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S1/S2 History

Aims

The aim of the course is to provide an experience of the subject and its skills which will be of value to all pupils, while at the same time providing a foundation for the further study of the subject in S3 and beyond. The course is designed to develop in pupils the ability to

- research an issue effectively
- use historical evidence effectively
- consider all sides of a question before coming to a conclusion
- be tolerant of and understand the value of different opinions
- communicate effectively
- appreciate the value of the History

Assessment

Pupils are assessed in the following skills:

Knowledge & Understanding (KU): their understanding of the course material and ability to describe and explain key points of information.

Collecting & Presenting (C/P): their ability to plan out a substantial piece of work and gather relevant evidence and information to present their findings clearly.

Interpreting & Evaluating (I/E): their ability to investigate historical evidence and also to come to conclusions based upon available information.

Pupils will be asked to write Reports and evaluate contemporary evidence as well as dealing with more straightforward “question and answer” assessments. Reports will test C/P and I/E.

Course Outline

Celtic Society – an in-depth study of "Celtic" life. Assessed through a final Report.

Nationhood and Independence – covers the making of Scotland as a nation and the struggle to maintain independence between 1280 and 1329. KU and I/E assessment based upon the life of an imaginary Scottish nobleman. Course also contains an “unseen” KU test.

Burgh Life – covers life in the Scottish Borders and Burghs between the 14th and 17th centuries. Includes a site study and assessment based upon the evaluation of sites as historical evidence (testing I/E). Also assessed through final Report. Course also contains an “unseen” KU test.

Nationhood and Union - background to and discussion of the Treaty of Union 0f 1707.
Assessment through evaluation of historical evidence (based upon the Massacre of Glencoe –
I/E) and essay following class debate (I/E).

Nazism and Holocaust – a close study of life of Anne Frank. KU work.

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Standard Grade History

Skills

Standard Grade History is built around Knowledge and Understanding. This is a basic subject skill and the basis for progress in all other skills. It involves understanding factual information, concepts and frameworks of all kinds. It is fundamental to the ability to gather relevant information for a particular task, assess the importance of, for example, events and individuals or groups in a wider context, understanding cause, motivation, effect and so on. Understanding of this kind is the building block for the whole subject.

Enquiry Skills consist of a continuation of Interpreting/Evaluating described in the course description for First and Second Years. Candidates are expected to be able to evaluate sources effectively, and also to come to a balanced and persuasive conclusion about an issue under exam conditions based upon recalled information as well as information presented in sources.

The Course

Unit 1: Changing Life in Scotland and Britain – 1880s to the Present Day

Population growth and distribution	- reasons for growth - redistribution in countryside and town - immigration to and emigration from Scotland
Technological change and its effects on	- shipbuilding - developments in road transport
Changes in social conditions	- health and welfare - housing
Changes in employment and working conditions	- for women - the role of trade unions
Extension of the franchise	- the movement for votes for women

Unit 2: International Co-operation and Conflict 1890s to 1920s

The “great powers”	- alliances and agreements - naval arms race - Balkans 1908 – 1913 - Sarajevo and the outbreak of war
Experience of the war	- the trenches - the “home front”
New technology and its effects on the war
Treaty of Versailles 1919 and the treatment of Germany
Search for security through the League of Nations 1919 – 1928

Unit 3: People and Power. Russia 1914 – 1941

What Tsarist government was like

Discontent under the Tsar	- economic hardship - political opposition - effects of the First World War
“February Revolution” 1917	- formation and characteristics of the   Provisional Government
Discontent under Provisional Government	- continuation of the war - failure to solve economic and social   problems
“October Revolution” 1917	- the Bolshevik government
Civil War	- “reds” versus “whites” - war communism - New Economic Policy
Government of Stalin	- Five-Year Plans - Collectivisation - Political purges

The course will be taught using a variety of methods and materials including original sources, video and on-site work. Pupils will be encouraged to think through problems and issues and to come up with ideas that they can justify when coming to a conclusion.

Assessment

Assessment will consist of tests designed to measure progress in the key skills of the subject at this level. They are Knowledge and Understanding and Enquiry Skills. The final exam tests both these skills areas across all 3 units of the course.

