Why did Duke William of Normandy win
the Battle of Hastings?
Learning objective – to be able to explain
the reasons why William won the Battle of
Hastings.
I can describe some of
the
reasons
why
William won the Battle
of Hastings.
Levels 3 and 4
I can explain why
William won the
Battle of Hastings.
Level 5
I can explain and
evaluate the reasons
why William won the
Battle of Hastings.
Levels 6 and 7
Battle of Hastings
1
2
William
5
3
Senlac Hill
6
Archers
9
Shield Wall
7
Harold
10
October
4
8
Normans
11
Arrow
Cavalry
English
12
Armies
Soldiers
Organising my knowledge
On the worksheet there are a series of cards that describe
aspects and features the surround the Battle of Hastings.
Cut the cards out and organise them under the following
three headings and once you are happy with them stick
them into your book.
 Harold’s weaknesses and bad luck.
 William’s leadership.
 The strength and skill of the Norman army.
Presenting my knowledge
The assessed piece of work for this term is an essay entitled
Why did William win the Battle of Hastings?
You have organised your knowledge which will help you plan effectively for
this essay. The essay should be written in paragraphs and contain the
following sections –
 Introduction – this is where you introduce your main points that will
answer the essay question and grab the attention of the reader.
 Paragraphs on each factor that helps answer the question – this is where
you examine each reason in separate paragraphs why William won the
Battle of Hastings.
 Conclusion – this is where you make a judgement about which reason was
the most important.
Introducing my knowledge
Your introduction should outline the key areas that will help you
answer the question. It should also grab the reader’s attention
by highlighting exciting aspects of the story.
Read the introduction below and suggest ways it could be made
more interesting and how can it cover all the areas you need to
in order to fully answer the question.
The two armies met at Senlac Hill. Unusually, the battle lasted
from dawn till dusk and ended when Harold was killed. William
won the battle for many reasons, which were his brilliant
leadership and Harold’s many mistakes.
Arguing my case
Now that you have organised your knowledge into the
three key areas that will help you explore the reasons why
William won the Battle of Hastings, you are ready to write
your paragraphs to construct your case to explain your
answer.
Each paragraph should focus on one of the three key
reasons why William won the Battle of Hastings. Each
paragraph should be structure like a good burger …….
Plan your own burger paragraph
Using the burger paragraph model for the first big paragraph to help you as a model,
write your own plans for a burger paragraph for the second and third reasons why
William won the Battle of Hastings. Draw a burger for each paragraph plan and write
what you are going to include for each section of the burger paragraph.
Here are some words to help you get started.
Finishing with a flourish!
Quite often, the conclusion is the most difficult part to write in
an essay as it is here you have to answer the question directly
and explain your reasons.
Here are a few words that may help you ……..
Home learning
You will write this essay next lesson. You will have the whole lesson to
do this so to ensure you are able to reach the highest grade you can,
you must prepare effectively.
For next lesson, make sure that you –
 Have completed your plan for the essay.
 Organised your knowledge so you know what to write and where in
the essay.
 Read carefully all the guidance given to you to help you write this
essay.
 You can use my blog – www.jivespin.wordpress.com – to access this
PowerPoint presentation and the History literacy mat which will help
you write this essay.
Plenary – a touch of Scrabble
What are the three key words
from this lesson that sums up
your learning?
Which word has the highest
value if you used in a game of
Scrabble?
Compare with the person
next to you. Which word has
the highest value?