How evil was King John?

This outstanding resource gets students to analyse a series of carefully selected historical sources on describing how King John ruled England from 1199 to 1216. The lesson begins by setting the scene and the terms of the historical debate on whether he was ‘evil’ or simply presented in that way by the chroniclers​ because he fell out with the Church. Students can then use the outcome from their investigation to cast their vote on the plenary consolidation continuum or follow up with some questions.

We have also added in support for an assessment question on 'How useful is Source M to a historian trying to assess how evil King John was 1199 - 1216, using the CCCJ Model. Please see the detailed preview. At each stage, students are supported with templates which can used to model how to infer with the class or write a CCCJ model answer using NOP.

When you purchase this lesson, you will be able to download a three page worksheet which contains the historian sources and questions, as well as a 36 slide PowerPoint. Both have also been uploaded as PDFs. The PowerPoint contains aims, objectives, differentiated outcomes, starters, plenaries, video links, historical sources, information slides, templates, a word search, optional homeworksm continuum and questions. Basically, everything that you will need.

The aims and objectives of this source lesson are:

Theme: Was King John a bad King?
Know: Who was King John and how did he govern?
Understand: How has King John been represented by people in the past?
Evaluate: Sources for their usefulness using the CCCJ
Skills: Source Analysis, Cause, Consequence & Collaboration

WILF – What Am I Looking For?
Can You Describe: Who was King John and how did he govern?
Can You Explain: How has King John been represented by people in the past?
Can You Evaluate: Sources for their reliability and trustworthiness using CCCJ?

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Kind Regards
Roy