History

Principal Teacher: Mrs Orr

In addition to standard S1/S2 courses, the department also offers the following courses:

Standard Grade
Intermediate 1 and 2
Higher

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Standard Grade

Levels: Foundation, general and credit

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AIMS
The Standard Grade History Course involves pupils
in studying the causes and consequences of change
in the last 200 years.

The aims of the course are :

to give pupils an understanding of past events;
to develop an awareness of how these events
affect life and society today;
to develop analytical skills using evidence;
to enable students to reach informed conclusions
about events using Knowledge and Enquiry skills.


CONTENT
The Standard Grade course covers 3 separate areas :

CHANGING  SCOTLAND / BRITAIN 1830  -  1930
This is the period which witnesses the development of transport, industry, votes for ordinary people and better housing.

INTERNATIONAL  CO-OPERATION  AND  CONFLICT  1890s - 1920s
This Unit covers the First World War - what caused it, trench warfare, life at home, rationing, new jobs for women etc.

GERMANY 1918 - 1939
The study of this Unit covers Germany and the development of the Nazi Party to the establishment of the Third Reich.


ASSESSMENT
The external examination, at the end of S4, will award a grade for Knowledge and Understanding  and a grade for Enquiry Skills.

Intermediate 1 and 2

Entry requirements: See description below

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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
INT 1 : Foundation grade 5 or 6 in any Social Subject.
INT 2 : General grade 3 or 4 in any Social Subject. General/Credit grade in English.

These courses are suitable for pupils who may wish to continue studying History but are not, in their opinion, or that of the Principal Teacher, ready at that point to undertake a challenging Higher History course.

Intermediate 2

Also, pupils who are interested in studying History as an option in S6 but did not study Standard Grade History may feel that Intermediate 2 appeals to them.

COURSE CONTENT:

There are three assessable units in Intermediate 2 History.

Scottish and British -  From the cradle to the grave? Social Welfare in Britain 1890s -1951
In this unit, pupils will look at the issue of poverty in Britain and its impact during the 19th and 20th century. The unit focuses on the steps taken by individuals and government to alleviate poverty in the years 1890 - 1951.

Scottish and British - Immigrants & Exiles

This unit covers the movement of population. Pupils will study those people who moved to Scotland in the 19th century looking for a better life. They will also look at the movement of people within Scotland, especially from the Highlands to the Lowlands. Finally pupils will look at the reasons why some Scottish people decided to leave and start a new life abroad.

European and World -  The Road to War

In this unit pupils will study the reasons for the Second World War breaking out in 1939. They will look at the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, Hitler's Foreign Policy and the failure of appeasement.

METHODOLOGY

A wide variety of methodologies will be used to allow pupils to enhance skills required for Intermediate 2. Pupils will build on the skills of knowledge and understanding and source evaluation. Teaching methods will include teacher led discussion group work and individual work. The use if IT will be a feature for course delivery.

ASSESSMENT

Pupils are required to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of historical developments, explain historical developments and evaluate sources. At the end of each unit pupils will be required to sit an internal assessment. At Intermediate 2, pupils are required to write an extended response from anyone of the units studied. This is undertaken in March and submitted to the SQA.

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT

Intermediate 2 - Pupils are required to write a short essay and answer a series of knowledge and understanding questions and evaluating questions. The exam will last for 1 hour 45 minutes.

Intermediate 1 - Pupils answer a series of knowledge and understanding and evaluating questions. The exam lasts for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Progression

Achievement of Intermediate 2 will enable candidates to progress to Higher

Higher

Entry requirements: See description below

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RECOMMENDED ENTRY:
Credit Grade 1, 2 or other Social Subject S6 pupils should be undertaking Higher English
OR
have a pass in Higher English

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this course is to provide breadth and depth in the knowledge and understanding of historical concepts, through study of chosen contexts. It is also intended to develop skills of evaluating events and sources of investigating issues.

COURSE_CONTENT:

Historical Study: Scottish & British (40 hours)

Option C : Later Modern History - Britain 1850s - 1979
A study of political and popular attempts to influence the development of Britain This includes:
The Growing Power of the People (authority)
The growth of democracy
The development of women's suffrage

Changing Attitudes to Poverty (ideology)
The Liberal Welfare Reforms 1906 - 1914
The setting up of the Welfare State

Historical Study: European and World (40 hours)

Option C: Later Modern History - The growth of Nationalism
A study of ideology, identity and authority in Western Europe from 1815 - 1939 as shown through nationalism in Germany.Including :
The Unification of Germany
The Weimar Republic
The Rise of the Nazis
The Nazi State

Historical Special Topic (40 hours)

Appeasement and Road to War to 1939

In this unit pupils study :The impact of the Great War on the Great Powers
The failure of the League of Nations
German foreign policy and rearmament
The failure of appeasement
The German re-occupation of the Rhineland
The Spanish Civil War
The Auschluss with Austria
The Czechoslovakian Crisis and the Munich agreement
The invasion of Poland


METHODOLOGY :
Throughout the course, you will develop important skills including the ability to analyse historical developments and events. You will build on the skills learned at Standard Grade, such as the evaluating of sources and placing them within an historical context. Knowledge and understanding of the topics covered is vital for all assessments. Essay writing skills will be developed and practised in class.

Pupils' work includes individual tasks group work and pair tasks. Pupils will require to present information from researched topic areas of the class.

ASSESSMENT :

Internal Assessment

Pupils must achieve all the learning outcomes to pass the internal assessment.
There is one assessment for each unit. The Learning Outcomes must be achieved for a pupil to gain an overall award in the course.

External Assessment

Pupils are required to undertake an extended essay. Pupils are given preparation time in class - 2 hours under examination conditions is given for the extended essay. This is undertaken in March and submitted to SQA for external marking.

The final exam comprises of 2 papers:

Paper 11 hour 20 minutes

Paper 21 hour 25 minutes