Causes of the Civil War

A card sort to show the events which led to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1642. This is a very flexible activity and can be used with all abilities.
Students can decide which causes fit into each of the three categories - political, economic and religious (these are defined on the sheet). Students can use more than one colour for any that overlap categories.
Students can also decide which were the fault of the king, and which were the fault of Parliament.
More able students can categorise the long- and short-term causes.

Students are invited to make and explain judgments on the most important causes, and on whether the King or Parliament was to blame. This can be used as the base for a piece of extended writing. The card sort can be done as a venn diagram using the second sheet.