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Victoria Crooks @victoriacrooks.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Reposted by Tom Sims

So excited about our #historyteacher conference 'Teaching the United States in the Age of Trump' happening this Saturday 26th April - a joint endeavour between Nottingham @histassoc.bsky.social History Teacher Network, @uonsoe.bsky.social & @uonhumanities.bsky.social . The programme is packed!

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Kind of teaching about the key events of the period but through the lens of their religious belief and superstition. I’ve got a plan written down somewhere but it’s a job for the summer

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There’s a good section following the GFOL about the hardcore Puritans who believed the world was ending in 1666, interpreting events as the four horsemen of the apocalypse - war, famine, pestilence, death. Gave me an enquiry idea along the lines of ‘why did the Stuarts think the world was ending’

It’s mostly about the aftermath of the Civil War and the repercussions that followed.

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Have you read this, Helen? I really enjoyed it

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

The idea is they read the first part of Sanghera’s visit to Amritsar and think ‘hey, a success story of empire’ - a beneficial relationship built on mutual respect. And then they read the second section on the massacre and realise that that respect was highly conditional on compliance and service

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Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

(Just in case people read this as me cheerleading empire, I should point out that this is a deliberate kind of misdirection in order to make the story of Jallianwala Bagh more shocking when students read it)

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Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Ha that’s funny, I was reading that thread thinking a lot of it was similar to stuff we do / that I’ve shared before, and then I was tagged in it. What you described does sound like a few tasks that I’ve made, but can’t be sure!

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

I’ve finished teaching the enquiry now again, for the second year, and I love it. Some stuff looks good but for whatever reason just doesn’t land. I’ve taught this with five different classes now and the response has been fantastic every time.

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Teddy just said ‘my decorations go on the back of the tree, and mummy’s go on the front of the tree’

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

It’s a clip from the first lesson of your WWII unit, about the stories of the Second World War. It’s a still from the Gdańsk museum video

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

@richkhistory.bsky.social guess which lesson my Y9s were doing yesterday

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Thanks! You too. I have a presale code and y13 at 9am so everything’s coming up Milhouse so far

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Tough choices having to be made in the Sims household (and yes I full name my wife on WhatsApp)

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

I still have the tennis racquet he gave me

Good way to find out that posting gif files doesn’t work on BlueSky yet

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You can read Nina's diary in the book 'I Want to Live'. All the sections highlighted by the NKVD are highlighted in bold, and it's so chilling to see the relatively innocuous things that were considered incriminating. Although it might be sold out if my Y9s get there first :)

Special extra thanks to @katieamery.bsky.social who sent me a copy of 'the Apartment', the study of which will follow this enquiry!

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Using another diary extract and a piece of scholarship, they record what happened to Nina's family, before identifying and explaining what her story can tell them about the bigger picture. We end with some reflections about Stalin's legacy and some links to modern Russian society.

The last lesson then combines the two - the first lesson's focus on Stalin's ruthlessness and control over the USSR, and the second lesson's focus on Nina and her diary, to explore the consequences of her diary for her and her family. First (ominously), students are introduced to the Gulag.

The activities the students complete after each extract build the picture - first focusing on the things that made her a typical teenager, then picking out what they can learn from a visit by the NKVD, and finally picking out things Nina wrote that might put her at risk.

It was amazing to hear the hush in the room as we read the more indiscreet comments in Nina's diary, the students realising with horror what her descriptions of the 'crook' Stalin might lead to. Last week, they'd never heard of Nina.

Extracts from Nina's diary do most of the work, as we read through them as a class. After each section, students do a linked activity that helps to build the story gradually. The extracts focus on NIna's school life, a home visit by the NKVD, and her views on Stalin and the Bolsheviks.

Lesson 2 (my lesson from today), introduces Nina and her diary. Nina was a relatively typical teenage girl in Moscow, the same age as the students engaging with her story. She kept a diary, recording her experiences at school but also her feelings about Stalin and the Bolsheviks.

The lesson's main purpose, other than to connect the dots between WWI and this enquiry, is to assess the validity of two competing interpretations for Stalin's rise to power, and then to make a case for each. Thanks to @historychappy.bsky.social for the great source 'Stalin the Executioner'.

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Find the resources here: cutt.ly/VwGs9g11 The enquiry consists of 3 lessons - the first one is on the rise of Stalin. This is scene setting and gives our Y9s some context about the rise of Communism and the USSR. It follows on from their previous work on the First World War.

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

I got to teach one of my favourite lessons today, the story of Nina Lugovskaya. It's all told through extracts from her diary. Students were so captivated by her story and I now have a seven-strong waiting list to borrow my copy! I've shared the resources before on twitter, but will again below:

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This is really helpful, thanks Hugh!

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Lovely trip to Donna Nook today to see HUNDREDS of seal pups taking their first belly flops 🦭 🦭 🦭

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Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Like Pete, I use greyscale loads to emphasise or de-emphasise certain parts of a sheet and ensure you read/prioritise them in a certain way. Sometimes when you print in mono it switches to black but if you copy the text and paste as photo it gets around that.

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Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Oooh yes - I used embedded definitions in sections of text rather than glossaries or word banks to avoid split attention effect, where you keep having to draw your eye away from the reading. If you understand the word you can just ignore, but otherwise you can instantly find the meaning.

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Cheers Pete! Hope you’re well

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Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 14/11/2024

I’ve joined the trickle/flood/stampede over at BlueSky. Same username (@tommole). I’ve not posted as much in the last year or so as Twitter has become so awful, so resolving that a new format will mean lots more sharing of resources and ideas. Please add if you’re there too!

Tom Sims @tommole.bsky.social · 16/11/2023

A thread talking through our new scheme of work on abolition, beginning here with an intro to the TAST. Students learn about when and where the trade emerged, and analyse the role of different groups in the development of the trade. All resources here: