Lesson video

Hello.

Welcome to another amazing and exciting history lesson.

My name is Mrs. Choudhury.

What's your name? Well, it's great to have you here with us as we carry on learning all about an amazing woman called Elizabeth II and what her life was like.

Now, some of the learning today will be brand new, but I'm here to help you.

So let's get started.

Our learning journey today, we're gonna be learning about some duties and responsibilities that Elizabeth held as queen.

By the end of the lesson, you'll be able to talk about some of the things that she did when she was the queen.

Let's find out what our keywords are for today.

We always have some keywords that we look at, and today we have five keywords that we are gonna learn.

The first keyword is public.

Public.

My turn.

Public.

Your turn.

Great.

Good job.

The second key word we have today is duties.

My turn.

Duties.

Your turn.

Fantastic.

The third keyword we have today is responsibilities.

My turn.

Responsibilities.

Your turn.

Amazing.

The fourth keyword we have today is Church of England.

My turn.

Church of England.

Your turn.

Great.

And the fifth and final keyword we have today is service.

My turn.

Service.

Your turn.

Brilliant, so those are our five keywords that we will be learning about today.

Now, today's lesson is split into two parts.

The first part will be all about Elizabeth as the public figure.

Public.

That's one of our keywords for today.

So we'll discover what that word means and what it means for Elizabeth to have been the public figure.

Do you know what that means? Do you have any idea what that might mean for Elizabeth to have been known by the public? Well, we're discover in that section.

Now, the second part is all about her duties, responsibilities, and service.

Again, some of our keywords for today.

Do you know what any of those words mean? Hmm.

We're discovering that part in the second part of our lesson what those words mean.

Now I'd like you to have a think.

What sort of jobs do you think that Elizabeth had to do as queen? Hmm.

Well, I'd like you to hold onto those ideas as we go through our lesson.

So let's get started with learning about Elizabeth as the public figure.

You might have seen this timeline before.

So let's recap on Elizabeth's life.

We've learned that in 1926, Elizabeth was born.

She was a princess for some time before becoming queen in 1952.

She ruled as queen for a very long time until she died in 2022.

Now, our learning today about Elizabeth as a public figure will be on this part when she was queen.

So we'll be learning about this time when she was a queen and she was known as being a public figure.

So let's find out what this word means, public.

Well, as queen, Elizabeth was an important person to the public.

Hmm.

Have you heard of that word before? Do you think you might know what it means? Hmm.

Let's find out.

Well, the public are the people that Elizabeth ruled over.

You can see in this photograph that Elizabeth is meeting the public.

Now, Elizabeth had many public duties and responsibilities.

Those sound like some of our keywords.

Well, duties are things that someone must do.

As queen, there were a lot of things that Elizabeth had to do because of her role.

This photograph, this old black and white photograph shows Elizabeth visiting Switzerland? Can you see what she's doing in this photograph? She's standing with a microphone near her and she's giving a speech to some people.

You can see that there are crowds of people watching her.

Responsibilities.

That's another one of our keywords.

Responsibilities are something that you're expected to do.

It is your job.

Elizabeth was important to the British public because she was a symbol of unity and national identity.

This meant that the public saw her as a ruler who brought everyone together.

This picture shows a postage stamp with Elizabeth on it, so she was even on all the stamps, and that shows that she was a sign of British identity.

When people all around the world heard the United Kingdom mentioned, they thought of Queen Elizabeth.

You even have a face on the coin, and you might have seen her face on some notes as well.

This was because she was also the symbol of the four nations being united.

Do you remember what those four nations are? That's right.

They are England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.

Right, let's have a check for understanding.

So Elizabeth was a symbol of: A, unity and national identity.

B, unity.

Or C, national identity.

Pause the video and have a think.

Oh, so what did you think Elizabeth was a symbol of? She was a symbol of unity and national identity.

So remember when everyone heard of the United Kingdom being mentioned, they thought of Elizabeth II.

You even had her face on stamps and coins and bank notes as well.

Let's move on.

Now because Elizabeth was a symbol of unity and national identity, she attended special events.

You can see here that Elizabeth II is landing in Nigeria.

She's landing a country called Nigeria.

These included visiting the colonies in other parts of the Commonwealth, just like her parents did.

Her parents had also visited lots of other countries.

Who can you see in this photograph with Elizabeth? Who's standing at the back? That's right, it's her husband.

Now, Queen Elizabeth also gave national messages, even at Christmas.

Every Christmas, the king or queen gives a radio or TV broadcast talking to the public.

Do you remember who the public are? Yes, the public are the people that the king or queen rule over.

Now, this broadcast that they give is known as the Christmas Broadcast.

Do you and your family ever watch this on television on Christmas Day? You might have seen it before.

This photograph shows Elizabeth making her first ever Christmas Broadcast when she became the queen.

Let's have another check for understanding.

So what duties did Elizabeth carry out as a symbol of unity? Is it A, she stayed at Buckingham Palace.

B, she gave national messages.

Or C, she attended special events.

Pause the video and have a think.

So what duties did you think she carried out as a symbol of unity? It was B, she gave national messages and there is another one.

C, she attended special events because remember she represented the United Kingdom, so she had a lot of duties to do as the queen.

Let's move on with our learning for today.

