History Free Stuff

Remembering VE Day

VE Day was first celebrated on 8th May 1945 and marked the end of turbulent fighting across mainland Europe. Understandably, it was met with great joy as the news filtered through to the civilian populations of Europe, particularly in Britain and France. In many cities, people took to the streets in jubilation as the spectre of fascism was seemingly put to rest. Public spaces were filled with crowds, while communities held street parties and other celebrations.

Despite this outpouring of emotion and positivity about the future, it was tempered with the feeling that the job was not yet done. The reach of the war went far beyond Europe, and in many places, conflict was still a reality. This was particularly true in the Far East, where Hitler’s ally, Japan, would take a further three months to surrender. Many soldiers could not share in the celebrations and certainly could not return home. They were needed to finish the job. Even those stationed in Europe would be needed to help rebuild the broken communities of the war-zones by distributing aid, supporting the local populations and guarding important assets or prisoners.

As there are fewer and fewer people left who have first-hand experience of World War II, the relevance of their struggles is in danger of losing its significance. These lesson ideas provide a selection of tasks with the aim of addressing the question: how important was VE Day and what can we learn from it 67 years on?

To download Andrew's lesson ideas, click the button below.

Andrew’s lesson ideas also encourage primary source analysis. With a wealth of source materials, Boardworks KS3+KS4 History provides an extensive range of resources to help you teach this key skill. To find out more order your free sample disc today!

If you enjoyed using this resource and like sharing your ideas with other teachers, why not write a lesson plan for Boardworks? To find out more, visit our authors page.

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Below is an archive of our most popular free history resources. To download this content all you need to do is click on the links below and you will be prompted to register some additional details with us.

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History teacher Andrew Hill shares his International Women's Day teaching ideas

'The advancement of women and the achievement of equality between women and men are a matter of human rights and a condition for social justice and should not be seen in isolation as a women's issue.' UN ‘Platform For Action’, 1995

March 8th is International Women’s Day, when organizations around the world choose different themes each year to reflect global and local issues facing women, and to recognize women’s contribution to the world stage.

Billions of women across the globe face widespread disadvantages when it comes to education, employment, health and security, and International Women’s Day aims to ensure that this disparity is corrected over time. This would benefit not just women, as statistics show that for every 1% growth in female secondary schooling, there is a 0.3% growth in the economy.

With this in mind, all your students could benefit from learning about International Women’s Day and its history, regardless of their gender! Here are some ideas that you might want to use when teaching about this event.

To download Andrew's lesson ideas, click the button below.

Like Andrew’s lesson ideas, Boardworks KS3+KS4 History encourages class discussion using voting charts, interviews, true-or-false exercises and drag-and-drop activities. To find out more, why not order your free sample disc today?

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For a war such as Vietnam which stretched over several decades, it can be difficult to remember the order of key events and the subsequent consequences of each individual event.

To help your students remember this key information, we’ve produced this colourful, informative poster which gives an overview of the Vietnam War from its origins in World War II to its final resolution in the 1970s.

To download the poster, click the button below.

The images and information on this poster are taken from Boardworks KS4 History '20th Century International Relations' unit. To find out more about how Boardworks History resources can introduce your students to topics such as ‘Imperialism and the Alliance System’ and ‘The End of the Cold War’, order your free sample disc today.

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The critically-acclaimed stage production of War Horse featured a boy’s much-loved horse, Joey, who is sold to the cavalry at the beginning of World War I.

Stephen Spielberg’s recent film adaptation of this powerful story has brought the outbreak of war into the national consciousness again.

To help your students understand the tensions in Europe which precipitated the outbreak of World War I, we’ve produced some free resources for you to download.

Covering the existing tensions in Europe, the war plans of the Great Powers, and the Schlieffen Plan, our free resources summarise the key teaching points for each of these topics, engaging students in the political wranglings that led to Joey’s secondment to the battlefield.

To download the free resources, click the button below.

The interactive map in this free presentation can be used flexibly as a consolidation exercise, or to introduce students to the war plans of the Great Powers. To find out more about the different ways to use Boardworks History resources, order your free sample disc today.

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From September 2012, the Government is planning to award specific marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar in GCSEs with a sufficient written English element.

To get your students ahead, we’ve produced a free presentation on spelling, punctuation and grammar. Use it to:

- test your students how to spell tricky words
- help your students identify which punctuation marks should be used in a piece of writing
- improve students’ ability to complete compound sentences.

To download it click the button below.

All Boardworks resources are ready-made, saving you time throughout the year. To find out more about any product, be it History, Geography, RS or English, order your free sample disc.