Scottish: The Wars of Independence, 1286 -1328 (Until Session 2016/17)

• The death of Alexander III and the succession crisis after 1286
• The reign of John Balliol
• William Wallace and the struggle for independence ~ Battle of Stirling Bridge, death of Wallace
• Robert Bruce and the continuing struggle against English rule ~ Battle of Bannockburn, Declaration of Independence, King Robert I

 

Scottish: Migration and Empire, 1830–1939 (Starting Session 2017/18)

• Immigration to Scotland, 1830s–1939 ~  Famine in Ireland, immigration from Eastern Europe
• Experience of immigrants to Scotland, 1830s–1939 ~ Experience of the Irish in Scotland, sectarianism, football rivalries

• Scottish emigration, 1830s–1939 ~ Highland Clearances, Life in the Highlands

 

• Experience of Scots abroad, 1830s–1939 ~ Scots impact on the Empire, Andrew Carnegie, John Muir

 

British: Changing Britain, 1760 – 1900

• Health and housing ~ Slum housing and disease a local perspective
• Industry – innovation and working conditions in textile factories and coal mines
• Transport – the development of canals and railways
• The growth of democracy

 

European and World: Free at Last? 1918-1968

• The ‘Open Door’ policy and immigration, to 1928
• ‘Separate but equal’, to 1939 ~ Jim Crow, KKK, lynching, life in the south
• Civil rights campaigns, 1945–65 ~ Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Freedom Rides, Sit ins, Selma Alabama
• The ghettos and black American radicalism ~ Violence and protest, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Stokely Carmichael, Black Panthers

 

Learning, Teaching & Assessment

 

A wide range of teaching and learning strategies will be employed throughout the course. Pupils will have the opportunity to undertake a range of individual and group activities. Examples include note taking, research exercises, essay writing, poster work, oral presentations, role-play, debate, and board games.

 

Pupils will also have the opportunity to attend a number of curricular visits. Planned excursions include a day trip to New Lanark cotton mills.

 

As part of good teaching practice, teachers will regularly monitor student work with a view to identifying particular strengths and weaknesses.

 

In addition the department will employ various forms of assessment to provide as full a picture as possible of individual student attainment. Students presented at National 5 will sit an external examination at the end of S4. The National 4 course is internally assessed with a pass or fail outcome.

 

Pupils should expect to receive two lengthy homework pieces per month.