Topics to revise
As well as practicing exam skills, you must ensure you revise all of the following topics in advance of your exams.
Unit of
Work
Unit 1
The Cold
War
Topics covered
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Unit 2C
The USA
1919-1941
Unit 3B
Britain
1931-1951
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Agreements and disagreements between the superpowers during WW2
Why did the Cold War begin?
The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid
The Berlin Blockade 1948-9
NATO, the Warsaw Pact and the Arms Race
The causes and consequences of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956
The causes and consequences of the Berlin Crisis 1958-63 including the U2 incident and the Berlin Wall
The causes and consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 including the Bay of Pigs invasion and the secret
agreement between Kennedy and Khrushchev
The causes and consequences of the ‘Prague Spring’ in Czechoslovakia, 1968 including Dubcek’s reforms, the
invasion and the West’s (lack of) response
Détente: SALT, the Helsinki Agreements and Apollo-Soyuz
The causes and consequences of the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan
The ‘Second Cold War’ and SDI (‘Star Wars’)
Gorbachev and changes in the USSR leading to the collapse of Communism
The break-up of Eastern Europe and the fall of the Berlin Wall
The impact of WWI on the USA and isolationism
Causes of the economic boom
Problems in industry
Problems in agriculture
The ‘roaring 20s’ – culture, entertainment and the flappers
Prohibition and gangsters
Racism and intolerance
Causes of the Wall Street Crash
Consequences of the Wall Street Crash
How Hoover’s government responded to the Wall Street Crash
The impact of the Great Depression on people’s lives
The New Deal: how Roosevelt reacted to the economic problems
The Second New Deal
Opposition to the New Deal
Judging how much the US really recovered by 1941
The growth of unemployment and the government response
The experience of the unemployed
The causes and consequences of the Jarrow Crusade
The start of the war including the BEF, Dunkirk and Churchill becoming Prime Minister
The Battle of Britain
The events and consequences of D-Day and the defeat of Germany
The Blitz and the impact on London, Coventry and other cities
The role of government, food supplies and rationing
The changing role of women during the war
Why Labour won the 1945 election and the changes they made by introducing the welfare state
The Beveridge Report, his ‘five giants’ and the attack on ‘want’
The creation of the NHS and controversy around this
How do I revise effectively?
 Start revising now: there is a lot to know for the exam
 Plan a revision timetable, including breaks
 Go along to revision sessions
 Practice exam questions, including under timed
conditions
 Turn off your phone/tablet/computer when revising
 Go back to each topic you revise a few days later to
check your memory
 Use revision diagrams like flow charts and mind maps
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Making tape recordings of key facts – and then making
notes after you’ve listened to them
Post-it notes – put them anywhere you can!
Create revision ‘flash cards’ – you can carry these
around to look at in your spare moments
Use sketches/cartoons to help you remember
Don’t simply copy out what you’ve already written or
just re-read your book
End every revision session with a quick memory test
What resources do I have?
o Your exercise books – you will have covered all of the topics in class.
o The revision guides the History Department has bought for you.
o You could purchase extra revision guides if you want more depth. See the letter addressed to your parent/guardian.
o Download past papers from the Edexcel/Pearson website and use the ‘Exam advice put simply’ sheets to help you.
o Use the following websites: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/
http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/revision/ http://www.johndclare.net/