Education and Learning

Year 7 Education Packs

The United Kingdom has a rich heritage and there are many periods which are brought to life regularly for the public. The Tudors, Civil War, later Stuarts, Georgians and Victorians are all familiar to us through the media and through re-enactments at historical venues. The Romans too are well covered, both in the media and in schools. However, the period known as the Middle Ages has been sadly neglected. Until recently, the media tended to avoid the Middle Ages and the National Curriculum in schools has done the same.

Key Stage 3 students (age 11/12 years) jump from William the Conqueror to the Black Death and then on to the Tudors. In doing so, they miss out on one of the most exciting and colourful periods of history, the fifteenth century. Here is a century which has everything - spectacle, political and religious development, controversy, warfare, bravery, loyalty, treachery, wonderful fashion, the development of the Civil Service and of course the beginnings of the Renaissance.

Characters are many and colourful and Richard III is perhaps one of the best known, if not the best known of the fifteenth-century monarchs. Was he the murdering hunchback of Shakespearean fame or was he merely a man of his time, not always acting in ways which we in the twenty-first century would approve but no worse than his peers and in many ways better, having a good reputation as an administrator and soldier? Was he the tyrant so many have accused him of being or was he an able monarch who had his people's best interest at heart and might have been one of England's best kings, had he survived the Battle of Bosworth?

Richard III and the times he lived in are at last receiving some interest from the media. The Richard III Society believe that Key Stage 3 students should have an introduction to a period which could delight and enthral them and encourage them to learn more about the rich heritage that is around them. As this period is covered within GCSE and A-Level syllabuses, research in this area prior to embarking on these exams would also be beneficial to the student.

As teachers have limited time and schools limited resources, the Richard III Society will produce a CD-Rom which will cover the later Middle Ages and Richard III in particular. This CD-Rom will provide teachers with easily accessible material in order to give their students a more comprehensive introduction to this period and hopefully whet their appetite to pursue further in their own time. The project is to be entitled: Richard III: Hero or Villain? but the focus is not just on Richard III but on his times. The lessons are designed to be useful for both the dedicated history teacher and the supply teacher with no specialist knowledge. They are geared to be informative and helpful to children of mixed ability and additional material is made available for the more able child. Emphasis is on historical accuracy and accessibility but most of all on fun. The lessons aim to bring history alive to children and make it relevant to them. Hands-on projects encourage them to get involved and be active participants, not passive recipients of information. Cross-curricular themes are addressed in order to comply with National Curriculum requirements.

The Society has been fortunate in assembling a team of teachers to work on the project, all of whom are members of the Society. Updates on the project will be published when they become available.

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