Voices of the Past: Exploring Change and Continuity · 5th Class

Active learning ideas

Key Figures of the War of Independence

Active learning helps students grasp complex historical figures and their shifting alliances in the War of Independence. By stepping into roles and analyzing primary sources, students move beyond textbook summaries to see how leadership choices shaped Ireland’s future.

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Hot Seat
• 45 min · Small Groups

Role-Play Debate: Treaty Negotiations

Assign roles as Collins, de Valera, or advisors. Provide short speeches and factsheets. Students debate pros and cons of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in character for 20 minutes, then vote and reflect on outcomes. Conclude with a class discussion on real impacts.

Analyze the leadership styles and contributions of Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera.

Facilitation Tip

During the Role-Play Debate, assign students specific roles (e.g., Collins supporter, de Valera supporter, neutral mediator) to ensure balanced perspectives and deeper engagement with the Treaty’s terms.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If you were advising Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera in 1921, what single piece of advice would you give each leader based on their known strengths and weaknesses, and why?' Encourage students to justify their advice using evidence from their studies.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Jigsaw
• 50 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Leadership Puzzle

Divide class into expert groups on Collins or de Valera, researching one aspect like military or political roles. Experts teach mixed groups using posters. Groups then compare visions for Ireland and present findings.

Compare their visions for an independent Ireland.

Facilitation Tip

In the Biography Jigsaw, group students by figure first, then mix them to teach each other, forcing reliance on their notes rather than re-reading the original text.

What to look for

Provide students with short, anonymized quotes attributed to either Collins or de Valera regarding the Treaty or the future of Ireland. Ask students to identify which leader likely said each quote and briefly explain their reasoning, citing specific aspects of their known positions.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Hot Seat
• 35 min · Pairs

Timeline Walk: Key Decisions

Create a class timeline of War events with stations for Collins and de Valera actions. Pairs add sticky notes with impacts, then walk and discuss how decisions shaped independence.

Evaluate the impact of their decisions on the course of the war.

Facilitation Tip

For the Timeline Walk, provide event cards with dates only, then have groups sequence them using context clues from Collins’s and de Valera’s speeches.

What to look for

On an index card, have students write one sentence comparing Michael Collins's approach to achieving independence with Éamon de Valera's approach. Then, ask them to write one sentence explaining a consequence of their differing strategies.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Hot Seat
• 40 min · Small Groups

Source Sort: Leadership Styles

Provide quotes, photos, and cartoons. In small groups, students sort into Collins or de Valera piles, justify choices, and create a Venn diagram of similarities and differences.

Analyze the leadership styles and contributions of Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera.

Facilitation Tip

When sorting primary sources in Source Sort, limit each group to three documents to avoid overwhelm and focus their analysis on leadership style traits like pragmatism or idealism.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If you were advising Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera in 1921, what single piece of advice would you give each leader based on their known strengths and weaknesses, and why?' Encourage students to justify their advice using evidence from their studies.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers find that framing this topic as a study of strategic choices, not just personalities, keeps students engaged. Avoid framing Collins and de Valera as heroes or villains; instead, highlight their human decisions and consequences. Research shows that counterfactual questions (e.g., 'What if Collins had rejected the Treaty?') deepen understanding of cause and effect.

Successful learning looks like students confidently explaining Collins’s and de Valera’s strategies and debating their differences with evidence. They should trace key events chronologically and support their views with primary source details.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Role-Play Debate, watch for students assuming Collins and de Valera always agreed on strategy.

  During the Role-Play Debate, provide each student with a one-sentence briefing on their assigned leader’s stance (e.g., Collins: 'We must accept compromise to end violence'). This forces them to argue from evidence rather than assumptions.

• During the Timeline Walk, watch for students thinking the War of Independence was won solely by military battles.

  During the Timeline Walk, highlight events like de Valera’s U.S. fundraising tour or Collins’s intelligence network by adding a second color to the timeline for political actions. Groups must explain how these efforts supported military efforts.

• During the Biography Jigsaw, watch for students simplifying Collins as only a soldier and de Valera as only a politician.

  During the Biography Jigsaw, provide each expert group with a mix of military and political actions for their figure. Groups must teach peers how both leaders handled dual roles, using specific examples.

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Methods used in this brief

• Hot Seat
• Jigsaw