What is the course?

History is the study of who we are.  By looking at the events of the past, their causes and their impacts, we can understand more clearly how our values and culture developed into what they are today, and why these are important.

The S3 History course will begin to develop and refine the key skills specific to History.  These include:

• Applying knowledge and understanding of historical topics
• Interpreting historical evidence to build a picture of life in the past
• Evaluating the reliability of historical evidence
• Developing an understanding of chronology, cause and effect

How will I learn?

• Using field work and primary source research to investigate historical issues
• Lessons use video clips, music, library resources and other media to enrich the learning experience.
• Students can often choose a range of ways to present their work according to their preferred learning style
• Assessments are graded on a gold, silver and bronze scale to make it easier to see how to progress to the next level and set targets

What topics will I learn?

• The Great War – This conflict changed the map of Europe, destroying 3 empires and ultimately leading to the rise of Communism and Nazism.
• The USA: Era of the Cold War – This examines some of the key events that created the modern USA: conflict with the USSR, the Space Race, the Civil Rights movement and Kennedy’s assassination.
• The Romans – What did they ever do for us? Quite a lot, apparently.
• Historical study – Select and research a historical topic to create a special project for

Curricular Pathways:  S3 History also allows progression to National level History, Modern Studies, Geography, Business Management and Administration.

What skills are developed?

Hot Skills:

• Knowledge – Describing, explaining, analysing and evaluating (making judgements based on evidence)
• Using evidence – identifying, interpreting, comparing, evaluating reliability

Skills for life, learning and work:

• Essay writing and close reading
• Organisation and time-management
• Revision techniques and strategies

How will I be assessed?

A range of assessment techniques is used:

• Rich assessments produced as part of classwork
• Formal exam style assessments
• A final National level style research project

What might this help me with when I leave school?

Careers or further study in History, Heritage and Tourism, Teaching, Archaeology, Politics, Media and Broadcasting and Journalism.