Lesson Title: The Rise and Fall of Napoleon Lesson #: 1&2 Date: 10/4-5/2017

Unit: The French Revolution

Teacher Name(s): Darcy Brennan, Mallory Chester and Katherine Rycroft

Subject: Humanities Grade:9

Rationale: (lesson context and reasons why lesson matters)

This is a two day lesson plan that will introduce students to Napoleon Bonaparte as a powerful leader in
the French military who took the reigns of power and led France during a period of volatile politics. They
will consider his biographical background, as well as his military and civil achievements against the
undemocratic rule that the Napoleonic period represents. Students will make ethical judgements about
Napoleons actions, and consider the question of whether his rule represented a continuation of the
French Revolution, or its end.

Curriculum Connections : https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/

Napoleons regional identity did not preclude him from becoming Emperor of France

(Collective identity is constructed and can change over time.)

Napoleon became Emperor of France despite his father being a minor Corsican noble.

(Disparities in power alter the balance of relationships between individuals and between societies.)

Curricular Competency:

This lesson will ask students to consider these questions, relating to the following curricular
competencies.

Did Napoleons rise signal the end of the Revolution?

(Compare and contrast continuities and changes for different groups at the same time period.)

Was Napoleons seizure of power justified?

(Make reasoned ethical judgments about actions in the past and present, and determine appropriate
ways to remember and respond.)

Content

The French Revolution and Napoleonic Period 1789-1815

Learning Intentions Activity Assessment

Students will be able to work together to piece Matching Matching their findings and
together the events of the Rise and Fall of Game presenting their relationship to
Napoleon within the French Revolution the class
 Students will discover basic facts about Napoleon
Bonaparte and identify his role in the French
Timeline of Illustrating a Timeline of
Revolution
Napoleon Napoleon (Formative)
Students will be able to visually represent what
they have learned about Napoleon, and present
their findings to the class Timeline of Presentation of findings to the
Napoleon class

Students will be able to review what they have

learned about Napoleon and the French Revolution Kahoot Quiz Successful completion of the
quiz

Prerequisite Concepts and Skill :( for student success)

Events of the French Revolution from 1789 - 1795

Materials and Resources with References/Sources:

Napoleon (2002) Miniseries Video Clip

Review Summary PowerPoint

Print outs of facts for matching game: Half written with Napoleon at the top and his point of
view, the other half without title but written about a person/place/thing/event which
matches Napoleons point of view for the other half of the facts

Chart paper for timeline

o Printed out dates copied onto the timeline that correlate with the printed out dates
and times given out to students for the timeline assignment

Chromebooks for research

Textbook
Pre-made Kahoot quiz based on facts given about Napoleon from Matching Game, as well as
the events from the Timeline assignment

Instructions:

Day 1:

For Teacher For Students Time

Silent Reading Students read 20mi
novel of their n
choice silently
(novel for their 5min
The Hook: upcoming novel
study)
-Review with students what they have learned about the French
Revolution so far Students share 5min
-Review the famine, fall of the Royalists, Robespierre. The problems of with each other
France at the time seem to still be unsolved, who is the solution? what they know
Ask students about prior knowledge of Napoleon about Napoleon
-Introduce Napoleon, briefly showing historical bio on PowerPoint prior to class
-Show video clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjc_DrGpkew&feature=youtu.be&t
=3956
-What does video say about Napoleon? His personality? His Involvement 20mi
in the revolution? Students will take n
The Matching Game: slips and move
Explain to students the game: half of the class will get slip of around the class,
Napoleon speaking, the other half will have an untitled slip of a asking questions
person/place/thing/event. The goal is for students to match related to their
themselves according to the info on their slips slips to find their
Hand out slips at random to students match
Ask students to stand together once they have found their
match- once everyone has found their match each pair must Students will
explain to their class what their relationship is remain standing,
Instructions will be on PowerPoint for student reference explain their 5min
Matching Game Review: go over the relationships and what they say match, then sit
about Napoleon. Answer any questions students may have down
The Timeline: 30mi
Introduce the timeline to students and explain that they are to Students may ask n
work in pairs (of their choice) to research their date in relation questions about
to Napoleon, then illustrate it: they can draw a picture, write a the slips, the
poem, make a collage etc. people/place/eve
Have students get into their pairs, then hand out dates at nt and how it
random and ask them to begin research relates to
(instructions on PowerPoint) Napoleon

