History - Year 9 Choices

On our history course we are excited to be studying two distinct historical periods. The first period is titled "Living in Germany 1919 -1945". We will be studying the rise of Hitler, the circumstances that led to the emergence of the Nazis as a political party and the how they came to power. The focus will be what it was like to live and work under the Nazi regime. We will also look at how World War Two impacted on German society and how the Nazis responded. There will be a strong focus on the treatment of minority groups, the targeting of the Jewish population and antisemitism.

The second period is called “What Were the Vikings Really Like?'' and will be a totally new subject of study for most students. We will be evaluating the stereotypes we have of Viking culture and why we have them. We will be studying Viking homelands, the Viking raids, and what was it like to live in Scandinavia. We will also be looking at some famous kings such as Cnut the Great and Harald Bluetooth, and evaluating who and why each can be seen as the greatest. We look forward to you joining us on our historical journey.

Students will be assessed through a variety of methods in response to key focus questions/activities. This will involve extended written responses, which will be modelled and students will be shown the techniques required. DIRT will be a regular feature for students to revisit their assessments to reflect and redo aspects of it based on feedback on how to improve. Another method will be the use of questions that have been developed around specific sources, with students learning how to engage with these sources and what their focus should be. This will support them in becoming effective communicators and aid them if they choose to progress onto the GCSE History OCR course.

There will be clear signposting to a variety of online resources such as BBC History Bitesize and access to historical magazines such as BBC History magazine/History Today. It is our intention to develop an historical society to support and further deepen students' knowledge and understanding of some of the big ideas and controversies in history. We look forward to your participation in joining us on our journey into the past to help us understand the present.

OCR GCSE (9-1) History B.

James Senese jsenese@millbayacademy.org