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History - Year 9

Mathematics - Year 7

Click here to return to our History curriculum home page

Below you will find more specific information about the curriculum in History for Year 9 students, explaining to you what students will learn, when, why and how. There is also information about how parents/carers are able to support students in their learning, extra-curricular opportunities in this subject and how it links to other subjects and the wider world.

Subject Key Concepts

#1 Cause and Consequence        

#2 Change and Continuity         

#3 Evaluating Evidence/Interpretations 

#4 Making supported judgements       

#5 Historical perspective –
the big picture


Please click here for Subject Key Concepts.

Please click here for PDF History Learning Journey

 Curriculum Overview for the year 

Subject:      History                 Year: 9

Term

Topic / Key Concepts

Specific Knowledge

Specific Skills

Autumn

World War One

·         Causes of WW1

·         Conditions in the trenches

·         The Treaty of Versailles and the end of the war

 

Key concepts: Cause and consequence, historical perspective, evaluating evidence/interpretations, judgement.

 

Key topic concepts: Assassination, arms race, empires, alliances, trench warfare, armistice, Big Three, reparations, War Guilt, revenge, economy, empire

 

Assessment: Source analysis related to the TOV (part 1), judgement on how fairly Germany were treated at the end of war (part 2).

 

·         Writing at length using PEEL structure.

·          Identify and distinguish between the long and short term causes of WW1.

·         Understand the chronology and importance of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand as the trigger cause.

·         Infer from a range of sources to summarise the different experiences of people in the trenches.

·         Evaluate two differing sources on life in the trenches with reference to time, audience, author and purpose.

·         Identify and explain the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and assess how Germany felt about the different restrictions and why.

Nazi Germany

·         The rise of the Nazi Party

·         Use of propaganda, violence and intimidation

·         The treatment and experience of young people in Nazi Germany

·         Women’s experiences in Nazi Germany

 

Key concepts: Cause and consequence, change and continuity, evaluating evidence/interpretations, historical perspective, judgements.

 

Key topic concepts: Dictatorship, Weimar government, democracy, elections, chancellor, putsch, propaganda, intimidation, Aryan, indoctrination, secret police.

 

Assessment: Judgement on the main reason that the Nazis came to power.

 

·         Writing at length using PEEL structure.

·         Identify and explain the reasons that the Nazis were able to come to power and rank them to assess their relative importance.

·         Assess the impact of Hitler’s use of propaganda, violence and intimidation. Infer meaning/symbolism from a range of propaganda materials.

·         Understand what Hitler offered to the youth of Germany and the methods employed to indoctrinate them, including the things that changed for them.

·         Work collaboratively to create an overview of the impact on different areas of women’s lives under the Nazis

 

Spring

The Holocaust

·         Defining the Holocaust

·         Treatment of Jews and other minorities

·         Kristallnacht

·         Jewish response to anti-Semitism

·         Ghettos and concentration camps

·         Resistance

·         Liberation

·         Remembering the Holocaust

 

Key concepts: Cause and consequence, change and continuity evaluating evidence/interpretations, historical perspective, judgements

 

Key topic concepts: Anti-Semitism, Nazism, minorities, persecution, discrimination, intolerance, ghettos, concentration camps, freedom, victims, survivors, faith, family, resistance.

 

Assessment:  Factual knowledge recall test.

 

·         Writing at length using PEEL structure.

·         Explain the meaning of the term ‘Holocaust’ and create a ‘wonder wall’ of questions to try to answer by the end of the topic.

·         Identify which groups were targeted by the Nazis and explain how and why.

·         Understand the chronology, causes and consequences of Kristallnacht.

·         Define and distinguish between spiritual and physical resistance to the Nazis and reach a judgement as to which was more important and more effective.

·         Use a range of source material to assess the different experiences that different people had in concentration camps and ghettos, including those from victims as well as perpetrators.

·         Explain the reasons for and chronology of liberation and explore the challenges facing survivors at the end of the war.

·         Examine the ways in which the Holocaust is remembered, including studying the symbolism within memorial monuments.

 

World War Two (part 1)

·         Causes of WW2 – Hitler’s foreign policy aims, the failure of the LON, appeasement

·         The Home Front

 

Key concepts: cause and consequence, change and continuity, historical perspective

 

Key topic concepts: Foreign policy, alliances, lebensraum, Communism, League of Nations, depression, sanctions, extremism, appeasement, government, rationing, the Blitz, evacuation

 

Assessment:  Judgement as to the main cause of WW2 (will be final assessment of Y9 and may take place at the start of the summer term)

·         Writing at length using PEEL structure.

·         .Identify and explain the role of the long and short term causes of WW2, reaching a substantiated overall judgement as to the main cause of the war.

·         Work collaboratively to use a range of source material to create an overview of experiences at home during WW2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer

World War Two (part 2)

·         Atomic bomb and the end of the war

 

Key concepts: Cause and consequence, change and continuity, historical perspective

 

Key topic concepts: Nuclear weapons, radiation sickness, long-term impact, morals, justification

·         Writing at length using PEEL structure.

·         Engage with historical debate surrounding the justification for dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

·         Research the short and long-term consequences of dropping the bombs in order to reach a reasoned judgement as to whether or not it was justified.

Emancipation, Civil Rights and Migration

·         The Long Black Freedom Struggle

·         Civil Rights in 1960s USA

·         Migration to Britain

 

Key concepts: Cause and consequence, change and continuity, historical perspective, interpretations

 

Key topic concepts: American Civil War, emancipation, slavery, resistance, segregation, civil rights, racism, discrimination, activities, campaigners, Black Power, peaceful protest, legal challenge

 

Assessment: Factual knowledge recall test

 

·         Writing at length using PEEL structure.

