Developed by Dr Fiona Kisby, Queenswood School, Herts.
The National Curriculum, Departmental Schemes of Work and Lessons on Robert Boyle
The materials in this section have been designed for use by key stage three History students. As all classes have differing needs, conventional lesson plans have not been supplied. Rather, as explained below, the materials devised are presented in the form of 'lesson templates' plus pupil worksheets - they are to be used as a basic guide only and they could easily be adapted, shortened and/or incorporated into larger lesson plans according to need. Attainment targets and partial lesson objectives are suggested, and some new vocabulary is listed. The sequence of templates has been designed so that, to some extent, each builds upon knowledge gained using its predecessor. Some overlap of information does however occur. It is recommended that teachers read through all the teacher and pupil information for each lesson before deciding which components to utilise.
In order to make sources accessible to pupils of a wide variety of abilities, many of the texts of documentary and some secondary sources quoted in worksheets have been heavily adapted and modernized. In all cases the original source has been fully cited.
The 1999 National Curriculum and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority Schemes of Work for History:
A study of the Scientific Revolution in England could easily be incorporated into year nine history work, building on skills and substantive concepts learnt earlier at key stage three. A very useful large-scale scheme of work demonstrating how this could be achieved is provided by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's History website and teachers are urged to consult this to see how long-term lesson planning can be shaped (see unit 21 - 'From Aristotle to the Atom: Scientific Discoveries that Changed the World'). For example, a year-long syllabus focusing on 'Revolutions', could include a study of the French Revolution and the Industrial and Agricultural Revolutions in Britain. Building on pupils' understanding of 'revolutions', this could then be followed by a study of the Scientific Revolution in the seventeenth century and beyond.
As part of such a scheme, a study of the life and works of Robert Boyle could be included, and Boyle is indeed referred to as an example in the focus statement of unit nine of the National Curriculum for History Key Stage Three (as shown below)
A study of crowns, parliaments and people: the major political, religious and social changes affecting people throughout the British Isles, including the local area if appropriate. [Examples: Social changes: the Elizabethan poor laws; the foundation and fortunes of the East India Company; the changing role of women; the rebuilding of London; life in restoration London; law and order; advances in medicine and surgery including the work of William Harvey; the founding of the Royal Society and the scientific discoveries of Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle and Edmund Halley; developments in the arts and architecture.
Focus Questions for Lessons on Robert Boyle
A study of Boyle could be based around some of the following key questions:
- Who was Robert Boyle, when did he live and why did he become a scientist?
- How do historians know about the life and work of Robert Boyle?
- What significant scientific discoveries did Boyle make?
- Within what belief systems did Boyle operate? Which systems did he reject or modify?
- Who was Boyle influenced by and who did he collaborate with?
- How did Boyle's science relate to his religious beliefs?
- To which scientific institutions did Boyle belong? In what way was this significant for him?
- What were Boyle's methods of investigation, what instruments did he use and where did he carry out his experiments?
- How did Boyle record and disseminate his findings?
- Who were Boyle's scientific predecessors and contemporaries? Was his work similar or different to that of those people?
The materials published below could form the starting point for teachers wishing to devise their own lesson plans related to Robert Boyle and the Scientific Revolution. As far as possible, they have been designed for mixed ability year nine groups, and relate to all the areas of learning required by the National Curriculum : evidence; empathy; chronology; causation; change; explanation; interpretation. Learning objectives are based on the National Curriculum Attainment Targets recommended for Key stage Three History: http://www.nc.uk.net/nc/contents/Hi---ATT.html Complete lesson plans have not been provided; instead it is hoped that teachers will be able to cut and paste examples and modify materials or extend tasks to s uit the needs of their classes and the time available in lessons. It should also be noted that, with a topic such as Robert Boyle and the History of Science, there is considerable scope for cross-curricular links with the Key stage Three science curriculum. Both History and Science teachers may also wish to explore these further using the curriculum online.Schemes of work for science are available at: http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes2/secondary_science/ . Units such as those covering Respiration, and atoms, elements and compounds are particularly relevant.
Lesson plans downloads
Lesson plans are available for download in PDF format. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader you can download it using this link: 
There are 12 lesson plans available for Key Stage 3:
- Introduction (Natural Philosophy and Science in Europe and the West before 1500; Aristotle, Plato, Ptolemy)
- The Scientific Revolution in England and Europe, 1500-1700: why was Robert Boyle so important?
