World History teaching resources for the high school classroom: lesson plans, worksheets, quizzes and simulation games for KS3, IGCSE, IB and A-Level teachers.
 

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Podcast Book Review - "Luther and the European Reformation" by Russel Tarr and Keith Randell

Student Worksheet | Teacher Notes | Quiz

This podcast provides a review of the book "Luther and the European Reformation, 1500-1564" by Russel Tarr and Keith Randell, outlining how it addresses the causes, events and significance of the European Reformation.

Interactive exercises / PowerPoint Presentations

Decision Making Simulation: Are you a Lutheran, a Catholic or a Radical?

This simulation really encourages students to reflect on which points of view make most sense to them personally, especially because at the end of it they are provided with follow-up questions which the computer tailors specifically to their individual responses.

Worksheets

1.	Introduction to 16th Century Europe A map and worksheet activity, with teacher notes
2.	Key Themes of the 16th Century A worksheet and lesson plan designed to get students thinking about key terminology and linking their ideas together meaningfully.
3.	Theological arguments during the Reformation A full-length article I wrote for History Review magazine, complete with an accompanying worksheet.
4.	The Development of Luther's thought: Timeline exercise In this lesson pack, students use a timeline of Martin Luther's life and career to organise the development of his theology in a worksheet which follows a thematic format.
5.	Analysis of Catholic and Lutheran Theology: The Thorny Issues A lesson plan and worksheet in which the class is divided into two groups to consider some of the more thorny questions which both sides were forced to answer.
6.	Reformation Terminology: Word List and Quiz Students fill the sheet in (a teacher copy is provided) and then this forms the basis of a hotseat quiz.
7.	Reformation Terminology Crossword Test understanding of key terms and concepts of the Reformation with this quiz.
8.	Causes of the Reformation: Overview Considers 4 key ideas - the printing press, humanism, the condition of Germany, heresy and anticlericalism
9.	Causes of the Reformation: Erasmus and humanism In-depth analysis of each of the key factors.
10.	Causes of the Reformation: Other humanists
11.	Causes of the Reformation: The printing press
12.	Causes of the Reformation: The Condition of Germany
13.	Causes of the Reformation: Heresy and Anticlericalism
14.	Workpack: The Knights' and Peasants' Wars A self-contained, 10 page workpack covering the causes, course and consequence of these major events - compete with worksheets, suggested activities and debates.
15.	Impact of Lutheranism on the Cities Worksheet and teacher notes.
	Historiography of the Reformation
16.	What time period should be used in a study of the German Reformation? This worksheet encourages students to compare the views of Bainton, Oberman and Schilling through the means of a classroom debate.
17.	Was the Reformation an example of a German Nationalist revolution? Students compare the views of Ranke, Steinmetz and Reinhard in this worksheet - both in terms of the geographical area which each said the Reformation should cover, and also in terms of whether they regarded the Reformation as being motivated by religious or social factors.
18.	What was the state of the Catholic Church on the eve of the Reformation? Historians bitterly argue as to whether the Catholic Church was corrupt and unpopular on the eve of the Reformation. This worksheet allows students to compare the different viewpoints and consider the evidence for each.
19.	What were the causes of the Peasants' War of 1524-25? Marxist historians in the East, and liberal historians in the West, were at odds over the motives of the Peasants' War. Why did their interpretions differ so strongly, and how?
20.	Were the Radicals a 'lunatic fringe'? Some historians have argued that the Radicals were insane and insignificant; others that they were the most enlightened, and also the most significant, part of the Reformation movement. Which side makes the most sense?
21.	Why did the Imperial Cities adopt the Reformation? In the 1960s Bernd Moeller called for historians to get away from theological debate and back to historical issues. This was the question he posed to himself, and it generated a great deal of debate.

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