Cortes, Conquistadors, and the Aztecs KS3 History Lesson

This fully resourced KS3 History lesson examines the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, focusing on the actions of Hernán Cortés, the role of the conquistadors, and the factors that led to the Aztec downfall. Designed to take at least two lessons, it blends historical knowledge with literacy skill development.

The lesson includes:

Numeracy and literacy settler activities

Context slides and maps to support teacher talk and scene setting

Video task with extension questions

Guided reading task for summarising and key fact extraction, with an additional accessible source link if required (text included in the PowerPoint resources)

Storyboard task (drawn or digital – template provided)

Mind map or class discussion on the factors leading to the Aztec downfall

PEEKA paragraph writing with model paragraph and breakdown

PEEKA paragraph writing timed task

Factor prioritisation plenary

Literacy development sheet in resources

This lesson is part of a mini-scheme of work on explorers for KS3 and can also be taught as a standalone enquiry into conquest, empire, and cultural change.

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