Homework

Pupils should expect homework every week. This may be research, thinking through ideas, written exercises or other relevant activities.

For further information on History at Standard Grade, please see any member of the History Department

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Intermediate 1/2 History

Entry Requirements

Standard Grade at Foundation or General, depending on which level to be studied

Course Content

The course consists of a close study of historical evidence, argument and discussion and the gathering of information. Essay skills are developed at Intermediate 2.

The Intermediate course covers three topic areas:

Section 1: Immigrants and Exiles: Scotland 1830s - 1930s

The immigration of the Irish to Scotland
The reasons why they came and where they settled
Living and working conditions of the Irish in Scotland
The attitude of the Scots to the Irish

Emigration from Scotland
Why did people leave Scotland
The "push" and "pull" factors
The emigrants' life abroad
Occupations
"Enterprising Scots"

Section 2: From the Cradle to the Grave? Social Welfare in Britain 1890s - 1951

The problem of poverty around the 1900s
The Liberal government and reform 1906 - 1914
Further achievements in the inter-war period
The Labour government 1945 51 and the Welfare State

Section 3: This Accursed Trade: the British Slave Trade and its Abolition 1770 - 1807

The origins of the slave trade and how it was organised
The experience of the slaves themselves
The effects of the slave trade on Africa, the West Indies and Britain
Resistance by the slaves
The campaign for the abolition of slavery
Why the trade was finally abolished and why it took so long.

Note: Students who wish to take the final exam must satisfy the Learning Outcomes of the course in the Unit Assessments for the level at which they wish to be entered. For those students who do not, entry in the final exams at a lower level may be possible.

Assessment

Ongoing assessment is mainly based upon the type of final assessment required on the course, which combines evidence work with short essays (at Intermediate 2 only). Unit assessments will take place at the end of each unit, and are designed to show that you have managed to attain the basic skills of that unit.

Intermediate 2

Extended Essay

In Intermediate 2 only, you are required to write what is called an Extended Essay This will normally be on an issue of your choice from the first two topics of the course. You are given time to research your essay and produce an essay plan consisting of no more than 150 words. This will be taken into the classroom with you when you write your extended essay. You will be given 1 hour to write it.
This will normally be written in March.

External Exam

This consists of one paper lasting 1 hour 30 minutes

Part 1 of the paper examines knowledge and understanding and you are required to write a short essay . This may be from any of the historical contexts studied.

Part 2 is divided into three sections. You are required to use sources and recall to explain historical events in all three areas of historical study

Intermediate 1

In Intermediate 1 you are not required to write an extended essay.

Final Examination

This consists of one paper lasting 1 hour 30 minutes.

You must answer questions on all contexts. There is no short essay as in Intermediate 2 and all questions are source-based.

Homework

Homework is regular and may involve research, note taking, and preparation of argument or assessment practice.

A department booklet exists giving more detailed information on all of the above.

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Higher History (Option C: Later Modern History)

Entry Requirements

Standard Grade Credit or Intermediate 2

Course Content

Section 1: Growth of German Nationalism

“Liberal Nationalism” Growth 1815 – 1850s. Its impact on German development.

Bismarck and German Unification - the wars of unification and an assessment of Bismarck's contribution to unifying Germany.

The "Weimar Republic" 1918-29 and the rise of the Nazis. A study of Germany after the First World War, and how and why the Nazis achieved power

The Nazi State. What Nazi Germany was like, how much popular support there was for this government.

This section is assessed through essays.

Section 2: Appeasement and the Road to War

The League of Nations and “collective security” - questions on how to deal with aggression

The Italian invasion of Abyssinia

The Spanish Civil War

The advance of Hitler:

1 The re-occupation of the Rhineland 2 The "Anschluss" with Austria 3 The Czechoslovakia crisis and the Munich agreement 1938

This section is discussed and assessed through the use of primary source material.

Section 3: Britain 1850s – 1979

The development of Democracy 1850s - 1979.

Women’s Suffrage and related issues - how successful have the various movements for equality been?

