This KS1 Castles Topic for Year 1 and Year 2 is stuffed to the battlements with engaging and inspiring teaching resources to get your class of little lords and ladies excited about Castles! Your children will learn about the history of medieval castles and the Normans, where castles are built, who lived in castles, the structure of castles, and so much more.

#TheCompleteTopic17lessons

These KS1 Castles activities provide ready-to-teach lessons across a wide range of curriculum subjects, each containing a detailed lesson plan, a slideshow presentation, differentiated activity ideas and a range of fun, colourful printable worksheets and resources. Download this KS1 Castles Topic now to help immerse your class in the fascinating world of medieval castles...and save yourself a tonne of planning time too!

#ALLARTLessonsinTopic

If you're looking for Castle Art KS1 lessons for your Castles topic, then you've come to the right place! Download three complete Castles Art lessons which will teach your Year 1 or Year 2 class about art featuring castles. Your class will also get the chance to create their own art projects as they use what they have learnt to create their own castle masterpieces.

Each of these three KS1 Castles Art lessons comes complete with a detailed lesson plan, a slideshow presentation for the teaching input, a range of differentiated activities and printable resources to support children in their learning.

What's included:

#ALLDTLessonsinTopic

These two Castle KS1 DT lessons are a fantastic addition to your cross-curricular castles topic. The two downloadable DT lessons will get your class thinking about the design features and intended purpose of different things. Your class will look in detail at the features of medieval tools and then they will design their own. They will also be able to design and make their own castle models.

Each of these two Castle KS1 DT lessons comes complete with a detailed lesson plan, a slideshow presentation for the teaching input, a range of differentiated activities and printable resources to support children in their learning.

What's included:

#ALLGEOGRAPHYLessonsinTopic

These four Castle Geography KS1 lessons are a fantastic addition to your cross-curricular castles topic. The four downloadable lessons will get your class thinking about the where castles are built and why. They will think about human features and physical features that surround the castles and how these features affect the castles strength. Your class will develop their map reading skills as navigate around maps featuring castles.

Each of these four Castle Geography KS1 lessons comes complete with a detailed lesson plan, a slideshow presentation for the teaching input, a range of differentiated activities and printable resources to support children in their learning.

What's included:

#ALLHISTORYLessonsinTopic

Find out about moats, portcullises, keeps and more in this Castles KS1 History series of lessons. Your class will discover the history of the medieval castle as they investigate castles by looking at their features and exploring a timeline of their uses in Britain. They will learn about the Normans and why built the first castles in Britain.

This downloadable scheme of work comes with lesson plans, informative slides, differentiated worksheets and activity ideas, pictures and so much more.

What's included:

#ALLMUSICLessonsinTopic

If you're looking for castles music KS1 lessons, then you've come to the right place! Download two ready-to-teach castles music lessons that teach your children about medieval musical instruments and playing their own compositions.

Each of these Castles music lessons for KS1 comes complete with a detailed lesson plan, a slideshow presentation for the teaching input, a range of differentiated activities and printable resources to support children in their learning.

What's included:

#Lesson1ArtBayeuxTapestry

The first Art lesson of the Castles topic features the Bayeux Tapestry. Your class will look in detail at the Bayeux Tapestry as they learn about how and why it was made. They will use the tapestry to create pictures using lines and blocks of colours to create their own version of the tapestry.

This Bayeux Tapestry KS1 Art lesson contains a plan, slideshow, teaching resources and activity ideas.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Picture card

#Lesson2ArtCastleEngravings

During this Art lesson your class will examine castle engravings. They will explore the work of the Buck brothers, looking closely at some of their famous engravings, including Picton Castle. Then your class will develop their use of lines to create pictures as they make castle prints using foam or explore how to draw castles using a range of different pencil marks.

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

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Picture cards

#Lesson3ArtWatercolourCastles

Your class will develop their use of colour when recreating watercolour castles in the style of James Paterson. They will look closely at the watercolour painting of Drumlanrig Castle, focusing on sketching their picture and mixing colours. They will be introduced to the terms 'shade' and 'tint' and be encouraged to think carefully about the colours they are using when painting.

