Deal Castle – A Tudor Castle During the Age of Gunpowder

Step into the world of Tudor England and the age of gunpowder at Deal Castle with our engaging and interactive exploration of castle design during the reign of Henry VIII. Uncover the successful adaptation of Deal Castle to the introduction of cannons in this outstanding lesson, guiding students through a captivating learning journey that reveals the strategic evolution of castles in response to the revolutionary impact of cannons. Gain a clear understanding of the historical innovations in castle design during the 16th century with this fun and interactive experience brought to you by the History Academy.

When you purchase this lesson, which completes our series on the decline of castles, you will be able to download a 20 slide PowerPoint presentation which includes aims, objectives, differentiated outcomes, historical sources, information slides, drone footage, starter, plenaries, tasks, activities and templates. We have also uploaded this file as a PDF.

The lesson begins with a choice of starters including a snowballing of the key words, a continum exercise on the development of castle design or a word search. It then introduces the topic by explaining why Medieval Castles were unable to with stand cannon fire before moving onto an investigation task into the defences of deal castle. The lesson then rounds off by explaining why castles declined as a place to live during the Tudor times by looking at the example of Hardwick Hall This is then consolidated with a choice of two plenaries. For more information, please see the detailed preview.

The aims and objectives of this lesson are:

Theme: Castles

Know: How did castle design change over time?
Understand: Why were Medieval castles easy targets for cannon fire?
Evaluate: How did castle builders adapt their designs to resist cannon fire?
Skills: Source Analysis, Cause, Consequence & Collaboration

WILF – What Am I Looking For?

Can You Describe: How did castle design change over time?
Can You Explain: Why Medieval castles couldn’t withstand cannon fire?
Can You Evaluate: How castle designers adapted their designs to resist cannon fire?

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Roy