Teachers' Notes: Henry II and Thomas Becket

This suite of resources on Henry II and Thomas Becket is designed to introduce students to the idea of using sources as evidence. It is the first of a series of historical scenariae covering the requirements for source evaluation in History at KS3.

Suggested Lesson Plan

The resource comprises 3 stages which should be completed in the following order:

• A series of sources, available for students to view here.
• 3 multiple choice exercises:
  • Identifying Evidence
  • Analysing Evidence
  • Combining and Evaluating Evidence
• What Do You Think? Survey, for students to enter their opinions about the circumstances surrounding Becket's death. The information gathered from this opinion poll can be projected (or written) onto the board and used as the basis for a class discussion.

OR

Teachers may choose to set the What Do You Think? Survey, before setting the three source assignments. Once these have been done, teachers can set the survey a second time to see if students' views about Becket's murder have changed now that they have studied the sources closely.

OR

Teachers may wish to use the What Do You Think? Survey in conjunction with their own choice of sources, in order to make class discussion more interactive and dynamic.

Use the links below to view the sources:

• Henry II and Thomas Becket Sources

Preview the assignments using the links below:

• Identifying Evidence
• Analysing Evidence
• Combining and Evaluating Evidence
• What Do You Think? Survey