The Rise of Stalin: A Sweet Roleplay Exercise!
It is 1923. Lenin, leader of the Soviet Union, is close to death and the battle to succeed him is raging in the Politburo.
Overview:
This interactive exercise forms part of the ActiveHistory unit on Stalin's Rise to Power.
Students take the role of five key members of the Politburo at the end of 1922.
The respective power of these figures is represented by distributing a large bag of sweets between them.
As events unfold, members of the audience have to consider who is gaining power, and at whose expense.
At each stage, the sweets are redistributed accordingly and the computer keeps a graphic track of changing fortunes.
Video clips from YouTube are built in at appropriate points to consolidate knowledge.
A printable worksheet is dynamically generated at the end of the exercise, providing graphics, narrative and follow-up questions.
