Teaching KS3 History: The French Revolution

The following Key Stage 3 history lessons for teaching the French Revolution have been judged to be outstanding according to OFSTED criteria. You will find a wide variety of teaching and learning activities and full lesson plans as well as a rich array of teaching resources including PowerPoint® presentations.  

Key Stage 3 Outstanding History Lesson

• What should we write on Robespierre's plaque to stop it being vandalised again? A lesson which helps pupils' understanding of interpretations and prepares them to write a short, balanced summary of their own.

Regarded by many as simply too complex to be taught to Y7 or Y8, the French revolution divides opinion.  Personally I think it is a great topic, as long as you don't feel that you need to cover the whole period from the 1780s to 1815 in equal detail.  You need to go for turning points and the links with today.  Why do the French sing the Marseillaise at rugby matches when we sing God Save the Queen?  I focus mainly on causation as the underpinning theme throughout the whole study.  The lesson comparing the different ways in which the Storming of the Bastille has been interpreted offers a colourful and exciting way in, as does the 'Through the Keyhole' view of Versailles.  Comparisons can be made across countries and periods by contrasting the reasons for the revolutions and the execution of Louis XVI can be compared with that of Charles I.  By exploring the way people set about ruling in the two countries pupils are well prepared for the comparison of Cromwell and Robespierre.  This provides an exceptionally rich vein of material for the study of interpretations.

If you are looking for an ICT-based decision  making activity, then you might be interested in the one featured in the ICT support pack for secondary history

Coming soon

• How can we find out what made people turn to revolution in 1789?Pupils are involved in a role play presenting their cahiers de doleances and try to see patterns in the nature of their protests

• Popping wine bottles? What were the tensions building  up in pre-revolutionary France? Did they make revolution inevitable?

• Why do we still have such different versions of how the Bastille was stormed? Pupils compare two short clips from very different films and contrast these with a British newspaper account.

• What shall we do with Louis? A decision-making activity. Whilst this lesson is in preparation,  you might like to look at an ICT decision-making activity  provided as part of the Practical Support pack for ICT and history
  
  If you would like to preview sample activities and resources from these lessons, then email us and we will forward some draft material prior to formal publication here.

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