Kingdom of Prussia · 1740-1786

Frederick the Great and the rise of Prussia

A young king who loves flute music and French books seizes Silesia and turns Prussia into a great power. Students follow Frederick from Potsdam to the battlefields, and weigh the "enlightened" ruler against the man who started wars.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1740 to AD 1783
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

A young king who loves flute music and French books seizes Silesia and turns Prussia into a great power. Students follow Frederick from Potsdam to the battlefields, and weigh the "enlightened" ruler against the man who started wars.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain how Frederick the Great made Prussia a great power.
  • Locate Berlin, Potsdam and Silesia and explain why Silesia mattered.
  • Judge whether Frederick deserves to be called an "enlightened" ruler.
2

Explore the map

15 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 1740

Scattered lands

Open the map in 1740 and find Brandenburg around Berlin and the separate duchy of Prussia further east. Are the king's lands joined together? Then find Silesia on the upper Oder, still ruled from Vienna.

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1745

Potsdam and Berlin

Zoom in on Berlin and Potsdam, just to the south-west. Frederick built his small palace Sanssouci here in 1745-1747. Why might a king want a private palace near his capital?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1783

Prussia joined up

Jump to 1783 and compare Prussia with 1740. Along which coast has it grown, joining its lands together? Think of the first partition of Poland in 1772.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

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

  1. As a young man Frederick loved music and French books and clashed with his strict father. How might that shape a king?
  2. In 1740 Frederick invaded Silesia without declaring war. Why did he think it was worth the risk?
  3. Frederick wrote that a king is the "first servant of the state". What do you think he meant?
  4. He allowed religious freedom but kept serfdom. Was he really an enlightened ruler?
  5. A famous saying called Prussia "not a state with an army, but an army with a state". What does that mean?
4

Game round

10 min

Play a round of Rule History as Frederick the Great himself. Make his choices on war, taxes and religion. Afterwards, discuss: which of your decisions were "enlightened", and which were simply about power?

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.