Obtaining A and A*
GCSE – Training Presentation PASH
October 2007
Kate Tomalin – AST: Plymouth High
School for Girls
What do you think?
• Before I start rambling…can you discuss
with the person sitting next to you, what
you think enables students to achieve
grade A and A* at GCSE. We will come
back to your thoughts after I have shared
mine with you.
Case Study – Ennette
My explanations about why
she got an A*
• Because she was a committed student.
• Because she did all of her homework.
• Because she was enthusiastic and asked lots of
questions.
• Because she wanted to do well.
• Because she has a good work ethic.
• Because she did extra work and assessments.
• Because she paid attention to my comments.
Her explanations for
achieving an A*
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Because I enjoyed History, which made it easier to
want to do well and excel in the subject.
I made a point to read teachers comments and helpful
hints that were written on my essays.
During the exam and even for all my essay questions I
always re read the question between each paragraph
which helped me stay focused and on task and also
helped me directly answer the question more.
I paid attention and did all the work from the beginning
of the 2 year GCSE course as opposed to some of my
classmates who only started paying attention at some
point in year 11.
Because I had an enthusiastic teacher, who enjoyed
the subject and made it fun.
But…
• I know that all our students are not like Ennette.
So…how do we get A’s and A*’s from students
who aren’t like this.
• I’m no expert, but I’ve thought long and hard
about this…
• Here are my honest thoughts about it and I don’t
think they are revolutionary or anything, but
hopefully they might remind you to do something
different with your GCSE classes, or you
hopefully will nod in agreement, or something!
Basics
• Skills based lessons are essential, as opposed to
continuous emphasis on content
• Design rules for skills such as cartoon analysis
(answer question directly, put into context, analyse
details) and essay writing (PEE), get the students to
constantly refer back to these rules
• Practice makes perfect
• Repetition
• AFL (see model lesson)
• Detailed, target driven feedback on important pieces
of work (once a month)
• Modelling – so they get to recognise good and bad
work
• Nurture
OCR
History Modern World
2007
Core Content with Germany
Rules
1. Directly
address the
question
2. Put it into
context (use
background
knowledge)
What is the
message of
this cartoon?
Use details
of the
cartoon and
your
knowledge
to explain
your answer.
3. Analyse
individual
details of the
cartoon
A British cartoon published in 1919 after the Peace Conference. ‘Tiger’ was
the nickname for Clemenceau.
Model Answer
The message of this cartoon is that the Treaty of Versailles
was too harsh and because of this a future conflict was
inevitable. The ‘Big Three’ are shown in the cartoon,
representing the leading allies after the First World War. The
most uncompromising, Clemenceau, is shown at the front
with a stick. It was Clemenceau that demanded the harshest
treatment of Germany, because he felt France had suffered
the most as a result of the war. He is looking at a child who is
weeping behind a pillar, having just read the terms of the
Treaty of Versailles. This child represents a child of 1919, yet
he will grow up to have to be ‘cannon fodder’ in a future
conflict, which the cartoonist has cleverly predicted will be in
1940. Clemenceau appears to be confused about the reasons
why the child is crying as he says; ‘Curious! I seem to hear a
child weeping’. This supports the view that he was simply
intent on punishing Germany and didn’t consider the future
consequences. The cartoonist is critical about the Treaty of
Versailles and recognises the consequences of its harsh
terms.
Answer A
In the cartoon there are 4 main characters and 3 of these
represent the ‘Big Three’ .The cartoon is called ‘Peace
and cannon fodder.’ Clemenceau is at the front with a
stick. This cartoon is saying the peace conference was too
severe, as there is a child behind the pillar, weeping,
having just read the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. This
child represents someone who would have been a child in
1919, yet would have had to fight in a possible future war.
The cartoonist thinks the decisions made at the peace
conference would lead to another war. We also know this
as the title of the cartoon is ‘peace and future cannon
fodder’. The ‘Big Three’ look unaffected by the child
weeping and Clemenceau says; ‘Curious! I seem to hear a
child weeping’.
Answer B
The message of the cartoon is that the Treaty of
Versailles would cause problems in the future as it
punished Germany too harshly. The title of the cartoon
‘peace and cannon fodder’ refers to the fact that the
Treaty was trying to secure peace, yet it simply led to
Germany wanting to take revenge. The child behind the
pillar represents a child at the time of the peace
conference, who will grow up and have to deal with the
consequences of the treaty and end up being ‘cannon
fodder’. The ‘Big Three’ shown in the cartoon look
confused about the cause of the child’s weeping and
Clemenceau even says; ‘Curious! I seem to hear a child
weeping’. This suggests the Big Three did not consider
the consequences of the Treaty seriously enough.
Strongest Answer?
1(a) What is the message of this cartoon?
Use details of the cartoon and your
knowledge to explain your answer.
• Having read answers A and B, which is the
strongest answer and why? Explain your
answer by comparing both answers.
Explain why the ‘Big Three’ at
Versailles had different aims.
• Look to make 3-4 well explained points
• PEE
• Contrast and compare
Paragraph A
The big three had different aims because they
wanted different things. Clemenceau wanted
Germany to suffer and pay economically, as
opposed to America who wanted to treat
Germany justly and didn’t want her to take total
responsibility for the war. Great Britain on the
other hand recognised the need to punish
Germany, by making her pay reparations, but
was also concerned about future trading
possibilities with Germany. Lloyd George wanted
Germany to suffer and wanted to strip Germany
of her navy and colonies.
