UNIT
The Battle of Kinsale and
the Plantation of Ulster
05
25
Activity One
Famous Battles
Suggested Learning Intentions
We are learning:
• how important the Battle of Kinsale was to Irish
history; and
• about famous battles which have changed the
course of history.
Suggested Learning and
Teaching Activities
Read the section in Unit 5 of the pupil booklet which
describes the Battle of Kinsale and the Plantation of
Ulster. Ask pupils: why was this battle so important?
Why did King James I want settlers from England
and Scotland to come to Ulster?
Explore the Plantation in more detail, using the CCEA
resources highlighted in the Useful Links section.
Ask your pupils to read the What?, When? and Why?
sections in the resource booklet The Plantation of
Ulster and Ulster-Scots: What’s it all about?
Ask pupils to form groups, and ask each group to
research information about a battle which changed the
course of history. For example, they might research
the Battle of The Somme, the Battle of Hastings, the
Battle of Stalingrad or the Battle of Saratoga. Each
group should create a poster with their key findings.
Information could include facts such as:
• when and where the battle took place;
• who was fighting;
• why they were fighting;
• what happened in the battle; and
• what happened after the battle (and how it
changed history, if known).
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As a follow-up, pupils can write a newspaper article
reporting on their chosen battle. Alternatively, they can
write a first-person account of the battle where they
imagine themselves to be a soldier on the front line.
Ask your pupils: what gives an army or group the
advantage in a battle? (For example, they might
mention the number of soldiers or the weapons
available to them). Write all their answers on a
flip chart sheet. Then use the Active Learning and
Teaching Method: Dot Voting to decide which factors
are most important. Give each pupil three sticky dots
(or different coloured markers) and ask them to put
a dot beside the three factors on the list that they
consider to be most important.
Useful Links
• www.ccea.org.uk
(search for ‘Ulster-Scots’)
• www.askaboutireland.ie/learning-zone/
primary-students
(search for ‘The Battle of Kinsale’)
Activity Two
Suppressing or
Preserving a Language
Suggested Learning Intentions
We are learning:
• why King James tried to suppress the Irish
language;
• why some rulers want to prevent a language from
growing;
• to discuss different steps rulers might take to
prevent a language from growing;
• the meaning of the term endangered language;
• information about endangered Celtic languages;
and
• how endangered languages can be preserved or
promoted.
Suggested Learning and
Teaching Activities
Read the section in Unit 5 of the pupil booklet, which
discusses King James’s plans to make English the
dominant language in Ulster. Discuss this section
with your pupils and ask them: why might King
James want English to be the main language?
In groups, have pupils discuss what they would have
to do to stop the growth of a language today. Begin
by discussing different types of language, such as
written and spoken forms, and where people use
these types of language. What would schools have
to do to stop the growth of a language? What would
politicians have to do? What would the media have
to do? They could imagine they are an adviser to a
modern day king and describe the steps they would
take to prevent the growth of a language.
Because people spoke less Irish after the Plantation,
the language eventually became endangered.
Introduce the phrase endangered language to the
class. Do they know what it means? Watch the video
Introducing the Endangered Languages project
with your pupils. Can they name any endangered
languages?
Introduce pupils to four Celtic languages that are
endangered: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Breton and
Welsh. Divide the class into groups and assign one
language to each group. Ask each group to research
their chosen language and find out how many people
speak it, and where it is spoken. (You could even ask
them to find out common greetings in their target
language, if time allows.) Ask each group to imagine
that they have been asked to promote the language
and make it more widely spoken. What ideas do they
have to make their language more popular?
Have each group present their ideas on a poster or
in a short presentation.
Useful Links
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn2QbwcjmOI&t=12
• www.endangeredlanguages.com
• www.scotsman.com
(search for ‘Gaelic speakers Scotland’)
• www.omniglot.com/writing/breton.htm
• www.visitwales.com/explore/traditions-history/
welsh-language
• www.gaeilge2013.ie/en
(search for ‘facts figures Irish’)
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Activity Three
Gaeltacht Areas
Suggested Learning Intentions
We are learning:
• that people once spoke Irish everywhere on the
island of Ireland, including Ulster;
• to identify parts of Ireland where people speak
Irish as their first language; and
• to identify parts of Scotland where people speak
Scottish Gaelic as their first language.
Suggested Learning and
Teaching Activities
Read the final section of Unit 5 in the pupil booklet,
which describes how Ulster had the most Gaelic
speakers in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries. Explain that this was the case regardless
of religion. Ask the pupils if they know anyone who
speaks Irish or if they know of any places where
people speak Irish as a first language.
Introduce the term Gaeltacht to pupils. Watch the
introductory video What is the Gaeltacht? in the
Useful Links section. You could also watch some of
the other Gaeltacht videos listed in this section.
Have the pupils research Gaeltacht areas in Ireland,
using the Maps and Information links. Then ask
the class to identify specific Gaeltacht areas on a
map, using Resource 15: Map of Ireland. Ask pupils:
• Are all Gaeltacht areas in the Republic of Ireland,
or do any exist in Northern Ireland?
• Why do you think the main Gaeltacht areas are in
the west of Ireland? (For example, the east coast
of Ireland is closer to England and Dublin is more
built up than the west).
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Then ask pupils to identify the main areas of
Scotland where people speak Scottish Gaelic, using
Resource 16: Map of Scotland and the links below.
Where is Scottish Gaelic spoken most? Can pupils
think of any reasons why the language is strongest in
these areas?
Extension Activity
Give your pupils printed copies of Resource 17: Irish
language crossword. Ask them to find the answers
(in Irish) to this crossword, using the Irish language
online links listed below. They will have to explore
the resources to find the crossword answers in Irish.
(Answers on page 68).
Useful Links
Gaeltacht videos (YouTube)
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=liYWT7Ip0J4
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U0v9LHgyRY&t=4s
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=os5MA6jA2wc
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUpGvWgKyTg
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=04pt741fxKw
Maps and information
• www.udaras.ie/en
(click on ‘An Ghaeilge & an Ghaeltacht’)
• www.sussle.org
(search for ‘Gaeltacht Belfast’)
• www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usscotfax
(click ‘Scottish Gaelic’)
Irish language resources
• www.ccea.org.uk/curriculum
(search for ‘Primary Irish’)
• www.nicurriculum.org.uk/microsite/pl/irish/
index.asp