Medieval Britain KS3 Outstanding Lessons

Medieval medicine

Medieval Britain KS3 outstanding lessons and Smart Tasks

The following Key Stage 3 outstanding history lessons for teaching Medieval Britain have all been judged to be outstanding according to OFSTED criteria. You will find a wide variety of teaching and learning activities and full lesson plans as well as a rich array of teaching resources including PowerPoint® presentations. These are not just ‘bright ideas’ : what they have in common is a clear emphasis on helping pupils to understand some of the key concepts historians use, the heartlands of school history.

When you look down the indicative content of the 7 units it looks pretty intimidating especially teaching to for just one hour a week in a 2-year KS3. So what you need to do is to go for the high ground- the idea of an Age of Faith for example covered by looking at Doom paintings in Medieval churches and reinforced through the causes and consequences of the Black Death. I try to get pupils to see the period, now extended to 1509, as a series of struggles: between king and church (Becket) King and barons (Magna Carta) and King and people (Peasants’ Revolt).

Teaching KS3 History: Medieval Britain

A wide range of lessons are showcased here for teaching Medieval Britain at KS3 because the medieval period is highly…

So how exactly did Becket die: a source-based investigation

Working as historical advisers to a movie director, pupils attempt to reconstruct the scene of Becket’s death by cross-referencing and…

Richard I: Lionheart or loser should we keep his statue – SMART TASK

This short task puts pupils in the role of spin doctors who have to ‘big up’ the reputation of Richard…

Why did they build so many churches in medieval times?

This simple task starts with pupils exploring and then prioritising a range of accessible ideas in order to arrive at…

What were the real reasons why William organised the Domesday survey?

In this active lesson pupils start by speculating possible motives (given a couple of clues) and then work in groups…

How far did life really change when William the Conqueror became king after the Battle of Hastings? SMART TASK KS3

Pupils have to design a set of stamps to show the 5 biggest changes introduced by William the Conqueror after…

Why did Peasant unrest boil over into revolt in 1381?

Reasons for the Peasants’ Revolt This lesson uses the analogy of raising the political temperature, and then boiling over, to…

Did Harold really die with an arrow in his eye? – a reconstruction relay

In this activity pupils reconstruct the death scene from the Bayeux tapestry by means of a short, fun, reconstruction relay…

Peasant’s Revolt: If life for many medieval peasants improved after the Black Death why did they risk joining the Peasants revolt in 1381?

This is a thinking skills activity, a variant of a history mystery, in which pupils construct their own explanation of…

Was the Black Death a disaster for everyone?

This lesson is about the consequences of the Black Death. After an initial stimulus image, pupils are presented with a…

If Henry and Becket were such good friends why did Henry have him killed less than 10 years later?

This very active thinking skills lesson comprises three separate episodes. Firstly having listened to a brief teacher-told narrative, pupils have…

Daggers, money bags, clay pipes, scrolls, and torn up maps of France: putting King John on trial using a range of exhibits

Carrying out a trial of a controversial character is far from new. We have all tried it at some time. …

Medieval Britain