Lesson video

Hello, and 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 looking at the princess who spoke to the nation, and by the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to explain how Elizabeth used the radio to comfort children during World War II.

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

So I'm gonna say these keywords now.

I'm gonna leave a little pause for you to repeat after me.

Let's get going.

So our first keyword is "evacuee.

" Our next one is "duty.

" Our third one is "broadcast.

" Our next one is "radio.

" And our final one is "voice.

" Very well done if you repeated those after me.

Now, an evacuee is a person who's often a child, but not always, who is sent away from somewhere to safety.

Duty is an important job that the person has to do.

A broadcast is a message sent to many people using radios or television.

The radio is a machine for hearing voices.

And our voice is the sound we make when we speak.

See if you can spot these keywords during our lesson today.

So we are gonna start today's lesson by looking at the children who were leaving London.

Elizabeth was born in 1926, and then in 1939, when she was just 13 years old, World War II began.

So that's what we got up to with our story.

Let's see where we go from here.

Now, a long time ago, when Elizabeth was 13, World War II began.

Wars can be very dangerous for people living in cities, as there is a risk that the city might get bombed.

At the start of World War II, it was decided that as many children as possible would be helped to leave London and move to the countryside, where there was much less risk of bombs being dropped.

This would mean that children would be safer during the war.

This is called an evacuation.

People who are evacuated are called evacuees, and it wasn't just children who are evacuated during World War II.

People with disabilities, pregnant women, and even some teachers also went with evacuees, but the largest group of evacuees, they were children.

Now let's have a quick check for understanding.

So I'd like you to match the words to its correct definition.

So the word is "evacuee.

" That's word A.

"Evacuation" is word B.

And "countryside" is word C.

And our definitions are "leaving a dangerous place.

" That's definition one.

Definition two is "areas filled with fields and villages, not cities.

" And our third definition is "a person sent away to safety.

" So pause the video whilst you complete this check for understanding, and I'll see you again in just a minute.

Welcome back.

Hopefully, you got on okay with that task.

Let's see if you've got the answers correct.

So keyword A, "evacuee," that matches to definition three, "a person sent away to safety.

" Word B, "evacuation," matches to definition one, "leaving a dangerous place.

" And word C, "countryside," matches to definition two, "areas with fields and villages, not cities.

" Very well done if you've got all of those correct.

Now, this was a very scary time for the children who were evacuees.

Not only was a war starting, but now they would have to leave their homes and their families, and they had to live with new families that they didn't know.

These families had agreed to look after them and keep them safe during World War II.

It was definitely safer to be evacuated to the countryside, but many children miss their families and their lives in the city.

Children from all over London were evacuated, including children from different communities and backgrounds.

Most evacuees from London moved to villages in the countryside around the United Kingdom, but some went even further away.

Some children crossed the ocean and were evacuated to countries like the United States and Canada.

Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister, Princess Margaret, were originally supposed to be evacuated to Canada, but it was decided instead that they'll be kept as close as possible to London.

This is why the princesses were evacuated to Windsor.

Windsor Castle is not far from London, but it is far enough away to be safe from any bombs that might be dropped in the city.

Just in case, though, an air raid shelter was built in Windsor Castle that the sisters could use.

Right, let's have another little check for understanding now.

So I'd like you to circle the countries that some evacuee children went to.

The countries we have on the screen are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, and the United States.

So pause the video whilst you complete this check for understanding, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Welcome back.

Hopefully, you got on okay with this task.

So the countries that some evacuee children went to, you might have circled Canada and the United States.

Very well done if you got those answers correct.

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

So I want you to think about the fact that evacuee children could only take a small bag with them, so they would need to think carefully about what they packed.

So I'd like you to choose one of the tasks that you can do right now.

So you could either draw what an evacuee child might have packed to take with them, and label three of those items.

Or you could read the list of what one child has packed and explain why she chose those things.

So on the list, the child has chosen a change of clothes, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, a bar of soap, a teddy bear, and a photo of her family.

So make your choice about which task you would like to do.

Pause the video while you're doing that, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Welcome back.

Hopefully, you got on okay with that task.

So let's have a think about what you might have said then.

So if you chose to do a drawing task, you might have drawn a toothbrush, you might have drawn a family picture, you might have drawn a teddy bear, or you might have drawn a notepad and pencil, and there's plenty of other things that you could have drawn as well.

As long as you've got a good reason for why you chose to draw those things, I'm sure what you've done is absolutely fine.

