ActiveHistory » 1450-1750 (Year 8 History)

300 Years ago today (24th Jan. 1712): Birth of Frederick the Great

Russel Tarr — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:38:17 +0000

Frederick II’s first act on assuming the throne of Prussia in 1740 was to take his state to war—a consequence, he later explained, of possessing a well-trained army, a full treasury and a desire to establish a reputation. For the next quarter century he confronted Europe in arms and emerged victorious, but at a price that left his kingdom shaken to its physical and moral core. As many as a quarter million Prussians died in uniform, to say nothing of civilian losses. Provinces were devastated, people scattered, the currency debased. The social contract of the Prussian state—service and loyalty in return for stability and protection—was broken…[more].

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400 Years Ago Today (17th Jan. 1612) – Birth of Thomas Fairfax

Russel Tarr — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:01:51 +0000

Birth of Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Baron Fairfax of Cameron, English general, commander of the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War. Known as “Black Tom” for his dark complexion, Sir Thomas gained a reputation as a gallant and courageous commander in the struggle to control Yorkshire — but his fortunes were mixed. In March 1643, the Fairfaxes were routed by Lieutenant-General Goring at the battle of Seacroft Moor near Leeds; then in May, Fairfax took Goring prisoner in a spectacular victory at Wakefield against heavy odds… [more].

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Religious Events in the Early Modern Period – Overview timeline / research task

Russel Tarr — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:16:20 +0000

Religious events in the Early Modern Period
Before moving on to the next topic of study, this activity gets students to investigate a wide range of other events going on in Europe at the same time as the Lutheran Reformation. In this way they get a useful overview of the entire period rather than merely a narrow view of one or two events.

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The Lutheran Reformation: Designing a Movie Poster / Trailer

Russel Tarr — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:05:04 +0000

A Powerpoint template getting students to match historical characters from the timeline of Luther’s life to real actors. A completed version is also available, along with a movie trailer produced recently by one of my students. For the full unit, click here.

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“Renaissance Day” – a whole-school, cross-curricular project

Russel Tarr — Fri, 27 May 2011 10:46:48 +0000

At the International School of Toulouse, Year 8 students (aged 13-14) are taken off-timetable during the summer term for what we call “Renaissance Day“. The event is popular with both teachers and students. It promotes cross-curricular awareness, gets students working effectively as teams, develops analytical ability and improves presentational skills. The resources to develop your own Renaissance Day can be found here.

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History Mystery: The Princes in the Tower

Russel Tarr — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:56:46 +0000

An ActiveHistory Mystery.

The “History Mysteries” lessons are designed as stand-alone projects which each last 3-4 hours.
Through engaging historical topics, they teach skills of research, groupwork, structured writing.
There is a standard teacher lesson plan and student record sheet / markscheme for each activity.

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History Mysteries: Lesson Plans, Worksheets and Markschemes

Russel Tarr — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 06:51:37 +0000

I’ve just launched a brand new section on the website called the “ActiveHistory Mysteries“. I have been trialling these with my own students this term and they have proven to be a big hit! If you try them out with your own students, and / or you have any ideas for other “mysteries” I could develop, please contact me.

he “History Mysteries” lessons are designed as stand-alone projects which each last 3-4 hours. Through engaging historical topics, they teach skills of research, groupwork, structured writing. There is a standard teacher lesson plan and student record sheet / markscheme for each activity.

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Castle Building Simulation – Now with a Leaderboard!

Russel Tarr — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:06:06 +0000

The popular Year 7 / 8 History Game, “Build you own Medieval Castle”, now has a leaderboard which displays the class scores “live” on the whiteboard as the game progresses for added interest.

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The Duke of Northumberland

Russel Tarr — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:24:26 +0000

A new and improved version of the Jigsaw-Table exercise.

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Head2Head Virtual Interview with Henry VIII

Russel Tarr — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 13:04:38 +0000

Now improved with hyperlinks to keywords and an on-screen record of the conversation.

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Worst Jobs in History: Tudors

Russel Tarr — Mon, 03 May 2010 20:14:43 +0000

This Worst Jobs in History simulation can be used as a stand-alone lesson, homework assignment or as part of a broader unit on “Was life Good or Bad during this particular period?”. The worksheet has basic activities for a 30 minute lesson, and extension tasks that could be followed up later.

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Calvin’s Reformation

Russel Tarr — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:20:34 +0000

A Telescopic Topic created using Classtools.net.

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Why was the Medieval Church so powerful? – Boardgames project

Russel Tarr — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:55:50 +0000

This four-hour unit helps students to understand why religion was so important in the Middle Ages. This leads neatly into a study of the Cathars and the Reformation. Students study why the Church was so powerful in the Middle Ages. They conduct a card-sort exercise, have a game of charades, then work in pairs and groups to start design their boardgame (detailed advice is provided on the different types of boardgames that exist).

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Henry VIII Wheel of Life

Russel Tarr — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:05:42 +0000

Students rate Henry VIII according to various criteria and “join the dots” in this diagram to produce a “Wheel of Life”. Space is provided for students to explain their reasoning.

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King Henry VIII: Classroom Roleplay Lesson

Russel Tarr — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:45:45 +0000

This roleplay exercise divides the class into three teams – prosecution, defence, and judges. The prosecution and the defence gather evidence and prepare their case whilst the judges select some surprise exhibits to use in the trial. The trial itself should be a lively lesson which encourages students to make deductions and question the reliability of their “witnesses”.

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