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High School
Shakespeare’s England
Inside Parliament with Simon Hughes

“I wholeheartedly endorse the work of ProjectExplorer.  It is vital that young people from all backgrounds have the opportunity to engage with the political process at an early stage. By bringing young people closer to the decision making process we can offer them the chance to see for themselves how active involvement can lead to real change.”
- Simon Hughes, Member of Parliament

 
This lesson has been specially designed for all age levels.

Objective: This lesson is designed to familiarize students with world leaders past and present and to develop their ability to analyze and paraphrase historical information.

Lesson Plan: Have students select a different world leader, past or present. Leaders may also be assigned. You may choose to provide a list of leaders for students to choose from depending on the era or region you are studying. Provide students with adequate time to research their leader. Once students have conducted their research, set up the room as a press conference or talk show. Students will then assume the role of members of the press or the host of a talk show and its audience members. A student in the character of the leader they selected will be questioned/interviewed. Students (depending on the academic level) should be able to answer questions about:

  1. Their family, their age, and when they were born.
  2. How the person became leader.
  3. Were there any important military events that took place during the leaders rule?
  4. Something that the leader is famous or infamous for.
  5. Known hobbies, likes, dislikes, etc. (For example, President Nixon's dog was named Checkers, Queen Elizabeth I enjoyed theatre and music, etc.)
  6. Information on their country or empire during the time period. What served as popular entertainment? Who were some of the famous people alive during the time?

Students should take turns serving as "leader" to give each a chance to present.

Note: For younger students, this lesson can also be done as a group activity, with one person elected as the spokesperson.

Curriculum Connections: Arts Education, English, History, Social Studies

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