Year 1 - History
Brunel's race to cross the Atlantic
William Adams and Brunel
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit on explorers and seafaring gives students a clear sense of change over time, highlighting technological, economic, and cultural shifts. It covers the sea's role in trade and exploration and explores material culture, craftsmanship, and the influence of seafaring on language and art.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe Brunel's attempts to win the 'race across the Atlantic'.
Key Notes
- Just under 200 years ago, a race was underway to see which would be the first steamship to cross the Atlantic.
- A British engineer called Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed the SS Great Western to try and achieve this.
- It was a wooden hulled steamship with masts, sails and a paddle wheel.
- The SS Great Western was narrowly beaten by the SS Sirius, which became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic.
- Brunel then designed and built the SS Great Britain, the first iron steamship with a propeller to cross the Atlantic.
Vocabulary To Learn
- steamship: a steamship is a ship that uses a steam engine to help it move
- paddle wheel: a paddle wheel is a large wheel, turned by a steam engine, used to move a boat
- propeller: a propeller is something that spins in the water to move a ship forward
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils may think that the 'race across the Atlantic' was an actual race, like on school sports day.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Summarise this historical learning in two key ideas.
Just under 200 years ago, a race was underway to see which would be the first steamship to cross the Atlantic. A British engineer called Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed the SS Great Western to try and achieve this.
2. Define this history term and explain why it matters in this topic. 'steamship'
a steamship is a ship that uses a steam engine to help it move.
3. Correct this common history misconception using evidence language.
Mistake: Pupils may think that the 'race across the Atlantic' was an actual race, like on school sports day. Correction: At around the same time, people in different places were trying to achieve the same thing, so whoever achieved it first won the 'race'.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Chinese innovation in seafaring Study Guide
- Early explorers and their boats Study Guide
- From sail to steam power Study Guide
- How Polynesian explorers travelled and navigated Study Guide
- Life aboard the SS Great Britain Study Guide
- Seafaring 450 years ago Study Guide
- Seafaring in the early Mediterranean world Study Guide
- The incredible voyages of Zheng He Study Guide
- The Vikings and their longboats Study Guide
- Viking navigation and expansion Study Guide
- William Adams' journey to Japan Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 1 History guide library.