Now as well as being queen, Elizabeth had other important responsibilities.

She was also the governor of the Church of England.

The Church of England is England's national church.

This photograph shows Queen Elizabeth at Canterbury Cathedral.

This is one of her responsibilities as the governor of the Church of England.

And do you remember who the leader of the Church of England is? That's right.

It's the Archbishop of Canterbury.

He is the leader of the Church of England, but she, Elizabeth II, is the governor of the Church of England.

Elizabeth was also the head of the armed forces.

These were the Army, Navy, And Air Force.

Hmm.

I've heard of the Navy before.

Do you remember who was in the Navy? That's right.

It was Prince Philip.

He was in the Navy for a long time, wasn't he? This photograph shows Elizabeth attending an armed forces parade.

You can see some people from the forces around her.

She's very guarded.

She's in the middle, she's in a carriage.

And you can see lots of people in their special uniforms all around her.

Have you ever been to anything like this where you've seen the queen or a king with the special forces around them? It's a very special occasion where there are lots of shows and you can see people in lots of different uniforms as well.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

So which two of these were important responsibilities that Elizabeth had? Was it A, head of the armed forces? B, head of a school? Or C, head of the Church of England? Pause the video and have a think.

So, which two of these were important responsibilities that Elizabeth had? Let's find out.

She was head of the armed forces, that's right.

Remember she was head of the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy.

Which other one did you think it was? What else? She was also head of the Church of England.

She was the governor of the Church of England.

Let's move on.

Now it's time for a task because you've done quite a bit of learning about Elizabeth, the public figure.

Can you explain why Elizabeth was an important figure to the public? What did she symbolise and what duties did she have? Share your ideas with your partner.

I'll be waiting right here.

So, what did you think? What ideas did you come up with? Let's do this together.

So let's explain why Elizabeth was an important figure to the public.

Maybe you said something like, 'Elizabeth was the head of the Church of England." Or maybe you said, "Elizabeth would send national messages and do Christmas broadcasts every year." Let's carry on with our learning.

We're onto the second part of our learning journey today.

Now we're gonna learn about her duties, responsibilities, and service.

Now as an important public figure, Elizabeth had many responsibilities.

This includes going on official visits, meeting other kings and queens, and helping to pass laws.

This photograph shows Elizabeth and Philip at the opening of parliament, and that was a very special responsibility that only the king or queen might have had.

Elizabeth also celebrated and recognised the achievements of people across the UK for their service.

She would give them awards.

This photograph shows Elizabeth presenting an award to somebody for doing something very special.

Now, what does this word service mean? Let's find out.

Well, service is when someone does things to help other people.

What sort of services do you think Elizabeth celebrated? So like in this photograph, you can see Elizabeth is giving someone an award for their service.

What sort of services do you think Elizabeth celebrated? Hmm.

Well, some of the services British people did that Elizabeth celebrated included helping the poor, helping to teach others, saving lives, and writing important things.

This photograph shows a very special woman called Doreen Lawrence, receiving an OBE award for charity work.

So you can see she's been given a very special award, like a badge, to show that she's done some amazing service that have helped people.

Let's have a check for understanding.

So true or false, Elizabeth had lots of duties and responsibilities.

Pause the video and have a think.

That statement is true.

Elizabeth did have lots of duties and responsibilities.

Let's justify your answer.

So she had lots of duties and responsibilities because A, she was a queen and an important public figure.

Or B, she was the queen, but no one knew her.

Pause the video and have a think.

She was the queen and an important public figure.

So those were why she had lots of duties and responsibilities.

Wow.

It's time for our final task.

So what I'd like you to do is draw, write, or say who you think should receive an award for their service and why.

You might want to think about people you know or someone maybe that you see every day, or perhaps even somebody you've seen on the news or on TV.

Why do you think they should receive an award? Pause the video and have a go.

Welcome back.

Let's see what you've come up with.

You might have drawn something or you might have said or written something.

Let's see what you might have drawn or written about.

Hmm, you might have said, "My teacher deserves an award for their service in teaching and helping us every day." Or maybe you said, "My friends should receive an award for their service in being so kind to me." Or perhaps you said, "Our school cook should get an award for their service in cooking delicious food for us every day." Great.

Wow, and just like that, we have come to the end of our lesson.

So let's summarise what we have learned today.

Well, we've learned that as queen, Elizabeth II had many public duties and responsibilities.

Those were some of our keywords, public, duties, and responsibilities.

Do you remember what they mean? That's right, the public are the people that Elizabeth ruled over.

And duties and responsibilities are things that Elizabeth had to do.

She performed many public services.

Elizabeth was a symbol of unity and national identity.

She attended special events and gave national messages.

Elizabeth II was the governor of the Church of England and the armed forces.

Do you remember what the Church of England is? Yes, the Church of England is the national church.

And do you remember what the armed forces are? Yes, it's the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.

Elizabeth II celebrated and recognised the achievements of people across the UK for the services they performed.

So these are things that people did to help others.

And do you remember we saw a picture of a woman called Doreen Lawrence, and you also thought of people around you who you think should receive an award for their service.

So we've done some fantastic learning today.

We have found out all about what Elizabeth II's public duties and services were.

It has been wonderful learning with you and I can't wait to see you in our next lesson.

Goodbye for now.