- The Biography of Robert Boyle
- Robert Boyle's Output (his manuscript writings and printed works)
- Robert Boyle and Oxford (1654-1668)
- Robert Boyle, London and the Royal Society (1668-1691)
- Robert Boyle and Experimentation
- Robert Boyle and the new 'Mechanical Philosophy'
- Boyle's Informants
- Robert Boyle and Religion
- Robert Boyle and Alchemy
- Historiography: was Boyle the progenitor of modern science?
Lesson 1 - Introduction (Natural Philosophy and Science in Europe and the West before 1500; Aristotle, Plato, Ptolemy)
Area of Learning: chronology, states of affairs
Aims. Pupils should be able to: gain factual knowledge of the history of the wider world outside Britain; describe the intellectual culture of a past society; make links and note contrasts between 'scientific' enquiry in the 21 st century and in ancient times
Vocab : classical antiquity, Renaissance, Aristotelian, natural philosophy, Robert Boyle, Plato, observation, experiment, deductive, inductive, phenomenon, phenomena, theology, objective, subjective, scholastic, contemporaries, precursor , anatomy, theologians, Christians, formulate, theory, thesis, theses, BC, AD, anno domini
Time frame : at least one hour plus homework
Resources: pupil worksheet
Click here to download Lesson 1
Lesson 2 - The Scientific Revolution in England and Europe, 1500-1700: why was Robert Boyle so important?
Area of Learning: states of affairs; change
Aims: P upils should be able to: use their factual knowledge and understanding of the history of Britain and the wider world to describe past societies and periods, and to make links between features within and across different periods; to examine and explain the reasons for, and results of, events and changes.
Vocab : inductive, deductive, Aristotle, Aristotelian, Ptolemy, Ptolemaic, Francis Bacon, Baconian, ideal, Democritus, Copernicus, Copernican, atomists, Descartes, Cartesian, mechanistic, hypothesis, atomistic, atomic structure, corpuscles, corpuscularian, phenomena, cosmology, solar system, proposition
Time Frame: up to one hour, depending on tasks chosen
Resources: information and question sheet; scope for research using the internet or school library
Click here to download Lesson 2
Lesson 3 - The Biography of Robert Boyle
Area of Learning: Chronology; evidence
Aims: to build up a basic picture of the biography of Robert Boyle; pupils should be able to research, extract and chronologically sort written information about Boyle's life, from standard/easily accessible biographical secondary sources; pupils should be able to select, organise and deploy relevant information to produced structured work.
Vocab: biography, autobiography; primary, secondary, documentary, visual sources; utility, aristocratic, credibility, chronology, evidence, infer, extract.
Time frame: suitable for a one hour lesson plus homework
Resources: Boyle website - http://www.bbk.ac.uk/Boyle/index.htm ; printed pupil worksheets containing images of primary sources
Click here to download lesson 3
Lesson 4 - Robert Boyle's Output (his manuscript writings and printed works)
Area of Learning: evidence
Aims: P upils should be able to identify and evaluate sources of information which are used to develop an argument and reach and support conclusions about the life and work of Robert Boyle
Vocab : archive; printed book; manuscript; pamphlet; repository; reprint; edition; source; evidence; antiquarian; biography
Time frame: up to one hour; possibly completing lesson through finishing poster off for homework.
Resources: pupil worksheet and sources sheet
Click here to download lesson 4
Lesson 5 - Robert Boyle and Oxford (1654-68)
Area of Learning: change; explanation; evidence
Aims: to gain an understanding of the central significance of Oxford as a forum for the exchange of ideas between major scientists in seventeenth century England; to explain why and how Oxford rose to prominence in this way; to make links between features across historical periods.
Vocab: lectureship, medicinal, professorship, collegiate, university; physic, statistics;, facilities, facilitated, experiments; focal point, colleague
Time Frame : at least one hour plus homework
Resources: pupil worksheet and sources sheet
Click here to download lesson 5
Lesson 6 - Robert Boyle, London and the Royal Society (1668-91)
Area of Learning: evidence, explanation, empathy
Aims: pupils should be able to: use, extract and evaluate information from sources relating to the Royal Society; explain the reasons for the foundation of the Royal Society; through producing a PowerPoint presentation, pupils should be able to select, organise and deploy relevant information to produce structured work, making appropriate use of dates and terms.
