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

An introduction to the Ottomans - Multimedia Presentation

A multimedia presentation, complete with videos, tasks and discussion points, outlining the growth of the Ottoman Empire up to the accession of Suleiman the Magnificent, with a particular focus on the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Which 16th-Century Ruler are YOU? - Part 1: Teacher-Led Questionnaire

"The sixteenth century was a period of profound change, dominated by amazing rulers. Four of these stand out in particular:

• Henry VIII, King of England 1509-1547
  
• Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor 1519-1556
• Francis I, King of France 1515-1547
• Suleiman the Magnificent Ottoman Sultan, 1520-1566

These four legends had a big impact on the world, but ruled in very different ways.
In this activity, you will consider how you would have reacted to TEN key situations they faced. In this way you will learn a lot more about each ruler, and which one you most closely resemble!
For each of the following ten questions, on paper:

• Step 1: Copy down the question.
• Step 2: Copy down your choice.
• Step 3: Add the word "because" and explain your reasons!"

Who was Suleiman the Magnificent? - Presentation

This multimedia presentation focuses in particular on Suleiman and follows on from the first presentation in this unit. As the above online simulation below may take up two lessons, teachers may wish to show this at the start of the second lesson as a 'starter' activity to break things up.

Which 16th-Century Ruler are YOU? - Part 2: Online Simulation

In this online activity, students input the choices they made in the previous lesson into an accompanying worksheet to learn more about the ruler that they most closely resemble. As an extension activity, they should play the simulation through a second time to make notes on the other rulers, or about Suleiman the Magnificent in particular (depending on the focus preferred by the teacher). At the end of the exercise they are guided through the process of writing an extended answer to the key question "Which 16th-century ruler do you most resemble?".

"Consolidate your knowledge with some extended writing"

To round off the study, students should be asked to produce a piece of extended writing answering the question "Which 16th Century ruler did you most resemble?". Four separate paragraphs could outline the ways in which the writer resembled each of the four rulers.

With your profile completed, produce a written answer to the question “Which 16th Century Ruler did you most resemble?”

Suggested structure:
Have one paragraph for each of the rulers with whom you shared at least one characteristic.

Each paragraph could follow this sort of format:

• In some ways I represented [ruler].
• This is because one of the questions I was asked was “[question]” and my answer was [answer] because [reasons].
• He did the same thing - in particular, [explain what he did and why] .
• Another question where we took the same decision was [question]...
• (and so on)

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