Thirty Years' War · 1630-1635

Gustavus Adolphus and Sweden at war

In 1630 the king of Sweden lands in Germany with a modern army. Students follow Gustavus Adolphus from the Baltic coast to victory at Breitenfeld and death at Lützen, and discuss what the war meant for the people in its path.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1630 to AD 1650
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 1630 the king of Sweden lands in Germany with a modern army. Students follow Gustavus Adolphus from the Baltic coast to victory at Breitenfeld and death at Lützen, and discuss what the war meant for the people in its path.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why Sweden, a Lutheran Baltic power, entered the war in 1630.
  • Locate Breitenfeld and Lützen and describe what happened there.
  • Describe how the war affected civilians in Germany.
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 1630

A Baltic power

Open the map in 1630 and zoom in on the Baltic Sea. Find Sweden and the lands it holds across the sea. Why would Sweden fear an emperor whose armies had reached the Baltic coast?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1631

Battles of 1631-1632

Turn on Historical Events and choose Battles. Find the Battle of Breitenfeld near Leipzig (1631). Lützen, where Gustavus died a year later, lies about 20 km south-west of Leipzig.

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1650

Sweden's reward

Compare the map in 1600 and in 1650 along the southern coast of the Baltic. Which lands has Sweden gained by the end of the war?

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. Gustavus said he came to defend the Protestants. What other reasons might Sweden have had?
  2. Catholic France paid Lutheran Sweden to fight the Catholic emperor. What does that tell you about this war?
  3. Armies lived off the land, taking food from villages. How would a farming family experience the war?
  4. Gustavus died at Lützen, but his army won the battle. Why did his death still matter so much?
  5. The new Swedish warship Vasa sank on its first voyage in 1628. What does that tell us about the race to build a strong military?
4

Game round

9 min

Play a round of Rule History as Peter the Great, who broke Sweden's power at Poltava in 1709. Discuss: Sweden was a great power for about a century. What does it take for a small country to become, and stay, a great power?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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