Deputy Head Simon Botten has a unique and ambitious way of teaching his class about the wives of Henry VIII. He creatively adapts the QCA Scheme of Work to meet with the interests and abilities of his Year 5 pupils. He divides his class into six groups and allocates each group a wife. Working to the tight deadline of one lesson, each group is asked to research, script and film their own Tudor-style newsreel, which can then be presented to the rest of the class. This lesson incorporates the use of ICT at three levels. Firstly, through the use of the whiteboard which allows Simon to set out the lesson objectives, secondly using the internet for research and thirdly through the use of small, user-friendly digital cameras to record the newsreels. The class are highly motivated throughout but are they more engaged with the technology than the actual history? What effect does the tight deadline have on their learning?

Video Series: KS2 History
Release Date 2005