The second lesson in a mini scheme of work on Qing China that explores how the Manchu tribe were able to overthrow the Ming Dynasty and take over power. This lesson not only explores the key events in that process, but examines continuity and change from the Ming Dynasty before it through a card sort and analysis activity.

A nice self contained lesson where the students debate the qualities of a good leader, and then apply their ideas to the profiles of the contenders to the throne in 1066 to decide who they think would make the best leader - a classic lesson! This is a very versatile lesson - you can do the activites within the lesson, or you could change and adapt the profiles to suit your class - making top trumps for each of the contenders is always fun!

This is the final lesson in a mini scheme of work on Qing China which focuses on the Opium Wars. Within this lesson, the students will: Learn about what opium is and why it was historically significant How the trade in Opium impacted Qing China Create a storyboard of the First Opium Wars Analyse what this event tells us about Anglo-Chinese relations Debate the ethics of the issues raised in this conflict. This lesson would also work well as a standalone lesson in a broader scheme of work about Britain’s empire in the 19th Century.

This is the fourth lesson in a mini scheme of work on Qing China, in which students learn about how law and order worked under the Qing Dynasty and how that compared with European law and order. Within this lesson, the students: Begin by comparing what they know about law and order in Britain to what they can infer from a number of sources about law and order in Qing China. They then create a diagram to illustate how the Qing justice system worked. They then do a fun little activity where they try and match Qing punishments to crimes! There is also an activity that begins to explore how Confuscian principles impacted the Qing legal system. The lesson ends with an Autumn Court scenario where the students decide what punishment fits the crime given to them. Overall this is at least two lessons’ worth of material, and was great fun when I tried it out with my class!