The growth of Irish monasteries
I can describe how the monasteries of Ireland grew in importance.
The growth of Irish monasteries
I can describe how the monasteries of Ireland grew in importance.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- By the early 6th century, monasteries began to be set up across Ireland.
- At first, these were meant as places for Christians to retreat to and dedicate their lives to God.
- They were often in remote, hard to reach places like the island of Skellig Michael.
- Many monasteries, though, attracted the patronage of kings and the rich and grew in both size and importance.
- They were centres for the teaching of poetry, literature, and the arts and produced manuscripts like the Book of Kells.
Keywords
Monastery - a monastery is a building lived in by a community of monks who follow religious vows
Patronage - patronage is the support given by a person to another person, organisation or cause, usually involving money
Monk - a monk is a member of a community of men living under religious vows
Common misconception
Pupils may think monasteries were only a place for prayer.
Monasteries were places for learning and culture where people could pray, study the bible and create things.
To help you plan your year 5 history lesson on: The growth of Irish monasteries, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 5 history lesson on: The growth of Irish monasteries, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 2 history lessons from the Britain after the Romans: how did Christianity survive in the British Isles? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