·         Understand the role of the American Civil War in the struggle for freedom. Define and explain the process of emancipation.

·         Examine the roles of individuals in resisting segregation and undertake independent research into one of the identified activists before completing a poster presentation.

·         Explore the reasons for the creation of the Civil Rights Movement

·         Assess the roles and importance of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X within the Civil Rights Movement

·         Examine legal challenges to segregation in America and identify turning points in the end of segregation.

·         Identify and assess the motivation of different groups of migrants at different times.

Useful documents:

Please click here for a PDF of curriculum overview.

While this information covers a broad range of areas, please do get in touch with the Subject Leader Mrs Robertson if you have any questions.

Please click on the questions below to find out more.

How are groups organised?

All of our Year 9 classes are mixed ability. The students have 4 one-hour lessons per fortnight.

What characteristics does a successful student have in this subject?

The most successful students in this subject will have an interest in how society, politics and the economy has changed over time and will be comfortable with analysing different interpretations of the past. Successful students will also have the ability to form rational arguments, supported with evidence, whilst they will also be able to write at length.

How will students learn at this level?

  • Collaborative learning where you work with your peers
  • Close reading and note-taking
  • Using the internet to support your learning
  • Using quizlet to support and test your learning
  • Independent learning where you are responsible for your own progress
  • Regularly self-assessing work and improving on it

How will students’ learning be assessed at this level?

There are 3 summative, written assessments and a factual knowledge test on topics 1-3.

Assessment 1: Source-based question on the Treaty of Versailles and an essay question on whether Germany were treated unfairly at the end of WW1 (interpretations, cause and consequence, judgement)

Assessment 2: What was the main reason for Hitler’s rise to power (cause and consequence, judgement)

Assessment 3: What was the main cause of WW2 (cause and consequence, analysing historical events, judgement)

When do key assessments take place?

  • Assessment 1 – November
  • Assessment 2 – January
  • Factual knowledge test – March
  • Assessment 3 – May

How can parents/carers support students’ learning?

  • Encourage your child to re-visit their classwork at home and help them test their understanding of that information – e.g through quizzing them on key names/dates/events
  • Encourage your child to watch relevant programmes about our topics on TV/online – there are lots of programmes on BBC iPlayer as well as Youtube.
  • Encourage your child to access information on the internet as a way of enriching and consolidating their knowledge – e.g through using the BBC Bitesize website.
  • Encourage your child to spend quality time on their homework and provide a suitable space for them to complete it.
  • Check the quality of the work in your child’s exercise book and encourage them to make improvements where possible.

What equipment do students need for this subject?

Essential basic equipment – pen, pencil, ruler, exercise book etc.

Access to SMHW

Access to Quizlet

How does this subject link to other subjects?

  • English and other Humanities subjects: Literacy, communication, evaluation, analysis and argument.
  • Philosophy: The Holocaust
  • Geography: Control of central Europe and changing borders post-war

What websites or resources may be helpful to support students’ learning?

BBC Bitesize - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zk26n39

Quizlet - https://quizlet.com/join/a3w9c536n

What extra-curricular or enrichment opportunities are available for students in this subject at this level?

Some of the year group will take part in a session  with a speaker from Bletchley Park about code-breaking and the Enigma Machine.

What sort of careers can this subject lead to?

History can lead to a hugely wide range of careers:

  • Law
  • Teaching
  • Museums and art gallery curatorship
  • Research
  • Finance
  • Politics
  • Media and marketing
  • Public relations
  • International relations
  • Journalism

The most traditional route into many of these careers is to undertake a History degree at university, before doing a conversion or post-graduate qualification in a slightly different discipline (a law conversion or a PGCE for example). Having completed a History degree also opens opportunities for accessing internships in areas such as marketing, public relations or journalism

What does student work look like in this subject at this level?

 Please see our History Department Twitter page for some examples of student work https://twitter.com/ktshistory

How does this subject support a broad and balanced curriculum, meeting the needs of all students, and developing traditional core skills?

As a subject, History provides students with regular opportunities to make links between their learning across different subjects. History allows students to connect their learning about the past with developments and events in the present day, whilst the range of topics covered allows students to take in economic, social, political and religious history across a vast time period, going from the ancient Romans and Greeks up to the present day. Students study a combination of British and wider world History, ensuring that a range of experiences are covered. In terms of developing core skills, History students will regularly utilise and hone their analytical and evaluative skills, through exploring different interpretations of the past and building their contextual knowledge to reach their own judgements and conclusions. Students also regularly complete longer pieces of writing, giving them opportunities to develop essay-writing skills and develop their use of subject specific key terms, whilst also practicing their general spelling, grammar and punctuation. 

How does this subject promote creativity, critical thinking, practice, perseverance and resilience, and making links?

History at KTS includes a range of activities aimed at getting students to utilise their creativity to help them to learn a vast amount of contextual knowledge; students are regularly given a choice of how to complete tasks and record notes, allowing them to create their own resources, whilst students are regularly given opportunities to work collaboratively and create responses as a group. Critical thinking is integral to History and analytical and evaluative skills are central to completing tasks and assessments. In terms of resilience, students are routinely expected to complete difficult tasks and all students are encouraged to be aspirational and ambitious. As we cover such a huge range of history and students are regularly required to make links between different developments and time periods.

How does this subject encourage enrichment and the development of cultural capital, deep learning, and inclusivity?

Students cover a range of topics, allowing them to dip into the social, religious, political, cultural and economic changes over time in Britain but also elsewhere.

The students also have the opportunity to participate in a talk given by a member of the Bletchley Park team, where part of an Enigma machine is brought into school for students to investigate.