The Norman Conquest - The Complete Series (7 lessons)

Children will begin by looking at the three contenders for the throne in 1066, and the battles that were fought between these men before William, Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England. Children will learn why castles were built, and how to become a Norman knight. They will move onto learning about how England changed under William the Conqueror’s rule with the introduction of the Feudal System, and finally, children will find out about the compilation of the Domesday book.

This downloadable KS2 Normans series of lessons contains detailed lesson plans, engaging slideshow presentations and printable resources.

In this first lesson, children find out about the three contenders for the English throne after Edward the Confessor died in 1066. In their independent activities they choose a contender to support, and create a poster, leaflet or speech telling people about why this man should become king. Alternatively, in groups, children act as the Witan, and discuss reasons for and against each man becoming king.

This downloadable lesson contains a detailed plan, engaging slides and printable resources.

During this downloadable lesson your class will discover what happened after Harold Godwinson was crowned the King of England in January 1066. They learn about King Harold’s victory over Harald Hardrada in the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and his defeat to William, Duke of Normandy in the Battle of Hastings. In their independent activities, children sequence or write the main events of both battles in chronological order. In the FSD? activity, children use role-play to ask and answer questions as each of the three men.

This lesson contains a lesson plan, slideshow presentations, teaching resources and activity ideas.

In this lesson, children find out that, although William the Conqueror had won the Battle of Hastings, he still faced many problems before he was actually crowned King of England. As a class, they look at five of his main problems, discussing and choosing potential given solutions, before learning which course of action William chose for each one. In their independent activities, children look at these problems in more detail. In the alternative activity, they explore different people’s points of view about the Norman conquest.

This downloadable lesson contains a detailed plan, informative slideshow presentation and engaging printable teaching resources.

During this Norman Castles lesson your children will discover why the Normans built castles. They will look at and compare the early motte and bailey castles to the later stone keep castles, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each design. In their independent activities, children will find out more about what life was like inside a castle. In the FSD? activity, children are challenged to design and build a model of a castle, including the features listed on the Challenge Card.

This downloadable lesson contains a lesson plan, slideshow presentation and printable teaching resources.

In this lesson you children will discover that William the Conqueror’s Norman knights were key to his success in the Battle of Hastings. Your class will learn about the long training period needed to become a knight, including the duties of a page and a squire. They will then use this information to complete their independent activities. Alternatively, they will find out more about Norman weapons and armour, and draw their own labelled diagram of a Norman knight.

This downloadable lesson contains a detailed lesson plan, engaging slides and informative teaching reasources.

In this lesson, children learn how William the Conqueror used the feudal system to control the population of England. They learn how lords, knights and peasants were given land in return for loyalty and services, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages this brought for each group. In their independent activities, children are encouraged to use what they have learnt about the feudal system to complete differentiated activities.

This downloadable ready-to-teach lesson contains a detailed lesson plan, an informative slideshow presentation and engaging teaching resources.

In this final lesson of the Norman Conquest series, your children will find out why and how the Domesday book was created. They will look at an extract from the book and answer questions about it. Your children will also begin to understand the importance of the document for historians. In their independent activities, your class will re-enact the collection of information for the Domesday book. Alternatively, they will learn about the modern day census, then conduct their own to find a solution to a given problem.

This downloadable Domesday Book KS2 lesson contains a lesson plan, slideshow presentation and teaching resources.