Lesson video

Hello, welcome to today's history lesson.

My name is Mr. Merrett, and I'll be guiding you through today's lesson.

So, let's get started.

Today's lesson is called a Queen of Four Nations, Head of the Commonwealth.

And by the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to explain how Elizabeth II's travels across the UK and the Commonwealth showed her care for all people within her realm.

During today's lesson, we'll be using some keywords.

I'm gonna say these keywords and then leave a little space for you to repeat after me.

So our first keyword is travel.

Our second keyword is United Kingdom.

And our next key word is realm.

Very well done if you repeated it back to me.

So travel means going to visit different places and people.

The United Kingdom is the four countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, all ruled together.

And realm is all the countries that a king or a queen rules over or the places where a king or a queen is in charge.

We also have two more keywords today.

So once again, I'm going to say these words and leave a little gap for you to repeat after me.

So our next key word is Commonwealth, and our final key word is charity.

Very well done if you managed to repeat all of those keywords with me.

So Commonwealth means the countries that work together in friendship, and most of them were once ruled by Britain.

And a charity is a group of people who work together to help others.

Let's see if you can spot these keywords as we go through the lesson today.

So the first part of our lesson today is looking at the Queen tours the United Kingdom.

Elizabeth was born in 1926.

That in 1939 when she was 13 years old, World War II began.

And just a year later in 1940, when Elizabeth was 14, she delivered her first radio broadcast.

In 1953, when Elizabeth was 27, she was crowned queen.

And then in 1976, when she was 50, she visited Canada for the Olympics where she got to watch her daughter Princess Anne.

Let's find out where the story goes from here.

Now, Elizabeth was queen of the United Kingdom for a very long time, and she spent a great deal of time traveling across her realm.

The United Kingdom, or the UK as it's commonly known, is made up of four nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

When she was traveling, Elizabeth stayed in some amazing places, but she mostly liked to stay in one of the homes that she owned.

Elizabeth had six homes across the UK.

She had three in England, and these were Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Sandringham Estates.

She had two in Scotland, which were Balmoral Castle and Holyrood Palace.

And she had one in Northern Ireland, which is Hillsborough Castle.

Although she didn't own a home in Wales, Elizabeth still spent a lot of time there.

Okay, let's have our first check for understanding.

So what are the names of the four nations that make up the UK?

So I've included one of those for you, you can see that Wales has been already included on the screen in front of you there, but what are the other three?

So pause the video whilst you do this and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you got on fine with that.

So hopefully you remembered that the four nations that make up the UK are Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England.

Very well done if you remembered those.

Let's have another check for understanding now.

So where did Elizabeth spend her time?

And I'd like you to tick all of the correct answers.

So did she spend her time, one, only in London, two, all across England, three, in Scotland, four, in Wales, five, in Northern Ireland, or six, she never left Buckingham Palace?

So pause the video whilst you tick the correct answers now.

Welcome back.

Hopefully you got on fine with that.

So if you ticked two, all across England, three, in Scotland, four, in Wales, and five, in Northern Ireland, then congratulations, you are absolutely correct.

That's where Elizabeth spent a lot of her time.

Now, Elizabeth felt that it was important for people in her realm to see her as much as possible.

In fact, Elizabeth once said that she had to be seen to be believed.

By this, she meant that people needed to see her as proof that she cared about them.

One way she did this was to invite people who had helped their local communities to garden parties at Buckingham Palace.

That sounds like a lot of fun.

Elizabeth also attended as many events as possible, both happy and sad, in order to show people that she was always thinking about them.

For instance, in 1966, she visited the Welsh mining village of Aberfan after a terrible disaster to show people that she cared about them.

And in 2012, she opened the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Elizabeth traveled around her realm a lot.

Many, many people living in the UK saw or met her in person, which must have been very exciting for them.

Okay, let's have another check for understanding.

How did Elizabeth show her thanks to people who helped their local communities?

Did she A, invite them to garden parties at Buckingham Palace?

Did she B, give them vouchers to go shopping?

Or did she C, make a video call to thank them personally?

Make your choice now.

Okay, if you said that Elizabeth did A, invite people to garden parties at Buckingham Palace, then very well done, that is the correct answer.

Let's have another check for understanding.

So did lots of people living in the UK see Elizabeth in person or was it just a few people?

So was it A, just a few people, B, was it some people, or was it C, lots of people?

Make your choice now.

Okay, if you said that C, lots of people living in the UK saw Elizabeth, then well done, that is the correct answer.

Right, let's have our first task for today.

So why did Elizabeth think it was important to spend time traveling all across her realm?

