1. What’s Your Message? Key Stage 3 HISTORY SKILLS

2. Core History Skills at Key Stage 3

3. Causation Causation means explaining WHY things have happened Most events have more than one cause and these causes are not usually equally important. When deciding this, some of the following may be useful: – SPERM – Long Term, Short Term, Triggers – Aims, Beliefs and Context View Levels

4. SPERM Causation Diagram EVENT Political Social Religious Economic Military

5. Trends and Triggers Causation Diagram EVENT Long term causes or trends are bigger factors which build up over time. For example, the fact that peasants’ lives had been steadily improving due to the Black Death is a long term cause of the Peasants’ Revolt. It meant that peasants were angrier when these new freedoms were trampled on! Short term causes are those events which cause a build up of pressure before the event happens. They tend to quickly get more severe than the trends but they also feed into them. In the Peasants’ Revolt a series of poor harvests in the years leading up to the revolt was key to making people unhappy. Triggers are those very severe events which effectively set the whole explosion off. They feed on all the energy created by the other causes and lead to the event itself. In the Peasants’ Revolt it was the Poll Tax of 1381 which actually triggered the peasants to rebel

6. Aims, Beliefs and Context Causation Diagram Intentions People involved might have their own intentions (reasons) for doing things and these might be part of the cause of an event. Beliefs Peoples’ beliefs at the time will have a major impact on the events. Beliefs are a major factor in why events occur Context Everybody acts within the context of their time. Understanding the big picture can help explain why events happen at a specific moment. Why did Elizabeth I never marry? CONTEXTBELIEFSINTENTION  Situation in England  Problems created by Mary’s reign  Situation in international politics  Attitudes about gender/marriage  Protestant beliefs and fears of Catholicism  Attitudes towards Price Philip and Dudley  Wish to be a strong monarch  Desire to unite country  Wish to prevent a religious crisis

7. Significance Significance is looking at the impact an event or person has had at the time and since Significance is not just a simple case of “importance” - it needs careful judgement Importantly, significance depends on how historians make their judgement – Significance of results – Significance at/over time – The 5Rs of Significance – Historians and Significance View Levels

8. Significance of Results Science & Medicine War Wages Homes, Clothes & Food Educatio n Work Entertai nment Ideas & Religion Freedo m Populati on Which was the more significant invention: mp3 player or mobile phone? Which was the more significant event: September 11 th or Credit Crunch? Which was the more significant event: the Atomic bombing of Japan in 1945 or the earthquake in Japan in 2011?

9. Significance at/over time Society EconomyPolitics Over time At the time How did the Norman Invasion have significance at the time and over time? What about the Crusades?

10. Counsell’s 5Rs of Significance Is it remembered? Who by? Where? Remembered What happened because of it? Good and Bad Results Results How was it seen at the time? Was it considered to be important or unusual in any way? Remarkable Is there any ways it is seen in our culture today? Does it form part of who we are today? Do people follow lessons or examples from it? Resonant Can it tell us about how people thought and acted at the time? Revealing

11. Just like you, historians need to choose criteria to judge the significance of an event or person. The trouble is they don’t all choose the same ones. Coupled with this, historians will pick different evidence and have different contexts they are writing in so ultimately they come to very different conclusions. Every historian assesses historical significance through their own set of “significance specs”. So two historians may completely disagree about why an event is significant, or indeed even if it is significant at all! Historians and Significance Perscription What kind of criteria have been chosen to explore significance? Strength What kind of evidence has been chosen? Clearly better quality evidence will reveal more, but what evidence has been missed out? Tint What context is the historian writing in? Do they have a personal connection? Are there events which might affect what they say? How significant was the English Reformation? Historians will always come to different opinions on significance! Of course... Not all Historians use their significance specs to their best effect...

