History A Level
Accelerated Sessions
Mr Andrew Morel
BA, MA, PGCE
Teacher and Head of Year 11 at Ysgol Uwchradd Llanidloes High School
Miss Karen Thomas
BA, MA, PGCE
Teacher and Key Stage Four Leader Ysgol Harri Tudur / Henry Tudor School
History A Level
Timetable:
History A Level Unit 3 Content
Places to go to help you with content that you might have missed in class
https://resources.wjec.co.uk/Pages/ResourceByArgs.aspx?subId=17&lvlId=1
Or for Option 8 (American Century) there is a revision guide produced by Hodder Education
So how do you manage the content of Unit 3 which appears to be huge?
Focus on the Key Concepts which are:
Cause and Consequence
Cause = what made this event happen?
Consequence = what was the result of it?
Event- China has flown a ‘spy ballon’ over the USA
Cause- Could it be because of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan?
Consequence- It being shot down and China having move data on the USA
Cause and Consequence
Of course it isn’t quite as simple as this in your History A-level study as there are always far greater complexities-
For Example: (Unit 3 Option 1) The effects of the Black Death on Wales-
How the Black Death Spread-was it through the port towns of Carmarthen and Pembroke, or was it the manifestation of evil?
What were the effects? Were the economic hardships of less people to till the land more significant than the fewer monks about to sustain the importance of the Church within Wales?
Essay question that exemplifies this (Option 2):‘The most significant cause of poverty and vagrancy in the period from 1509 to 1553 was enclosure.’ Discuss. [30]
Significant Individuals
Significant Individuals- How important is that individual in comparison to others working on similar things?
Event- Boris Johnson’s handling of COVID-19
Significant Individual? Is he more significant to the pandemic than the scientists? More significant than other leaders of UK nations- Mark Drakeford, Nicola Sturgeon, Paul Givan?
Significant Individuals
Of course it isn’t quite as simple as this in your History A-level study as there are always far greater complexities-
For Example: (Unit 3 Option 10) Pyotr Stolypin
Did Stolpyin’s policies of reform and repression have that big an impact in reality?
Were Stolypin’s actions better placed to secure government authority than Lavrenti Beira in the 1950s?
Essay question that exemplifies this (Option 3): How far was John Calvin the most significant influence on the spread of Protestantism between 1521 and 1559? [30]
Turning Points
Turning Points- How fundamental was the change brought by this event- is it fair to say that change was permanent because of its long term impact?
Event- FAW deciding to play its female players equal to the male players
Turning point- Will change the status of women’s football? Will it increase revenue from people watching it? Will it knock on to improve women’s status in general in Wales
Turning Points
Of course it isn’t quite as simple as this in your History A-level study as there are always far greater complexities-
Turning Points need reference to whether or not the change has a sizable impact in the long term.
For Example: (Unit 3 Option 8) Cuban Missile Crisis
Was this near Nuclear disaster really enough to be the event that ended the concept of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)?
How long term and sizeable were the changes in how USA and USSR dealt with each other by the establishment of the ‘hot line’ between the two?
Essay question that exemplifies this (Option 3): How far do you agree that the publication of Martin Luther’s Ninety Five Theses was the major turning point in religion in the period 1500-1600? [30]
Similarity and Difference
Similarity- How similar/alike the event is to another
Difference- How different/contrasting the event is to another
Event- The anticipation of the final series of Happy Valley
Similarity- Compare the anticipation of the series to the other series -what things are alike?
Difference- Contrast the anticipation release to the build up to other series releases-what differs?
Similarity and Difference
Of course it isn’t quite as simple as this in your History A-level study as there are always far greater complexities-
Similarity and Difference compares and contrasts the impact/success/ attitudes of something across both time and regions.
For Example: (Unit 3 Option 3) Support for the Catholic Church in Spain, Portugal and the Italian States
How did support for the Church differ across the countries of Spain Portugal and Italy? How did the support within those countries change over time? Is there something similar in the support for the church across these countries, something that unites them? Are there differences in support for the church within one of these countries?
Essay question that exemplifies this (Option 7): The reforms of the Liberal Governments 1906-1914 were the most effective attempt at tackling the problem of poverty in the period 1890-1990.’ Discuss. [30]
Change and Continuity
Change- How a trend develops over time
Continuity- How something stays the same over time
Event- Experience of University life
Change- The technology being increasingly used fundamentally changing the way education is delivered
Continuity- there is always that shared experience of being somewhere new and the sense of moving forward with life
Change and Continuity
Of course it isn’t quite as simple as this in your History A-level study as there are always far greater complexities-
Change and Continuity usually will refer things that cut across different forms of government/across time, like:
For Example: (Unit 3 Option 5) Changing foreign policy in France, 1715-1815
To what extent did the Ancien Regime, Revolutionary Governments and Napoleon continue the motive in French foreign policy to secure natural frontiers to ensure the security of the state?
