Lesson Plan 6

Lesson Plan #6
World History 10th Grade
Theme/Topic: French Revolution
Goals: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their

understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning
points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a
variety of perspectives.
Objectives: By the end of the class students should be able to:

1. Describe the Reign of Terror
2. Describe the role that Maximilien Robespierre played in the Reign of Terror
3. Understand important terms and people associated with the time: Reign of
Terror, guillotine, Committee of Public Safety, Maximilien Rpbespierre
Skills: Note Taking, Terminology
Material needed: White/Chalk Board
Detailed Lesson Plan

The lesson will be a lecture with students taking notes in their notebooks
using the Cornell Method which was taught earlier in the year
Do Now: Write on the board "write down three different important concepts
for events from last week". As the students sit down they will write the
answers in their notebooks. After about three minutes have a couple of
students share their answers. This in all should take about seven to ten
minutes.
Next ask the students to take out the packet of slides that was given to them
last class. A review go over the information in the slides. Have the students
read the slides and have them answer each other's questions as you review
the material in the slides. This should take about five to ten minutes
The next part of the lesson is going over what the Reign of Terror actually
was. Taking place from September 1793 to July 1794 the Reign of Terror was
a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution,
incited by conflict between two rival political factions, the Girondins and the
Jacobins. This period was marked by mass executions of those thought to be
enemies of the revolution. The death toll reached the tens of thousands as
the guillotine was the favored execution tool of the time. The guillotine,
which received the name the National Razor, became a signal of the
revolution which was strengthened by the execution of the King and Queen.
During 1794 revolutionary France was full of conspiracies by internal and
foreign enemies. Within France itself the revolution was opposed by the
French nobility which had lost its privileges. This was a time period marked
by extreme fear and violence in French society. Everyone was spying on
everyone and you could easily be found accused of committing crimes
against the revolution. Children were encouraged to tell on their parents if
they had committed a crime against the cause. People who felt wronged or
cheated by others could get the person who wronged them brought up on
charges against the revolution if they could find them doing something bad.
Even the Catholic Church which was a core part of French society came
under fire during the revolution. The Catholic Church opposed the revolution
which turned the clergy into state employees. The clergy were required to
take an oath of loyalty to the nation.
In addition to civil discord raised by the Reign of Terror France at this time
also waged wars against its neighbors and in parts of France engaged loyalist
forces. The extension of the civil war and the wars fought abroad which were
turning sour for the French increased the political crisis and the rivalry
between the Girondins and the Jacobins. The Jacobins or how they were later
know the Mountain dominated government with support from the Parisian
people. The Committee of Public Safety was formed in order to suppress
internal counter revolutionary activities and raise additional French troops.
From this committee and the Revolutionary Tribunal, which was set up to try
traitors to the revolution, the leaders of the terror were able to exercise
massive power and eliminate internal and external threats they deemed
enemies.
One of the ringleaders of the Terror was a man by the name of Maximilien
Robespierre. Prior to the French Revolution Robespierre was a lawyer in
France. He would later become a representative of the Third Estate when the
Estates General was called. He was also a founding member of the National
and then the Constituent Assembly. He was also a member of the radical
Jacobin group. Robespierre was an outspoken advocate of the poor and of
democratic institutions. Early during the revolution Robespierre was against
war with Austria, and warned of the possibility of a military coup by the
Marquis de Lafayette. Although he opposed the death penalty, Robespierre
played an important role in arguing of the execution of Louis XVI and the
creation of the French Republic. He would campaign for equality of rights and
universal male suffrage in France, for price controls on basic food
commodities and for the abolition of slavery in the French colonies.
Robespierre was an important figure during the Reign of Terror. He was
named as a member of the Committee of Public Safety and exerted his
influence to suppress the radical left wing groups. Robespierre was one of
the leading members of the committee so it is now wonder that after the
terror was ended that Robespierre himself would be executed with the tool so
many others had been.
Activity: As you have learned the Terror was a time of violence and fear in
France. anyone could be brought up on charges of treason. For this activity
each of you has to write as to why your fictional neighbor during this time
has become an enemy of the revolution. Use what you have learned and
what you have read from the textbook to come up with an compelling
argument. This should take five to ten minutes
Wrap Up: It is important for students to understand that the Reign of Terror
was a change from what was happening in France. Ask the students to
compare this stage of the French Revolution to the previous one. Violence
and fear mark the Terror while hope and joy mark the first stage of the
Revolution. What was once a peaceful democratic revolution turned into
bloodshed in the whole of France.

Lesson Plan 6

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Lesson Plan #6

World History 10th Grade

Theme/Topic: French Revolution

Goals: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their

Objectives: By the end of the class students should be able to:

Skills: Note Taking, Terminology

Material needed: White/Chalk Board

Detailed Lesson Plan

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