Paragraph B
One of the reasons why the ‘big three’ had such
different aims was because the First World War
had such different effects on the allied powers.
France for example had suffered enormously as
much of the fighting had taken place on French
soil. This resulted in Clemenceau, the French
leader wanting to punish Germany harshly and
seek revenge. In contrast, America had not
suffered as much and possibly as a
consequence of this Woodrow Wilson was more
lenient and was wary about punishing Germany
too harshly. It was these factors that contributed
to the ‘big three’ having such contrasting aims.
Strongest Answer
1(b) Explain why the ‘Big Three’ at
Versailles had different aims.
• Having read paragraphs A and B, which is
the strongest. Explain your answer by
comparing both paragraphs.
PEE
One of the reasons why the ‘big three’ had such
different aims was because the First World War
had such different effects on the allied powers.
France for example had suffered enormously as
much of the fighting had taken place on French
soil. This resulted in Clemenceau, the French
leader wanting to punish Germany harshly and
seek revenge. In contrast, America had not
suffered much and possibly as a consequence of
this Woodrow Wilson was more lenient and was
wary about punishing Germany too harshly. It
was these factors that contributed to the ‘big
three’ having such contrasting aims.
Explain how the League of Nations
achieved some successes in the
1920’s.
Paragraphs A
The League of Nations had some successes
in the 1920’s. One of these successes was in the
area of border disputes. A dispute arose over the
Aaland Islands between Sweden and Finland, the
League stepped in and ruled that the islands
should go to Finland and Sweden accepted this
decision.
The League also dealt effectively with
worldwide diseases such as leprosy and malaria.
They worked hard to educate people about these
diseases and funded research into finding
preventions.
Explain how the League of Nations
achieved some successes in the
1920’s.
Paragraphs B
The League of Nations dealt effectively with
some border disputes that arose in the 1920’s.
These successes were largely because the
countries involved were happy with, or accepted
the League’s decision. An example of this was the
dispute over the Aaland Islands. It also seems that
the border successes of the 1920’s did not involve
powerful countries.
The League’s commissions also had some
successes. These commissions seemed to work
well as they posed no threat to individual countries.
For example, the health commission worked hard
in Africa to educate people about malaria.
Strongest Paragraphs
Explain how the League of Nations achieved
some successes in the 1920’s.
• Which is the strongest of these two sets of
paragraphs? Explain your answer by comparing
both of the sets of paragraphs.
How far can the failure of the League in
the 1930’s be blamed on the Great
Depression?
• Read answers A, B and C. Which is the
strongest answer and why? You must
explain your answer by comparing all
three answers.
Why do you think this
cartoon was published
in Germany in 1919?
Use the cartoon and
your knowledge to
explain your answer.
A cartoon published in Germany in 1919. The German mother is
saying to her child, ‘When we have paid one hundred billion marks
then I can give you something to eat.’
Answer A
The message of this cartoon is that German people are
suffering economically and some families are struggling,
they cannot even afford basic necessities. The cartoon is
referring to the reparations, as the mother says to the child
‘When we have paid one hundred billion marks.’ This
refers to the demands placed upon Germany under the
Treaty of Versailles by the allies. We can see that the
family are poor because the two children look dishevelled
and starving. The family also seem to be limited to living in
just a single room, as the bed and kitchen are in the same
room. The allies felt Germany should pay for the damage
caused at the end of the First World War and therefore
demanded they pay a sum of 6,600 million in instalments.
This family clearly have been affected by these demands
and are suffering due to them. The message of the cartoon
is that the Treaty of Versailles and the reparations
demands were unfair.
Answer B
This cartoon was published in Germany in 1919 to try and
evoke sympathy. It is a response to the reparation demands
placed upon Germany under the Treaty of Versailles which
were announced in 1919. The cartoon is demonstrating the
anguish these reparation demands caused, as they punished
the people of Germany as well as the government. Many
families lost out, especially those with savings. The family in
the cartoon cannot even afford to eat, they are surrounded by
poverty and their house looks small and basic and the
children look like they are starving. The cartoonist wanted to
emphasise the impact the Treaty had on ordinary Germans.
The words in the cartoon support this when the mother states
that the children can eat; ‘When we have paid one hundred
billion marks,’ a completely unrealistic amount. The cartoon
was published so that people inside Germany and possibly
the international audience were forced to recognise the
injustice of the reparation demands of the Treaty of Versailles.
Strongest Answer
• Read answers A and B. Which is the
strongest answer and why. Explain your
answer by comparing the two answers.
Best Answer
This cartoon was published in Germany in 1919 to try and
evoke sympathy. It is a response to the reparation demands
placed upon Germany under the Treaty of Versailles which
were announced in 1919. The cartoon is demonstrating the
anguish these reparation demands caused, as they punished
the people of Germany as well as the government. Many
families lost out, especially those with savings. The family in
the cartoon cannot even afford to eat, they are surrounded by
poverty and their house looks small and basic and the
children look like they are starving. The cartoonist wanted to
emphasise the impact the Treaty had on ordinary Germans.
The words in the cartoon support this when the mother states
that the children can eat; ‘When we have paid one hundred
billion marks,’ a completely unrealistic amount. The cartoon
was published so that people inside Germany and possibly
the international audience were forced to recognise the
injustice of the reparation demands of the Treaty of Versailles.