Cover lesson · History · Year 7 · Beginner
LNF: Literacy → Speaking → Questioning
Name: Class: Date:
Print: this sheet, one per pupil, and the stimulus sheet “Building Castell Aberwern, 1285: three role cards”, one per group of three. No computers are needed.
Organise: put pupils in groups of three and give each pupil a letter: A, B or C. If the class does not divide by three, make one or two groups of four with two note-takers.
Run: 5 min pupils read the background and role cards · 8 min Step 2, open and closed questions · 10 min Step 3, planning questions · 15 min Step 4, three hot-seat rounds of 5 minutes each (call “swap” every 5 minutes and read out the roles from the table in Step 4) · 12 min Step 5, summary and reflection alone. Total 50 minutes.
Collect: this sheet. The question plan (Step 3) and the notes (Step 4) are the evidence. It is literacy practice in speaking: asking open questions, following up on answers and summarising what someone has said. It prepares pupils for GCSE History, where good enquiry questions drive source work. The characters are invented; the background is real history.
A historian is only as good as their questions. In this lesson three people who lived next to a new castle in north Wales in 1285 are in the “hot seat”. A classmate plays each person. You will plan questions that get people talking, ask them, follow up on the answers and then sum up what you found out.
Read the background box and all three role cards. Key words:
Write O for open or C for closed next to each question. Then turn two of the closed questions into open questions.
| Question | O or C? |
|---|---|
| 1. How old are you? | |
| 2. What is a normal working day like for you? | |
| 3. Do you like the castle? | |
| 4. Why do you think the king built the castle here? | |
| 5. Is the work dangerous? | |
| 6. How has your life changed since 1283? | |
| 7. Were you born in Wales? | |
| 8. What worries you most about the future? |
Closed question number ...... turned into an open question:
Closed question number ...... turned into an open question:
Plan 3 open questions for each character. Use a different starter each time: How, Why, What, Describe, Explain, What would happen if. Also write one follow-up you could use if the answer is short.
| Character | My 3 open questions |
|---|---|
| Gwenllian | 1. 2. 3. |
| Walter | 1. 2. 3. |
| Hywel | 1. 2. 3. |
A follow-up question I can use with anyone: “You said ... . Why ...?”
There are 3 rounds of 5 minutes. Your teacher will call “swap”. In each round:
| Interviewer | Character | Note-taker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | A | B plays Gwenllian | C |
| Round 2 | B | C plays Walter | A |
| Round 3 | C | A plays Hywel | B |
When you are the note-taker, write here:
| Key points in the answers | Follow-up questions heard (tick and write one) |
|---|---|
When you are the interviewer, note the most interesting thing you found out:
(a) Write a summary of about 50 words: how did the building of the castle change life for the people living near it? Mention at least two of the characters.
(b) Which question got the longest and most useful answer? Why do you think it worked?
(c) Write one question you would ask a real historian about how castles changed Wales.