Or you might have chosen to do the second task, in which case you might have said that the evacuee child packed clothes because she needed something to wear.

She might have packed soap and a toothbrush to keep clean.

She might have packed the teddy bear 'cause that made her feel safe and reminded her of home.

And she might have packed her photo because it meant that she could see her family's faces when she missed them.

Very well done if you managed to complete either one of those tasks.

Hopefully, you got on just fine with them.

Let's have another task now, though.

So I'd like you to think, how was life different for children after they were evacuated?

Was it better in some ways, or was it harder in some ways?

Or was it a mixture of the two?

Talk to your partner and tell them your ideas.

Pause the video while you do that, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Welcome back.

Hopefully, you got on well with that task.

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

You might have said that life was very different because the children, the evacuees, were in the countryside instead of in London, so they were safer from the bombs.

But it was also harder because they weren't with their families anymore, and they had to live with new families that they didn't know.

If you said something different to myself, that's absolutely fine.

As long as you've got a good reason of why you said it, I'm sure your answer is perfectly good.

Let's move on now and into our next part of the lesson, where we are looking at how Elizabeth delivers her message.

Now, while she was safe in Windsor, Elizabeth thought it was her duty to help her country however she could.

It was feared that the country would not have enough food to feed all of its people during the war.

So Elizabeth grew vegetables in her garden, and she encouraged other people do the same in their gardens, and this would give everybody more food to eat.

Elizabeth wanted to do more to help, though.

Let's have a very quick check for understanding.

Where did Elizabeth and her sister live when they were evacuated from London?

Did they move to Bristol, A?

Did they move to Oxford, choice B?

Or did they move to Windsor, choice C?

Pause the video while you think about that, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Welcome back.

Okay, if your answer was C, Windsor, then very well done.

That is the correct answer.

Another quick check for understanding, and that's a true or false statement.

So "duty" is another word for "treasure.

" Is that true, or is that false?

Pause the video and have a little think about that.

Okay, if you said "duty" is another word for "treasure," that statement is false, then correct.

Very well done.

But why is that a false statement?

What does "duty" actually mean?

Have a little think about that.

Pause the video.

I'll see you again in just a moment.

Welcome back.

Now, if you said that my statement was false because duty is an important job that a person has to do, then you are correct.

Very well done.

Now, in October 1940, just over a year after World War II started, Elizabeth decided to deliver a radio broadcast to other children who were also evacuees.

A radio is like a television, but you can only hear sounds and voices, not see pictures.

People can't see you on the radio.

They can only hear you.

Although TV was around in 1940, it was still quite a new invention, and not very many people had one.

However, almost everyone had a radio.

So Elizabeth's broadcast would be heard by lots and lots of people.

Elizabeth was very brave to do this, as she was only 14, and she had never spoken on the radio before.

Just imagine how scary that must have been.

Elizabeth's life changed a lot since the war began, and instead of just playing games and riding horses like before, now she was growing vegetables and speaking on the radio to help the country.

Let's have another check for understanding.

I'd like you to complete the sentence below on the screen using these words: "hear," "see," "radio," and "television.

" There are three gaps, but four words.

So you are going to need to choose which words to remove.

But for the final three words, where do they fit in the sentence?

So the sentence reads, "People could only ___ Elizabeth on the ___.

They could not ___ her.

" So pause the video whilst you think about that, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, welcome back.

Now, if your sentence reads, "People could only hear Elizabeth on the radio, they could not see her," then very well done.

That is the correct answer.

Let's go for another task now.

So Elizabeth thought it was her duty to help her country during the war.

What are two things that Elizabeth did to help?

Why do you think she felt that these were important duties?

And I'd like you to explain your ideas to your partner.

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

Welcome back.

Hopefully, you got on just fine with that task.

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

So you might have said that Elizabeth encouraged others to grow vegetables so that there'll be more food.

You might have also said that Elizabeth spoke on the radio to comfort evacuee children.

And you might have said that Elizabeth felt that these were important duties because people needed help during the war.

Very well done if your answers are similar to mine, and very well done if you thought about the reasons as to why Elizabeth wanted to do these things.

Let's have another task.

Why did Elizabeth deliver her message on the radio instead of on television?

And I'd like you to share your answer with a partner using this sentence starter: "Elizabeth used the radio instead of the television because.

.

.

" Finish that sentence.

So pause the video while you think about this task and complete it.

I'll see you again in just a moment.