Essay question that exemplifies this (Option 1): To what extent was social change the most significant development in Wales in the period from 1240 to 1284? [30]
The way then to manage this content is….
To ensure you are totally familiar with the specification
Suggested Task 1:
Find the ‘’Supporting the Breadth study in Unit 3’’ resource for your option on the following website:
https://resources.wjec.co.uk/Pages/ResourceSingle.aspx?rIid=820
The way then to manage this content is…
By using these resources you can see how the exam board categorise the theme of each bit of a content you have studied. It is therefore, that perspective you need to be familiar with- not everything there is to know about it!
The way then to manage this content is….
To be familiar with all Key Terminology (Key Terms help you to show off your understanding of your area of study)
Suggested Task 3:
Make a list of all the key terminology you’ve come across (words/phrases that you wouldn’t have known without studying the topic) and ensure you can define them all.
For Example (Unit 3 Option 9): Weltpolitik, Volksgemeinschaft, Autarky, Denazification, Marshall Aid, The social market economy, The Bundesrat and the Reichstag, The Kaiser, Social democracy, Fuhrerprinzip, The Berlin Blockade and The Cold War
The way then to manage this content is…
To ensure you’re aware of your own understanding and weaknesses.
Suggested Task 4:
RAG rate each element of the content by highlighting them
In Red, Amber and Green
Red - Do not understand the content and concept
Amber - Kind of understand the content and concept
Green - Do understand the content and concept
Remember you are now doing this from the perspective of the concept (change and continuity/significant individual etc…) and not from if you understand everything there is to possibly understand about the event/person
The way then to manage this content is…
Linking activities are very beneficial in allowing you to contextualise the content and so make sure that you are viewing this as one big interconnected story. That way you don’t become overburdened with trying to understand each event in isolation.
Suggested Task 5: Create a linked mind map based around an sub-time frame, a key concept, a certain area.
For example (Unit 3 Option 9, 8 and 6): Next Slides
Essay question that exemplifies this (Option 8) How far do you agree that the work of President Johnson had the most significant influence upon the achievement of civil rights for African Americans in the period 1941-1968? [30]
Essay question that exemplifies this (Option 2):‘The most significant cause of poverty and vagrancy in the period from 1509 to 1553 was enclosure.’ Discuss. [30]
The way then to manage this content is…
Comparison Tasks to help you directly compare
Suggested Task 6: For each Turning Point/Significant Individual highlighted in the specification or that you have studied (remember turning point is one at which there is a clear and fundamental change) draw up the following:
Minor Impact
Major Impact
Turning Point:
____________
Detailed Explanation (focused on long term impact):
Minor Impact
Major Impact
Turning Point:
____________
Detailed Explanation (focused on long term impact):
The way then to manage this content is…
Comparison Tasks to help you directly compare
Suggested Task 6: For each Turning Point/Significant Individual highlighted in the specification or that you have studied (remember turning point is one at which there is a clear and fundamental change) draw up the following:
Minor Impact
Major Impact
Turning Point:
WW1
Detailed Explanation (focused on long term impact):
Minor Impact
Major Impact
Turning Point:
WW2
Detailed Explanation (focused on long term impact):
The way then to manage this content is…
Comparison Tasks to help you directly compare
Suggested Task 6: For each Turning Point highlighted in the specification or that you have studied (remember turning point is one at which there is a clear and fundamental change) draw up the following:
Minor Impact
Major Impact
The publication of the Ninety Five Theses
Detailed Explanation (focused on long term impact):
Minor Impact
Major Impact
The Diet Of Worms 1521
Detailed Explanation (focused on long term impact):
Essay question that exemplifies this (Option 3): How far do you agree that the publication of Martin Luther’s Ninety Five Theses was the major turning point in religion in the period 1500-1600? [30]
The way then to manage this content is…
Comparison Tasks to help you directly compare
Suggested Task 6: For each Significant Individual highlighted in the specification or that you have studied draw up the following:
Minor Impact
Major Impact
John Calvin
Detailed Explanation (focused on long term impact):
Ulrich Zwingli
Detailed Explanation (focused on long term impact):
Essay question that exemplifies this (Option 3): How far was John Calvin the most significant influence on the spread of Protestantism between 1521 and 1559?
Martin Luther
Detailed Explanation (focused on long term impact):
Tasks that will really help make sense of content…
You will have been taught this Unit thematically (not necessarily chronologically)
Suggested Task 7: A key way to make sense of it in your mind is to create a timeline. This is crucial to really understanding the context of each item
History A Level
Timetable:
Any extra questions please use these few minutes now to ask them in the Q&A function in the top right of the screen.