Shropshire Routes to Roots

6. Resources for teachers

National Curriculum

The Civil War theme ties in with the DFES Scheme of Work for History Key Stage 3, Unit 8: 'The Civil Wars. Was England 'turned upside down' in the seventeenth century?'. In particular, the letter could be used to show how 1649 was the 'year of reckoning', finely balanced between Republicanism or a return to Crown rule.

This theme could also be used to help pupils evaluate the drawbacks of using primary sources for historical enquiry.

Approaches

• Use or adapt the introduction on the Context page. This should provide a simple background to the events of the Civil War. To support this, you could use the timeline from the British Civil Wars website (Opens in a new window).
• Print-out or show on an interactive whiteboard Cromwell's letter: Source and transcript (Opens in a new window).
• As explained on the Mysteries and evidence page, the source could be used to demonstrate the instability of England in 1649 and/or it could be used to show the unreliability of historical evidence.

Worksheets

There are two pre-prepared exercises the pupils could do with the source. As with all the pages on Shropshire Routes to Roots, these worksheets are 'printer-friendly', meaning they will print out without unnecessary links or logos and can be easily distributed to a class:

• Source questions (Opens in a new window). A simple exercise asking basic questions about the source. This could be used as a starting point for discussion about why the source may not be reliable historical evidence i.e. why 'Oliver Crumwel' may not necessarily be the same man as 'Oliver Cromwell'.
• England in 1649 (Opens in a new window). A more difficult comprehension exercise. Pupils use their knowledge of England in 1649 and analyse why the letter indicates there was still continuing danger to Parliamentarian supporters in 1649.

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