English Mastery's lesson on colonialism from its year 8 unit of work on The Tempest

1. In this lesson, students will be mastering the following:
Mastery Content:
• Christopher Columbus colonised the Americas
• Exploration can lead to an imbalance of power between the invading forces
and the native inhabitants
• This imbalance is known as colonisation
• Native people can be exploited during colonisation
MasteryContent

2. LessonGuide
Do Now: Exploration recap
Revise the reasons Elizabeth I wanted to explore the world when she was queen.
Introduce some of the negative repercussions of exploration, including link to city-
states from the previous lesson.
How do you want students to record
this Do Now? In books, on MWB?
Christopher Columbus
Introduce Christopher Columbus, a Spanish explorer. His case is an example of how
exploration can go terribly wrong for the native population.
Watch the video. WARNING: this is a frank and brutal discussion of
Columbus’s exploitation of the West Indies.
There are comprehension questions following the video, also containing links to
where the answers can be found in the video.
Colonialism
Discuss how exploration can have a negative impact on the native populations.
Introduce term colonialism, and apply to Christopher Columbus.
Influences on ‘The Tempest’
All of the topics we have studied over the past three lessons will have a direct
bearing on the study of The Tempest. Students need to discuss and review the three
lessons and use the learning from them to make a prediction about what will happen
in the play, including who the main characters will be, what the main plot might be,
and how the story will end.
How do you want to direct this
writing task? Model the first
paragraph as a class before asking
students to complete the rest of the
activity independently?
Mastery assessment plenary
Students complete quiz.
If all correct, do extension by asking students to turn a wrong answer into a right
one. If incorrect, address misconception and explain correct answer/get other
student to explain correct answer.
How do you want to capture
understanding? Mini whiteboards?
Physical ‘tickets’?
Hand signals?
Cold calling?

3. DoNow Wednesday, 21 August 2019
Extension: Do you think there were any problems with one
country claiming another country as their own?
Why did Elizabeth I want to explore
the world when she was queen?

4. • Elizabeth I wanted to explore the world when she was queen because
explorers could bring back fantastic rewards for her.
• Any new land found by an explorer became England’s. During
Elizabeth’s reign, she managed to spread the land she ruled over into
North America, the West Indies, and parts of India.
• There were also great riches to be found in these new lands, including
exotic crops, and precious jewels and resources.

5. Lots of countries were exploring the world during the
Elizabethan era.
Sometimes, different countries thought that they were the
first to discover a new land.
This sometimes led to wars between the exploring
countries.
Exploration
How would these people have felt by being
‘discovered’ by people from Europe?
But lots of the countries that were being ‘discovered’
already had people living there!

6. Christopher Columbus was a famous explorer. Originally
born in Genoa, an Italian city-state, he later moved to
Spain.
He wanted to expand the
Spanish Empire. He sailed to
the West Indies to try to claim
the land for Spain.
Although he is credited with
discovering America, his story
shows that exploration can be
dangerous and damaging for the
land’s natives - people who
already live there.
Let’s find out more about
Christopher Columbus.
ChristopherColumbus

7. 1. Why did Columbus call the people he found in the
Caribbean ‘Indians’? (Answer in video)
2. What did Columbus search for in the Caribbean?
(Answer in video)
ChristopherColumbus
3. How was Columbus treated
when he first returned to Spain?
(Answer in video)
4. Why did fighting break out
between Columbus and the
native Taínos? (Answer in video)
5. Give three reasons for the
decline in the Taíno population.
(Answer in video)
Discuss these questions in pairs

8. 1. Columbus called the natives ‘Indians’ because he
thought that India was to the West of Europe. When
he landed in the Caribbean, he thought he had
reached India.
2. Columbus searched for gold in the Caribbean.
3. Columbus was treated like a hero when he first
returned to Europe. People were impressed with the
exotic crops he brought back with him.
4. Fighting broke out between the Taíno and
Columbus because he demanded more gold from
them. When Columbus tried to enslave the Taíno,
they fought back.
5. The Taíno population declined by 50 000 because of
war and execution. They also died from starvation
because they were unable to farm their crops.
ChristophColumbus

9. Discuss this question in pairs:
What are the dangers of exploration?
Exploration

10. Vocabulary A word used to describe some forms of explorations is
colonialism.
Colonialism is when one country establishes itself in
another country. When someone colonises a new
country, they are called a coloniser. The original
inhabitants of the land are called natives.
In the new country, the colonisers might exploit the
native people and their resources.
There is often an unequal relationship between the
colonising people and the natives.

11. Vocabulary Colonialism is when one country establishes itself in
another country.
King John II of Portugal gained power
by colonising islands in the Atlantic
ocean in the 1400s.
Look at how these sentences use the word
colonialism.
The Artful Dodger is sent to Australia, a
country which had been colonised by
the British in 1788.
There were brutal disagreements
between the coloniser and the native
Taíno population.

12. Colonialism
Which of these sentences use the word colonialism
correctly?
A. The British colonised India because of
its profitable trade route.
B. The British and the Boers (Dutch settlers)
both colonised South Africa at different
stages in its history.
C. The Zimbabwean colonisees gained
independence from Britain on 18 April
1980.
Immigrant

13. Colonialism
How is the story of Christopher Columbus an
example of colonialism?
Discuss this question in pairs:

14. We have found out about many of the different events and
stories that would have influenced Shakespeare when he
wrote ‘The Tempest’.
1. England’s exploration of the world
2. Italian city-states and conflicts between city-states
3. The problems of colonialism
Predict what characters and settings we might
meet in the play we are going to study.
Shakespeare’sinfluences

15. Shakespeare ‘The Tempest’
Remember, ‘The Tempest’ was written around 1610.
This means that ‘The Tempest’ was written in the
Jacobean era, when James I was King.
However, events from the Elizabethan era – such as
exploration and colonialism – would have influenced
Shakespeare’s writing.
‘The Tempest’
Written ~ 1610
Jacobean era
1603 – 1625
Shakespeare
Born 1564
Died 1616

16. Mastery Which statements are correct?
a) Colonialism is when one country establishes itself in
another country.
b) Colonisation is slavery.
c) Colonialism often has a bad impact on the native
inhabitants.
d) The British Empire is an example of colonialism.
e) Britain was the only nation that tried to colonise other
countries.

17. Review
a) Colonialism is when one country establishes itself
in another country.
b) Colonisation is slavery.
c) Colonialism often has a bad impact on the native
inhabitants.
d) The British Empire is an example of colonialism.
e) Britain was the only nation that tried to colonise other
countries.
Which statements are correct?

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