Summary
The main cause of the French Revolution is still debated by historians today. In this lesson, students will begin by activating prior knowledge as they complete a Tell Me Everything activity on revolutions. They will sort conditions in a society that can lead to revolution into categories of political, social, or economic. Students will analyze several primary source documents related to the French Revolution to determine what they believe was the main cause. They will then complete a free write to think about if revolutions are necessary to address problems in society. Using evidence from the documents, students will complete a CER to write about what they believe was the main cause of the French Revolution. Please note that this lesson should be taught after students have learned about the Enlightenment. This is a multimodality lesson, which means it includes face-to-face, online, and hybrid versions of the lesson. The attachments also include a downloadable Common Cartridge file, which can be imported into a Learning Management System (LMS) such as Canvas or eKadence. The cartridge includes interactive student activities and teacher's notes.
Essential Question(s)
What causes people to revolt against authority?
Snapshot
Engage
Students participate in a Tell Me Everything activity in which they write everything they already know about revolutions.
Explore
Students view a video and engage in a Card Sort to distinguish between political, social, and economic characteristics that can lead to revolutions.
Explain
Students view a video about conditions in France leading up to the French Revolution. Students then use the Why-Lighting strategy to analyze primary and secondary sources related to the French Revolution. After analyzing documents, students engage in a second Card Sort involving the causes of the French Revolution.
Extend
Students use the Two-Minute Paper strategy to reflect on why revolutions occur in general and why the French Revolution occurred specifically.
Evaluate
Students write a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) statement in response to the question, "What was the main cause of the French Revolution?"
Instructional Formats
The term "Multimodality" refers to the ability of a lesson to be offered in more than one modality (i.e. face-to-face, online, blended). This lesson has been designed to be offered in multiple formats, while still meeting the same standards and learning objectives. Though fundamentally the same lesson, you will notice that the different modalities may require the lesson to be approached differently. Select the modality that you are interested in to be taken to the section of the course designed for that form of instruction.
Materials
Causes of the French Revolution CER (Sample Response) (attached; optional)
Causes of the French Revolution CER (attached; one per student)
Discussion Post Rubric (attached; optional)
Explain Document Packet (attached; one per student)
French Revolution Graphic Organizer (attached; one per student)
Lesson Slides (attached)
Explore Card Sort (attached; one per student)
Extend Card Sort (attached; one per student)
Highlighters
Engage
20 Minute(s)
Use the attached Lesson Slides to follow along with the lesson. Begin with slide 3. Read the essential question aloud: What caused the French Revolution? Then, move to slide 4. Briefly read aloud the lesson objectives.
Move to slide 5. Introduce students to the Tell Me Everything strategy. Invite students to write everything they know already about revolutions. To start, they should list what they know about the word "revolution" and describe revolutions they are familiar with. Give students enough time to write down everything they remember about this topic.
Once students are finished, ask for students to volunteer and share out their responses. As they do so, construct a whole-class list in a whiteboard space or projector space. Use this time to address any misconceptions.
Explore
10 Minute(s)
Show slide 6. Introduce students to the Card Sort strategy. Pass out a set of the attached Explore Card Sort to each student. If working in a distance learning or digital environment, have students access the digital version: Explore Card Sort. Ask students to complete this Card Sort by:
examining the cards, which list different problems that occur in society and can lead to revolution; then
sorting the cards into three categories: political, social, and economic reasons. (The definitions for the three categories are provided on slide 6.)
After students have sorted their cards, check students’ answers for understanding. Clarify any confusion.
Explain
30 Minute(s)
Show slide 7. Have students watch the video on the slide, "Causes of the French Revolution." This video provides some background information on France leading up to the revolution.
After viewing the video, show slide 8. Pass out a copy of the attached Explain Document Packet and Document Analysis Graphic Organizer. Invite students to analyze the five short documents within the document packet, which delve into different aspects about life in France during the period leading up to the French Revolution. Introduce students to the Why-Lighting strategy. As they analyze, students should complete the graphic organizer by categorizing each document as focusing on a political, economic, or social issue. Students should also look for evidence in each document that the issue at hand could have led to the French Revolution. Students should highlight these issues in the document packet using the Why-Lighting strategy.
Documents:
Three Estates graphic
Bread prices excerpt
Three Estates painting
What is the Third Estate excerpt
Rousseau quote
Graphic organizer for students to summarize documents
Allow students to pair up and compare their summaries if you so choose.
After students are finished analyzing and discussing, show slide 9. Invite students to engage in another Card Sort activity. This time, the categories are the same (political, social, and economic), but the cards to be sorted are specific to France.
Pass out a set of the attached Explain Card Sort to each student. If working in a distance learning or digital environment, have students access the digital version: Explain Card Sort. Students should complete this Card Sort the same way as before:
Examine the cards.
Sort the cards into three categories: political, social, and economic reasons. (Again, the definitions for the three categories are provided on slide 10.)
After students have sorted their cards, check students’ answers for understanding. Clarify any confusion.
Extend
5 Minute(s)
Show slide 10. Have students take out a piece of notebook paper, and introduce them to the Two-Minute Paper strategy. Ask students to write for two minutes over the following questions:
Are revolutions always necessary?
Based on the information you’ve learned from the lesson, did the Third Estate have any other options besides revolting?
Has there ever been an injustice that you (as a student) felt you should speak up against?
After two minutes, have students share their responses with a nearby partner. Then, have students expand their discussions to include a small group or the whole class (if desired). Students’ Two-Minute Papers may be collected as assessments of their learning.
Evaluate
20 Minute(s)
Show slide 11. Introduce students to the Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) strategy. Pass out a copy of the attached Causes of the French Revolution CER to each student.
Invite students to use the CER strategy and handout to explain the main cause of the French Revolution using evidence from the documents. To do so, each student should work through the handout, writing a claim, providing evidence, and recording their reasoning based on what they believe was the main cause of the French Revolution. Students should work independently to assess their learning.
For a sample student response, see the attached Causes of the French Revolution CER (Sample Response).
After students have completed their CERs, collect their responses as assessments.
Resources
K20 Center. (n.d.). Card Sort. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/147
K20 Center. (n.d.). Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER). Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/156
K20 Center. (n.d.). Flip. Tech tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/1075
K20 Center. (n.d.). Google Apps - Force Copy. Tech tips & tricks. https://k20center.ou.edu/tech-tips/force-copy/
K20 Center. (n.d.). Padlet. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/1077
K20 Center. (n.d.). Tell Me Everything. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/107
K20 Center. (n.d.). Two-Minute Paper. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/152
K20 Center. (n.d.). Why-Lighting. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/128
K20 Center. (2021, January 27). Causes of the French Revolution. YouTube. https://youtu.be/VWSYXHTMVVo
K20 Center. (2021, January 27). Online discourse etiquette. YouTube. https://youtu.be/yPUXQAuhD3E