This lesson – the second in the unit on Kievan Rus – focuses on one of the early rulers of the state: Oleg, who is often known as ‘Oleg the Wise’.

Students first use Russian writer Alexander Pushkin’s poem ‘The Song of Wise Oleg’ to find out about the deeds and exploits of Oleg.

 They are asked to summarise extracts from Pushkin’s poem in various ways (including ‘dual coding’ the extracts with illustrations).

Then, students use a series of further clues to help them create flash cards based on five key aspects of Oleg’s rule.

They are encouraged to form judgements about the degree to which Oleg can be considered ‘heroic’ (or whether some of his exploits amounted, in fact, to villainy).

Finally, students must judge the appropriateness of Oleg’s moniker (‘the Wise’) – and they are challenged, if they consider Oleg to have been unfitting of his nickname – to come up with an alternative one. 

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