About this unit

Expectations

Resources

This unit centres on the life and reputation of John Lennon.

While some factual knowledge about him forms an essential
component, the main focus is on contrasting a favourable website page about Lennon with details of his life it leaves out.

This unit was originally taught in a day of school time but could also be taught across a sequence of lessons.

There is scope to adjust some of the teaching activities to take account of time constraints in different schools.

By the end of this unit:

Most pupils will have: drawn conclusions about John Lennon by listening to his music; analysed a web page on John Lennon for specific features of its design that promote him favourably e.g. language etc; contrasted this favourable interpretation of Lennon with other evidential information about him; produce their own interpretations of Lennon using ICT with given criteria.

Some pupils will not have made such progress and will have: made some general comments about John Lennon by listening to his music; picked out a few details from a web page on John Lennon that promote him favourably; understood that this view of Lennon is contradicted by other evidential information about him; produced their own, limited interpretation of Lennon using ICT but with only passing reference to given criteria.

Some pupils will have progressed further and will have: drawn nuanced conclusions about John Lennon by listening to his music; thoroughly analysed a web page on John Lennon for all the specific features of its design that promote him favourably; specifically contrasted this favourable interpretation of Lennon with other particular details from other evidential information about him; produced their own mature and reflective interpretation of Lennon using ICT and fully assuming the view point of the given criteria, even where this contrasts with their personal views.

Resources include:

• Examples of John Lennon’s music.
  
• Extract from www.hotshotdigital.com
  
• Evidential information about John Lennon
  
• Images of John Lennon.
  

It is helpful if pupils:

• Have studied aspects of life in Britain since 1930 before completing this unit.
• Are familiar with the idea that interpretations of historical figures can vary, depending on their purpose and audience e.g. wives of Henry VIII