8th November 2018
Lotus diagram templates for essay planning
Three free essay-writing tools from ClassTools.net
Overview Essay-writing skills in history are crucially important to develop but notoriously difficult to measure in final exams. Although official mark [...]
23rd June 2018
How to use “Backward Essays” to cover lots of content at high speed
Overview When covering content-heavy programmes of study, time is always tight. Rather than delivering lengthy, in-depth lectures or getting students to [...]
7th February 2018
Using “EyeSay!” to give visual feedback on student essays
Overview “EyeSay!” is a new tool I have coded at www.classtools.net to help students and teachers get a useful visualisation of essay style and [...]
19th April 2017
Student Bookmark: vocabulary for essay writing
Overview In order to help students develop a wider range of vocabulary for their extended writing, I have produced the following bookmark which can be [...]
3rd April 2017
10 creative approaches for developing essay-writing skills
13th April 2016
Visual essay-writing: cartoons, sticky-notes and plenty of collaboration!
To develop analytical and essay-writing skills in a collaborative and engaging manner, start by gathering a series of photographs relating to the topic in [...]
17th December 2015
Use the ‘Keyword Checker’ to ensure student essays cover the essentials
Factual knowledge is the bedrock of good history writing. Without it, meaningful opinions cannot be formed or substantiated. With this in mind, I developed [...]
27th February 2015
Rubric Grids: Essay Marking Made Easy!
Overview To help students improve their essays skills, I consistently use the same rubric sheet to provide them with feedback on different aspects of their [...]
25th February 2015
Making the most of old History magazines
Overview As digital archives of history articles become increasingly accessible for students and teachers, it’s easy for print versions of of magazines [...]
5th October 2019
The Travelling History Mascot
Overview Whenever school holidays approach, ask students where they will be travelling to and the places they are visiting. Encourage students to send a [...]
22nd January 2018
“Design the exam question from hell” for higher-order revision
Overview One of the best ways to prepare students for examinations is to get them to design their own questions using the established format of past exam [...]
29th November 2017
Making “Top Trumps” work in the classroom: use WORDS, not RATINGS
Overview Because “Top Trumps” is a simply game format to understand and play, this does not necessarily translate into an educationally [...]
8th October 2017
From “takeaway homework” to “takeaway mark scheme”
The decision to allow students to choose their own homework (variously called the ‘Unhomework’ and the ‘Takeaway homework’ [...]
21st September 2016
Create customised Google Search Engines for the classroom: How and WHY
How? A relatively little-known feature of Google is that students and teachers can create their own customised search engines. Simply input a pre-approved [...]
10th May 2016
Spotting cross-curricular links with a whole-school ‘speed-dating’ event
Overview An effective way to spot links between curriculum areas is a staff meeting arranged as a cross-curricular speed dating event lasting for as little [...]
18th March 2016
Using the ‘Battleships’ format to Teach Historical Interpretations
Overview: “Interpretation Battleships!” This activity is a development of the matrix exercise, designed to make it both more sophisticated and [...]
3rd February 2016
Dream Sources: start with: “What sources can help us answer this question?”
Overview In the modern history classroom, the use of source material is central to the investigative process. Students are encouraged to interrogate [...]
26th December 2015
Use a ‘Banned Word List’ to encourage deeper thinking
Overview As a history teacher there are certain words and phrases which make me wince when I see them being used by examination students. I therefore use [...]
16th December 2015
Compare first paragraph of several books to analyse stylistic techniques
Overview The art of writing a good introduction to an essay is something which students need to regularly reflect on. I encourage students to ensure that [...]
29th November 2015
Share all possible test questions in advance to encourage focused revision
Sharing a long list of possible questions with students in advance of a test in exam conditions is a simple way of ensuring their revision and reflection [...]
29th November 2015
Connecting Factors with ‘Paper People’ display projects
To encourage students to connect factors together in a ‘chain of causation’, consider adopting a ‘Paper People’ approach. This [...]
29th November 2015
Use Continuum Lines to arrange a scale of opinion
Overview Continuum lines are a simple but effective technique for providing a sophisticated breakdown of a complex question. For example, when considering [...]
9th July 2015