Welcome to Year 10 GCSE History at Jumeirah College

EdExcel Board
 
Unit 1: 5HA01 Sections 1-3
Unit 2: 5HA02 Option 2B
Unit 3: 5HA03 Option 3B
Unit 4: 5HA04 Option CA5

Introduction

The students’ new GCSE course in History will be challenging and thought provoking. We aim to enable all students to build up each GCSE skill in order to achieve the very best grade of which they are capable.

Curriculum Organisation

* 3 lessons per week of 55 minutes each
* students are taught in mixed ability option groups
* the main class course books used by Year 10 students include:
- “Britain and the Great War”
- “The Russian Revolution and Soviet Union 1910-1991”
- “GCSE Modern World History” by Walsh
 (all published by Hodder Murray)

Independent Study

Students will be set two History Homeworks a week according to the Homework Timetable. Homework will consist of on-going work on coursework, or specific written, research, or reading tasks.
In addition, independent study is invaluable to achieving a good grade in History. This may take the form of reading around and ahead of the topics studied in class using the class text together with books from the library and websites (see below).

Students are also encouraged to branch off in to new periods and areas of History and to investigate them on their own initiative. Their efforts and findings can then be presented to their colleagues in order to win “Passport to the Past” points. This is our competitive, History outside the classroom, scheme.

Course Structure and Assessment

The GCSE History course consists of four units, each with an equal weighting of 25% towards the final total.
One of the two GCSE coursework assignments will be completed in Year 10, which will contribute 12.5% towards each student’s final grade.

Autumn Term 2009

The first unit; Peace and War: International Relations 1900 – 1991. This unit consists of three separate sections related to the outbreak of WWI and WWII:

1. Why did war break out? International Rivalry 1900 – 1914
2. The Peace Settlement 1918 - 1928
3. Why did war break out? International Relations 1929 – 1939

This unit is assessed through a 1 hour 15 minute exam for a total of 60 marks. Students will answer three questions on each of the three separate sections. In the exam students are asked to describe, explain (through the linking and prioritising of factors) and analyse key events from the period under study.

Spring Term 2010

Students will then study Unit 2: A Modern World Depth Study. For this their focus will be option 2B: ‘Russia 1917-39.’

This will comprise four key topic areas:

•The collapse of the Tsarist regime 1917
• Bolshevik takeover and consolidation 1917-24
• The nature of Stalin’s dictatorship 1924-39
• Economic and social changes 1928-39

This unit will be assessed through a single examination during which there will be 6 questions for students to answer, with 50 marks available. The examination time is 1 hour 15 minutes.  Students will be expected to answer a range of questions that will test their ability to recall key features of the periods, explain the causes and consequences of key events and give developed explanations of these. Students will also be required to produce structured and analytical extended responses to key questions.

Autumn Term 2010

Students will be studying for their ‘Unit 3 – Modern World Source Enquiry’ paper. For this their focus will be Option 3B ‘War and the transformation of British society.

 This will comprise:

• The impact of the Depression 1931-39
• Britain alone
• Britain at war
• Labour in power, 1945-51

Students will be assessed through a single examination based on sources.
Students answer five questions and there are 50 marks available. The examination time is 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Spring Term 2011

Students will be sitting their Unit 2, Depth Study examination in January.
Students will then begin work on their ‘Unit 4 – Controlled Assessment paper’ .
For this, students will be focusing on Option CA5: ‘Vietnam 1960-75.’

This will consist of:

• The reasons for US involvement in Vietnam.
• The nature of the conflict and reasons for US defeat.
• The impact of the war on civilians and the military, in the USA and in North and South Vietnam.
• The growth of protest in the USA at the end of the conflict.

For this paper students will be required to answer a two part task, supervised in class. In total, they have two hours for writing their answers, but not all in one session.

Summer Term 2011

Students will prepare for their Unit 3, Source Enquiry, Examination which they will sit in May/June.

Learning objectives: the aims and expected outcomes of each lesson are made clear to the students, in terms of both historical content and skills. These aims often include differentiated outcomes for students of differing abilities in the particular skill(s) being focused on in the lesson.
Students are expected to be achieving between GCSE grades D/C and A* during Year 10.

Extension opportunities: each type of activity that the students engage in offers opportunities to achieve the highest levels and standards of historical analysis and investigation. As it becomes clear what grade each student is performing at in each source skill, they will be encouraged to set targets to improve that skill and accompanying strategies for themselves for their forthcoming pieces of work.

Useful websites: include
www.edexcel.org.uk

www.bbc.co.uk/history
www.historytoday.com
www.britannia.com/history/

www.historyonthenet.com
www.knockonthedoor.com
www.war_experience.org

www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
www.schoolhistory.org.uk
www.historylearningsite.co.uk