Changing Scottish Society 1880s - 1939. A special study of features of Scottish life (leisure, sport, family life etc) through these years which looks at the extent to which a distinctive Scottish identity can be recognised

Political change and government intervention to relieve poverty and deprivation 1850s - 1979:

1 Growth of the labour movement 1850s – 1900 2 Liberal Government and reform (1906 - 1914) 3 Liberalism and Labour (1906 – 1920s) 4 Depression and the National Governments 1931 – 39 5 Labour Government (1945 – 51) and the "welfare state"

This section is assessed through essays.

Unit Assessments

Unit assessments take place at the end of each unit. They are designed to show that you have managed to attain the basic skills of that unit. These are described as the Learning Outcomes (LOs) for that unit. To achieve each Learning Outcome you need to meet certain criteria or standards. These are described as Performance Criteria (PCs).

Note:

Students who wish to take the final exam must satisfy the Learning Outcomes of the course in the Unit Assessments. For those students who do not, entry in the final exams at Intermediate 2 level may be possible.

The Final Exam

The Higher exam in History consists of 1 Extended Essay written in March, and two papers sat in the summer.

Extended Essay (20%)

This is an essay written in one 2 hour session under examination conditions. Candidates will devise and research their own question and draw up a 200 word plan which they will be able to take into the room with them. The essays are sent to the Exam Board and marked externally.

Paper 1 (50%)

This is the essay paper in the final exam. Candidates will be expected to write two essays - one each from sections 1 and 3 of the course (German Nationalism and Britain 1850 - 19179). This paper will last 11/2 hours.

Paper 2 (30%)

This is the source-based paper in the final exam. Candidates will be expected to answer 8 questions based upon a range of sources from Section 2 of the course (Appeasement and the Road to War). This paper also lasts 11/2 hours.

Teaching and Learning

The Higher course consists of teacher-led and student-led activities. There are both lively argument and discussion sessions and times for quiet research and note-taking. We focus very much on the issues which lie at the heart of the topics we cover, and all class work and assessment is preceded by extensive discussion of these.

Class work will consist of research, note-taking, preparation for discussion as well as the various assessments which are done. Every so often we will have a seminar on a topic, where certain students will be invited to prepare a paper and present this to the rest of the group, who will then respond in a general discussion. This kind of work is good preparation for the discussion meetings which are a regular feature of many jobs, as well as being excellent training for seminars and tutorials at university and college. Higher students need to be able to work well under their own initiative, and be responsible and motivated enough to pursue tasks without constant supervision.

Homework

Homework is regular and may involve research, note taking, and preparation of argument or assessment practice.

A department booklet exists giving more detailed information on all of the above

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Advanced Higher History

Entry Requirements

Higher Grade History at Grade B or above

Field of study

“The House Divided”: USA (1850 – 1865)

A study of American society and tensions within it, the causes and nature of conflict, the political, social and economic outcomes of that conflict, focusing on the themes of conflict, rights, identity and authority.

American society on the eve of war, including: political, economic and social questions arising out of the newly acquired territories; centralised Federation in conflict with States' rights; conflict between the Southern slave economy and Northern industrialism.

The coming of war, including: the civil rights questions; the failure of compromise; the outbreak of war.

The Civil War, including: military events and developments from Union and Confederate viewpoints; the role of foreign powers in the conflict; the experience of blacks during the war.

The effects of war, including: the political consequences; social and economic conditions in North and South.

Course Themes

Assessment

Assessment is on going and will reflect the format of the final exam (essays and source based questions). There will be an end of unit assessment for both essay and source based papers.

The final exam consists of two papers. The essay paper lasts two hours and the source-based paper one hour. In addition to this there is a Dissertation which must be completed before the exam. This will be approximately 4,000 words long and will constitute 50% of the final grade.

Students of Advanced Higher History will be required to demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of the historical themes of the course, and show ability to analyse issues, developments and events evaluating sources, drawing conclusions and considering alternative interpretations.

Homework

Homework will consist mainly of gathering information (considerable at this level) from a wide variety of sources, preparation of materials for discussion or assessment practice.

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