Has the artist done his homework when drawing his reconstruction of the Battle of Hastings?

This enquiry will take you to the heart of what good interpretations work should be: unpicking how the past is reconstructed.

Students are asked to find  different features in a brilliant drawing of a scene from the Battle of Hastings. They are then asked how did the artist know? They analyse  written sources, then the Bayeux Tapestry to check. Next they hear from the artist who tells them exactly how he re-constructed the image.

Free download

This includes:

• Lesson presentation: PowerPoint
• Write up: PDF
• Resources 1-4 including the artist reconstruction and sources: PDF
• Worksheet 1: PDF

This great lesson is also available in the highly rated ‘Making Sense of History Book 1’ published by Hodder Education.