Year 8 History

Term 

What are we learning 

1 

Henry VIII and the Reformation  

This unit focuses on the challenges to the Catholic Church at the beginning of the Early Modern period, where those challenges were coming from and how they ultimately came to effect England. Students will develop an idea of how and why the church changed by the end of Henry’s reign and what caused Henry to introduce these changes. 

2 

Elizabethan England 

This unit focuses on the rapid changes introduced to the church and religious doctrine by Edward VI, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I. Students will primarily focus on the reign of Elizabeth who reigned for longer and adapted and changed her policy gradually over time. 

3 

The English Civil War 

This unit provides an overview of the period beginning with the succession of James I after Elizabeth’s death and ending with the Restoration of Charles II to the throne. It is designed to introduce students to the tensions that developed between the monarch and parliament which they have been following since the Baron’s Revolt and the Magna Carta.  

4 

The British Empire and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade 

This unit introduces students to the British Empire and its role in transforming the slave trade and making it more global, industrialised and systematic. Students will study the process of the slave trade and the concept of supply and demand escalating the mechanisms of it. As well as the factors that led to the eventual abolition of the Slave Trade and slavery in the British Empire itself.  

5 

Industrial Revolution 

This unit focuses on the Industrial Revolution and the enormous changes it made to society. But did everyone benefit from these changes? Students will study what life was life before the Industrial Revolution, transportation methods and how these changed, the role of key individuals and the impact their inventions had on industry and therefore wider societal changes such as urbanisation. Towards the latter end of the unit, students will consider groups within society and the impact the Industrial Revolution had on their lives and whether or not this could be viewed as progress. 

Links 

History lessons for Key Stage 3 students - Oak National Academy (thenational.academy)