The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer

However, to further enhance my subject knowledge of the Peasants Revolt I also thought it necessary to read sections of Dan Jones Summer of Blood: The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.

For high attainers or student with a passion for history, Mortimer’s books provide a great introduction to a period (I recommended a Y7 to read his Elizabethan England). Both me and my mentor remarked that this book is a fantastic introductory text to the period. My sense of the period had been enhanced by the substantive knowledge I gained from the detailed accounts Mortimer presents within his writing. It has already had an affect on my teaching of the Peasants’ Revolt. In addition, as my sequence focus explores how sources are used to make historical claims, I was also interested in which sources Mortimer used to construct his account. Although Y7 had been taught the black death, I felt it was important to recap the impact in my lesson sequence. A prominent feature that emerged was the impact of the Black death. Mortimer splits his chapters into clear themes, whist all interesting, I predominantly focused upon the first two chapters, exploring the landscape and the people. As my own knowledge of this time period was sparse, my mentor recommended Mortimer as his writing style makes it an enjoyable read, whilst simultaneously providing a detailed understanding and picture for the period. The decision to choose Mortimer as our piece of historical scholarship was predominantly driven by my focus for an upcoming scheme of work: the Peasants Revolt. Today’s reflections on Iam Mortimer’s Time Travellers’ Guides are written by Lucy Flexen and Habibat Alabi. Sometimes the reading has led directly to specific teaching ideas for a particular class or to a change in practice, but the posts also illustrate the different ways in which reading and discussing historical scholarship can support continuing professional development – for experienced teachers as much as for trainees. The purpose of this reading was not necessarily for use directly in teaching, rather to emphasise to trainees the importance of continuing to update their subject knowledge and the value of discussion with colleagues. In this series of daily blogposts, teacher trainees reflect on a book that they read and discussed with their mentors. How has a book changed your thinking? How has a book given you new ideas for future practice? We are also keen to share colleagues’ thoughts about useful books they have read. Please send additions when you find them. It’s a resource that we can keep expanding as #obhd. In this blogpost we responded to requests for book reviews linked to a teacher subject knowledge reading list.

The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer