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Six animations exploring the topic Castles and Knights.

William the Conqueror. video

Fatima and Harry learn about William the Conqueror鈥檚 invasion of England and the Battle of Hastings.

William the Conqueror

The Tower of London. video

Fatima and Harry explore one of the most famous castles in the UK: the Tower of London.

The Tower of London

The Features of a Castle. video

Fatima and Harry hear about the key features of a castle - such as thick walls, towers, drawbridges and moats.

The Features of a Castle

Famous Sieges. video

Fatima and Harry learn how castles defended against attack by hearing the stories of two famous sieges.

Famous Sieges

The Legend of King Arthur. video

Fatima and Harry learn the difference between fact and fiction - hence the difference between history and myth.

The Legend of King Arthur

The Real Life of a Knight. video

Fatima and Harry learn some more of the many ways life in medieval times is different from today.

The Real Life of a Knight

Castles and Knights

The animations follow two children - Fatima and Harry - and their visits to a Virtual Reality Museum, where they find out about the exciting subject of Castles and Knights. They join one of the museum's guides - Sally - and she reveals some of the museum's exhibits to them, with the aid of virtual reality headsets.

Using the headsets Fatima and Harry are able to witness real events from the past - including the Battle of Hastings, the building of the Tower of London, the siege of Edinburgh Castle etc - and also some 'made up' events - such as King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone.

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Further resources

Download / print the Notes including illustrations, photos and worksheets (pdf)

Teacher's Notes

Click to display the image full-size

What is the same about these castles? What is different?

Sequence the gallery paintings in chronological order

Historical chronology
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Through the course of the animations Fatima and Harry find out about:

  • the development of castles and their purpose
  • the design, build and features of a medieval castle
  • the inhabitants of a medieval castle
  • the lives of two significant individuals highlighted in the KS1 curriculum - William I ('William the Conqueror') and Queen Elizabeth I
  • Harold II and the Battle of Hastings
  • the design of a motte and bailey castle
  • the history and functions of The Tower of London
  • the ways castles could be attacked, including by siege
  • the development of armour
  • the location of castles, including three significant castles in addition to the Tower of London from around the UK: Edinburgh Castle (in Scotland), Caernarfon Castle (Wales) and Warwick Castle (England)
  • elements of medieval society and the feudal system
  • stories about knights that became popular in medieval times and remain popular today - for example King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
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Where next?

Knights, castles and dragons

Justin Fletcher has three KS1 dance sessions supporting this topic and including 'The Sword in the Stone'.

Knights, castles and dragons

Bitesize

Use these Bitesize resources to set homework, independent study tasks or to consolidate learning for your pupils.

Bitesize

Newsround

The latest news stories from Newsround to share in the classroom.

Newsround
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