And I'd like you to explain your ideas to your partner, and a few things I'd like you to think about.

I'd like you to think about how it made people feel and also how it made Elizabeth feel.

Words on the screen to help you, so try and use these words in your explanation, are happy, cared, loved, special, important, proud, and thank.

So pause the video whilst you complete this task and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you got on fine with that task.

Let's think about what you might have said then.

So you might have said that Elizabeth thought it was important because it made people feel happy to see her.

It let them know that she cared about them and was thinking about, and this made them feel proud and special.

You might have also said that Elizabeth thought it was important because she cared about the people in her realm and wanted to see what they were doing and thank them for doing good things.

So very well done if you've got an answer like mine.

If you used some of the words from the previous screen, but your answer looks different to mine, don't worry, I'm sure you've got a really good answer as well, so very well done as well.

Let's move on and look at the next part of our lesson, which is stories from the Commonwealth.

So Elizabeth didn't just travel around the UK during her long reign, she also spent a great deal of time traveling around the world.

Many of Elizabeth's travels took her to Commonwealth countries.

Many of these used to be ruled by Britain.

During her reign, more and more countries joined the Commonwealth so there were lots of places to visit and people to meet.

Elizabeth traveled to Commonwealth countries more than 200 times.

This made her the most traveled king or queen in all of history, which is really quite incredible.

Let's have a check for understanding now.

So I've got a statement here, and I'd like you to decide whether you think it's true or false.

So Elizabeth never traveled outside of the United Kingdom, is that true or is that a false?

Make your choice now.

Okay, if you said that my statement was false, then very well done, that is absolutely correct.

But why is that a false statement?

Have a little think about why my statement is incorrect.

Okay, if you said that my statement is false because Elizabeth traveled to lots of different countries all around the world and she was the most traveled king or queen in history, then very well done, you are absolutely correct.

I've also got another check for understanding now.

I've got a sentence with a gap that I'd like you to fill in.

So the sentence reads, "The Commonwealth is a group of (pauses) that work together in friendship.

Most of them were once ruled by Britain.

" So what's the missing word in this sentence?

Have a little think.

Okay, if you said that the Commonwealth is a group of countries that work together in friendship.

Most of them are once ruled by Britain, then very well done, you are absolutely correct.

You might have also said nations, and that is also a perfectly good answer as well, so very well done if you used one of those two words.

Now, Elizabeth's first ever trip outside of the United Kingdom was just after World War II ended.

She traveled with her father and mother, who were the king and queen of the United Kingdom, and she went to South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

And all of these are countries in Africa, in the southern part of Africa.

These are all Commonwealth countries as well.

Elizabeth celebrated her 21st birthday in South Africa.

And when she was there, she gave a speech that was broadcast to all of the other Commonwealth countries.

In her speech, Elizabeth spoke of how she would dedicate her life to helping the people of her realm.

Let's have another check for understanding now, and I'd like you to put these events in order from first to last.

So the first event is Elizabeth gave a speech on her 21st birthday, the next event is World War II ended, and the final event is Elizabeth went to South Africa.

So pause the video whilst you put these events in the correct order.

Okay, welcome back.

So hopefully you realized that the first thing that happened, the first event was that World War II ended.

Shortly after that, Elizabeth went to South Africa.

And when she was there, she gave a speech on her 21st birthday.

Very well done if you got those in the correct order.

And one more check for understanding.

What did Elizabeth talk about in the speech she gave on her 21st birthday?

Was it A, what presents she had got for her birthday, B, what the weather was like on her travels, or C, how she would dedicate her life to helping people?

Make your choice now.

Okay, if you said that the correct answer is C, how she would dedicate her life to helping people, then very well done, that is the correct answer.

Now, in 1953, soon after her coronation, Elizabeth went on a seven-month around the world trip to lots and lots of different Commonwealth countries.

Elizabeth met people from many different backgrounds and cultures across the Commonwealth.

She traveled to Australia and New Zealand, and this was the very first time that a king or queen had ever traveled to these countries, which is just amazing.

Many people in Australia in particular were excited to see Elizabeth.

Lots and lots of people living there came to see her.

She returned to Australia again in 1973, and when she was there she opened the Sydney Opera House, which is one of the most famous buildings in the world.

There's a picture of it on the screen right in front of you now.

Maybe you've seen a picture of it before.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding now.

So I'd like you to complete the sentence with the missing country.

So the sentence reads, "During her trip to (pauses), lots of the people living there came to see Elizabeth.

" What's the missing word in this sentence?

Okay, if you said that the sentence should read, "During her trip to Australia, lots of the people living there came to see Elizabeth," then very well done, that's the correct answer.

