Learning objective

  • To explore what happened to Walter Tull using photographs.

Success criteria

  • I can make simple observations using photographs from the past.
  • I understand the difference between a fact and opinion.
  • I can ask questions about Walter Tull.

National curriculum

History

Pupils should be taught about:

  • Changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life.
  • Events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally.
  • The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements.

See National curriculum - History - Key stages 1 and 2.

Before the lesson

Watch
Watch
Watch
Watch
Activity: Facts, opinions and questions (one per group of four).
Resource: Knowledge organiser: Remembrance (optional - see Adaptive teaching).
Resource: Lesson vocabulary (optional - one class set for display).

Lesson plan

1: Recap and recall

You may want to check the children can recall:

  • What and when Remembrance Day is.
  • Who is remembered on Remembrance Day.
  • Why some people wear the poppy.

Display the Presentation: What am I?

Presentation: What am I?

Read the definitions and words aloud. Choose volunteers to come up to the board and use the interactive pen to drag and drop the correct words to the definition. Take feedback and click the answer button to reveal the answers.

2: Attention grabber

Show the children the two photographs of Walter Tull on slide 1 of the Presentation: Photographs of Walter Tull.

Presentation: Photographs of Walter Tull

Put the children in pairs and ask them to share what they can see. Take feedback.

The children may suggest: a soldier, a footballer, a young Black man. Then ask them to think of questions and answers they can generate from looking at the photograph. For example:

  • The person is wearing a football uniform – What is he wearing?
  • The person is working as a soldier – What is he doing?
  • The photograph looks old – Is the photo from today or a long time ago?

Take feedback. Display slide 2 showing more photos of Walter Tull and ask the children to answer the following questions in their pairs:

  • Are the clothes like the clothes footballers and soldiers wear now? (No.)
  • How are they different? (The children may suggest: they are not made of the same material; they have different colours to today’s football kit and soldier uniforms; the football kit looks much plainer and has long shorts; the soldier’s uniform has a different style.)
  • What work might the person in the photo do? (The children may suggest: he might play football because he is wearing football clothes; he might also be a soldier because of the uniform; he might be a captain in the army.)
  • How can we tell this person lived a very long time ago? (The children may suggest: the clothes are old-fashioned; the photo is black and white or looks old; he does not have a modern football kit; the army uniform looks different from today’s army clothes.)
  • What sort of person do you think he is? (The children may suggest: brave because he was a soldier; kind because he looks friendly; strong because he played football and was a soldier; clever because he was good at football and joined the army.)

3: Main event

Gather the class together and explain that Walter Tull lived more than 100 years ago, from 1888 to 1918. He was one of the first Afro-Caribbean professional footballers and the first English Black officer to lead white soldiers in World War 1.

Display the Kapow Primary timeline and select the World War 1 period. Click on ‘view World War 1 timeline’. Locate and read the 1916, 1917 and 1918 events about Walter Tull.

Watch the Pupil video: Tull’s tale.

Pupil video: Tull’s tale.

Ask the children to recall the facts they have learnt:

  • What was Walter’s job? (A professional footballer.)
  • What did Walter have to give up to fight in the war? (He had to give up his job as a footballer.)
  • Which war did Walter fight in? (World War 1.)
  • Why is Walter Tull remembered? (He was a professional footballer and the first Black officer to lead British soldiers into battle.)

Display slide 1 of the Presentation: Remembering Walter Tull which shows examples of medals awarded for bravery in war.

Presentation: Remembering Walter Tull

Click to reveal the types of medals a soldier in World War 1 could be awarded.

Explain to the children that Walter Tull was recommended for a medal for his bravery as a soldier during World War 1. However, even though he was recommended, he never received it. This was likely because, at the time, there were unfair rules and ideas that made it harder for people of certain backgrounds—especially Black soldiers—to be awarded equally for their service.

Display slide 2 and click on the photographs to read how Tull has been remembered in other ways since his death. 

Facts, opinions and questions about Walter Tull

Revisit the photographs explored in the Attention grabber and explain that they will be using the photographs to share the facts they have learnt, their own opinions and what they would like to ask to learn more about Walter Tull.

Put the children in groups of four and hand out the Activity: Facts, opinions and questions, ensuring that each pair has one of the photographs so both are explored.  

Display the Presentation: Facts, opinions and questions and model filling out each column. Give the children some time to complete the activity and feedback to their group.

Presentation: Facts, opinions and questions

4: Wrapping up

Gather the class and create a word bank of words to describe Walter Tull and help the children remember his story. The children may suggest: brave, strong, intelligent, talented, heroic, etc. Record their ideas on flipchart paper.

Share that every 11 November, people around the country take two minutes of silence to remember all the people who fought and helped in the world wars. Display the Presentation: We remember and read the statements before observing two minutes’ silence.

Presentation: We remember

Adaptive teaching

Pupils needing extra support

Could use an audio playback device to orally record their facts, opinions and questions in the Main event; could rewatch the Pupil video: Tull’s tale when writing what they know about Walter Tull in the Main even; should use the Knowledge organiser for vocabulary support.

Pupils working at greater depth 

Could ask questions about each of Walter Tull’s experiences – childhood in the orphanage, his time as a footballer and being a soldier; could discuss their responses to the question: Do photographs give us all the answers?; could give reasons for their opinions and where they might find answers to their questions in the Main event.

Assessing progress and understanding

Pupils with secure understanding indicated by: making simple observations using photographs from the past; beginning to understand what a fact is and what an opinion is; asking questions using photographs about Walter Tull.

Pupils working at greater depth indicated by: generating questions about specific aspects of Walter Tull’s life; developing their answers to questions given to them.

Vocabulary definitions

  • fact

    Something that is true and can be proven or shown to be real.

  • medal

    A shiny piece of metal given as a prize to show someone has done something special or brave.

  • opinion

    What someone thinks or feels about something, which can be different from what others think.

  • remember

    To have or keep an image or idea from the past in your mind.

  • soldier

    A person who works in the army to help protect the country and keep people safe.

  • World War 1

    A war that happened from 1914 to 1918 and involved many countries around the world.

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