New
New
Year 10
AQA

Structuring your answer to the historic environment question

I can understand ways to approach the 16-mark historic environment question.

New
New
Year 10
AQA

Structuring your answer to the historic environment question

I can understand ways to approach the 16-mark historic environment question.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The question will ask about either change, continuity, cause or consequence.
  2. Arguments about change, continuity, cause or consequence should be backed up with relevant evidence.
  3. The question will provide one factor to consider, to which you should add two more alternatives.
  4. Planning your answer helps to achieve a sustained judgement.
  5. It is always important to use specific knowledge about your historic environment in your answer.

Keywords

  • Second order concepts - ways in which questions about history are shaped

  • Continuity - when something continues without changing

  • Causation - why something happens, what its causes are

  • Consequence - the results or impacts of something

Common misconception

Students commonly do not provide enough detail from their Historic Environment in their answers.

Try to back up your analysis of the question with specific facts and details from your Historic Environment.

To help students understand how the historic environment question works, give them the task of coming up with historic environment questions of their own, which they could then swap with a partner and answer.
Teacher tip

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.
Match the term to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:contemporary,from the same time as something

from the same time as something

Correct Answer:source,a direct or first-hand piece of evidence from the past

a direct or first-hand piece of evidence from the past

Correct Answer:historical context,what is happening at the time of a historical event

what is happening at the time of a historical event

Q2.
Complete the sentence: Each type of source has and limitations.
Correct Answer: strengths
Q3.
Norman buildings are examples of which type of source?
text sources
visual sources
Correct answer: material sources
Q4.
Which of the following can not be learnt from studying Winchester Cathedral?
Correct answer: the thoughts and feelings of Anglo-Saxons about Norman reforms to the Church
the image which the Normans wished to project
the values which existed in Norman culture
Correct answer: the landholding record of Norman England
Q5.
Which of the following show the purpose of the motte-and-bailey castle at Totnes?
pious - the Normans wanted to show off their devotion to God
Correct answer: defence - the steep-sided, fireproof motte made the castle difficult to attack
aesthetic - the Normans wanted their motte-and-bailey castles to be beautiful
military purpose - to control Totnes and the area around it
Q6.
In what type of style was Winchester Cathedral rebuilt in from 1079?
Correct Answer: Romanesque

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the words to the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:consequence,the results or impacts of something

the results or impacts of something

Correct Answer:continuity,when something continues without changing

when something continues without changing

Correct Answer:causation,why something happens, what its causes are

why something happens, what its causes are

Q2.
Which term describes ways in which questions about history are shaped?
Correct Answer: second order concepts
Q3.
Complete the sentence: Arguments about change, continuity, cause or consequence should be backed up with relevant .
Correct Answer: evidence, sources
Q4.
Complete the sentence: The question will provide __________ factor to consider, to which you should add two more alternatives.
Correct answer: one
two
three
four
Q5.
Which of these statements are about causation?
The Normans changed more than they kept in government and law in England.
Church reforms under Lanfranc had a significant impact in Norman Wales.
Correct answer: The main reason for castle-building in Norman England was for control.
Correct answer: Luck was the main reason for success in medieval battles.
Q6.
What should go at the end of your answer for the historic environment question?
introduction
an alternative argument
your own knowledge
Correct answer: judgement