Dale Banham, 'Getting ready for the Grand Prix: learning how to build a substantiated argument in Year 7' in Teaching History 92: Explanation and Argument issue

This seminal article demonstrated how the author planned an enquiry to be taught over a long period blending in-depth study with overviews of history.  Banham gave time for pupils to prepare for written argument, making skilful use of writing frames and creative 'sorting' so that the scaffolding helped pupils to see the organisational problem in relation to the question set.   His fresh thinking about inspirational metaphors and images to enable pupils (especially underachieving boys) to write analytically and at length has influenced much planning since publication.  Scaffolding was used flexibly and sometimes differentiated according to ability.  It never became a distraction or hindrance for pupils on their learning journey.