Key Stage 1 Beyond Living Memory: Commemorating History
The Monarch's Official Birthday

Every year the UK celebrates the official birthday of the Monarch in early June. Find out about the origin of this annual event and about the traditional celebrations such as the Trooping of Colour and the Monarch’s birthday honours list.

Session 1 How many birthdays?

Objectives

History

  • Discover events beyond living memory that are significant nationally and are commemorated through anniversaries.
  • Develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time.

Maths

  • Recognise and use language relating to dates, including days of the week, weeks, months and years.
  • Interpret and construct simple pictograms, tally charts, block diagrams and simple tables.
  • Ask and answer simple questions by counting the number of objects in each category and sorting the categories by quantity.
  • Ask and answer questions about totaling and comparing categorical data.

Lesson Planning

Sing about months of the year, compile a block graph of class birthdays, and enjoy a birthday story. Which real person has 2 birthdays?!

Teaching Objectives
To share children’s birth dates and mark their year of birth on class time line.
To learn the months of the year; to compile a simple block graph.

Children will:

  • Learn the months of the year.
  • Compile a class block graph.
  • Collect data to compile individual block graphs.

Provided Resources

  • How to play the birthday islands game
  • Months of the year flashcards

You Will Need

  • Large squared paper for prepared block graph
  • Sticky notes
  • Block graph template for each child see weblinks
  • Clip boards
  • Scrap paper

Session 2 Crown Him/Her!

Objectives

History

  • Discover events beyond living memory that are significant nationally and are commemorated through anniversaries.
  • Know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.

Design and Technology

  • Select from and use a range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (cutting, shaping, joining and finishing).

Lesson Planning

Walk and move like a royal monarch, make your own crown and paint a royal portrait. Enjoy ‘Winnie the Pooh and the Royal birthday’. 

Teaching Objectives
To learn about some of the UK’s past Kings and Queens; how present day monarch uses the same symbols of power as those in the past.
To design, make and decorate a crown.

Children will:

  • Design and make a crown, the symbol of royalty.
  • Discover something of the chronological line of succession of the UK Kings and Queens.

Provided Resources

  • PowerPoint presentation on Kings and Queens

You Will Need

  • Printed stills for class time line
  • Information books showing portraits of various British and English monarchs
  • Craft resources to make crowns
  • Resources for role play
  • Construction kits and building sets
  • Play dough

Session 3 Marching!

Objectives

History

  • Discover events beyond living memory that are significant nationally and are commemorated through anniversaries.

PE

  • Master basic movements including running, jumping, throwing and catching, as well as developing balance, agility and co-ordination, and begin to apply these in a range of activities.

Lesson Planning

Practice marching; Learn about ‘Trooping the Colour’ - design own colour to troop to.

Teaching Objectives
To learn about the annual commemoration to mark the official birthday of the Monarch ‘Trooping the Colour’.
To march in time to a beat, maintaining co-ordination.

Children will:

  • Experience marching to follow a colour.
  • Understand the purpose of ‘Trooping the Colour’.
  • Design and make their own colour.

Provided Resources

This session does not need any provided resources.

You Will Need

  • ‘Colours’: flags made from single colour A4 paper attached to dowel or metre rules
  • Large paper, felt tip pens or oil based pastels for children’s own ’colour'
  • Means to attach colours from ceiling (as in St George’s chapel see weblink).

Session 4 Birthday Honours

Objectives

History

  • Discover events beyond living memory that are significant nationally and are commemorated through anniversaries.

English

  • Develop understanding through speculating, hypothesizing, imagining and exploring ideas.
  • Participate in discussions, presentations, performances, roleplay, improvisations & debates.

Lesson Planning

Children consider who they would honour and why; invite audience to ‘Honours’ presentation and celebration.

Teaching Objectives
To understand the tradition of the Monarch’s Birthday Honours List.
To discuss who deserves to receive an award, explaining their reasons coherently; to take part in a Class presentation of an awards ceremony.

Children will:

  • Decide which local person deserves to be honoured and explain the reasons why that particular person has been selected.
  • Take part in a class awards ceremony to learn about the tradition of the Monarch’s Birthday Honours List.

Provided Resources

  • Royal commandment from the Monarch and Royal certificate honouring the recipient

You Will Need

  • Small white boards and pens to write speech certificates
  • Decorations for awards ceremony: the colours made in session 3 and portraits from session 2
  • Red, white and blue balloons
  • Union Jack bunting
  • Children wear crowns (made in Session 2)
  • Cloaks and jewellery
  • Reward rosettes for the presentation
  • Party food and drink