3. Key Stage 3 Norman Conquest of England- Who were the claimants to the throne in 1066?

This is the third lesson in the Norman Conquest series of lessons, which explores how William the Conqueror was able to take control of England. This lesson aims to give students and understanding of who the claimants to throne were in 1066 and why they thought they should be the next king of England.

This resource is a power point including the full lesson and all resources needed. It includes:

• A title slide with a trivia question about the number of kings between 1066 and 1485 and how they died
• clear smart differentiated learning objectives
• starter- students must choose adjectives to describe a good and bad monarch in medieval times. Then explain the characteristics a good monarch was expected to have. Then explain why their was a succession crisis in 1066 and who the 3 main contenders to the throne were in 1066.
• Activity 1- students study two sources as evidence that Edward promised the king to William.
• Activity 2- students judge which of the 3 contenders had the strongest claim to the throne based on where they were from, their links to the royal family, why they felt they should be king, who supported their claim and if they were a good warrior. Students score the contenders out of 10 for each and then give them the total score. It doesn’t really matter who they choose but encourage students to score from the point of view of an Anglo-Saxon.
• Activity 3- students use their scores to choose which one of the three contenders had the best claim. They then write a short speech explaining why they think that contender deserved to be king. Students peer assess each others work.
• Plenary- class vote on who deserved to be king. Students write their name and the contender on the post it note and stick it to the board.
• Homework- students design a poster to persuade people to join the army for the their chosen contender