French Revolution: Complete Graphic Organiser

A four-section graphic organiser traces the French Revolution from its economic and social causes through the Reign of Terror to Napoleon's rise and fall.
Year levels
Years 8–11
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated Sep 27, 2026

Subject
History: Europe, History: World, History, Social Studies
Topic
Graphic Organizer, World History
Resource types
Graphic Organizers
Preparation
Print ready
Australian Curriculum content descriptions
AC9HH9S05 — analyse cause

From the author

About this resource

Use four student graphic-organiser pages to take notes on French Revolution causes, turning points, the Reign of Terror and Napoleon’s rise and fall. Four completed teacher pages provide matching responses in an eight-page PDF.

A comparison table places the Revolution’s goals beside Napoleon’s actions and results. Five dated cloze boxes organise his downfall. Pair the student pages with your lesson or assigned reading.

Clipart credit: Prince Padania and Dandy Doodles.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Summarise the short-term economic, social and political causes of the French Revolution.

  • Explain the significance of the Tennis Court Oath, the storming of the Bastille and the Great Fear.

  • Describe how the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Reign of Terror shaped the Revolution's course.

  • Compare Napoleon's stated goals with his actual actions and results across the economy, government and religion.

  • Sequence the events of Napoleon's fall from the 1812 Russian campaign through his 1821 death.

Teaching tips

  • Distribute the blank/partial student version (pages 5-8) for note-taking during a lecture or reading, then use the completed version (pages 1-4) to check answers.

  • The Fall of Napoleon page uses a cloze-style fill-in-the-blank narrative rather than separate boxed facts, so pair it with a word bank or the specific vocabulary from the lesson.

  • Use the goals/actions/results comparison table as a wrap-up discussion prompt on whether Napoleon achieved what he promised.

Skills covered

  • Cause-and-effect analysis — students trace the economic, social and political causes that led to the Estates-General and the storming of the Bastille.

  • Historical summarisation — students condense dense primary events, including the Reign of Terror and Napoleon's rise and fall, into organiser categories.

  • Chronological sequencing — students place Napoleon's 1812-1821 downfall events (Russia, Leipzig, Elba, Waterloo, St. Helena, death) in order using the timeline section.

  • Compare/contrast reasoning — students weigh Napoleon's stated goals against his actual actions and results across three policy domains.

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Australian Curriculum (Version 9.0)

Australian Curriculum content descriptions

Australian Curriculum content descriptions

  • AC9HH9S05 — analyse cause and effect, and evaluate patterns of continuity and change

Core concepts

  • French Revolution

  • Reign of Terror

  • Napoleon Bonaparte

  • Cause and effect

  • Graphic organiser

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