The year 1789 was the beginning of the French Revolution.  The French Revolution has been seen as a major turning point in both European political and social history.

A few causes of the French Revolution:

1.  Condition of the French Society

2. France’s population was divided into 3 estates like it had been since the Middle Ages.

 

 

 

 

 

French Revolution Hands On Activities

Start out a unit study or lapbook with something hands-on instead of something that could be boring. Necessary background information on your topic or even studying dates can come after you introduce something engaging.

French Revolution 1789 – 1799 Unit Study & Lapbook

I want my kids to learn those necessary facts about a topic like the French Revolution, but starting them out on things like the causes of the French Revolution or talking about the 3 Estates of French society may put them to sleep.  It may put me to sleep too.

So I like to include some hands-on learning activities to make diving into a unit fun, engaging and relevant to the content.

French Revolution Copywork Copywork is not just for young kids, but it has restorative value through all their years.  Sure, it is about learning to write when they do it in the early years.  In the later years, penning and storing beautiful words in their mind and heart is about treasuring those words from great literature. Here I have copywork from the first paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities for the famous opening lines. Download A Tale of Two Cities Copywork Here.

Storming the Bastille Board Game So knowing that the French Revolution is not a topic exactly easy to explain to younger children I made a board game about the French Revolution that they could play. It’s a great way to introduce or reinforce learning of this time period. Find Instructions & Downloads: The Storming the Bastille board game.

Solar Oven We created a Solar Oven to for a hands on activity to lean about solar energy. Because we had read in our atlas how France is using solar energy to provide energy for the UK. The only way to test out the power of the sun is to bake chocolate chip cookies of course. Go here for the details and directions.

Pain Au’ Chocolat Because the French Revolution is a pretty deep topic I wanted to focus some on the cultural aspects of the country. When I think of France and it’s culture, I think of, the best bread and chocolate. So I came up with an easy hands-on idea for studying about France and that is to make chocolate sandwiches or pain au chocolat. Find the directions here: Pain  au Chocolat.

Get Your French Revolution Lapbook
Minibook Downloads Here

 

 Beethoven & The French Revolution Minibook

I created this free minibook to go with our current unit study about the French Revolution.  We are using it to note a few facts about Beethoven.  We were delighted to know that our composer study, utilizing Zeezok Music Appreciation book 1, lined up with our French Revolution unit study.  Anytime you can incoporate additional areas of learning into a unit study it only enhances the overall level of learning. Of course you can certainly do a bit of your own research with books you may have on hand or on the internet to complete this section.

Download the free minibook on Beethoven here.

 

The Guillotine French Terror Minibook

When it comes to gore, why are our kids so heads up about topics like this? Well it’s no doubt this topic was fascinating, but at the same time it would make quite the essay for a high school topic on capital punishment.  We touched on some of that in our school day, but mainly we focused on some of the science and history behind the guillotine.  The guillotine is a noteworthy invention by the French to a terrible problem of how people were executed.  Prior to the guillotine, people were burned at the stake, drawn and quartered or pulled apart by horse or oxen. My goal was to focus on some of the science or facts behind it rather than the gruesomeness of it, it allowed us to study this topic and it not be all about the French terror.

Download the The French Guillotine minibook here.

French Revolution Timeline

This  minibook is based on events leading up to the French Revolution.  Basically, it is a mini timeline. There are two different versions of this minibook. The first version has the pictures and information with the key dates already in it. Because I do test my children on recall of information we have been reading together, I have a second version of this minibook that does not have any information filled in.  It can be filled in with their own well researched facts. You decide which version to use with your crew.

 

Download minibook here for events
leading up to the French Revolution.

3 Estates Open Book

3 Estates is an open face book which allows for identification of the class distinctions which was one of the problems which led to the French Revolution.  The largest class was the common folks and most of them didn’t have the necessities of life, like bread.  So we looked up some scriptures about partiality in the Bible and had discussion about equality for all man.

Download the Three Estates minibook here.

 

 

 

 

 

Causes of the French Revolution Layered Book

You could add several more causes for the French Revolution than the 3 easy ones I included in this minibook.  The French Revolution is certainly a high school topic but chisel it down to make it an elementary or middle school topic like I have done here.

Download layered book Causes of the French Revolution here.

French Revolution King and Queen Minibooks

For these minibooks I didn’t add any information because there is an abundance of information about these famous historical characters. This is a pretty easy research project for  your middle-schooler.

Download here French Revolution King and Queen

What is… Minibooks

What is the Directory?  What is the Reign of Terror? and What is the Sans-Cullotte? In this case, they are mini flip books that go in the center of the lapbook.  You can decide if you want your kids to  add their own research or use the facts given.

Download Here: French Revolution
Director Reign of Terror Sans Cullotte

 

 

Additional Resources for Your French Revolution Unit Study

• • • Abridged Audio: James Mason reads Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities.“
    • A Tale of Two Cities Audio Cd by Jim Weiss
    • The Music Appreciation Collection by Zeezok Publishing, is an excellent resources study for the Beethoven minibook.
    • Guillotine It’s Legend and Lore by Daniel Gerould.