History

Aims to give learners a substantial breadth of understanding covering three eras, three timescales and three geographical contexts. The intention is that students leave the GCSE course with a developed understanding of several significant modern world developments that have shaped both the national and international context in which they live (Part 1 of GCSE). Part 2 of the GCSE is intended to give students a depth of understanding into key turning points and themes that have specifically shaped modern Britain and examines the transformation of medicine, public health and treatment of disease from c. 1000-2000, with Unit 2 focussing on a depth study of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The GCSE course is designed and intends that through the four units of learning that students are exposed to and develop a key awareness of the diversity of human experience over time, and asks students to critically examine the world around them and take key learning from mistakes in the past.

Regardless of the options studied, students will develop a secure understanding of chronology, knowledge and understanding of history on different scales and contexts, apply historical concepts and processes and engage with the nature of evidence and interpretation. Students will engage with a variety of perspectives, such as political, social and economic, and investigate the contributions of key individuals and groups. In this way students will be able to draw parallels and make links between the distinct areas of study.
Key skills – 

1. Engage in historical enquiry (Elizabethan England) to develop as independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers;
2. Develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past, to investigate issues critically and to make valid historical claims by using a range of sources in their historical context 
3. Develop an awareness of why people, events and developments have been accorded historical significance and how and why different interpretations have been constructed about them 
4. Organise and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding in different ways and reach substantiated conclusions.

Conflict and Tension (content) taught in Y9* (Paper 1 – Topic 2). This follows on well from Units on WWI and the rise of Hitler in Y8 which help provide a nice bridge to GCSE content. This is followed by Health and the People (breadth study – paper 2 – topic 1) in  Y10 and then by USA 1920-73 (Paper 1 – Topic 1) also studied in Y10. Finally, in Y11 students examine Elizabeth I (Paper 2 Topic 2) as the last unit, incorporating the Historical Enquiry component of the GCSE. Elizabeth is taught last so that it is closest to the exam so that the students have recent knowledge on the topic that they can prepare for that is 50% of the marks for that unit. AQA specify that the units can be taught in any order and we have tried two other sequences before settling on this as the best route and sequence  (in terms of engagement and exam preparation) for our mixed ability cohort over the 2 year GCSE. 

* Content of this unit is taught in Y9 to ease the burden on time in Y11 and allow for a more developed, deeper and more complex teaching sequence to be applied. Revision, mid and EOU assessments, trial exams and other school wide assessment points all interleave the context from this component in and the material is revisited in Y11 with a major focus on learning from assessment, assessment objectives and key technique practice.

Half Term 1

Unit 2AA
Health and the People
c.1000-2000
Part 1 & 2
P1 – Medicine stands still
P2 – Renaissance

Half Term 2

Unit 2AA
Health and the People
c.1000-2000
Part 2 and 3
P2 – Renaissance
P3 – The 19th C

Half Term 3

Unit 2AA
Health and the People
c.1000-2000
Part 3 and 4
P3 – The 19th C
P4 – Modern Medicine

Half Term 4

Unit 1AD
USA: Opportunity and Inequality
(Paper 1 – Part 1)
Part 1 – Roaring 20’s

Half Term 5

Unit 1AD
USA: Opportunity and Inequality
(Paper 1 – Part 2 )
Part 2 – Depression/ New Deal

Half Term 6

Unit 1AD
USA: Opportunity and Inequality
(Paper 1 – Part 3)
Part 3 – Post War USA

Half Term 1

Unit 2BC
Elizabethan England
c. 1568-1603
Part 1 – Court Life
Part 2 – Life in Eliz. England

Half Term 2

Unit 2BC
Elizabethan England
c. 1568-1603
Part 3 – Troubles Abroad

Half Term 3

Unit 2BC
Historic Enquiry

Half Term 4

Revision Paper 1
Conflict and Tension
USA

Half Term 5

Revision Paper 2
Health and the People
Elizabeth