Welcome back!

Hopefully, you completed that task with no problems.

Let's think about what you might have said.

So you might have said that Elizabeth used the radio instead of the television because not many people had a television.

You might have also said that Elizabeth used the radio instead of the television because most people had a radio.

Very well done if your answer was something like mine.

And one more task.

If you were Elizabeth's friend, what advice would you give her about what to say to children to make them feel better?

Have a little think about that task.

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

And welcome back!

And hopefully you enjoyed that task.

Let's think about what you might have said.

So you might have said, "I would tell Elizabeth to say, 'I know you miss your families, and that's okay to feel sad.

'" You might have also said that "I would tell her to say, 'You are being very brave.

'" You might have said, "I would tell her to say, 'The war will end soon, and you will see your families again.

'" And you might have said something along the lines of, "I would tell her to say, 'Lots of other children feel the same way you do.

'" Don't worry if you've got a different answer to myself.

As long as you've really thought hard about what Elizabeth might have said and the advice that you would've given her, I'm sure your answer is absolutely fine.

Let's move on to the next part of our lesson now, and that is looking at children around the world hear Elizabeth's words.

Now, Elizabeth's broadcast was delivered during the "BBC Children's Hour," which was a popular show that was listened to by children all over the country.

Some evacuee children in the United States and Canada were also able to hear Elizabeth's broadcast.

Elizabeth delivered a message of hope and comfort to the children that have been evacuated, as well as thanking the families that kindly agreed to look after the evacuees.

Elizabeth's voice comforted children, as she was able to draw on her own experience of being an evacuee.

This meant that when she expressed sympathy with what these children were going through, they knew that she was telling the truth.

Let's have a quick check for understanding now.

Who was Elizabeth's broadcast for?

Was it for A, children?

Was it for B, parents?

Or was it for C, soldiers?

Pause the video while you think about that, and I'll see you again in just a minute.

Okay, if you said A, children, then very well done.

That is the correct answer.

Let's have another check for understanding.

So Elizabeth made a radio broadcast to A, ask people to join the army; B, comfort children who were evacuees; or C, tell people about her vegetable garden.

So pause the video while you think about that, and I'll see you again in just a moment.

Okay, if you said that Elizabeth made a radio broadcast to B, comfort children who were evacuees, then congratulations.

That is the correct answer.

Now, Elizabeth's radio broadcast was very popular.

Hearing her voice made evacuated children happier, and adults, too.

Her message showed that she cared about the people of her country.

From the children's perspective, hearing a princess speak directly to them made them feel special and remembered.

Even after the war ended, Elizabeth continued to speak to the people of the United Kingdom regularly over the radio and then later on TV, comforting them when times were hard, and celebrating with them when times were good.

Let's have another check for understanding.

How did Elizabeth's voice make people feel?

Did it make them feel A, happy?

B, sad?

Or C, angry?

Make your choice now.

Okay, if you said that Elizabeth's voice made people feel A, happy, then very well done.

You are absolutely correct.

Let's have another task now.

So Elizabeth's radio broadcast helped evacuee children feel better, but how did it help them?

So first of all, I'd like to complete this sentence.

"Elizabeth's broadcast helped evacuee children feel better because it made them feel.

.

.

" You finish that sentence.

And then once you've done that, I'd like you to discuss with your partner, or you can write a response to this question.

Why did the broadcast make them feel this way?

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

Welcome back.

Hopefully, you got on just fine with that task.

So, for the first part of the task, you might have said Elizabeth's broadcast helped evacuee children because it made them feel cared for and safer.

And then for the second part of the task, you might have said that they felt this way because Elizabeth took time to speak to them, and they knew that Elizabeth understood how they felt.

Very well done if you've got an answer similar to mine.

If your answer is different to mine, that's fine.

As long as you've fully explained yourself, I'm sure your answer is perfectly good.

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

What have we learned?

Well, we learned that many children were evacuated from the cities to the countryside at the beginning of World War II.

We learned that Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister, Princess Margaret, were also evacuated out of London and moved to Windsor.

We learned that Elizabeth felt it was her duty to help her country however she could, so she delivered a radio broadcast for evacuated children.

We learned that her broadcast gave evacuees some comfort.

And finally, we learned that people were pleased to hear Elizabeth's voice on the radio.

It made them feel cared for and safer.

Thank you very much for joining me today.

I hope you learned something.

I hope you had a nice time doing so, and I hope to see you again next time.

Bye-bye.