While Elizabeth was queen, many of the countries that she ruled over decided that they wanted to rule themselves instead.

Elizabeth understood and she decided that she wanted to help.

She often traveled to these countries to take part in their special independence ceremonies.

So when you're independent, it means that you rule yourself.

Even after these countries left, many of them were still part of the Commonwealth, so they were still friends of the United Kingdom.

In 1977, Commonwealth Day was created, which is a day to celebrate all the countries in the Commonwealth.

Elizabeth sent a special message to all of the people in the Commonwealth on this day every year.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding now.

So which holiday was created to celebrate the people of the Commonwealth?

Was it A, Christmas Day, B, Commonwealth Day, or C, Remembrance Day?

Make your choice now.

Okay, if you said that the correct answer was B, Commonwealth Day, then very well done, you are indeed correct.

Okay, let's have another task now.

So I'd like you to imagine that you are one of Elizabeth friends.

I'd like you to tell her two reasons why she should visit different Commonwealth countries.

So some things for you to think about.

What could Elizabeth gain from her travels?

And what could the people living in different Commonwealth countries gain?

To help you as well, there are some sentence starters and some words for you to explain your ideas to your partner.

So you could start your sentence with, "Elizabeth, you should visit because then you will (pauses)," or you could start with, "Elizabeth, you should visit because the people will (pauses).

" And some words for you to try and include are: see, meet, new places, happy, learn, excited and friendly.

So pause the video while you complete this task and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you enjoyed that task.

Let's think about what you might have said then.

So you might have said that, "Elizabeth, you should visit different Commonwealth countries because then you will get to see new places, meet new people, and learn new things.

" Those are good reasons.

You might have also said, "Elizabeth, you should visit different Commonwealth countries because the people living in those countries will feel happy and excited you have come to visit them and the countries will be friendly with the United Kingdom.

" That's a good reason to go as well.

Hopefully you've got an answer that's similar to the ones on the screen there.

Even if you don't, as long as you've used those words from the previous slide, I'm sure that your answer is really good as well.

Okay, let's have another task now then.

So how do we know that most people in Commonwealth countries were happy to see Elizabeth?

And to help you answer this question, there's an image on the screen that you can use to give you some ideas.

So pause the video whilst you complete this task and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you did really well on that task.

Let's think about what you might have said then.

So you might have said, "I know that people living in Commonwealth countries were happy to see Elizabeth because lots of them came to see her when she visited.

" You might have also said, "The people in the crowd," in the picture on the screen there, "all seem happy to see Elizabeth because they are smiling and waving flags.

" Maybe you've got some different answers to myself, but as long as they help you explain why the people in the Commonwealth countries were happy to see Elizabeth, I'm sure your answers are really good as well.

Okay, let's have another task now.

So I'd like you to answer the questions by ticking yes or no or filling in the blank.

So even after some countries became independent, did Elizabeth visit their independence ceremonies?

Yes or no?

And did they stay friends with the United Kingdom?

Yes or no?

And then finally, what does this tell us?

I've got a sentence for you to complete here.

So, "People still (pauses) Elizabeth even after their countries became independent.

" So you can decide what words you will use to fill in that sentence.

Pause the video whilst you complete this task and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you got on just fine with that task.

Let's think about what you might have said then.

So for question A, did Elizabeth visit their independence ceremonies once countries became independent?

Yes, she did, absolutely.

For question B, did they stay friends of the United Kingdom?

Well, yes, most of them did as well.

And then finally for question C, what does this tell us?

Well, you might have said that, "People still liked Elizabeth even after their countries became independent.

" If you've got a different word than liked, but it means sort of the same thing, then that's absolutely fine, it's still a correct answer.

And very well done if you've got all of those questions right.

Okay, let's move on to the next part of our lesson now then, which is looking at showing care for everyone.

One of Elizabeth's favorite ways to show people that she cared other than visiting them was to support charities.

Elizabeth supported more than 600 charities.

That's an incredible amount of charities that she's supporting.

She supported all kinds of charities, such as the Girl Guides, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, more commonly known as the RSPCA, and also the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, more commonly known as the RNLI.

She also supported Cancer Research and many, many others as well.

Elizabeth spent a great deal of her time and money supporting these charities, and encouraged lots of other people to do the same.

As a result, Elizabeth did more charity work than almost anybody else in the whole world, which is really phenomenal.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding now.

So I'd like you to complete the sentence on the screen with a missing word.

Elizabeth supported lots of (pauses).

What's the missing word in that sentence?

Okay, if you said that Elizabeth supported lots of charities, then well done, that is right.

