The Siege of Derry

Active learning works well for this topic because the Siege of Derry was a prolonged ordeal where ordinary decisions and daily life mattered as much as grand battles. Students engage with the human scale of history when they step into roles and analyze firsthand accounts rather than memorize dates alone.

• 5th Class
• Voices of the Past: Exploring Change and Continuity
• 4 activities
• 25 min–40 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the primary religious and political causes of the conflict between James II and William of Orange leading to the Siege of Derry.
2. Explain how the siege impacted the daily lives of Derry's inhabitants, including food shortages and defensive measures.
3. Evaluate the significance of the Siege of Derry as a turning point in Irish history.
4. Justify why the Siege of Derry continues to be commemorated through modern traditions and symbols.

Simulation Game

⏱ 30 min·Small Groups

Role-Play: The Gates Debate

Divide students into small groups to role-play the confrontation between Governor Lundy and the Apprentice Boys. Assign roles with brief character cards detailing motivations. Groups debate and vote on shutting the gates, then share outcomes with the class.

Prepare & details

Analyze the primary causes of the conflict between James II and William of Orange.

Facilitation Tip: For the role-play, assign each student a persona with a 10-word backstory to ensure everyone participates meaningfully.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Simulation Game

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Collaborative Timeline: Siege Events

Provide students with event cards on causes, key dates, and relief. In small groups, they sequence events on a large class timeline, adding sketches of daily life impacts. Discuss how sequence reveals patterns of hardship.

Prepare & details

Explain how the siege impacted the daily lives of the city's inhabitants.

Facilitation Tip: In the timeline activity, provide pre-cut event cards so students physically arrange them to grasp the siege’s length and sequence.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Simulation Game

⏱ 35 min·Pairs

Source Analysis: Eyewitness Accounts

Distribute excerpts from siege diaries and maps. Pairs highlight evidence of daily struggles like rationing bread and water. Groups present findings, linking to key questions on causes and commemoration.

Prepare & details

Justify why this event continues to be remembered and commemorated today.

Facilitation Tip: When analyzing eyewitness accounts, ask students to highlight one word that captures the writer’s tone before discussing broader patterns.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Formal Debate

⏱ 25 min·Pairs

Formal Debate: Lundy's Legacy

Pairs prepare arguments for and against Governor Lundy as hero or traitor, using provided sources. Hold a whole-class vote and reflection on leadership in conflict.

Prepare & details

Analyze the primary causes of the conflict between James II and William of Orange.

Setup: Two teams facing each other, audience seating for the rest

Materials: Debate proposition card, Research brief for each side, Judging rubric for audience, Timer

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Teaching This Topic

Teachers should avoid framing the siege as a single battle or glorifying any side, instead emphasizing the human cost and local agency. Research shows that when students role-play factions, they grasp complexity better than through lectures alone. Focus on primary sources to correct oversimplified narratives about command structures or civilian impact.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students recognizing the siege as a crisis of endurance, not just conflict, and connecting personal stories to political stakes. They should articulate how blockades and starvation shaped outcomes and debate leadership choices with evidence from multiple sources.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Collaborative Timeline activity, watch for students compressing the siege into a few days or weeks.

What to Teach Instead

Use this activity to pause at key dates like 7 December and 19 July, asking students to add one daily hardship for each month to the timeline cards.

Common Misconception

During the Source Analysis activity, watch for students attributing command of the siege to James II himself.

What to Teach Instead

Have students circle every title in their documents (e.g., 'Earl of Tyrconnell') and create a class list of roles to clarify who led operations.

Common Misconception

During the Role-Play activity, watch for students assuming the siege only affected soldiers.

What to Teach Instead

Assign each student a civilian role (e.g., baker, child, merchant) and require them to include a daily struggle in their opening remarks.

Common Misconception

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Provide students with a Venn diagram. Ask them to compare and contrast the motivations of the Jacobite and Williamite forces. Prompt: 'List two reasons why James II's supporters wanted him back and two reasons why William of Orange's supporters wanted him to rule.'

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'Imagine you were a child living in Derry during the siege. What would be the three biggest challenges you would face each day?' Facilitate a brief class discussion, encouraging students to share their ideas and justify their choices based on what they've learned about rationing and danger.

Quick Check

Present students with three images: a map of Derry from 1689, a drawing of a cannon, and a modern photograph of the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall. Ask students to write one sentence for each image explaining its connection to the Siege of Derry.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask early finishers to draft a diary entry from the perspective of Governor Lundy’s aide, explaining his conflicting loyalties.
• Scaffolding: For struggling students, provide a sentence starter like 'During the siege, people in Derry faced...' to structure their thoughts.
• Deeper exploration: Invite students to compare Derry’s boom defense with modern blockades, using a short comparative reading as a starter.

Key Vocabulary

Jacobite	A supporter of the deposed Catholic King James II and his descendants. They sought to restore the Stuart monarchy to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Williamite	A supporter of William of Orange, who replaced James II as King of England. They generally favored Protestant rule and the established political order.
Siege	A military operation in which enemy forces surround a town or building, attempting to capture it by blockade or assault.
Apprentice Boys	A group of Protestant young men in Derry who famously shut the city gates against the Catholic army of James II in 1688, initiating the siege.
Boom	A barrier, often made of timber or chains, placed across a river or harbor to prevent enemy ships from passing.