Diamond 9: Why did Custer lose at the Little Bighorn?

This outstanding resource is designed to help students evaluate how far Custer was responsible for the defeat of the US Army at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. It can used as a starter or plenary and is suitable for middle to upper ability students as a stretch and challenge task. If you would like something aimed at middle to lower ability students, then please check out my card sort of this topic in my TES shop. This task is primarily designed to help students prioritise the different factors in preparation for an extended answer or essay.

The resource includes nine diamond shaped cards which include a range of factors to explain why Custer lost the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Once students have cut the cards out they are set three tasks including:

1. Remove any reasons for the boom that you don’t think are important. Record and explain why you have removed them.
2. Arrange the remaining diamonds to show any links that you can find between the different reasons. Record and explain your reasons.
3. Make a smaller diamond shape using what you think are the four most important reasons why Custer lost at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

At each stage students should be feeding back to their group or the class and explaining their choices. The discussion and explanation around the choices that they have made are critical in helping them develop their arguments for writing their essay.

The aims and objectives for this lesson are:

Theme: What role did the US Army play in the defeat of the Plains Indians?
Know: What happened during the Battle of the Little Bighorn?
Understand: What roles were played by Custer and Crazy Horse in the defeat of the US Army?
Evaluate: How far was Custer responsible for the defeat of the US Army at the Little Bighorn?

WILF: What Am I looking For?
Identify and describe: What happened during the Battle of the Little Bighorn?
Explain: What roles were played by Custer and Crazy Horse in the defeat of the US Army?
Analyse: How far was Custer responsible for the defeat of the US Army at the Little Bighorn?

If you like this resource then why not check out my other resources on this topic in my TES shop. You can also follow ‘The History Academy’ on Twitter, Google Plus, YouTube and Facebook for the latest updates or even to get in touch and chat about how you have used this resource or to ask questions. We aim to produce cheap and affordable resources for either the price of a good cup of coffee or a happy meal so that you can spend more time doing the things that you want.

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Kind Regards

Roy