Year 3 study famous castles from around the UK

Year 3 have been busy learning more about castles this week. In particular, they have been focussing on how castles have changed over time. During our latest topic lesson, the children sorted images of famous castles from around the UK, using criteria of their choosing, and then explaining why they had chosen to categorise the castles as they had. The children then tried to order the castles from oldest to most recently constructed, explaining their reasoning “I think that Clough Castle in Ireland must be the oldest because it is the most ruined”

After learning a bit more about Motte and Bailey, Stone Keep and Concentric castles, the children then went back to reorder the castle images, influenced by their new learning. “Perhaps some of the more ruined castles were destroyed in wars”. “This one has round towers. That means it is one of the more modern castles”.

Throughout the course of the topic, we hope to answer some of the thought-provoking questions posed by the children; ‘where is the most suitable location to build a castle?’ (Ella), ‘Which material is the best material to build a castle with?’ (Jared), ‘How did castles protect the people living in them?’ (Harvey) ‘In which country is the oldest castle in the world?’ (Orla)