KS3 KS2 History - The Belief in Witchcraft & the 'Witch Craze' of the 1600s

In this lesson, students will be able to understand the various reasons why there was a ‘witch craze’ in the mid-1600s in England. Students will discuss the meaning of the term ‘witchcraft’ before studying the various factors that led to the witch craze such as the role of Matthew Hopkins, attitudes towards women, the English Civil War, the influence of monarchs and the influence of the Church and religion. Students will then have an opportunity to evaluate the impact these factors had.

The 23-slide lesson contains a variety of discussion tasks, warm up start activities, printable resources, and learning reviews as well as engaging background information and challenge questions for higher ability students. There is a choice of printable resources. The lesson is mainly aimed at KS3 students between the ages of 11-14 but can easily be adapted for younger or older students.

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All images used in this lesson are in the public domain and are therefore copyright free at the time of publishing. Images which require attribution have been attributed in the notes section of each slide where the image appears. If you feel any errors have been made, please contact me at raschoolresources@gmail.com in the first instance to resolve any issues. Thank you.