History in Sixth Form
Teaching and learning in sixth form has moved
away from the traditional approaches of dictation
and an over reliance on text book exercises. This guide
outlines many of the principles which characterise the
post 16 learning experience in History at TCC.
This guide also aims to illustrate how approaches
to learning can be transferred from History lessons
to the home, so that they might be supported by
parents. An awareness of how content and new ideas
are delivered in lessons will help parents in providing
active support, and advice, in tackling the challenge of
sixth form History study.
Transferable skills are the key to success at this
level, and so approaches used in History lessons are
common to the range of subjects, and by consequence,
can be applied elsewhere.
Acquiring specialist vocabulary in History
How does History support this?
History presents students with
specialist vocabulary which will
create new demands with every unit of
study.
Teachers will frequently provide key
word lists in lessons, or through
discussion and displays. Students will
be expected to learn key word
definitions
and
apply
their
understanding in tests, written tasks,
and presentations.
Teachers may ask students to
construct their own key word
glossaries as they move through a
new unit. The student should carry this
out throughout the course, and not
need repeated reminders.
How can parents support the
learning of specialist
vocabulary?
A home dictionary is essential.
Make it available by keeping a
dictionary in an accessible place
where it can easily be found.
If your son or daughter asks you for
a spelling, encourage them to use a
dictionary. This will help them to
develop greater independence, and
avoid over reliance on asking the
people around them.
Independent learning and research in History
How does History
support this?
History involves elements of
independent
research
to
reinforce the understanding of a
new or current unit.
Students will be encouraged
to read around the topics
studied to understand the
context.
Some units will be entirely
focused
on
independent
research and learning.
How can parents support
independent learning and
research?
Students should be going to
the library to extend their
knowledge. Some units will limit
the teacher’s input to test
students’ research skills.
Encourage
your
son
or
daughter to get an Exeter
library card. A morning trip to
Exeter library can be easily
mixed with an afternoon spent in
town with friends.
Direct them towards sources
of information other than the
internet.
Developing a wider understanding of History
How does History support this?
It is important that students
establish an understanding of
History that goes wider than the
specification. A deeper understanding
of the subject hinges on a student’s
ability to make overarching links
between one period and another. A
student’s willingness, therefore, to
engage with a story and chronology that
goes wider than a given unit is crucial.
Students are set a wider reading task
which involves them selecting an
historical novel which is of their
choice, and from any period of History.
They are then asked to present a
review of the book at the end of the
Autumn term.
Students are directed towards a list
of wider reading texts that will
compliment the class notes and the unit
of study. See list at the back.
Students are directed towards films
and television programmes of interest
as they are broadcast.
Films, television programmes, or even
visiting an historical site do not have to
be directly relevant. It is about
developing a wider interest in the
subject of History and understanding
wider links.
How can parents support this?
Parents can discuss which historical
novel their son or daughter has
chosen, or ask what is it is about, or
what is happening. If they are finding
one text a little too demanding help
them to select a more appropriate one.
Parents can look for opportunities to
watch historical films or programmes
with their sons or daughters, and then
discuss them.
Collaborative Learning in History
How does History support
this?
History
offers
opportunities to work
collaboratively; whether it
is to problem solve, peer
assess, or simply discuss
what they are doing next.
Collaborative
learning
enables
students
to
reinforce
their
understanding
of
key
ideas.
How can parents support
collaborative work?
Parents can encourage
these collaborative work
sessions at home.
Working
with
other
students at home can be
helpful in dealing with more
challenging tasks. Focused
discussion combined with
sharing and expanding on
ideas can help to problem
solve.
Understanding the main points and building up the detail
How does History support this?
Lessons often start with the
basics and then add further detail.
This is especially important when
trying to understand a topic for the
first time. If students understand the
basic information first, it is easier for
them to digest further detail
afterwards.
When faced with large amounts of
text, students are encouraged to
select out, highlight, write down,
and then discuss, the key pieces of
information to add to their notes.
The selection and writing out of key
points, in their own words, helps
students to digest new ideas before
adding more detailed information.
What can parents support this?
Encourage them to look back at
their summarised notes first to
avoid feeling overwhelmed by the
amount of learning or revision that is
required of them.
Direct them towards creating a
table, spider gram, or poster to get
the key points and main themes
organised in their understanding. So
basics first, and then try to remember
the detail.
Remind them to use student
resources on the college desktop.
Many subjects will also make
summary
revision
notes
and
materials available.
Note taking skills
How does History support this?
Students are encouraged to organise
their notes in a way which will enable them
to remember precise information. Notes must
be clearly taken.
For some students, writing on the back of
picture cards will help them to visualise and
remember information.
For others, diagrams, bullet points, flow
charts or tables may be more useful.
Teachers will encourage students to
experiment with different styles of note
taking.
What can parents do to support this?
Parents may wish to check that their
son/daughter has organised their notes
effectively and clearly. Students may benefit
from talking through their notes at home, and
explaining why they have chosen to record
information in a certain way.
Encourage them to write notes as key
points which are in their own words. If
they are just copying, they are not engaging
with, processing, or understanding
key
ideas.
A simple
way
of
gauging
their
understanding is asking them to explain
what a particular point means in their own
words. This will reveal if they really
understand.
Storage and space are essential for
organisation. Make sure that students have
folders and space to work at home. History
distributes a lot of materials and students
must be organised.
Effective note taking strategies, referencing approaches, and how to
avoid plagiarism
How does History support
this?
Students are required to
complete a coursework which
focuses
on
independent
research.
