Second World War · 1940-1941

The Battle of Britain and the Blitz

In the summer of 1940 Germany tried to win control of the skies over Britain before an invasion. The RAF, helped by radar and pilots from many nations, held on. Then came the Blitz on Britain's cities. Students explore the Channel on the map and life under the bombs.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1938
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In the summer of 1940 Germany tried to win control of the skies over Britain before an invasion. The RAF, helped by radar and pilots from many nations, held on. Then came the Blitz on Britain's cities. Students explore the Channel on the map and life under the bombs.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why Germany needed to control the skies before invading Britain.
  • Describe how radar and the RAF defended Britain in 1940.
  • Describe life in British cities during the Blitz.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1938

The Channel

Open the map in 1938 and zoom in on the English Channel. Find Dover and Calais. How wide is the sea at its narrowest point?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1938

Airfields

Zoom out a little. In 1940 German planes flew from airfields in occupied France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway. Which parts of Britain could they reach most easily?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1938

The Blitz

Zoom in on London. Ask the atlas: "What was the Blitz?" Why do you think people slept in Underground stations?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did Hitler need to defeat the RAF before he could invade Britain?
  2. Radar stations along the coast could see planes coming. How did that help the RAF?
  3. Pilots from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Canada, New Zealand and other countries flew for the RAF. Why did they fight for Britain?
  4. Churchill said: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." Who were "the few", and who else helped win the battle?
  5. Both sides bombed cities during the war, killing many civilians. How should these bombings be remembered?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Elizabeth I, who also faced an invasion threat across the Channel, from the Spanish Armada in 1588. Then compare her choices with those of Winston Churchill in 1940.

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.