• Skitch: having a quick sketch to improve history learning

    Quite often in my class I want to draw on top of a source, or onto a bit of writing I have on my whiteboard. I cannot quite work out how the complicated interactive whiteboard pens work. That was where Skitch came to the rescue. Skitch is a free iPad or Android app that allows…

  • Human timeline for developing chronological understanding

    Helping students to develop their chronological understanding Using students wearing paper tabards as a human timeline to demonstrate sequencing and change over time. By being a human timeline the teacher can test students understanding of key historical terms. The students can more easily understand sequencing. They can also see change and continuity over time. By making…

  • MindMup: An effective digital tool to support historical thinking

    One day as a home assignment I set my students the task of creating a mind map. Next day during the lesson one student said that she had found a really useful online tool for mind maps. She shared it with us and now I am sharing it with you. It’s called MindMup. Why should…

  • Hot Air Balloon Disaster

    Helping students to make judgements about relative importance All of the important figures in history are in a hot air balloon whose engine is broken. Who do you throw out first to ensure the rest survive?! History is full of people and a key skill is to get our students to think about the relative importance…

  • Plickers for History Teachers: a Great Tool for Assessment

    I have to admit in the beginning – I was not searching for Plickers! But now that I have found the app and tried it out with my students it’s going to stay with us. My students and I love it. To explain what Plickers is I will start by using the sentence from the…