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History at key stage 3    (Year 8)

Unit 8: The civil wars was England 'turned upside down' in the seventeenth century?
Section 3: How do historians disagree about the causes of the civil wars?

QCA

Objectives
Children should learn:
  • that historians disagree about why the civil wars took place
  • to analyse the causes of the civil wars and identify those that were significant

Activities

Outcomes
Children:
  • Give pupils, in groups, a range of 'cause cards' relating to the origins of the civil wars and ask the groups to sort them. Do not, at this stage, suggest the criteria that should/could be used.
  • Discuss the different criteria each group has used. Suggest use of social, economic, political, religious, role of the individual.
  • Introduce pupils to the idea that historians disagree about why the civil wars broke out. Explain, in very simple terms, the dispute between the traditional view that the conflict was caused by long-term factors and the more recent view that the causes were relatively short-term.
  • Pupils sort, and re-sort, the 'cause cards' into short-term and long-term causes and try to identify the most significant ones.
  • Lead a class discussion comparing the classification of the groups and exploring the reasons for their choices of significant causes.
  • categorise causes of the civil wars and recognise that different interpretations use different categories
  • know some causes of the civil wars and can explain that some are more important than others

Points to note
  • Different categories could include social factors, economic factors, political factors, religious factors, role of the individual.
  • Language for learning: pupils discuss and respond to initial ideas and information, carry out the task and then review and refine ideas.
  • Key skills: these activities will provide opportunities for pupils to demonstrate evidence of working with others and problem solving (sorting and prioritising causes).
  • ICT: the causes could be saved in a word processor. Pupils could work in groups to sort the causes into a table under headings. Using a large screen or projector, the pupils display their analysis and justify it to the rest of the class.

Sections in this unit

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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.
1. Why was 1649 a year of reckoning?
2. What do successful monarchs do? What did Charles I do?
3. How do historians disagree about the causes of the civil wars?
4. How did the civil wars divide families?
5. Why did Parliament win the civil wars?
6. Why did the winners of the civil wars argue among themselves?
7. Why do people interpret Cromwell in very different ways?
8. What happened at the Restoration?
9. Was 'the world turned upside down'?