Beyond Face Value Resources and Lessons KS2
Explore Beyond Face Value at KS2
Help pupils question historical images and accounts rather than accept them at face value. These enquiries explore portraits, industrial conditions and wartime propaganda across several periods.
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The enquiry sequence
Enquiry-based lessons and resources
6 activities
Top tips for planning your KS2 history studies – Thematic post-1066
A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066. Try to make as much use as you can of your existing Tudor,…
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Beyond Face Value – KQ1 – Henry VIII a question of interpretations. Could you spot Henry VIII in a police line-up?
This is a really fun lesson which shows children what is meant by historical interpretations in an engaging and accessible way. It appeals to both visual and kinaesthetic learners by…
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Beyond Face Value – KQ2 – Elizabeth I portraits – Why do Elizabeth I portraits mysteriously start showing her looking younger towards the end of her reign?
This powerful lesson on Tudor portraits as propaganda gives pupils the chance to appreciate that things aren’t always what they seem. Elizabeth wanted to be shown in a particular light…
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Beyond Face Value – KQ3 – So what were Victorian factory conditions really like? A Y6 study in provenance
In this lesson, pupils are shown 3 images of factory conditions from early/mid Victorian times. Using their knowledge of factory reform they feel confident that they can date the factories….
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Beyond Face Value – KQ4 – Why did Ford Madox Brown paint this detailed picture of a scene that never existed?
This lesson revolves around a single painting entitled Work, painted by Ford Madox Brown between 1852 and 1865. Using Fastest Finger First pupils are encouraged to explore the full detail…
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Beyond Face Value – KQ5 – Were the evacuees as happy as they were shown?
Two great tasks which together make up Key Question 5 of the Britain at War medium term plan, Why is it so difficult to be sure what life was really…
Read MoreBeyond Face Value – KQ6 – The Blitz. What was photographer Fred’s clever way of beating the censors?
In this fascinating lesson pupils learn how photographers avoided the censors they saw in KQ5 and how the government used certain images of the Blitz as propaganda, even though they…
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Medium Term Planner for Thematic unit Beyond Face Value Year 6
This end-of-key stage unit fulfils the post-1066 thematic requirement of the National Curriculum, but it does so in a particularly imaginative way. Instead of looking at just one period, here…
Read MoreWritten by Neil Thompson
All content on Keystage history is written and quality assured by Neil Thompson, a former history teacher, county history adviser and Ofsted inspector with more than 30 years’ experience in history education.