But more than that, I'd like you to tell your partner the name of one charity that she did support.

Can you remember any of them?

Have a little think.

Okay, if you said that Elizabeth supported the RSPCA, the Girl Guides, Cancer Research, or the RNLI, then well done.

You are absolutely correct.

There's also 600 other answers that you could have chosen as well.

That'd be really impressive you knew one of those ones.

Now, Elizabeth did so much work for different charities that people have been inspired to create new charities in her honor.

For example, the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust was set up to help people in Commonwealth countries, and one of the things that they did is that it helped to stop people going blind.

The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy was another charity set up in Elizabeth's honor, and it was designed to plant trees and protect forests across the Commonwealth.

Elizabeth did not set up these charities herself, but people wanted to honor her.

They remembered all of the good work that she had done.

Elizabeth did her best for others and encouraged other people to do the same.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding now.

What was the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy charity created to do?

Was it A, knit blankets and pillows for people, B, plant trees and protect forests, or C, put on free shows and activities for children?

Make your choice now.

Okay, if you said that the correct answer was B, plant trees and protect forests, then very well done, you are absolutely correct.

Okay, let's go for a task now then.

Why is it important for someone like Queen Elizabeth to support charities?

And I'd like you to talk to your partner or maybe you could write some sentences.

So I'd like you to choose from these ideas.

Elizabeth could help because queens have more (pauses).

And you could fill that blank in with either money, time, or power.

People (pauses) her.

And you could fill that gap with either respected, listened to, copied.

And she could tell (pauses) about the charities.

And you can fill that gap with either everyone, people or others.

If you've got different words that you'd like to use to fill in those gaps, that's absolutely fine as well, as long as it makes sense and it's accurate.

So a sentence starter for you to use as well is, "It is important for Queen Elizabeth to support charities because (pauses).

" You can go ahead and finish that sentence.

So pause the video whilst you complete this task and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you enjoyed that task.

Let's think about what you might have said then.

So you might have said, "It is important for Queen Elizabeth to support charities because queens have more money than most people so they can help more.

" You might have also said that, "It is important for Queen Elizabeth to support charities because people respected her, so they would respect the charities too.

" And you also could have said, "It is important for Queen Elizabeth to support charities because then she could tell everyone about the charities and more people would support them.

" Hopefully the sentences that you created are really good as well.

Let's do another task now then.

I'd like you to match the images to the correct charity and its aim.

So the images are there on the screen in front of you, and the explanation of the charity and its name is just to the side as well.

So match the correct image to the correct charity.

Pause the video whilst you do this task and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Welcome back.

Hopefully you got on well with that task.

So hopefully you realize that the first image, which has got some trees, links to the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy, which plants trees and protects forests across the Commonwealth.

The next image, which is of an eye, links to the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, which helps prevent blindness in Commonwealth countries.

And lastly, the bottom image, which you can see some young people in there, links to the Queen Elizabeth II Commonwealth Trust, which helps young people in the Commonwealth become leaders in their community.

So hopefully you got all of those answers correct.

Now, let's do one more task.

I'd like you to explain how Elizabeth showed that she cared about people.

So you can choose either her travels or her charity work.

I'd like you to either write or say an answer using this sentence starter, "Queen Elizabeth showed that she cared about people by (pauses).

" You'll finish that sentence.

There's some words on the screen to help you as well, which are traveling, realm, happy, charities, money, time, and kind.

See how many of those words you can use in your answer.

So pause the video of why you complete this task, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully got on just fine with that task.

Let's think about what you might have said then.

So on the screen, we can see that Sam said that, "Queen Elizabeth showed that she cared about people by traveling around her realm.

This made people happy and proud because she came to see them.

" Good answer, Sam.

We can also see that Izzy said that, "Queen Elizabeth showed that she cared about people by giving her time and money to charities.

This showed she was kind and wanted to help people.

" That's also a really good answer, Izzy.

Well done.

Maybe your answer resembles Sam or Izzy's, in which case that'll be absolutely brilliant.

Okay, let's sum up today's lesson then.

What have we learned?

Well, we learned that Elizabeth spent a great deal of time traveling around her realm meeting people.

We learned that throughout her time as queen, Elizabeth traveled all around the United Kingdom and also all around the world.

She traveled many times to different Commonwealth countries.

Elizabeth traveled more than any other king or queen in history.

And finally we learned that Elizabeth was a big supporter of charities.

Many different charities have also been created to honor Elizabeth.

She is remembered for her kindness and her charity work.

Thank you very much for joining me today.

I hope you enjoyed yourself, and I hope you learned something.

And hope I'll see you again next time, bye-bye.