After looking at the structure of Egypt and how the pharaohs ruled, we took a closer look at the lives of different people within the society of Ancient Egypt.
Can you tell which Egyptians are pharaohs, merchants and farmers?
Tag Archive | #history
Exploring the Nile and pyramids!
Using an educational featured of a game set in Ancient Egypt, we were able to explore some of the features of Egypt. By doing this, it has helped a lot of us picture it in our heads and understand the features more clearly.
We went for a sailing trip on a reed boat, and took in the views including pyramids to the west, the wildlife and passed farmland a shadufs along the way!
Then, we went for a walk along one of the famous pyramids to see what it would have looked like thousands of years ago.
We all really enjoyed it, and it helped answer some of our questions about Egyptian life, and how it all looked.
Here are the two guided tour clips we used:
Our Royal Family
After plotting the entire British monarchy on a timeline, it was time to take a closer look at our current Royal Family.
The children had a challenge to create a family tree as accurately as possible without discussing who was who before the task!
A lot of us recognised Prince William and Princess Kate, but also Prince Andrew and Prince Edward!
UK history timeline
After learning all about the different monarchs of England and the UK, Mr C gave us a challenge to plot all the Kings and Queens on a timeline that he provided. It was 10 metres long! Each century was 1 metre so every year was 1cm!
The timeline includes wars our country has seen, including the Civil War and the War of the Roses!
Kings and Queens
Yesterday, we were learning about all our Kings and Queens in UK history from William the Conqueror all the way to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
We acted out all the changes to monarchy outside on the playground, it took all afternoon! Here are a lots of things we have discovered about our history:
- William I’s stomach burst!
- Lady Jane Gray was on the throne for 9 days and is not recognised as a monarch due to her beliefs
- Oliver Cromwell was involved in our civil war and fought against the crown, killing Charles I. He became the Lord Protector (king in every way but name) and was supported by Parliament
- There were 4 King George’s in a row!
- After a victory over France during the 100 Year War, one of the kings left his 10 month old son to be King of France!
- Wales has been paired with England for nearly 800 years
- Mary I was nicknamed ‘Bloody Mary’ because she was a very violent leader
- James I (Mary I, Queen of Scots son) was the first ruler of England and Scotland, and started the idea of uniting the kingdom
- William II was shot whilst hunting in the New Forest. There is now a stone there (the Rufus Stone) to show where he died
To try and remember all of the monarchs, we are using the Horrible Histories videos!
Letter to the Pope
To support his battle to be King of England, William wrote to the Pope explaining the reasons he should have the crown.
Y5 tried writing with respect, yet ensuring that they get their point across. Once we had edit and proof read our work, we wrote a best copy as a scroll!
Domesday Book
After the battle, we learnt that William tried to record everyone who lived in the country, and what they owned. From sheep to ploughing fields and mills, he wanted to know as much as possible to understand the value of different areas. This was the first time this had been done and is very similar to the 10 year census we have today!
Here is a link to Totley’s entry in the Domesday Book, you can also search other places! http://opendomesday.org/place/SK3079/totley/
We tried creating some of our own entries as if Totley Primary School was a country and each class was an area. Once we had written them, we tea stained them to make them look authentic.
Bayeux Tapestry: Part 2
To appreciate how much time and effort the nuns of Bayeux put into the tapestry (10 years!), we spent some time trying to re-create part of it by sketching and colouring as accurately as possible.
We were very chilled, and had some music on to help us relax and focus. Here are some of our attempts…
The Bayeux Tapestry
To understand just how we know so much about the Battle of Hastings, we took a closer look at the Bayeux Tapestry. This artifact is one of the key sources of information about the events that lead up to the battle.
We found out that it is over 70m long and a metre high! It was made by nuns in Bayeux, France and took them over 10 years! There are only 8 colours on the entire tapestry and they used dyed wool.
Below, is an animated version of the entire tapestry!
Battle of Hastings
On Wednesday, we discussed how significant the Battle of Hastings (1066) was to our nation’s history. To understand it better, we re-enacted the events that led to this battle…
In 1066, the King of England – Edward the Confessor – passed away due to old age. Unfortunately, he left no heir (a rightful king) to the throne, so England was left without a clear monarch.
(EG and TS)
In order for England to once again have a rightful king, the theigns (the richest and most powerful people of the land) sat down and decided the fate of their country. They decided on Harold Godwinson (brother-in-law to Edward the Confessor, and the richest theign) to take the throne.
(HW and LR)
After deciding that Harold (a fellow Saxon of Britain) would be king, news traveled fast. William, the Duke of Normandy, was a distant and foreign cousin of Edward; he believed he was the rightful king, and supposedly promised by Edward that he was next in line to the throne.
(JB, CM, LH, SF)
William was desperate for the throne. He wrote a persuasive, yet respectful letter to Pope Alexander II – a very religious and respected figure – requesting more reinforcements to battle King Harold. William had an army of well-trained knights, but not enough to face Harold alone.
(AB, OD and EM)
Thankfully, the Pope handed over a selection of his finest knights for William’s hardest battle yet. He felt a flood of confidence, and sailed across the English Channel towards Hastings.
(HB and CR)
Meanwhile, in England, King Harold celebrated a victory over the Viking king (King Hadrada) at Stamford Bridge, near York. Celebrating the victory, Harold and his Saxon army traveled over a hundred miles back only to find William and a hoard of Norman knights waiting for battle.
(SF, WG and TS)
The Saxons were waiting – worn out and low on numbers – for the battle to begin on top of Senlac Hill. This was a tactical move by Harold to observe the battle. It also meant the Normans would have to fight up hill.
Rows of Norman knights on horseback were ready to charge at the Saxon shield wall (Normans were famous for battling on horseback as it gave them a large advantage). As well as horses, the Normans also had a long range attacking option with their archers; taking away some of Harold’s advantage.
As dawn broke on the 14th October, 1066, the battle commenced. The fight raged on throughout the day, and many lives were lost. Bodies were strewn across the battlefield like rag dolls; many men were killed or injured.
Towards the end of the battle, the Saxon wall weakened, and allowed William’s troops to charge through which left a trail of destruction. As all this chaos occurred, an arrow shot King Harold in the eye (this rumour comes from the Bayeux Tapestry).
Weakened, Harold was hacked down by four Norman knights, and the crown crashed to the floor. At this sight, the Saxon army fled.
Victory was William’s (gaining the title William the Conqueror) and England had fallen. Britain was now in the hands of the Norman-French knights with King William being crowned on Christmas Day, 1066.