大象传媒

Queen Elizabeth I is our guide to the Tower of London, built by William the Conqueror.

The Tower of London

This episode explores one of the most famous castles in the UK - the Tower of London.

The Tower was one of the first castles to be built by William, Duke of Normandy, following his successful conquest of England. Our guide to the Tower and the many functions it has served over the centuries is Queen Elizabeth I, who was imprisoned in the Tower by her sister, Mary I.

The animation can be used to help pupils understand some aspects of chronology - as they walk down the corridor highlighting some 鈥榮ignificant individuals in the past鈥 and it references the Tower being built 鈥榓round 1000 years鈥 ago.

This can be used as a starting point to explore the life of Queen Elizabeth I (as referenced in the National Curriculum) and forpupils based in the South East it would also be a good base to explore the 鈥榟istory of their local area鈥.

Back to top

Further resources

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

Teacher's Notes

Click to display the image full-size

The Tower of London

Click to display the image full-size

The Tower of London showing location of the moat and River Thames

Click to display the image full-size

The Tower of London - outline drawing to colour
Back to top

Teacher's Notes

Before the video

The teacher could show an image of the Tower of London to explore what pupils already know (if anything) about it.

They could also try to use the photo to interpret what the building was used for.

During the video

The teacher could pause and ask pupils questions.

The corridor scene could also be used as a way to draw out chronology and explore some of the 鈥榮ignificant individualsand events from the past鈥 as they are mentioned.

After the video

After the video the teacher could use it as a stimulus for a discussion (links to the English spoken language objective: 'participate in discussions鈥ebates').

The teacher could ask basic comprehension questions - such as, Why was it built? What is it used for?

The teacher could make a statement - eg 鈥楾he Tower of London was not a safe place鈥, as sometimes statements elicit a more passionate response from the younger pupils. Then ask the pupils if they agree / disagree / somewhat agree with the statement - and why - before moving into a more conceptual discussion around what important 鈥榡ewels鈥 the pupils would keep in the Tower of London.

Pupils could be asked to draw three important things they would want to keep protected. To try to draw out the concept of chronology the children could pretend they were living 1000 years ago. What would they value then?*

What is similar, what is different compared with today? This could be represented by two hoops laid out as a Venn diagram to capture pupil reflections.

Curriculum Notes

This film is relevant for teaching History at KS1 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 1st Level in Scotland.

Back to top

More from this series

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 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
Back to top