Students
must
follow certain steps to ensure
that they take notes correctly,
and do not plagiarise other
people’s
work.
This
is
cheating and could lead to
disqualification.
Students are given a step
by step guide to help them
to take effective notes, and
avoid plagiarism.
How can parents
support this?
Take an interest in the
notes that your son or
daughter
are
taking.
Check some simple
things to see if they are
doing it properly.
•Are the notes in their
own words, or clearly
copied?
•Are
their
numbered
organisation?
pages
for
•Have they written the
title and referenced the
page number of the text
that they are taking
information
from,
or
writing from which they
are quoting?
Quality control and constructive self-criticism
36
How does History support
this?
Students are responsible for
the quality of their work.
Students will be encouraged
to reflect on, and evaluate,
their own work. This is with the
aim of enabling students to
monitor
their
work
more
independently.
The most important thing is
that they are encouraged to
read and engage with their
own responses.
How can parents support this?
Encourage your son or
daughter to check through their
work.
Proof reading and checking
through completed work is crucial.
Checking the spellings of key
words, or whether they have
explained their ideas fully and in
detail, will help.
Challenge and target setting
How does History support
this?
History
teachers
inform
students of what they need to
do to achieve a certain grade.
Teachers will also explain which
exam
board
students
are
following. This will determine the
grade criteria.
Teachers will ask students to
use mark schemes to assess
their own work, the work of
others, and to set targets for
improvement.
Students will be encouraged to
review targets based on teacher
feedback throughout the year.
How can parents support
this?
Parents may wish to ensure that
their son/daughter knows exactly
what they need to do to continue
to improve.
A conversation about how
improvements can be made will
soon
reveal
if
a
student
understands the material and what
they should be doing with it.
Students should continually refer to
mark schemes, and teacher/peer
feedback, when they are working at
home and completing assessments
and assignments.
Checking memory and understanding
How does History support
this?
History demands that students
recall
huge
amounts
of
information. Developing effective
strategies to do this is essential.
There are quick ways for students to
check what they have remembered.
History teachers will have their
own suggestions as to how to do
this. For example, students may be
asked to speak to someone else for
30 seconds on a particular topic, and
then listen to feedback on what they
did well, and what they missed out.
Lessons will also target memory
through visual and auditory methods,
such as revision movies.
How can parents support
this?
Parents may wish to use similar
strategies to test their son/daughter
on what they have remembered and
understood. They could do this by:
•asking them to explain what
they know about a certain
topic;
•reading the answers back to
their son/daughter from their
notes.
It does not matter if parents do not
understand the topic. Some students
find it easier to consolidate their
knowledge if they can have a
conversation about what they know.
Examination and assessment preparation:
developing techniques
How does History support this?
Students must be able to arrange their
knowledge around exam questions or
assessment tasks. This is a key way of
monitoring whether they are prepared for
examinations and assessments.
Aspects of some lessons will be
focused on checking that students can
select out relevant information in their
responses.
Where appropriate students may also
do this in timed conditions to prepare
them for exam expectations.
How can parents support this?
Students will be given a range of exam
questions, assessment tasks and
assignments to plan at home.
Encourage students to plan and
practise responses as part of their
home learning routine so that they are
ready for assessments and examinations.
Where appropriate set time limits to
practise examination conditions.
Encourage them to look back through
their material and mark their own work
when they have completed an answer.
Staff routinely provide mark schemes and
assessment criteria with which to this.
History Recommended Wider Reading List
(specific to the units studied)
Some of the titles are core texts used to create the course that you are following. Others
offer a wider, and more general read, around the periods studied.
AS History
Mid-Tudor Crises 1536-69
The Tudor Years by John Lotherington
Henry VIII and the Government of England by Keith Randell
England 1485-1603 by Derrick Murphy, Allan Keen, Michael Tillbrook, Patrick WalshAtkins
Tudor Rebellions By Anthony Fletcher, Diarmaid MacCulloch
Voyages of Discovery and Exploration 1453-1553
The Age of Reconnaissance By John Horace Parry
The Age of Reconnaissance: Discovery, Exploration and Settlement, 1450-1650 by
J. H. Parry
The First Imperial Age: European Overseas Expansion, 1400-1715 Geoffrey Vaughn
Scammell
The Age of Discovery, 1400-1600 By David Arnold
A Voyage Long and Strange By Tony Horwitz
Years of Renewal: European History, 1470-1600 by Katherine Brice, Adrian Roberts,
David Grossel, and John Lotherington
A2 History
Nazi Germany: coursework
I. Kershaw, ‘The Nazi Dictatorship’, Hodder 4th edition, 2000
A. Owings, ‘Frauen’, Penguin, 1993
G. Aly and S. Heim, ‘Architects of Annihilation’, Phoenix, 2nd ed.2003
M. Collier and P. Pedley, ‘Hitler and the Nazi State’, Heinemann 2005
L. Davidowicz, ‘The war against the Jews’, Penguin 1975
R. Gellately, ‘Backing Hitler’, OUP 2002
Civil Rights in the USA: American History 1863-1992
OCR A Level History a: Civil Rights in the USA 1865-1980
Civil rights in the USA, 1863-1980 by David Paterson, Richard Griffiths, Susan
Willoughby
United States, 1776-1992 by Derrick Murphy, Kathryn Cooper, Mark Waldron
An Introduction to American History, 1860-1990 by Alan Farmer, Vivienne Sanders
Modern America: The USA, 1865 to the Present by Joanne De Pennington
The Penguin history of the United States of America by Hugh Brogan