King John - Dale Banham

This is History! is the Schools History Project's radical new Key Stage 3 scheme of work for National Curriculum history. Through a combination of depth and development studies it offers:

- a varied, relevant and challenging diet for the whole Key Stage 3 history programme of study

- a history-based approach to teaching citizenship

- practical classroom-trialled techniques for developing pupils' literacy

- a thinking skills approach to deepening and assessing historical understanding.

A study of King John, designed for the teachers of Key Stage 3 history pupils. It seeks to combine literacy, citizenship and an engaging Schools History Project approach to historical enquiry. Unit One explores King John's reputation as 'a bad king'. As users investigate how this interpretation was formed and perpetuated, they should also develop the skill of writing a balanced and reasoned essay using the analogy of a Grand Prix race track. Unit Two is a shorter citizenship/political literacy-driven exploration of the dynamics of mediaeval monarchy. King John himself guides the students towards an understanding of how mediaeval politics was different from today, and most importantly, why that matters.

This Teacher's Resource Book supports all the key activities in the Pupil's Book through carefully designed writing frames, homework tasks and assessment advice, as well as offering detailed guidance on how to use King John as part of a comprehensive course.