12. Working with Sources Conducting an historical enquiry will require you to cross reference sources. Effective use of sources means going beyond a face value reading and drawing inferences You will also need to evaluate the sources you use to draw sophisticated conclusions – Making inferences – Judging utility – Evaluating sources View Levels

13. Inferences vs Face Value (WWI) Face value: The obvious message of the source Inferences: Reading deeper. What does it suggest? Soldiers wore masksMachine guns were usedThey fought in trenches This suggests that gas was a weapon used during the war and that protection against it was primitive. Might suggest it is a new weapon This might suggest that deaths were on a huge scale as machine guns can fire very fast. Might also suggest that munitions were in high demand. This may suggest that conditions on the front were harsh – there is no shelter to be seen and water in the trench. Trenches also seem to be poorly built, this might suggest they offered little protection.

14. USEFUL FOR...NOT SO USEFUL FOR... Judging utility Judging utility means saying how useful something is. For historical sources, this often means asking how useful it is for answering your question. However – you don’t always have a question to answer... How useful is this? Victorian panting of a lord in his medieval manor

15. Evaluating Sources Q: Was king John a good king? We often use sources to help answer complex questions. However sources cannot just be used at “face value”. We need to carefully consider the PROVENANCE of sources and think about how this might affect the WEIGHT of the evidence they supply. C Context –what was happening at the time this was written? How might that affect the weight? A Audience – Who was intended to see this? How might that affect the weight of the evidence? P Purpose – What was the author setting out to do? Why might this affect the weight? S Supporting evidence – Does it fit with any other evidence you have? How does this affect the weight? In 1209 he [John] had a clergyman crushed under a cope [stone] of lead and he died an agonising death. He ordered that a Jew should have a tooth knocked out daily until he revealed where his treasure was hidden. John let people go who murdered priests. By Roger of Wendover - Monk

16. Using your Knowledge Knowledge is clearly important in History. There are a number of ways in which you will demonstrate knowledge. This is not just about dates and details, there are some bigger things as well! Having the right language to talk about important parts of your historical study is also important – Diversity – Continuity and Change View Levels

17. People in the Middle Ages were uneducated Diversity Thinking about diversity means exploring how typical a story of history is. People can often make generalisations about history. It is the job of an historian to challenge these and show that people had many different experiences of the past depending on a range of factors. Generalisations about the past can come from a lack of knowledge. However they can also come from only using a limited range of sources. Generalisations are often only a single piece in a bigger picture Take this statement... Why is it TOO SIMPLE? Think about how the statement is phrased. What might it be missing out? Rich and poor? Old and young? Different countries Men and women Change over time Thinking about diversity means looking to find evidence that people had different experiences, beliefs or attitudes in the past. This evidence can then be used to build a better picture Evidence which goes against this statement Evidence which supports this statement All of this will help you to build a FULLER PICTURE of the diverse experiences, beliefs or attitudes of people in the past. Eg. Some people were uneducated in the Middle Ages. Women for example got little access to education. However other groups, especially members of the Church got access to a high standard of education which improved between 1100 and 1500 etc. Evidence which goes against this statement Evidence which supports this statement This time the bigger picture includes people’s attitudes and beliefs as well as their actual experiences. This is too simple because it fails to identify: -German people who were targeted by Hitler -Germans who actively resisted Hitler -The change which occurred in Nazi policies between 1921 and 1945 -The extent to which that support was real or a necessity etc. Everyone in Germany supported Adolf Hitler

18. Continuity and Change P Pace – How fast were the changes happening? Rapid, gradual, consistently, inconsistently? E Extent – How big were the changes? Partial, significant, insignificant, total, revolutionary? T Turning Points – Are there any points where the nature of continuity or change alters? T Trends – Over a long period of time was there a trend towards progress or regression? There are also road maps!! See the Medicine Through Time books for egs.

19. Interpretations Interpretations are different versions of the past All kinds of people create interpretations of the past – film makers, writers, museum designers etc Be careful! - different people tell different stories about the past by including some people/ topics/ evidence and leaving out or downplaying others: – An interpretation diagram is a good way to think about different interpretations and why they have been created – There is the IAM model – Evaluating Interpretations View Levels

20. Interpretation Cape / Picture Diagrams First Identify the main points of the interpretation Context: What was going on when this was written? What is the historian’s own background? Audience: Who is this intended for? Purpose: What has they set out to prove? What questions have they asked? What kind of historian are they? Evidence: What sort of evidence have they used? ContextAudience PurposeEvidence Why do people have different interpretations about the Crusades? Film makers 2005 Crusaders were violent thugs who killed people Muslim lands were invaded by aggressive Christians claiming to be working for God Crusaders only wanted to get money there was no religious motive. “Kingdom of Heaven” on the Crusades in 2005

