51ºÚÁÏ

Last updated

27 July 2025

pptx, 3.29 MB
pptx, 3.29 MB
PNG, 273.03 KB
PNG, 273.03 KB

Bring the drama and disruption of one of Britain’s most pivotal industrial events to life with this fully resourced, accessible, and engaging lesson on the General Strike of 1926.

This lesson introduces students to the concept of a General Strike, when multiple industries stop work to support a shared cause, threatening to grind the nation to a halt. Students will explore why the 1926 strike was not just about miners’ wages but about the broader struggle between labour and government, and the limits of protest in a democratic society.

Pupils examine the real impact of the strike on transport, food supply, newspapers, and communication. Through engaging tasks and historical sources, they will consider how the strike disrupted ordinary lives and how the fear of chaos shaped public opinion.

This resource explores how Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin prepared for and responded to the strike with military-like precision: using volunteer workers, mobilising the police and army, and launching the British Gazette to control the media narrative. Students will analyse the balance between maintaining order and suppressing dissent.

Through a structured debate or source analysis task, learners weigh up the perspectives of striking workers, trade union leaders, the government, and the press. Why did some see the strike as a bold stand for workers’ rights and others as a threat to democracy itself?

Students will reflect on why the strike collapsed after nine days, considering factors like lack of unity, government planning, media control, and public support. This analysis reveals deeper truths about the power structures of 1920s Britain and opens a wider discussion about class tensions and the limits of protest.

This lesson includes:
An engaging PowerPoint with step-by-step guidance
Source analysis tasks using modern and contemporary accounts
A timeline to build chronological understanding
Retrieval quizzes and plenary tasks to consolidate learning
Differentiated worksheets to support all learners

Why teachers will love this resource:
Fully planned and resourced. Just print or upload and teach
Builds core Key Stage 3 skills such as causation, interpretation and source analysis
Prepares students for GCSE themes like power, monarchy, and Parliament
Encourages critical thinking and balanced historical judgement

Get this resource as part of a bundle and save up to 25%

A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

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Power and the People Bundle

Take your students on a thrilling journey through 800 years of protest, reform and power struggles with this comprehensive Key Stage 3 ‘Power and the People’ bundle! Perfectly designed to meet curriculum demands while developing key historical skills, this pack covers pivotal moments, all the way through from Simon de Montfort to the General Strike of 1926. **Key historical skills embedded:** Causation & Consequence: Why did people protest and what were the effects? Change & Continuity: Track how power shifted from monarchs to the masses. Significance: Evaluate which events truly changed Britain. Source Analysis: Develop confidence interpreting real historical sources. Chronology: Build a secure understanding of the timeline of protest. Interpretation: Explore how ordinary people challenged the Government and injustice. **What is included?** Students explore how Simon de Montfort challenged royal authority and called the first parliament with commoners. A dive into religious rebellion against Henry VIII will allow students to assess why ordinary people risked everything to protest. Students evaluate Cromwell’s rule and legacy through different perspectives. The American Revolution explores how British colonists challenged monarchy and inspired global revolutions. Elizabeth Fry and Prison Reform looks at Fry’s campaign to improve prison conditions, especially for women and children. The Anti-Slavery Society & Early Trade Unions focus on organised resistance to slavery and poor working conditions. The Great Reform Act of 1832 unpacks how political reform changed who had the right to vote and why it mattered. The Anti-Corn Law League studies middle-class protest against unfair food prices and tariffs. The Chartists highlight working-class demands for political rights and fair representation. The Matchgirls Strike examines how young women protested poor conditions and won. The General Strike of 1926 allows pupils to weigh up causes, events and outcomes of a modern mass protest involving multiple industries **The lessons are broken down into the following:** L1 Simon de Montfort and Parliament L2 Pilgrimage of Grace L3 Oliver Cromwell's Legacy L4 American Revolution L5 Elizabeth Fry and Prison Reform L6 Anti-Slavery Society L7 Early Trade Unions (Free Resource) L8 Great Reform Act L9 Anti-Corn Law League L10 The Chartists L11 Matchgirls’ Strike L12 General Strike of 1926 Each lesson is fully resourced and chronologically sequenced to help students build a clear sense of historical progression and the ongoing struggle for power and rights in Britain. The unit builds towards meaningful discussions and analytical writing, laying foundations for GCSE success. The lessons are used in my department and are tried and tested. Download now and bring the fight for rights and reform alive in your classroom!

£28.50

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