History lesson: Henry V, Shakespeare analysis

This resource may be useful for: English teachers teaching Shakespeare, History teachers teaching Shakespeare/Henry V, History teachers seeking Medieval kings Top Trump resource

Lesson enquiry: How useful is Shakespeare for a historian studying Henry V?

Learning objectives:

• To know what makes a good Medieval king.
• To understand reasons why Henry V may be considered to be a good or a bad king.
• To be able to assess the usefulness of Shakespeare’s play using historical evidence.

Context: This lesson was planned for a Year 7 class as a one-off history lesson to support a study in English of Shakespeare’s Henry V. The lesson intends to provide historical context to the play and encourage students to question Shakespeare’s portrayal of Henry. It was observed by an Ofsted inspector who commented that he “could not think of an improvement which wasn’t nitpicking”.

Lesson activities:

1. Watch the video (embedded) on Shakespeare’s interpretation of Henry V and make notes/discuss.
2. Use Medieval king Top Trump cards (provided) to assess which Medieval kings were good/bad and what makes a good king. I have found it useful to get students to think in terms of morality (being a good person or a good Christian) and effectiveness (getting the job done), as this helps them to articulate that a king may be very effective but very immoral.
3. Teacher talk introducing Henry V. Brief discussion about Henry’s most famous victory, Agincourt.
4. Was Henry a good/bad king? Card sort activity. Students to sort cards onto a continuum for good or bad king.
5. Analysis of Shakespeare’s interpretation, considering attribution. Students to tick the cards on their continumm which support Shakespeare’s interpretation.
6. Discussion around usefulness/validity of Shakespeare’s play.
7. Plenary - two things you learned, one thing you’d like to learn, your opinion of Shakespeare’s play.

Resources provided:

• Full lesson powerpoint with activities clearly written.
• Embedded video of Shakespeare’s interpretation of Henry V (let me know if this does not work).
• Continuum sheet, to be printed 1 per pupil on A3.
• 14 cards with balanced information about Henry V, to be printed 1 A4 sheet per pupil, cut up and enveloped.
• 8 Medieval king Top Trump cards, to be printed 1 A4 sheet per pupil, cut up and enveloped. Kings featured: Henry V, William I, Edward III, John, Richard I, Stephen I, Richard III, Henry II.