Lesson plan: Reliability of Sources

Learnerstounderstandthatprimaryandsecondarysourcescanvaryintheirreliability.Learnerstounderstandtheterm‘bias’andhowthiscanaffectsources.History,Literacy,CreativeWriting

• Whatdoes‘reliable’mean?• Whydoyouthinksome

sourcescanbeunreliable?• Howdoweknowifsomething

isfactoropinion?• Whatdoes‘bias’mean?• Whatdoes‘balanced’mean?

Play‘passthemessage’toseehowinformationcanchangeovertime.Whisperamessagearoundthecircletoseeifthemessagehaschanged,usethisasanopportunitytohighlighthowasecondarysourcecanbeunreliable.Ifthemessageisthesamecongratulatetheclassroomoncreatingareliablesecondarysource.ReadthroughthebriefinformationontheBattleofHastings.ThequoteisfromaWelshmanuscriptcalledBrutyTywysogionandthisbriefquotewastheonlymentionoftheBattleofHastingsintheentiremanuscript.

Lookatthe3differentcharactersdiscussingthebattleofHastings,askthelearnerstodecidewhichisNorman,WelshandAnglo-Saxon.Askthemtoexplaintheiranswers.Werethecharactersexpressingfactsoropinions?Areanyofthecharactersshowingabalancedview?AskthelearnerstoreadthroughtheimaginedheadlinesabouttheBattleofHastings.Thelearners’taskistolabelthemWelsh,NormanorAnglo-Saxon,andtonotewhethertheyarebiasedorbalanced.Askthelearnerstoexplaintheiranswers.Splittheclassroominto3groups:Welsh,NormansandAnglo-Saxons.AskthethreegroupstoimaginetheyarewritingalettertotelltheirfamilytheresultoftheBattleofHastings.Encouragethechildrentowriteitfromthepointofviewoftheircharacterandtothinkabouthowtheywouldfeel.

Askthelearnersiftheyrecognisedanybiasinthesourcestheyused.Howreliabledotheythinkthesourcestheyusedwere?Whoiswritingdownhistory1000yearsago?Dotheygiveabiasedorbalancedviewofevents?

Lesson plan: Reliability of Sources

Lessonobjective:

Focus:

Starterquestions:

Starteractivity:

Historicalcontext:

Activity1:

Activity2:

Maintask:

Plenary:

Reliability of sources

HistoricalcontextThebattleofHastingshappenedon14thOctober1066.The

battlewasbetweentheFrenchNormansandtheEnglishAnglo-

Saxons.Thebattlestartedat9amandlastedalldayuntildusk.

AtthestartofthebattletheNormanswerenotabletobreak

theEnglishline.LaterduringthebattletheNormansretreated

andtheEnglishfollowedafterthem.ThisbroketheEnglishline

andtheNormansattackedagain.TheEnglishKingHaroldwas

killedandtheEnglishweredefeated.TheWelshwerenot

involvedintheBattlebutthenewsoftheNormanwinwould

havetravelledtoWalesquickly.

"AcertainmancalledWilliam…leaderofthe

Normans...cameagainstHarold;andafteramighty

battleandaslaughteroftheSaxons,hedespoiledhim

[Harold]ofhiskingdomandofhislife."

QuotefromtheChronicleofthePrincesmanuscript

http://www.llgc.org.uk/en/discover/digital-gallery/manuscripts/the-middle-ages/chronicle-of-the-princes/

Reliability of sources

Activity1

Itwasahardbattlebutitwasagreat

result.

Itwasallgoingsowellandthenitturnedintoadisaster.

Thestrongersidewon,butitdoesn’treallymattertome.

Reliability of sources

Activity2

“Wehammeredthem!”“Normanswinathistoricbattle”“DisasterassneakyNormansstealvictory”“Williamwinsunimportantbattle”“OneintheeyeforweakSaxons”“MagnificentwinforNormans”“NormansclaimlastminutevictoryoverSaxons”

Reliability of sources

MainTask

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