History — Historical Enquiry and Essay Skills

Exam board: WJEC  |  Back to subjects

Board-Specific Note

Welsh-focused and British options; unit-based assessment.

Learning Objectives

• Plan a focused inquiry
• Use evidence effectively
• Write balanced conclusions

Key Points

• Framing a historical question
• Evidence weighting
• Balance and judgement in conclusions

Lesson Plan (50 minutes)

1. Starter (5 min): Recall prior knowledge of historical enquiry and essay skills with quick questions.
2. Teaching (15 min): Work through each of the learning objectives, explaining principles step by step.
3. Key points review (5 min): Revisit the key points together, confirming understanding.
4. Worked example (10 min): Model the example question: What makes a good conclusion?. Solution: A justified judgement supported by the strongest evidence
5. Practice (10 min): Students attempt the practice questions independently; circulate and support.
6. Plenary (5 min): Review answers and address misconceptions.

Homework

• Formulate an inquiry question
• Select two pieces of strong evidence
• Write a balanced judgement

Assessment

Check practice answers against the model answer; use the built-in practice questions as formative assessment.