Most Able - History

Most Able in History

How do we identify a Most Able History student?

A Most Able student in History is one who has a keen passion for the subject, which is shown in their verbal contributions and written work. They also will possess the ability to construct well-reasoned explanations of why something has happened, consider different views of historical events, be able to suggest what they can learn from sources and work hard to improve their work after feedback. Above all, these students also tend to enjoy reading different books, attend extra-curricular History trips in school and may also visit different sites with their families outside of school time.

How can a Most Able student extend their learning outside of the classroom?

To extend a Most Able student’s learning outside of lesson, we can recommend that they do extra reading around historical events- either generally or linked specifically to topics we are teaching during lessons. There are a number of authors who have written historical fiction which allows students to ease themselves into reading history rather than straight into non-fiction or reference books. Horrible Histories books are also a fun way for KS3 students to extend their knowledge before moving onto more serious books as they progress towards GCSE. We also strongly advise that students visit local history sites with their families, there are many around Bedfordshire and some of these are free to enter. Also we are geographically close to London’s historical sites, attractions and museums. Although some cost money to enter, you can find deals online to reduce costs for you on both entry and train travel.

Recommended reading list

FICTION

TITLE	AUTHOR
The Watson’s Go to Birmingham - 1963	Christopher Paul Curtis
Fever 1793	Laurie Halse Anderson
Chains	Laurie Halse Anderson
The Lions of Little Rock	Kristin Levine
Treasure Island	Robert Louis Stevenson
Between Shades of Gray	Ruta Sepetys
The Book Thief	Markus Zusak
The Secret Lake	Karen Inglis
Waiting for Anya	Michael Morpurgo
War Horse	Michael Morpurgo
Private Peaceful	Michael Morpurgo
The Boy in Striped Pyjamas	John Boyne
Salt to the Sea	Ruta Sepetys
Code Name Verity	Elizabeth E. Wein
Under a Painted Sky	Stacey Lee
Orphan Monster Spy	Matt Killeen
Where the World Ends	Geraldine McCaughrean
Letters from the Lighthouse	Emma Carroll
Number the Stars	Lois Lowry
Bud, Not Buddy	Christopher Paul Curtis
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry	Mildred D. Taylor
Catherine, Called Birdy	Karen Cushman
Turtle in Paradise	Jennifer L. Holm
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit	Judith Kerr
Listening For Lions	Gloria Whelan
The Boy Who Dared	Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Journey to the River Sea	Eva Ibbotson
A Long Walk to Water	Linda Sue Park
The Sisters of St Croix	Diney Costeloe
The Runaway Family	Diney Costeloe
The Girl With No Name	Diney Costeloe

NON-FICTION

TITLE	AUTHOR
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History	Vashti Harrison
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes	Eleanor Coerr
Fantastically Great Women Who Made History	Kate Pankhurst
The Rotten Romans (Horrible Histories)	Terry Deary
The Vicious Vikings (Horrible Histories)	Terry Deary
Smashing Saxons (Horrible Histories)	Terry Deary
The Diary of Anne Frank	Anne Frank
A Short History of the World	Ruth Brocklehurst and Henry Brook
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia	Candace Fleming
I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban	Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
Unbroken: An Olympian’s Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive	Laura Hillenbrand
Americanized: Rebel Without A Green Card	Sara Saedi
Tasting the Sky	Ibtisam Barakat
My Name is Number 4: A True Story from the Cultural Revolution	Ting-xing Ye
The 57 Bus	Dashka Slater
Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights: From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment	Deborah Kops
Blood, Bullets and Bones: The Story of Forensic Science	Bridget Heos
Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam	Elizabeth Partridge
The Distance Between Us	Reyna Grande

How we support Most Able in lessons

Examples of techniques used to challenge students in History lessons include:

Extended questioning
Consider the alternative viewpoint in addition to one we have studied in class
Paired work to teach another student
Debating
Leadership within group work
Making judgements on interpretations and opinions

Useful websites

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zk26n39 (KS3)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zj26n39 (KS4)

www.senecalearning.com (revision tool)

https://www.history.org.uk/student/categories/history-resources-for-students (Historical Association)

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/ (articles updated monthly)