YEAR 10 HISTORY COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Outline

Overview

The Humanities Department Syllabi at GEMS Wesgreen International Secondary School strive to enable students to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes so as to develop an informed and critical understanding of social, environmental, historical and political issues so as to reinforce and stimulate curiosity and imagination about local and wider environments. The Curriculum provides a strong foundation to enable students to foster an understanding of, and concern for, the interdependence of all humans, all living things and the earth on which they live. To foster in students a sense of responsibility for the long-term care of the environment and a commitment to promote the sustainable use of the earth’s resources through his/her personal life-style and participation in collective environmental decision-making. 

Learning Outcomes

History aims to offer a balance program which will help to develop thorough knowledge, understanding and the requisite skills of the subject learners need for their next steps in education or employment. The aims of the History Syllabus are to: 

• Know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
• Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
• Gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
• Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
• Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

Unit Overviews

Term 1

Unit 1 – What caused the First World War?                 

Approximate length: 4 weeks.

In this unit, students will - examine the causes of the First World War and the results for the victors and the defeated. Students will also learn about Dual agreement, Colonial rivalries, Bosnian Crisis 1908 and the crisis of June-July 1914 and the outbreak of war.

Specific National Curriculum Objectives Covered:

• Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyze trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
• Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
• Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

Unit 2 – The Peace treaties.                              

Approximate length: 3 weeks.

In this unit, students will – examine the roles of the Big Three in the peacekeeping process. Students will also learn about the terms of the treaty; Germany's reaction to the Treaty of Versailles; The impact of the treaty on Germany; Contemporary opinions/verdicts on the treaty and The other Treaties /The impact of the treaties on eastern and central Europe.

Specific National Curriculum Objectives Covered:

• Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
• Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
• Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

Unit 3 – League of Nations.                                 

 Approximate length: 2 weeks.

In this unit, students will - examine the League of Nations and their role in World War 1. Students will also look at the Structure and organisation of the League; Strengths and weaknesses of the League; Work of the League's agencies/ Humanitarian work and Successes and failures during the 1920's.

Specific National Curriculum Objectives Covered:

• Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world.

• Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.
• Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed.
• Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

Term 2

Programme of Study 

Term 3

Unit 7 – To what extent did the Republic recover after 1923?

Approximate length: 3 weeks

In this unit, students will – examine to what extent the Republic recovered after 1923. Students will also learn about - the achievements under Stresemann; What the Nazi Party stood for in the 1920's; Why the Nazis had little success before 1930; Why Hitler was able to become Chancellor by 1933.

Specific National Curriculum Objectives Covered:

• Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
• Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.

Assessment

Formative: Throughout the units, the students will complete graded work, Past Paper questions, quizzes and investigation activities which allows the teacher to assess the students’ attainment and inform their planning.

Summative: Paper 1 Past Paper Questions

Remote / Blended Learning Pathways and Assessment:

Small groups, (up to 15 students) will meet F2F. Where there are more than (15) Blended Learning will take place. According to the timetabling of classes also, there will be RL sessions where specified. All subject Units can be taught using any of these pathways. Students will collaborate and engage more with each other on set tasks in the break out rooms and collaboration spaces online. Lessons will be taught live as opposed to asynchronously. If a teacher is ill to point of being unable to deliver a lesson online, this lesson will be done asynchronously. During live lessons students will be requested to demonstrate a skill or understanding in short audio/ video recordings of themselves analysing, evaluating, explaining, showing (restricted time period). They will create Sway and othe MS document presentations as instructed. Discussions will ensue among students and their peers and they will engage, respond and feedback using the chat feature. Students will be asked to watch video clip(s) and read a print/ broadcast/ another medium link and do a review, summary, explanation, give their opinion regarding the topic. They will be asked to design storyboards using a MS document for presentation. Rubrics will be attached as additional guide to support students’ progress and attainment. These are only a few of the techniques and methods that will be engaged during lessons.

Assessments:

Option 1: We will have a designated assessment week. All classes scheduled to complete online assessments that day will remain at home. On this day they can complete maximum 2 assessments for the day (grades 6 –8), 3 assessments for (grades 9 and above).

Option 2: During blended learning sessions the students who are at school will bring their laptop/device and complete the assessment online while the others who are at home (RL) will complete it on their device at home. Each assessment lesson will request an additional supervisor/invigilator to monitor those in the class while the teacher monitors the screen. Students in the class can even have their desk/back facing the teacher to create an extra precaution/ awareness to students that the teacher along with the supporting invigilator is also supervising. If a student forgets their device the school will have other provisions in place accordingly. Teachers could also have the printed copies to distribute. The school devices will then be recollected and sanitised at the end. This option will also take place during a designated assessment week.

Option 3: We will continue to conduct continuous assessment as was done during RL/Term 3 in the AY 2019/2020.