A video like this could be used at the start of a lesson to introduce a new topic. Videos like this show that the people of the past were not entirely different to ourselves, and can allow students to feel more connected to the past.

The article states that many historians have found a lot of little inaccuracies with the videos. However, the creators of the videos claim that they are not meant to be a completely accurate depiction, but rather meant to give viewers a feeling of what it was like to live through these eras.

Minecraft education is an excellent educational tool that has many different worlds that students can play in. There are several historical worlds that could be used in the history classroom to replicate life in the past through game based learning activities.

I was introduced to this website by a teacher while I was on my previous placement.

They also provide sample assessments for each year level and clearly map out how the curriculum and learning outcomes are incorporated into assessments.

The Year 7 History units begin with a unit overview that maps out the knowledge and skills that will be taught, the achievement standard, and the formative and summative assessment tasks that can be used. Each lesson plan includes detailed steps

These lesson plans are highly flexible, with suggestions included for how they might be tailored to suit the classes needs. This includes ICT integration. The lessons already suggest some ways to include digital tools, for example, presenting their findings to a research project in a digital presentation that must include visual and audio elements, which could be a PowerPoint presentation with a voice over.

One of the suggested assessments is a great example of problem-based learning that involves a real-world scenario. It involves students creating a pitch for an episode of a made-up ABC TV show called ‘Archaeological Story’. This assessment gives students the chance to be creative in their response and also involves group work which fosters collaboration.

I could easily adapt the lesson plans to suit the content I am teaching or for the needs of my students. I would use this resource as a framework for planning my lessons, considering all of the elements the lesson plans include:

-          Differentiation

-          ICT integration

-          Formative/summative assessment

-          Student-centred learning

-          Scaffolding