New
New
Year 1

Robert the Bruce and the spider

I can retell the legend of Robert the Bruce and the spider.

New
New
Year 1

Robert the Bruce and the spider

I can retell the legend of Robert the Bruce and the spider.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. One of the most famous legends told about Robert the Bruce is the story of him and a spider.
  2. While Robert was hiding from the English, it was said that he sheltered from the Scottish winter in a cave.
  3. In this cave, Robert watched a spider again and again try to spin its web; every time it fell it tried again.
  4. This made Robert realise that he had to keep trying against the English.
  5. Inspired by the spider, Robert returned to Scotland and eventually forced the English out of his homeland.

Keywords

  • Legend - a legend is a story that has been retold again and again over time, but cannot be proven true or untrue

  • Persevere - if you persevere, you keep trying when something is difficult

  • Moral - the moral of a story is the meaning, message or something you can learn from the story

Common misconception

That legends are true.

Ensure children understand that legends are stories that are often told verbally and may change over time. Play a game to demonstrate this; children sit in a circle and pass a message around by whispering to each other. Does the messgae change?

Explore the concept of perservance with the children. Ask them to think of times when they have perserved with a task for example; riding a bike, learning to read, tying their shoe laces. Create a classroom display to share messages of encouragement and examples of when the children have perserved.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
True or false: A long, long time ago England and Scotland were separate countries.
Correct answer: True
False
Q2.
Match the ruler to the right country.
Correct Answer:Robert the Bruce,Scotland

Scotland

Correct Answer:King Edward the 1st,England

England

Q3.
What country invaded Scotland?
Scotland
Wales
Correct answer: England
France
Q4.
What did Robert the Bruce first do when England invaded Scotland?
ran away from them
Correct answer: stood-up to them
built a big castle
hid from them in a wood
Q5.
What did Robert the Bruce do after he lost a big battle with England?
Correct answer: He hid in a cave.
He hid in a house.
He hid in a tree.
He hid in a shed.
Q6.
What did Robert the Bruce do when he was in the cave?
He had a sleep.
Correct answer: He made a plan.
He made a fire.
He ate some food.

6 Questions

Q1.
Who was Robert the Bruce hiding from in the cave?
Correct answer: English soldiers
Scottish soldiers
Welsh soldiers
French soldiers
Q2.
What did Robert the Bruce see in the cave?
a frog
a bear
a fox
Correct answer: a spider
Q3.
What did the spider try to do again and again and again?
catch some food
crawl to Robert the Bruce
Correct answer: get its web across the cave
Q4.
What is the moral of the story of the spider?
Correct answer: to never give up
to sometimes give up
to always give up
Q5.
What did Robert the Bruce do after seeing the spider?
Correct answer: He kept trying to fight the English.
He gave up trying to fight the English.
He became friends with the English.
Q6.
Which two things happened at the end of the story?
Correct answer: Robert the Bruce won a big battle.
Robert the Bruce lost a big battle.
Correct answer: Robert the Bruce sent the English back to England.
Robert the Bruce ran away from Scotland.

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