Vocab : disseminate; Royal Society; scholarly journal; archive; resource; transactions; experimentation; induction; fact-gathering; corroboration; fellow, membership; subscription, subscribe
Time frame : at least one hour plus homework
Resources: worksheet with questions and pictures
Click here to download lesson 6
Lesson 7 - Robert Boyle and Experimentation
Area of Learning: states of affairs, evidence
Aims: P upils should be able to: know the difference between the Baconian inductive method which advocates the use of experiments and the older Aristotelian deductive approaches; gain factual knowledge of and be able to describe the intellectual culture of a past; make links and note differences and similarities between ‘scientific' enquiry in the 21 st century and in seventeenth -century England; identify sources and extract information from sources
Vocab: axiom, quantitative, logical, deductive, inductive, methodology, experimental, hypothesis, theory, preconceived, air pump, receiver, thorax, microscope, technology, vacuum, respiration, transcription, annotate, provenance, retort
Time frame: material for between one to two hour-long lessons
Possible School Visit: some teachers may further wish to explore the history of scientific instruments; an ideal school trip would be to the Whipple Museum of the History of Science in Cambridge http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/whipple/collect.html
Resources: worksheet
Click here to download lesson 7
Lesson 8 - Robert Boyle and the new 'Mechanical Philosophy'
Area of Learning: chronology, states of affairs
Aims. Pupils should be able to: Gain factual knowledge and understanding of the history of Britain; use their knowledge to describe past societies ; use their knowledge to make links between features within and across different periods; identify and evaluate sources of information which are used to reach and support conclusions ; select, organise and deploy relevant information to produce structured work, making appropriate use of dates and terms.
Vocab : vacuum, matter, properties, body, analysis, Torricellian experiment, corpuscular, atomistic, constituted, Aristotle
Time frame : at least one hour.
Resources: worksheet
Click here to download lesson 8
Lesson 9 - Boyle's Informants
Lesson Title: Robert Boyle's Informants
Area of Learning: evidence, explanation; empathy
Aims. P upils should be able to: extract and analyse information from sources and compare sources
Vocab : informant, phenomena, phenomenon, mercantile, merchant, admiral, navy, physician, chemical, physical, temperature, traveller, colony, account, reputation, eminence, renown, biography, Protestant, West Indies, ambassador, sulphur, nobility, earl, serpent, anecdote
Time frame: one hour (completing worksheet for homework)
Resources: worksheets and sources
Click here to download lesson 9
Lesson 10 - Robert Boyle and Religion
Area of Learning: evidence, empathy
Aims : pupils should be able to: gain factual knowledge and understanding of the history of Britain in the seventeenth century; describe past cultures and the history of ideas in seventeenth century science; use their knowledge to make links between features within and across different periods
Vocab : Genesis, universe, cosmological, Big Bang, origins, originate, matter, atheistic, species, Darwinism, species, evolution, evolved, Victorian, early modern, Divinity, theology
Time Frame: up to one hour, plus a homework task which could be preparation for a debate in a following lesson
Resources: worksheets; some research required, using a library or internet
Click here to download lesson 10
Lesson 11 - Robert Boyle and Alchemy
Area of Learning: explanation
Aims. Pupils should be able to: describe past societies; describe different historical interpretations of people and changes; analyse and explain why there are different historical interpretations of events, people and changes; select, organise and deploy relevant information to produce structured work, making appropriate use of dates and terms.
Vocab : alchemy, alchemical, Enlightenment, transmutation, transformation, transmutation, occultism, supernatural, superstitious, Aristotelian, four elements, forms and qualities, esoteric, symbol, cipher, rational, irrational, empirical, crucible, sublimation, elixir
Time frame : at least one hour plus homework task.
Resources: worksheet
Click here to download lesson 11
Lesson 12 - Historiography: was Boyle the progenitor of modern science?
Lesson Title: The Historiography on Robert Boyle: was Boyle the progenitor of modern science?
Area of Learning: explanation
Aims. Pupils should be able to: describe different historical interpretations of people and their achievements and analyse and explain the reason for these differing interpretations; select, organise and deploy relevant information to produce structured work, making appropriate use of dates and terms.
Vocab : historiography, progenitor, era, conceptual, methodological, institutional, three laws of motion, mathematical, formula, formulae, natural phenomena, inertia, equation, physicist, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (the Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), expound, teleological, mathematized, mathematization, contemporary, precursor, inductive, experimental, cornerstone, progressive, manuscript
Time frame : at least one hour, plus homework
Resources: worksheet