying, prioritising and weighing causes seemed an empty routine rather than a fascinating puzzle engaging intellect and imagination. She was also concerned...

Produced by the Northamptonshire Black History Association and originally published in 2008, this is one of a set of resources for schools offering a more inclusive map of the past that includes an appreciation of Black History within the local, national and global context. The resources provide a range of opportunities to promote diversity within the curriculum....

Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Pupils in England have an entitlement to study history or geography until the age of sixteen. However, increasingly, some pupils seem to be discouraged from taking up this opportunity as it can be seen as...

It is possible for teachers to learn a great deal within their own classrooms, departments and schools. However, stepping outside that daily experience, whether by reading a journal, contributing to a web debate or attending a conference, can always provide refreshing ideas. Evelyn Sweerts takes the concept of sharing good...

The stories we tell in history are often stories about ourselves. This can lead to tremendous distortion. Rupert Gaze was shocked when a young black student told him that there was no point in his studying the Second World War because it had nothing to do with him or his...

This Issue's Problem: Beth is worried about how to make history accessible to the students with English as an Additional Language (EAL) in her classes.

Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. Richard Harris questions common assumptions about differentiation. In particular, he encourages teachers to avoid accepting too readily the view that pupils of different abilities must be given different resources or activities. Instead he builds a...

In this article, Helena Stride shows how the Imperial War Museum responded to criticism that insufficient attention had been paid to the contribution of black and Asian people to Britain’s wars. She focuses on one of two resource-packs produced by the Museum, which highlights the experience of Britain’s colonial peoples,...

Dale Banham and Ian Dawson show how active learning deepens students’ understanding of attitudes and reactions to the Norman Conquest. At the same time they build a bold argument for active learning, including a direct strike at the two most common objections to it. Many teachers still see it as...

It is a very common complaint that history GCSE is unfairly demanding compared with other subjects. Well, it probably is. But that does not stop history at Robert Clack School from outperforming every other subject except art. Nor is this the story of one of those schools with an unusually...

Kate Hammond examines a sequence of three history lessons in order to evaluate techniques for stretching a very able 11 year-old. She adopts a complex blend of differentiation strategies. Rather than merely bolting on ‘extension activities', she starts with demanding objectives for all, as the whole-class entitlement. She then attempts...