This downloadable watercolour castles KS1 lesson contains a plan, slideshow and teaching resources.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Picture cards

#Lesson4DTDesigningMedievalTools

This designing medieval tools KS1 DT lesson focuses on identifying the features and purposes of a range of a medieval tools and weapons. Your class will have the option of designing a product based on a design criteria or making a catapult and then designing a way to make it easy to move it around.

This downloadable ready-to-teach lesson contains a plan, slideshow and teaching resources.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Instruction sheet

#Lesson5DTDesignandMakeaCastle

During this design and make a castle KS1 lesson your class will explore a variety of different castle features. They will look at examples of ways to make castle parts using different modelling materials. Your class will then be able to make a castle keep to meet a specific design criteria or build a whole motte and bailey castle.

This downloadable ready-to-teach lesson has detailed slides, plans and teaching resources.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Design sheet
Picture card

#Lesson6GeographyWhywerecastlesbuiltonhills

In the first lesson of this Geography Castles topic, your class will find out why castles were built on hills. They will think about the resources the residents of the castles needed to have nearby and how this influenced the location of the castle. Your class will become familiar with the key stage one geographical physical features vocabulary, which includes: hill, sea, river, and cliff.

This ready-to-teach lesson contains a detailed lesson plan, engaging slideshow presentation and printable teaching resources all in a downloadable pack.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Location cards
Scenario cards

#Lesson7GeographyExploringCastleLandFeatures

In this castle land features KS1 lesson your class will become familiar with the geographical vocabulary to describe physical features that castles are often close to. They will think about how these features made castles easier to defend and any problems the builders of these castles might have encountered.

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

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Fact sheets
Visit sheet

#Lesson8GeographyCapitalCityCastles

In this lesson, your class will put into action their geographical skills. They will identify the UK on a world map and the countries that make up the UK. They will then go onto name and locate the capital cities of the UK. Your class will identify the land features that each capital city castle has been built on or near and begin to think about which geographical features made people decide to live near the castle site.

This downloadable ready-to-teach lesson contains a plan, slideshow presentation, teaching resources and activity ideas.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Sentence cards
Picture cards

#Lesson9GeographyLetsplanamap

In this final Geography lesson, your class will use the compass points to move around a map they have created. They will use a simple key and look closely at aerial photos spotting land features and landmarks.

This downloadable ready-to-teach lesson contains a detailed plan, slideshow presentation and printable resources.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Picture cards

#Lesson10HistoryTheBattleofHastingsandtheNormanConquest

Your class will begin their journey into this topic by exploring Battle of Hastings and Norman Conquest as they learn about the history of Norman castles. They will discover who built the first castles in Britain and why. In this lesson your class will examine the Bayeux Tapestry and discover why William the Conqueror invaded England. They will begin to explore how the people living in England would have felt about being invaded and start to come to the conclusion that William would need to build castles to protect his armies.

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

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Fact cards
Fact sheet
Statement cards

#Lesson11HistoryNormanMotteandBaileyCastles

This lesson introduces your class to motte and bailey castles. They will be reminded who was ruling England after the Battle of Hastings and then they will explore the two types of Norman castles. Your class will examine both motte and bailey and keep and bailey castles through looking at their features. They will go on to decide what the strengths and weaknesses of each type of Norman castle were. Your children will have the opportunity to learn more about these castles using the Fact Sheet.

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

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Fact cards
Information sheet

#Lesson12HistoryTheStructureofaMedievalCastle

In this lesson your class will explore medieval castles that were built when the Normans were no longer ruling Britain. They will compare and contrast a variety of medieval castles, focusing on the defensive features, such as moats, keeps and drawbridges. In the plenary they will find out what a siege is and what castle inhabitants did when they were under siege.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Word bank
Function cards

#Lesson13HistoryWhoLivedinaMedievalCastle

Who lived in a castles? What jobs did they do? Who was in charge? Your class will explore medieval castles as they find the answers to these questions. They will learn who had the most dangerous job and why some lords had a taster. Your class will be able to look at a lord’s, a knight’s, a lady’s or a cook’s day in greater detail, creating a timetable for them so they are not late for appointments. Alternatively your class can play dominoes, matching each person to their job description.

