Impact of Empires, 2nd Edition

By Jamie Byrom, Michael Riley, et al.
September 2008
Hodder Education
Distrubuted by Trans-Atlantic Publications Inc.
ISBN: 9780340957684
144 pages, Illustrated, 8 1/2" x 10 7/8"
$29.95 Paper original

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Summary:
This is History! is the Schools History Project's radical new scheme of work for Key Stage 3 National Curriculum history. It offers a varied, relevant and challenging scheme of work for the whole Key Stage 3 history programme of study.

The Impact of Empire, tells the story of the British Empire from the 1480s to the present. The British Empire is an important yet under-taught topic in British schools. This book aims to redress that balance by providing intriguing and relevant case studies, telling powerful stories and providing activities which engage pupils with the key ideas and which make this vast topic accessible to all teachers and all pupils whatever their ability.

Through a combination of in-depth and overview units the book covers 500 years of history, from the story of Britain's first colony of Roanoke in North America (a failure) to the powerful legacy of colonialism in contemporary multicultural Britain.

All the units are relatively self-contained allowing them to be slotted into the other history units in your scheme of work as required or the units can be used together as a whole course to last half a term or more.

The content coverage is broad: it touches on North America, the Caribbean, West Africa, the Middle East and India. Separate units investigate the slave trade, the scramble for Africa and transportation to Australia. There are three linked units telling the story of British involvement in India from the early traders through the East India Company to the story of Gandhi and decolonisation in the 1940s. It examines both the impact of the Empire on Britain itself and its impact on the colonised nations.

The skills focus is on interpretations: how we can tell the story of something so vast and varied; and why people differ in their interpretations of the Empire.

The Pupil's Book is supported by a Teacher's Resource Book providing help with all the main tasks and further activities to help you vary the learning styles.

    * Lots of stories: new stories, new angles on old stories, stories about people
    * Case-study based - drawing from North America, the Caribbean, India, Africa and Australia
    * Covers 500 years of the British Empire
    * Part of the Schools History Project's radical new scheme of work for National Curriculum History - the This is History series
    * A direct focus on the historical concept of interpretations

Table of Contents:
Introduction: the big picture
Get an overview of 500 years of the British Empire
1. Roanoke: what went wrong with England’s first colony?
Decide for yourself why it failed
2. 'Accidental rulers'?: how did the British take control of India?
Play the East India Company trading game to find out
3. Empire builders: what do we think of Wolfe and Clive?
Reach your judgement on these 'heroes of empire'
4. Empire and slavery: how can we tell the story of Britain’s slave trade?
Use the evidence to tell two different versions of the slave trade
Review 1 – What does the British Empire look like in 1783 and how has it got like this?
5. Convict colony: what makes a good historical film?
Plan your own movie
6. Hidden histories: what can little-known stories tell us about British India?
Draw a graph to show changing relationships in India
7. Out of Africa: who should have the Benin head?
Trace the history of the bronze head and decide where it belongs now
8. Images of empire: how was the British Empire portrayed?
Tackle the picture challenges to work out what children were expected to think of the British Empire
Review 2 What does the British Empire look like in 1900 and how has it got like this?
9. End of empire: what persuaded the British to quit India in 1947?
Write a letter to Lord Mountbatten persuading him to grant India independence
10. Ireland: Why do people tell different stories about Ireland and the British Empire?
Put words in the mouth of Ian and Patrick to show what they thought of the Empire
11. High Hopes: What helped and hindered Gertrude Jekyll's dreams for the Middle East
Use your knowledge to improve a dodgy internet encyclopaedia
12. The Empire comes home: How can we uncover the stories of Britain’s Commonwealth migrants?
Think of good questions for an interview with a Commonwealth migrant
Conclusion. Your final challenge.
Uncover present day links to the British Empire

 

About the Author(s):

Michael Riley is Senior Lecturer in History at Bath Spa University College. Jamie Byrom is History Adviser in Devon. Both are popular history trainers for the Schools History Project and the Historical Association, and co-authors of Think Through History. Christopher Culpin is Director of the Schools History Project and Series Editor of the This is History! series.

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