Historical Narratives

Overview

Lesson 6 of 16 focuses on using a graphic organiser to understand historical narratives from different perspectives. Students will compare viewpoints using a Venn diagram, then refine understanding through a short editing and explanation task.

Learning intentions

• WALT use a graphic organiser to help us understand historical narratives.
• WALT identify and compare perspectives shown in the text.
• WALT plan our responses using key ideas and evidence from the text.

Success criteria

• I can complete a Venn diagram comparing two perspectives in a historical narrative.
• I can locate evidence (words/phrases or sentences) that supports each viewpoint.
• I can explain how perspectives are similar and different using clear sentences.

Curriculum links

• Plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts by organising and expanding ideas using suitable structures and language features.
• Experiment with language features and editing choices to clarify meaning and refine ideas for an appropriate purpose and audience.
• Interpret information and opinions in written multimodal texts and respond to purpose and audience.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Activating knowledge. Teacher displays two short perspective statements about a historical event (e.g., “I was trying to help my community” vs “I wanted power and control”). Students do a quick think–pair–share: which words signal a perspective and why.

2. 5–12 min · Direct teach: graphic organiser. Teacher models how to read a historical paragraph, then selects key evidence and labels it in a Venn diagram (Left = Perspective A, Right = Perspective B, Middle = both). Students watch, then help name one “similarity” and one “difference” using teacher prompts.

3. 12–26 min · Guided reading of simplified historical texts. Teacher gives students a paired set of short excerpts from a historical narrative (same event, different viewpoints). Students annotate lightly (underline key evidence; circle perspective words such as “believed”, “wanted”, “fearful”, “responsible”), then sort evidence into the Venn diagram categories.

4. 26–35 min · Independent task: complete the Venn diagram. Teacher circulates and checks each student’s evidence choices and accuracy of perspective labels. Students complete the Venn diagram, aiming for:

• at least 2 pieces of evidence per side, and
• at least 2 statements in the middle that match both perspectives.

5. 35–41 min · Editing for clarity (short written explanation). Teacher provides a sentence frame set focused on perspective comparison (e.g., “Both perspectives agree that…”, “Perspective A suggests… while Perspective B claims…”). Students choose one similarity and one difference, then rewrite one sentence to make it clearer (e.g., replace a vague word with a specific one from the text).

6. 41–45 min · Exit check. Students submit a quick “evidence ticket”: write one similarity and one difference sentence, each with a quoted phrase from the excerpt.

Resources

• Two short historical excerpts (Perspective A and Perspective B) on the same event
• Venn diagram worksheet (pre-drawn with labels)
• Highlighters or coloured pencils for perspective words
• Annotation sticky notes or markers
• Sentence frames for the editing step
• Simplified dyslexia-friendly version of each excerpt (reduced length, larger font)
• Checklist for evidence in Venn diagram (teacher copy)

Assessment

• Formative during guided reading: teacher checks annotations and correct placement of evidence into Venn sections.
• Formative during independent Venn completion: teacher verifies at least 2 evidence points per side and 2 in the overlap.
• Exit ticket: one similarity and one difference statement with evidence quotation.

Differentiation

• Pair students for discussion during the first half of the lesson (one shares evidence choice, the other justifies placement in the Venn).
• Provide a simplified version of both excerpts for dyslexia-friendly access: shorter paragraphs, fewer text features, and an explicitly highlighted “perspective” sentence.
• Offer sentence starters and word banks for perspective verbs (e.g., believed, feared, intended, accused, hoped) and comparison terms (similar, different, however, because).
• For students needing extension: add a “Why it matters” box in the Venn diagram where they infer how perspective could change the reader’s judgement about the event.

Dyslexia-friendly reading options

• Provide a reduced-length text pack with the same meaning, using:
• 14–16pt font, increased line spacing, and clear paragraphing
• one excerpt per page
• key perspective words pre-highlighted
• Allow tracking support (finger-pointing or a clear reading guide card) to reduce line-loss.
• Permit audio support (teacher reads aloud once, students follow with their simplified printed text).
• Allow responses to be dictated to a scribe briefly if needed, then copied onto the Venn diagram.