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I listened to some great history podcasts over the summer.

The subject knowledge was helpful, sure- but I was surprised by how much pedagogy I picked up.

Here’s a short thread of what I learned abt history teaching/storytelling, that I am now using more in the classroom: 1. Introduce characters with little 3-sentence sketches of their lives.

This might include:

- physical appearance
- family background (‘Her parents…)
- associated places
- memorable traits/habits
- comparisons to modern figures
- religion

(@TheRestHistory does this well)

NEW ASSEMBLY (and tie-in poster campaign): this one on misogyny.

This one tries to demythologise T*t*, empower the girls and help the boys think more clearly about masculinity.

I believe as many boys as possible should hear this sort of messaging- please do share/RT!

Link 👇🏻 It is unashamedly on the nose- it is meant to be delivered by a MALE member of staff who can communicate really clearly.

Clearly this is an awful situation, but I believe those who have been radicalised are less likely to accept these messages from a female member of staff.

One of the most interesting parts of the @histassoc Subject Leader Development Programme chat this week was about curriculum and the *continued validity* of traditional topics.

There were some interesting takeaways:

Short 🧵 1. It’s important to teach students the basics before the more niche areas of research. The core stories, eg the major events of WW2 are still foundational.

2. Often what appeals to us as a new angle/fresh approach only does so because we already learned the basics at school

A few notes on failure as a middle leader.

Recently, I have had to deal with a relatively significant failure in my role as subject leader.

I can’t say precisely what it was, but it caused a number of problems for my colleagues and I.

Here’s a thread of a few reflections. This genuinely - really - isn’t seeking sympathy, what I’m hoping for is a conversation about dealing with failures/significant problems.

It’s been dealt with now and it’s all OK!

👇🏻 Here is our DRAFT History curric for KS3, Sept 2022-24. Feedback/suggestions very welcome.

🧵= a summary of each year group and a few things I’m thinking as HoD.
H/T to top collaborator @eharrison810 🤩

⚠️ Plenty to do: some units tried + tested, some not planned yet! 7️⃣ Made some solid gains this year. 2 lessons a week. This document is less complete than others…!

💡🧵 Workflow vs Workload: an idea for planning the school* calendar.

1. RAG-rate weeks across next year by teacher** workload. Some measure of work on top of ‘normal teaching.’

*This could also be usefully done by HoDs

**Ideally differently for HODs/Pastoral lead/teachers 1a: Things that get factored in include anything that adds workload: parents evenings, data entires, mock exams, options events etc etc

Here is one of my favourite little interlinking stories that sits within our curriculum. It's quite well known but here is how I teach the story of the MV Monte Rosa. In Year 9, we first meet the Monte Rosa in the section of the course about 1930s Germany - she was built in 1930 to take passengers and migrants
between South America and Germany. Before long was being used as a cruise ship as part of the Nazi 'Strength Through Joy' programme.

HoD🧵: If you’re new to HoD role, one of the trickiest but most critical things to get right is the timetable.

However, it can have a huge influence on
A) Day-to-day teaching experience of your team.
B) Quality of teaching in dept.
C) Workload.

A few ideas for (new?) HoDs: Caveat 1: please note this is just my experience- in different schools HoDs have very varied levels of influence over the TT.

Tip for new HoDs: before process starts, find out the formal and informal processes other HoDs at your school use to get best Dept TT they can.

🧵I’ve had a couple people ask about this, so here are some things that might help HoDs right now:

1. Anticipate some pandemic-related disruption and remember you’re just one person. The pressures and stresses this term might bring aren’t your fault, or yours to fix alone. 2. Think about your sources of support: line manager, experienced team members (and energetic, fresh-faced team members!) other HoDs in school, subject associations, Twitter communities. Also: friends, family, pets, takeaways. You won’t get a pay rise for quiet martyrdom.

🧵
Helpful time investments for HoDs at this time of year:
1. Make an at-a-glance sheet of which teachers teach which groups, including split classes.

2. Print the timetable for the department: 1 copy for the office wall and 1 for the back of your planner. It's *really* helpful 3. Beg, borrow or steal a whiteboard for the office. A3 paper on wall will do at a push. Put a list of key dates for the term on it. Parent's evenings, meetings, data entries, deadlines. Wipe them away as you get them done. It will quickly become a touchstone, so get it right!

'GIVE IT A NAME' - a useful little idea to help students remember feedback. A short thread, with pictures!
The idea: give the error a name and, ideally, a visual metaphor.

The effect: they remember it, identify it accurately in their work and even remember it next time! 1/ The Q here asks Y13 students to offer a synthesized, thematic overview of 130 years of change. One common problem is that they use evidence from too narrow a period. We start by looking at knowledge they could include in the paragraph, expressed as a timeline. 2/

I’ve seen loads of great ideas on here, and I’m sure I’ll use lots of them eventually, but I reckon GO EASY ON THE HOME LEARNING THIS WEEK:
-lots of families with adults working from home and one computer/tablet to share
-internet capacity hard to gauge, so low-data options 1/ - new routines for everyone to establish
- new interface/software that students and staff are finding their way around
- I’m for the longer haul: let’s not frighten the horses. Achievability matters.