Becoming an Outstanding History Teacher

Becoming an Outstanding History Teacher will take the practitioner through the process of improving their practice from start to finish. It offers a wide range of approaches and techniques for teaching and learning that will help to keep students stimulated and engaged when studying history. With history regularly topping public polls of important school subjects and among the most popular subjects to be studied at GCSE, this book considers the components which make an outstanding history teacher and how best to ensure students are motivated and maximise their potential. Focusing on all aspects of teaching history, it provides a step-by-step discussion of the development oflessons and covers a wealth of topics, including: long-, medium-, and short-term planning the classroom environment managing all student abilities dealing with interpretations and sources arranging history fieldwork formative and summative assessment setting meaningful and effective homework. Packed full of tried-and-tested strategies and activities that are easy to implement, this is essential reading for both newly qualified and experienced history teachers who want to ensure outstanding teaching and learning in their classrooms.

Acknowledgements Introduction Part I History building blocks 1. Preparing for learning 2. The knowledge 3. Dealing with sources and interpretations Part II History lessons 4. Getting started 5. Putting it all together 6. How will I know? 7. Showing off their learning Part III History in context 8. The classroom and beyond

Sally Thorne has been a History teacher since 2003 and is currently Head of History at a secondary school in Bristol. She is also a GCSE examiner, textbook author, conference speaker and regional adviser for the Schools History Project.