This ready-to-teach lesson contains a detailed plan, engaging slides and teaching resources all in a handy downloadable pack.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Timeline cards
Information sheet
Domino cards

#Lesson14HistoryWhydidthePeasantsRevolt

In this lesson your class will find out how the peasants felt about being taxed most of their money and the role the Tower of London played during the Peasant’s Revolt. They will begin to think about how taxes are used today and compare this with what they were spent on in the Middle Ages. Using this information they will write a scroll for a peasant to take to King Richard II to ask for fairer taxes.

This downloadable lesson comes complete with a plan, slideshow presentation and teaching resources. Scroll through the images to learn more.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Sentence cards
Fact sheets

#Lesson15HistoryTowerofLondonHistory

In this Tower of London history lesson your KS1 class will take a detailed look at what the Tower of London has been used for since it was built. They will discover that since its first beginnings as a Norman stronghold, it has protected its inhabitants, been home to wild animals, been a prison and is now a tourist attraction. Your class will be challenged to put their knowledge of the Tower to the test by answering questions or matching fact cards to picture cards.

This ready-to-teach lesson contains a detailed plan, informative slides and engaging teaching resources.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheets
Fact sheet
Picture cards
Information cards
End of unit quiz

#Lesson16MusicExploringMedievalInstruments

In this first music lesson of the cross-curricular castles topic, your class will listen to medieval music and think about how the instruments are played. They will have the opportunity to play with the modern day versions of the instruments and follow non-verbal instructions to play in unison.

This ready-to-teach medieval instruments KS1 lesson contains a plan, slideshow and engaging teaching resources all in a downloadable pack.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Word cards
Medieval music track
Picture cards
Worksheet

#Lesson17MusicComposingMusic

During this lesson your class will think about how a composed piece of music is different to the music they played in the first music lesson. They will follow a simple notation to play their instruments to a rhythm and have the opportunity to create their own pieces of composed music using the easy to use printable resources.

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

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Challenge cards
Medieval music track
Picture cards

Free Overview (Medium-Term Plan)

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Free Assessment Grid

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Curriculum Objectives covered

Art Objectives:

KS1 - to use a range of materials creatively to design and make products
KS1 - to use drawing to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
KS1 - to use painting to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
KS1 - to develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space
KS1 - about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work

DT Objectives:

KS1 - design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves and other users based on design criteria
KS1 - generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking, drawing, templates, mock-ups and, where appropriate, information and communication technology.
KS1 - select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks [for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing
KS1 - select from and use a wide range of materials and components, including construction materials, textiles and ingredients, according to their characteristics
KS1 - explore and evaluate a range of existing products
KS1 - evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria
KS1 - build structures, exploring how they can be made stronger, stiffer and more stable
KS1 - explore and use mechanisms [for example, levers, sliders, wheels and axles], in their products

Geography Objectives:

KS1 - name and locate the world's seven continents and five oceans.
KS1 - name, locate and identify characteristics of the four countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas.
KS1 - use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to key physical features, including: beach, cliff, coast, forest, hill, mountain, sea, ocean, river, soil, valley, vegetation, season and weather.
KS1 - use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied at this key stage
KS1 - use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language [for example, near and far; left and right], to describe the location of features and routes on a map
KS1 - use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks and basic human and physical features; devise a simple map; and use and construct basic symbols in a key

History Objectives:

KS1 - the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods
KS1 - significant historical events, people and places in their own locality

Music Objectives:

KS1 - play tuned and untuned instruments musically
KS1 - listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
KS1 - experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the inter-related dimensions of music