Derek Bentley

Crime and Punishment Bundle

With the National Curriculum in mind, I have created a set of resources which focus on the study of an aspect or theme in British history that consolidates and extends pupils’ chronological knowledge from before 1066. This bundle includes significant events such as the abolition of Capital Punishment in Britain after the high profile cases of Derek Bentley and Ruth Ellis. It makes connections between crime and punishment through the ages such as between Roman and Modern periods. Students will be introduced to key concepts of change and continuity between Anglo-Saxon and Norman Crime and Punishment as well as the causes and consequences of the Christian Church and its influence on punishments. Students will analyse sources in the Stuart period and analyse different interpretations of terrorism through the ages. They will be able to use historical terms and concepts in more sophisticated ways such as retribution and rehabilitation. Finally they will be able to provide structured responses and substantiated arguments, giving written evidence and context to their extended writing. The 11 lessons are broken down into the following: 1) An introduction to Crime and Punishment 2) Roman Crime and Punishment 3) Anglo-Saxon Crime and Punishment 4) Norman Crime and Punishment 5) Tudor and Stuart Crime and Punishment 6) Crime and Punishment in the 18 and 19th Century 7) The Whitechapel Murders 8) Modern Crimes 9) Modern Punishments 10) The case of Derek Bentley 11) The case of Ruth Ellis Each lesson comes with suggested teaching and learning strategies, retrieval practice activities and are linked to the latest historical interpretations, video clips and debate. The lessons come in PowerPoint format and can be adapted and changed to suit. These lessons are ideal as a way of introducing Crime and Punishment if you are teaching it at GCSE or if you wish to add an interesting unit of work to engage and challenge the students to encourage them to take History further in their studies.