Cambridge International Teacher

Lesson plan: History

Lesson title The main architects of the Italian Unification Date 1st December [date]

Learner group [group name] 17 to 18-year-olds Duration 45 minutes Group size 24

Learning objectives
What are learners expected to learn in this
lesson? These should be specific and
able to be assessed.
1. Identify the roles played by Mazzini, Cavour, Garibaldi, Victor Emmanuel III and Napoleon III in uniting Italy by 1866
2. Understand the various methods by which they united Italy
3. Evaluate the importance of each historical figure and analyse which one was most important

Time Content and teacher activity Learner activity Formative assessment Learning materials and resources

How are you explaining and What are the learners doing to help How do you plan to assess learning What resources will you use that will
illustrating the topic? them understand the topic? as it is happening? support the teaching and learning
activities?

5 mins Clearly outline the learning
objectives
Remind class of research
undertaken for homework
5 mins Check preparation for balloon debate
20 mins Run balloon debate (role-play).
10 mins Final discussion – clarify
understanding and evaluate
importance
Set homework (essay evaluating
importance of the figures involved in
unification)
Listen and reflect
Review research on characters and
plan for debate
Participate in debate – justifying why
their character should have a place
in the balloon (so why they are most
important).
Participate in discussion
Exit pass – who is most important
and why?
Note homework
No-hands questioning to check Powerpoint
understanding
Circulate to check understanding Textbook, smart phones
Listen and check understanding, Powerpoint image of hot air balloon
note any issues for clarification
Listen and check understanding,
clarify and probe as appropriate.
Exit pass
(Mark homework)
Homework task sheets

Cambridge International Teacher

Cambridge International Teacher

Use as many rows in the table as applicable – add rows if necessary

How will you make the lesson inclusive of different individuals and groups in the class?

Groupwork will support students. Allocated historical figures to groups as appropriate to give challenge. Circulate and check understanding as needed.

Lesson Evaluation
1. Review the learning objectives. Was each one achieved? How do you know?
The balloon debate was very effective. Students had researched their characters well and took it on with a lot of enthusiasm. I used formative assessment strategies
(no-hands questioning, exit pass) which were received positively. The time management worked well. All students were able to suggest which character was the most
important. From their contributions to the debate and homework essays I was able to see that each student was able to argue a case based on evidence. However,
[name] and [name] are a bit unclear on the timeline for unification – I need to go over this.
2. What would you do differently another time? Why?
I would definitely use this activity again, but I might provide a summary sheet to support students who were absent in the previous lesson and therefore had not done
the preparatory work.

Cambridge International Teacher