This enquiry into Richard the Lionheart makes for excellent interpretations work. The students are introduced to the statue that currently stands outside the House of Parliament.
The first task of the students is to suggest what the decision to place this statue outside of our seat of government suggests about Richard.
They are then introduced to some conflicting interpretations of Richard and, after acquiring some factual knowledge, they use it to arrive at their own judgements. The lesson finishes with students being challenged to “knock down the wall of misconception”- a kinaesthetic plenary that allows students to really use their historical knowledge to challenge various views of Richard the Lion heart.
This enquiry teaches the students a number of important ideas about historical interpretations. It allows students to appreciate that the same person or historical event can be interpreted in various, often conflicting ways and that historical knowledge has a key role to play in allowing us to arrive at our own conclusions.
Finally it helps them understand the interpretation’s purpose – in this case to commemorate and to send a political message.
Download lesson
- Lesson presentation: PowerPoint
- Lesson write-up: PDF
- Resource 1: PDF
- Resource 2: PDF
- Resource 3: PDF
- Resource 4: PDF