Students get into

pairs, then pick a
date that teacher
hands out

Students use
chrome books,
textbook and
class text files to
research their
dates

Students begin
research
 Conclusion Students put their
Ask students to hold on to their dates/research because they material away
will have time to work on their date/finish their illustration and begin to get
tomorrow ready for the end
Ask students to think about how they want to present their of class
date/illustration to the class when they post it on the timeline
tomorrow Students begin to
think about how
they may present
their date to the
class

Day 2:

For Teacher For Students Time

Silent Reading
Timeline Continued
-Ask students to take out their materials from
yesterday and have them continue their research
and illustration of Napoleons events
-Make sure they know they are presenting so
have them thinking about what they are
planning to say- they have 20mins to finish up
(instructions are back on the PowerPoint)
Timeline Presentations
-have students finish up what they have left,
then chronologically introduce the dates on the
timeline and have them come up and post their
event and teach the class about what is
happening in significance to Napoleon (provide
students with glue/stapler)
-fill in any gaps of information that students may
have missed with regards to their dates
Timeline Review
-briefly review the events as they have been
placed on timeline
- show students how their events reflect the rise
and fall of Napoleon
Kahoot Review
-Have students get into small groups (no bigger
than 4) then have one student per group get a
chrome book to be used for the quiz
-Have link to kahoot quiz on screen
-Have students begin quiz while you facilitate on
the computer
Students read novel of their choice 20min
silently (novel for their upcoming novel
study)
Students are to get back with their 20min
partner and continue
research/illustrations
Students come up to the front- one 20min
student may choose to present the event
and its significance to the rise and fall of
Napoleon while the other adds their
illustration to the timeline
Students may ask questions, they are 5min
beginning to see the rise and fall of
Napoleon and how it relates to the larger
theme of the French Revolution
Students will get into groups; one 20min
student will retrieve a chrome book for
the group and use the code on the
screen to log into the Kahoot Quiz
Students will participate in quiz as a
review of the concepts learned in the last
two classes surrounding Napoleon and
the French Revolution
 Conclusion Students will briefly write a response to
-Conclude with brief review of themes/concepts the question on the board and hand it in
discussed regarding Napoleon. to teacher/teachers at the door before
-If there is left over time have students write a they leave
Ticket out the Door response to the question:
Based on what we have learned, what do you
think of Napoleon? Did his presence further
themes of the Revolution or end them? If so,
why?
-Have question on screen
Organizational/Management Strategies: (anything special to consider?)

-Based on behaviors, students may have to be put in to groups/pairs rather than choosing themselves

-Kahoot may have to be played as individuals rather than groups if students are having a hard time
working together in groups of their choosing

-Students may need assistance with the Matching Game: some students find these social interactions
uncomfortable, may need teacher assistance to find their match

-Group sizes may vary based on the availability of chrome books/text books in the classroom

Possible Aboriginal Connections / First Peoples Principles of Learning

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/principles_of_learning.pdf and
https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/aboriginal_education_bc.pdf

Reflections: (over)

This is a two-part lesson plan based on the two day lesson we taught in our Practicum class
(Gr 9 Humanities) this week. The goal of the lesson was to continue to discuss the French Revolution,
adding Napoleon and his role to the students frame of reference.

The first day of this lesson was very successful. Student actively engaged in discussion about
what they knew about the French Revolution, and what they were beginning to learn about
Napoleon. The students participated very eagerly in the Matching Game, and did a good job finding
their partner and describing their relationships. There were a few students who needed assistance
with reading the slips and putting them together, but other than that this activity went quite
smoothly. The students seemed to really enjoy working together as well as teaching each other based
on their information, rather than us standing at the front and teaching it to them.

The second day of the lesson proved to be much more challenging. It was the last day before
Thanksgiving weekend so behavior proved the be an issue. We struggled to keep our students on task
with the timeline activity, and many of them finished their research and illustrations much faster than
we anticipated. In hindsight, I feel like having an extra activity, such as a Napoleon themed word
search, for those who finished early would have been smart.

The kahoot quiz was a hit with the students, however; they did get a little out of hand. I
personally feel like I need to work on my classroom management skills based on this experience. The
volume got a little out of hand and I wasnt sure if I needed to call it quits with the quiz when we
couldnt get it a little more under control. I feel like I am a little nervous when it comes to discipline,
but this is something I know I need to work on.

All in all, I think the lessons were effective in that students were able to learn about Napoleon
and effectively present what they learned to the rest of the class. I did however learn that managing
the classroom behaviour is something I need to work on. Our practicum teacher gave us lots of good
advice to improve for our next lesson: extra assignments for students who are done early, managing
time better based on class behaviour etc. This felt like a good first start, and I am looking forward to
building on this experience for future lessons.