KING JAMES’S SCHOOL
HISTORY DEPARTMENT
KS3 HISTORY COURSE OVERVIEW
YEAR 7
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Why did William win the
Battle of Hastings?
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How did William control
England?
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Did towns make people free?
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Why did Henry and Becket’s
quarrel turn bitter and fatal?
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Was King John truly the
“worst king of England”?
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Why was the Black Death so
terrifying
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What really happened on the
14th June 1381?
YEAR 9
YEAR 8
Why did Henry VIII stop following
the Pope in the 16th century?
When was it most dangerous to speak your mind
under the Tudors?
How well did Elizabeth solve the problems of her
reign?
Why did the King and Parliament
go to war in 1642?
Was there a typical experience
during the Civil War?
Was Oliver Cromwell a sinner or a saint?
Was John Hampden right about 1688?
Why did Britain become the workshop of the
world?
What was it really like for child
factory workers?
What did it mean to be a slave?
The Native Americans
 How were Native American tribes so different?
 What was life like for the Sioux?
 How did the arrival of Europeans change the
Native American way of life?
 Why did Custer lose the Battle of Little Big Horn?
 What sort of changes did Native Americans
experience after Little Big Horn?
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Why did the World go to war in 1914?
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Why was the war not over by Christmas?
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Why did men sign up to fight in WWI?
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How did British soldiers experience of
the war change 1914 – 1918?
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Were the British army lions led by
donkeys?
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How did WWI affect Knaresborough?
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Did the USA win WWI?
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Did WWI get women the vote?
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Why did people at the time think the
Treaty of Versailles was unfair?
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Why did the World go to war in 1939?
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How close did Britain come
to losing the war in 1940?
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Why it so hard to tell if there
was such a thing as a Blitz spirit?
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What were the key turning points of
WWII?
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How could the Holocaust
have happened?
KING JAMES’S SCHOOL
HISTORY DEPARTMENT
YEAR 8 HISTORY LEARNING JOURNEY
When was it most
dangerous to
speak your mind
under the Tudors?
LEARNING
CYCLE
1
1547-1603
Why did the King
and Parliament go
to war in 1642?
Why did Henry
VIII stop following
the Pope in the
16th Century?
1642-1649
1558-1603
How well did
Elizabeth solve
the problems of
her reign?
1625-1658
Was Oliver
Cromwell
a sinner
or a saint?
1876-1900
Why did
Custer lose
the Battle
of Little Big
Horn?
LEARNING
CYCLE
What did it mean
to be a slave?
LEARNING
CYCLE
1850-1876
1800-1850
How did the arrival
of Europeans
change the Native
American way of
life?
How were Native
American tribes
different?
What was life like
for the Sioux?
4
Was there a
typical experience
during the Civil
War?
Was it Elizabeth’s
skill that defeated
the Spanish
Armada?
What sort of changes
did Native Americans
experience after
Little Big Horn?
1876
1625-1642
LEARNING
CYCLE
2
1509-1536
LC assessments are
shown in a white box
1600-1807
3
What was it really
like for child
factory workers?
1760-1840
1688
1760-1840
Why did Britain
become the
workshop of the
world?
Was John
Hampden right
about 1688?
KING JAMES’S SCHOOL
HISTORY DEPARTMENT
YEAR 9 HISTORY LEARNING JOURNEY
LEARNING
CYCLE
1
Why was the war
not over by
Christmas?
Were the British
army lions led by
donkeys?
1914
1914-1918
1914
How could the
Holocaust have
happened?
Does Haig deserve to
be remembered as
the Butcher of the
Somme?
LEARNING
CYCLE
1916
2
1915
Why did the world
go to war in 1914?
LC assessments are
shown in a white box
Why did men sign
up to fight in
WWI?
1914-1918
How did
WWI affect
Knaresborough?
Year 9 exam
1941-1945
1918
Why did the
world go to
war in 1939?
LEARNING
CYCLE
4
1919-1939
1939-1945
1940-1941
What were the key
turning points of
WW2?
Why is it so hard to
tell if there was a
Blitz Spirit?
Did the USA
win WWI?
Why did people at the
time think the Treaty of
Versailles was unfair?
1919
LEARNING
CYCLE
3
1918
Did WW1
get women
the vote?