Teaching the GCSE History Module USA 1900-90 at GSCE | Keystage history

Outstanding GCSE history lessons on America

You will be on largely familiar ground here, but you will love the new approaches to the 1920s and the New Deal updated for the GCSE curriculum. Students are campaign managers for the 1936 election, counsel for the prosecution of Roosevelt’s New Deal and analysers of adverts about women in the 1920s. As more specifications now feature a detailed study of post-war America, you will find the very best of the old Edexcel Divided Union topic, alongside new material on social change.

This section currently focuses mainly on the earlier period. More lessons on the post-45 era will appear soon. You might like to look at the International Relations 1945-2005 section for the lessons looking at US involvement in the Cold War and Vietnam.

Lynching

Lynching in the US in the 20th century 1919-54

Crammed into this very active lesson are: slow reveal of an arresting image; interesting information about the role of the press; song and lyrics of Strange Fruit; a short video…

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Smart Task: How popular was the Vietnam war? What can we learn from just two photographs?

This simple starter uses just two contrasting photographs, one showing the popularity of Johnson’s policy towards Vietnam, the other opposition to it. How can we explain the difference? Students generate…

vietnam war

SMART TASKS: Why did the US get involved in the Vietnam War?

Three separate short activities help students produce a top grade answer to the question. Task I – brainstorming early ideas This first introductory task simply asks students to consider the…

rosa parks bus

SMART TASK: How significant was the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the history of Civil Rights?

Quick ranking activity for GCSE/AS students Students are asked to consider the relative significance of 11 possible arguments that have been used by historians who claim that the Montgomery bus…

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SMART TASK: Causes of the Wall Street Crash

Students are given a set of influence cards which help them to work out the answer to an apparent paradox. If people were getting rich quick in the 1920s, why…

franklin d roosevelt

Hoover’s rubbish: Roosevelt moves in

This lesson on a fairly familiar theme approaches GCSE cartoon analysis in a different way. Instead of showing the students the cartoon they are to interpret, they are simply given…

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Teaching USA 1900-1990 to Key Stage 4

The first batch of lessons focuses on four examination favourites but each adds a different subtle twist that lifts the lesson and makes students much more active and involved in…

america 1920

Did everyone benefit equally from life in the USA in the 1920s? A market place activity. SMART TASK KS4

This activity is great for getting students off their feet and talking to every other students in the class – with a clear purpose! The idea is that every student…

millie

Thoroughly Modern Millie: How do we know this song is about Flappers? A quick musical starter

Students are given the lyrics of a song about flappers (copy provided) and have to find 10 references that prove the connection. The first is done together as a whole…

prohibition

When Prohibition was so popular when it was introduced, why had it failed within 12 years? SMART TASK

In this varied series of activities, students predict from pictures, categorise influence cards, and create a tweet before structuring an answer that will impress a GCSE examiner. Starter Project slide…

cuban missile crisis meeting

SMART TASK Key Stage 4 – Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis

With the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile crisis in the news, it is worth spending time reviewing Kennedy’s reputation. Here is a short task to get GCSE students thinking….

new deal

New Deal or No Deal? How has the New Deal been criticised?

This lesson is an active one in which students co-operate in order to put the best case they can against the New Deal. It is the first lesson on opposition…

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Why was there a boom in the US economy in the 1920s?

This lesson was designed for Y10 students on the C/D borderline who were underachieving and were falling down on the factual recall required. The students were used to being spoon-fed…

franklin d roosevelt

Roosevelt and the 1936 election: can you write his manifesto?

It is the year 1936 and Roosevelt wants to be re-elected. Students work in groups to create his campaign manifesto pulling together all the work they have done in previous…

Rosa Parks – the true story

This open-ended enquiry explores one of the most abiding stories of American Civil Rights. Students are invited to advise a film director on what actually happened in Montgomery in December…