Remind the children what kind of monarch William the Conqueror was: he had all the power to make important decisions without others. He introduced new rules that people had to follow and made people pay taxes (money) to keep their land.

Hand out the Activity: Zone of relevance (one between two) and scissors (one between two) and display slide 2 of the presentation, which shows the activity sheet. Children should cut out the words on the side of the sheet.

Ask the children to discuss which words best describe William the Conqueror in their pair. Then, prompt the children to sort the words onto the zones diagram, with the most relevant words in the centre zone, relevant words in the middle zone, and irrelevant words in the outer zone of the circle.

Ask the children to share their ideas and add these to slide 2. Remind the children that William the Conqueror is an example of an absolute monarchy (a king or queen with all the power to make decisions).

Display the last part of the Bayeux Tapestry (which shows Harold had been killed) using the link: Bayeux museum - Bayeux Tapestry.

Hand out a sheet of A4 white paper (one each). Ask the children to draw the next part of the Bayeux Tapestry (they may choose to draw William the Conqueror’s Coronation) and add labels to describe what type of monarch they think William the Conqueror was. They then need to add speech or thought bubbles.

Ask the children to share their Bayeux Tapestry designs.

Show the images of William the Conqueror’s Coronation in 1066 and King Charles III’s Coronation in 2023 on slide 3 of the Presentation: What was a monarch in the past?. 

Ask the children:

If pupils completed the Skills catcher in Lesson 1, they can revisit them and add new information in a different colour.