What is a Monarch?
Year 2
Unit Overview
Finding out the role of a monarch, children compare the monarchy today with the monarchy in the past. Pupils investigate how William the Conqueror became King and learn how he used castles to rule. They study different types of castles and consider how these evolved over time..
Unit Sequence: Learning Intentions
What is a monarch? - To describe what a monarch is.
Who is our monarch today? - To explain why coronations take place.
How did William the Conqueror become King of England? - To explain how William the Conqueror became King of England.
How did William the Conqueror rule? - To identify how William the Conqueror built castles while ruling England.
How did castles change? - To identify features of a castle that would be effective when defending against attacks.
What was a monarch in the past? - To suggest what a monarch was like in the past.
❇ SUBSTANTIVE CONCEPTS
Power (monarchy, government and empire)
❇ DISCIPLINARY CONCEPTS
Change and continuity
Similarities and differences
Sources of evidence
Historical interpretations
Cause and consequence
Historical significance
❇ HISTORICAL VOCABULARY
absolute monarchy
Anglo-Saxon
anointing
Archbishop of Canterbury
armed forces
attack
bailey
battle
battlements
Bayeux Tapestry
ceremony
concentric castle
constitutional monarchy
conquer
coronation
crowning
defend
earl
Edward the Confessor
fortified manor house
gatehouse
government
Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex
Harald Hardrada
Head of State
invade
investing
keep
moat
monarch
motte
motte-and-bailey
nobility
Normandy
Normans
oath
orb
parliament
portcullis
power
procession
rule
sceptre
stone keep
tower
walls
William of Normandy
Witan
❇ MEMORABLE MOMENT
re-enact a coronation
️✏️ WRITING OPPORTUNITIES
design and label a castle listing why it would be effective during an attack
🌳 LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
N/A
🏁 BIG FINISH
To write a job description for either a monarch in the past or a modern day monarch.
📖 FOCUS TEXT(S)
Kings and Queens: Alfred the Great to King Charles III and Everyone In-Between by Marcia Williams
Knowledge Organiser
