Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Protestant Reformation and What it Means to Resist & Collaborate Lesson Plan

This Protestant Reformation Lesson Plan has your students learning about key events from the Reformation and deciding if they would join the movement, collaborate with the Catholic Church, or act like nothing was going on.

I really want to get the students in my classes to think about what resistance means and how it can impact the brave people like Martin Luther who stand up to those in power. I also want them thinking critically about what it means to ignore injustices or collaborate with those committing them.

This complete lesson download includes short readings on 4 early events/people that influenced the Protestant Reformation:

  • John Wycliffe Declared a Heretic
  • Jan Huss Executed for Heresy 
  • Martin Luther posting the 95 Theses
  • The Affair of the Placards

After reading about each event, students decide if they'd join the Protestant movement, collaborate with the Roman Catholic Church, or choose to ignore it and act like nothing had happened. After going through all 4 events, students analyze what their role would have been in the Reformation as a whole.

Finally, students analyze what it looks like and what the repercussions can be for those who resist, collaborate, or ignore.  This download includes both printable and Google Docs versions of the activity along with directions pages for both the students and you as the teacher.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Back to School Project - Medieval Coat of Arms

This excellent Coat of Arms project is great for a unit on the Middle Ages or for a back-to-school "get to know each other activity"!
Included in your download is a simple directions page for students that provides the historic background of Coats of Arms and heraldry in Europe. It also provides students simple instructions on how to create a Coat of Arms. Next is a fantastic printable Coat of Arms template to use in class and a rubric to help with grading.

This is a very fun project that allows students to be creative, while also engaging in history content. I have used it at the beginning of the year as a way to get to know students as well as in the middle of the year during or unit on Medieval Times.

These projects always make for excellent classroom decorations before Back to School night!

Hope you have a great back to school season!