51

Last updated

4 September 2025

pptx, 4.3 MB
pptx, 4.3 MB
PNG, 337.82 KB
PNG, 337.82 KB

Step inside the grim, overcrowded world of early 19th Century prisons and discover how one woman, Elizabeth Fry helped change everything. This engaging and fully differentiated Key Stage 3 lesson brings the past to life with a mix of source work, active questioning and critical writing to encourage historical thinking.

The lessons begins with a “Could you survive a Victorian prison?” scenario with an atmospheric image. Students decide what they’d do in a prison where rats, starvation, and loneliness were the norm.
They are given the Contextual background explaining the terrifying conditions of early 1800s gaols as debtors mixed with murderers, women and children locked up together and no proper toilets…
Students will analyse the work of Elizabeth Fry in a case study; a narrative of Fry’s early visits to Newgate, her religious motivation and the reforms she pushed for.
There are differentiated comprehension questions are used with modelled answers, ideal for mixed-ability classes or stretch and support tasks.
A fact or fiction task separates truth from myth using provided statements about Fry and prisons. This is a great tool for checking misconceptions.
There are also contemporary accounts from visitor reports, encouraging students to infer and empathise.
Finally, an extended writing task on how far did Elizabeth Fry change prisons. Students analyse the extent and nature of change with a writing frame, key vocabulary, and success criteria included.

The lesson includes:
An engaging PowerPoint with step-by-step guidance
Printable worksheets
Source extracts and analysis
Differentiated tasks and writing scaffolds

Why teachers will love this resource:
It grabs students’ attention straight away with a fun prison survival activity.
Easy to use with clear slides and worksheets included.
Works well for all abilities with different levels of questions and tasks.
Uses real historical sources to bring the past to life.
Helps students build key history skills like cause, change and significance.
Supports writing with sentence starters and key words.
Save time as everything is ready to print and teach.
It fits into crime and punishment, social reform, or Victorian history topics.

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 KS3 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 in protest and reform, 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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