A Practical Guide to Teaching History in the Secondary School

Chapter Three - Example Bosplan

Example D: To Understanding Different Interpretations of an Event

(Bold text shows where an objective has been ‘tracked through’ into the lesson itself.)

Class: 8M Ability: Mixed Length: 70 minutes

Previous knowledge: The class has almost completed their study of Henry VIII and has had some earlier lessons on historical interpretations.

Aim: To study interpretations of Henry’s illness. (KSU3).

Objectives: To enable the pupils to do the following:

To recall the different reasons why historians may offer different interpretations of an event (KSU3).
To copy from the board a proforma/plan, which includes a space for symptoms, the theories and an evaluation using a full page of the exercise book.
To know the symptoms of Henry’s illness and decline on.
To complete the four blocks of the proforma with summaries of the four theories and reasons which might discredit them, using pages 32 and 33 of Aylett.
To evaluate the theories and decide which one they believe to be correct, giving reasons for their decision (KSU 3b).
To understand the wider significance of the topic (KSU 2e).

Objectives	Teacher activity	Pupil activity
1	Title on board Recall questions about Henry’s actions and decisions in his declining years. Explain the aim of the lesson. Re-cap questions on historical interpretations.	Answer questions Pupils write title, ‘Different interpretations of Henry VIII’s illness’.
2	Draw a plan on the board (if not done before the lesson began) with blocks for the symptoms, the four theories and the evaluation.	Pupils copy the plan in their exercise books, taking a whole page
3	Describe and list on the board the symptoms Henry experienced, based on primary sources.	Pupils complete the symptoms section
4	Explain each of the theories in turn and invite pupils to suggest reasons, which might limit their validity.	Answer questions.
4	Police and chivvy.	Pupils complete the four sections of their plan for the theories and possible criticism of the theories.
5		Pupils complete the evaluation section of the plan with their choice of theory and reasons for choice.
6	Conclusion: Question pupils about their choice, how much had their choice been influenced by the evidence available: how it could change again; what was the significance of the topic and the lesson.	Answer questions.