Analogies and metaphors are crucial to thinking and memorising, helping make new knowledge memorable. Structural analogies help pupils understand content/concepts. For example, analogies linked to building can be used to highlight different interpretations of the reforms introduced by Stresemann in 1920s Germany. Did he build strong foundations or simply paper over the cracks that had appeared in Weimar Germany’s economy and society? However, functional analogies – those that make thinking visible and help pupils organise and communicate their ideas - are also very important.

For example:

• ‘hamburger paragraphs’ help students ‘see’ how to structure a paragraph and provide a potent source of analogy for teaching. Analogies can explain how all three components of a paragraph (the opening statement, the evidence, the mini-conclusion linking back to the question) combine to make an effective piece of writing, just as the three components combine to make a hamburger.

See example Page KP5-a

•  ‘Connective ropes’ help students see the importance of linking what they know to the question they are answering and therefore help them move from ‘saying’ that an individual or event was important to ‘proving’ that they were important. Exemplar causal connectives include ‘this meant that’ and ‘this resulted in’. These should be incorporated into the ‘word walls’ that are built up during a course as they empower students to think at a deeper level.

See example Page KP5-b

• Iceberg visuals help students see that there is more to a question than initially meets the eye. In questions such as ‘The Wall Street Crash was the main reason Hitler got into power. How far to you agree?’ students can use the iceberg analogy as a reminder to look below the surface and weigh the impact of the Wall Street Crash against other factors.

See example Page KP5-c