HISTORY MYSTERY The Tollund Man Murder Mystery - Primary evidence detectives.

Get your students thinking and working like historians with this lesson.

I have used this lesson for several years as part of a project on developing history skills in my pupils. Students have to infer and reach a reasoned judgement based on the evidence. This includes primary sources in the form of artefacts and secondary reports.

The class works in pairs to decide why and how the man found in the peat bog in Denmark died. They assess the evidence to decide whether it was:

• Murder

• Suicide or Sacrifice (you can choose the most appropriate option depending on the needs of your students)

• Illness/natural causes.

The evidence is not given to them all at once, instead the teacher drip feeds it throughout the lesson. This is in a bid to challenge preconceived ideas and see if pupils will change their minds when faced with new information or sources.

The last task is to write a paragraph or more (a bit like a mini DBQ) explaining what the different options were and what they believe happened to Tollund Man based on the evidence they have collated. There is a very basic outline that can be used if it is wanted but students are encouraged to write their views based on the evidence in their own way using PEEL. The final piece can be marked using the grade boundaries on the end slide. The lesson fits with the common core requirement for students to analyse, evaluate and consider causation. The grade boundaries/descriptors are skills based: i.e: identify, then describe then explain then evaluate at the top end of ability.

The zip file contains:

• fully animated powerpoint

• Clues from the crime scene worksheet

• Answer table worksheet with choice of options

• ‘WH’ questions worksheet.

• Full lesson plan description

This lesson is engaging and can be used as a stand alone or as part of a project on historical skills. It works very well as an introduction to History during secondary school transition at Year 7.

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