21. The IAM method of Interpretations Interpretation What key points is the historian making? Highlight and annotate How does this fit in with other interpretations you have read – is it similar or different? How does this fit in with your own knowledge – things we have looked at in class? Method What sorts of sources has the historian used? How have they presented these findings? Highlight and annotate How similar/different is the method to other historians? How might these sources have led the historian to their interpretation? Approach How has the historian approached the subject? What questions have they asked? What focus do they have? Where might this fit into the larger school of historiography? How might the approach taken by the historian have led them to their interpretation? For every historian opinion you read you should try to look for all of these elements. The basic idea is that the Approach of the historian will ultimately influence the Interpretation they arrive at by influencing their historical Method!

22. Evaluating Interpretations Features of Approach What are the main features of this approach to the topic? What kinds of questions do historians try to answer on this particular topic? What answers do they come up with? Give specific examples of the debates historians have and the interpretations they hold How do the features of this approach compare with others? Useful Aspects How has the approach improved our understanding of the topic? Why might asking these particular questions/using this sort of evidence help us in studying the topic? What sorts of questions might we answer? What gaps are filled? Limitations How might this approach be limited in tackling the topic? Why might there still be gaps if we only approached in this way? What is it not so good for showing? How might other approaches fill these gaps?

23. Communication Communication is all about how you find out about the past and tell people what you’ve found Finding out about the past involves answering questions You will have opportunities to communicate your findings in a variety of ways – verbal, visual and written Whatever method you are using, it is important to be clear and to support your arguments with evidence (factual examples and/ or sources): – Questions: What do you want to find out? – Research: Where will you find the answers? – Presentation: How will you present your findings? View Levels

24. Break this ‘big question’ down into smaller ‘sub – questions’ to guide your research and make it more manageable Examples: What was England like before the Norman Conquest? What were the main changes brought about by the Conquest? How was England after the Conquest different to England before the Conquest? Start with a ‘big question’ – this may be given to you by your History teacher or you may be asked to come up with it yourself Example: How far did the Norman Conquest change England? Useful ‘BIG’ question - starters: How far...? To what extent...? Which/ who was the most important: X or Y? Was X the most important reason why....? How did X change as a result of Y? Useful ‘SUB’ question – starters: Who? When? What? Why? Where? How? How to ask good questions

25. Research If I wanted to find out about the development of aircraft during the First World War, I would....... Start in the school library – the History section is in the bottom – right corner! Begin with a book that gives me a general overview of the topic (e.g. ‘A History of the First World War’) and look for any chapters about aircraft I I would make brief notes about the main events in the development of aircraft and any key terms (e.g. biplane, Sopwith Camel, the Red Baron). Once I have this overview of the topic, I can look for more specific books about the areas that interest me most. I can also carry out more refined web searches (rather than simply Googling ‘WWI aircraft’, which would produce hundreds of thousands of results, I can target ‘German biplanes’) I would use History websites that I know I can trust (NOT Wikipedia). Useful ones to start with are: www.bbc.co.uk/history www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk www.schoolshistory.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize At the end of any substantial piece of work, you should include a bibliography. A bibliography is a list of books, articles, websites and other materials that you have used in your research. You need to include: the name of the book/ article/ web address the author’s name the name of the publisher (e.g. Penguin) date and place of publication page numbers It’s much easier if you keep a note of these details as you go along!

26. Presenting Your Findings Use this to set the scene – give a little contextual detail Deal with any important terms in the question Set out a hypothesis – it gives an idea of where your essay is going Intro Here you outline your main arguments Use hamburger paragraphs Make sure each paragraph directly answers the question set Put your most important stuff first Middle Briefly sum up your main points Use all the evidence you have collected to make a balanced judgement about the question Do not bring in new stuff here!! Conclusion All good essays have three major parts: Introduction Middle Conclusion Why did William win the Battle of Hastings in 1066? Remember there is no I In Essays Remember there is no I In Essays