| Unit | Content |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 | The unit focuses on the campaign for female suffrage. Students learn about the expected roles for women in Victorian Britain, and consider how some women, such as Elizabeth Fry and Gertrude Bell, began to challenge these expectations. They investigate the campaigns of the Suffragists and Suffragettes, and the roles that women played in the First World War. The unit builds on the work done in Year 8 on the Victorian era (the British empire, the slave trade and the Industrial Revolution) and on the Civil Rights Movement. Students will additionally study the First World War in depth and examine other 20th century British protest movements later in Year 9. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed formatively through the use of student booklets, and summatively in an assessment at the beginning of Term 3, which is completed independently in exam-style conditions. |
| Unit 2 How should we remember the British Civil Rights Movement? | The unit focuses on the campaign for civil rights in Britain. Students learn about the experiences of the Windrush generation. They investigate the Notting Hill Carnival and the Bristol bus boycott. They reflect on the achievements of Black British individuals. The unit builds on the work done in Year 8 on the British empire and on the civil rights movement in the USA, and in Year 9 on the methods used to campaign for the vote. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed formatively through the use of student booklets, and summatively in an assessment at the beginning of Term 3, which is completed independently in exam-style conditions. |
| Unit 3 | The unit focuses on the experiences of soldiers in the First World War. Students analyse the tensions of pre-war Europe, and consider the roles played by different causes in the outbreak of the war in August 1914 and how historians have interpreted these. They learn about the lived realities of trench warfare, and find out about significant battles of the British sector on the Western Front, such as the Somme and Passchendaele. Students gain an understanding of the weapons used, and the injuries and illnesses inflicted on soldiers. Additionally, students investigate how the war has been interpreted since, for instance analysing the interpretation of Blackadder. This unit supports the GCSE unit on medicine on the Western Front. The unit moreover provides context for the later Year 9 units on the rise of Nazism, and the Second World War. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed formatively through the use of student booklets, and summatively in an assessment at the beginning of Term 3, which is completed independently in exam-style conditions. |
| Unit 4 | The unit focuses on the experiences of people in Nazi Germany. Students explore the factors that led to Hitler's rise to power. They learn about Hitler's aims and methods, and investigate the varied experiences of different groups of people in Nazi Germany. Students reflect on what counts as 'resistance', and explore how individuals and groups within Germany resisted Nazi rule. This unit supports the GCSE unit on Weimar and Nazi Germany. The unit additionally builds on the previous Year 9 unit on the First World War, and provides context for the later Year 9 units on the Holocaust and the Second World War. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed formatively through the use of student booklets, and summatively in an assessment at the beginning of Term 6, which is completed independently in exam-style conditions. |
| Unit 5 | The unit enables students to gain an understanding of the Holocaust. Students consider how prejudice, discrimination and hatred were created in the 1930s, and learn about the ghettos, Einsatzgruppen and concentration and death camps. Students examine individuals' testimonies, and explore how people tried to resist the Holocaust. Students reflect on who should be held responsible for the events of the Holocaust. This unit builds on the previous Year 9 unit on life in Nazi Germany. The themes of this unit are also addressed in Citizenship, Philosophy and Ethics lessons later in Year 9. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is not summatively assessed for this unit. The aim is rather to provide an opportunity for students to meaningfully reflect on the Holocaust, and its continued relevance today. |
| Unit 6
| The unit focuses on life in Viking England. Students explore Viking society and culture and investigate Viking exploration eastwards and westwards. They focus on the Viking impact on England, learning about the invasion of the so-called 'Great Heathen Army', the creation of the Danelaw, and life in Viking Jorvik. They analyse the North Sea empire of King Cnut, and the subsequent contested succession of the English throne. They also reflect on how the Vikings are portrayed in popular culture today. Students enjoy making models of the Battle of Stamford Bridge. This unit supports the GCSE unit on Anglo-Saxon and Norman England. The unit additionally builds on the previous Year 7 unit on the Battle of Hastings, and enables students to recognise that medieval history is complex and nuanced. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed formatively through the use of student booklets, and summatively in an assessment at the beginning of Term 6, which is completed independently in exam-style conditions. |
| Unit 7 | The unit focuses on experiences on the Home Front during the Second World War. Students assess the causes of the Second World War, and learn about the early years of the war, such as the Dunkirk evacuation and the Battle of Britain. Students use sources to examine life during the Blitz, and the experiences of different groups within society. They then conclude with the narrative of the final years of the war, for instance considering whether America's use of atomic bombs was justified. Students enjoy reflecting on the realities of rationing, and often follow Second-World-War recipes at home to find out more about what people were able to eat at this time. This unit builds on the narrative of the previous Year 9 units on the First World War and life in Nazi Germany. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed formatively through the use of student booklets, and summatively in an assessment at the beginning of Term 6, which is completed independently in exam-style conditions. |
| Unit 8 | The unit focuses on how America was shaped by the Cold War. Students develop an understanding of the concepts of capitalism and communism, and awareness of how the world was divided for much of the twentieth century. They find out about key events, such as the Berlin Blockade, Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War, and reflect on the impact of these events on the USA. Students additionally reflect on the legacies of the Cold War and its relevance today. Students have already been introduced to the concepts of capitalism and communism in the earlier Year 9 unit of Nazi Germany; this unit strengthens their understanding of these competing ideas. Their work on the Vietnam protest movements builds on their previous study of the Civil Rights Movement and the campaign for female suffrage, and links to their next unit, on 20th century protest movements in Britain. Key knowledge developed:
Key skills developed:
Assessment: Learning is assessed formatively through the use of student booklets, creative pieces and independent writing. |
