History topic of the month
Highlighting significant moments of diversity and inclusion throughout history, this series of topics will help to generate interesting classroom discussion around diversity and inclusion at Key Stage 3.
Download the worksheets featuring information about the topic and discussion questions to help get the conversation going, as well as the posters to decorate your classroom walls.
Further support
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Exploring History
Creating a passion for history at KS3 that inspires young historians. Explore our KS3 resources in more depth.
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History
- Target for History
- Edexcel A Level History (2015)
Harvey Milk (1930-1978)
One of the first steps towards equality for any community is to get political representation. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, and one of the first in the history of the United States. He came to office championing the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and determined to fight for better lives for everyone in his neighbourhood. He made a huge impact: he was passionate, articulate, and he spoke about “hope”. But he paid a heavy price: murdered in November 1978 by another politician. However, he is an icon for the LGBTQ+ community in America and a symbol of how we are stronger together than apart.
So, how did one man help to win rights and representation for his community?
Mary Seacole (1805-1881)
Mary Seacole crossed the world to help soldiers in their hour of need. She was the daughter of a Scottish Lieutenant in the British Army and a free woman of colour. Mary grew up in Jamaica (part of the British Empire) at a time when many people in the Caribbean were forced to work as enslaved people. Mary was proud not only of her Jamaican roots, but also considered herself British, calling herself ‘Creole’, a term many children of European settlers in the Caribbean used to describe themselves at that time.
So, why did one brave woman cross the world to help save lives?
Raphael Lemkin and the invention of the ‘crime of crimes’
In the late 1940s, at a party in America, a bespectacled middle-aged man in a rather tatty suit asked the person he was talking to: ‘Genocide. What’s that?’ Both people laughed because the person asking was the person who had created the word…and fought for it to be recognised as the ‘crime of crimes’ after the Second World War. In fact, it was all he had thought and talked about for much of his life. So, what is ‘Genocide’? Who was this remarkable man? And why should we remember him today?
Mary Anning (1799 – 1847)
Mary Anning is not a name that everyone is familiar with. Yet she was responsible for fossil discoveries that helped the scientific community to extend their understanding of dinosaurs and the history of the planet. But if her discoveries were so important, why is she not better known? Why did she become almost forgotten for two hundred years? To find out more about the amazing life of Mary Anning download our free resources.
Frederick Douglass (1817-95)
Some of the greatest campaigners against slavery understood how evil it was better than others: they had been enslaved themselves. Frederick Douglass was born into slavery, escaped and became one of the most famous abolitionists and writers in the world. He campaigned against slavery and also for many other social causes, including women’s rights. He worked with Presidents and served in a number of Government positions. Internationally famous, he was one of the most important American intellectuals of the 19th century. To find out more about the amazing life of Frederick Douglass download our free resources.
The story of Nanyehi: a powerful Indigenous Cherokee woman
The story of Nanyehi is one of resistance; she faced many enemies and resisted them all differently. Nanyehi, or Nancy Ward, was a Beloved Woman of the Cherokee and one of the most powerful Indigenous women in North America in the late 1700s. Because of her determined attempts to stop the Cherokee from losing their way of life, she remains a symbol of military, political and cultural resistance today. Find out more about Nanyehi by downloading the free resources for KS3.
The Gay Pride Movement in the UK
To celebrate LGBT+ History month guest author Bex Bothwell-O'Hearn (she/her), a History and Politics teacher at a secondary school in Suffolk, shares the history of the Gay Pride Movement in the UK and the struggle faced by members of the LGBT+ community to achieve equal rights. To find out more download our free resources.
The Epic of Sundiata and the Griots
We tend to assume that most societies have been keeping written records for at least a thousand years. However, many societies did not start using written records until the 14th century. These are known as non-literate societies. You can still find societies like this all around the world. But, even though they did not write down their histories and stories, this did not mean that they had no other ways of recording it and passing it along for future generations. Stories were told and passed on for each generation. This is called an oral tradition.
A great example of this is The Epic of Sundiata, which tells the story of the creation of the Mali Empire. This story has been passed along by storytellers called Griots since the 12th century.
About the author: This piece was written by Saffa Khalil. Saffa works for The Black Curriculum, a social enterprise campaigning for the inclusion of Black British history into the National Curriculum.
Sir Ludwig Guttmann, Stoke Mandeville and the Paralympic Games
UK Disability in History Month is an annual event running from 18 November to 18 December and celebrates the lives of disabled people in the past and present. In the past disability has often been viewed negatively, so it is important that we break existing stereotypes and focus on positive aspects of disability.
This month we feature Sir Ludwig Guttmann, a remarkable doctor, who greatly improved the lives of his patients living with life-altering spinal injuries. As part of his inspirational work, he created the Paraplegic Games that went onto become what we now call the Paralympic Games.
Download the free worksheet and posters to share with your class.
Black cowboys in the American West
October is Black History Month so to celebrate we are taking a look at the black cowboys of the American West. If you have ever seen a photograph of a cowboy or watched a Western film, it is likely that the all the cowboys you saw were white. But just like today, back in the 1800s America was a multi-cultural, hugely diverse society.
There were many black cowboys in the American West. Who were these individuals, and why have so many of them been forgotten by history?
Claudia Jones (1915-1964), Journalist and Activist
Claudia Jones dedicated her life to fighting inequality. She campaigned for equal rights across two continents. She faced racism and prejudice, but was determined to help build a better world.
She wanted to change the lives of ordinary people, by helping them find better homes and jobs, and giving them something they could feel pride in. She always put other people first.
Find out more about Claudia Jones:
