These two famous people are linked by the theme of communication; spreading the word. Tim Berners-Lee founder of the world wide web could also be mentioned to bring the topic up-to-date, but his life will prove less interesting to study in detail than the other too even if superficially it looks more ‘relevant’.
With the Spreading the Word topic the medium-term plan is close to completion. Subscribers can request a draft version from January 2016. The planner will contain three key questions on each person along with resourced ‘killer activities’ such as the ones shown below:
Killer activity 1: slow reveal
Instead of telling pupils what our famous person did, try building an air of mystery. At its simplest, try a slow reveal of Caxton at work doing what he is best remembered for-printing. But most pupils will not know what a printing press is or how it works. All the more reason so see how the slow revelation of small clues helps pupils to connect what they know from their world to what they see in the picture. As they offer ideas and you respond, you gradually build appropriate vocabulary as well as that all-important sense of impending revelation.
