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Please note
This unit is currently being updated for Summer 2026. There are no changes to the Progression of knowledge, skills and key vocabulary documents.
Unit outcomes
Pupils who are secure will be able to:
- Recall that a monarch is a king or queen.
- Identify some of the monarch’s roles.
- Explain that a king or queen is crowned in a special ceremony called a coronation.
- Name some of the main steps in the coronation ceremony.
- Use sources to explain how William the Conqueror became King of England.
- Explain how William the Conqueror kept order and conquered England.
- Explain how castles have changed over time.
- Identify that the power of monarchs has changed over time.
- Make comparisons between past and present monarchies.
Suggested prior learning
How did we learn to fly?
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Lessons
Lesson 1: What is a monarch?
Lesson 2: Who is our monarch today?
Lesson 3: How did William the Conqueror become King of England?
Lesson 4: How did William the Conqueror rule?
Lesson 5: How did castles change?
Lesson 6: What was a monarch in the past?
Key skills
- Sequencing up
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Key knowledge
- To know
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Key vocabulary
king
monarchy
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Related content
Resources
Unit resources
History
Knowledge organiser – History Y2: What is a monarch?
Aimed at pupils, two pages providing key facts and definitions from the unit ‘What is a monarch?’
History
Vocabulary display – History Y2: What is a monarch?
A display version of the key vocabulary from the 'What is a monarch?' unit.
Subject resources
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Cross-curricular opportunities
- Art and design.
- English: Spoken language.
- Design and technology: Make.
Build on the learning
British history 1: Would you prefer to have lived in the Stone Age, Bronze Age or Iron Age?
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