The Battle of Jutland: A Scheme of Work
Study Unit 4 The 20th Century World
Big Questions Why did Jellicoe turn away at Jutland?
  How did this action affect the course of World War I?

Content Focus Key Element Working Questions Classroom Activities and Assessment Opportunities Resources
Before the Battle Contextual Knowledge 1. What was Jellicoe's objective at Jutland? This exercise is set within a wider study of World War I. Pupils read an account of the battle and answer a set of questions.

An account of the Battle of Jutland made up of a collection of primary and secondary sources:

  • maps
  • diagrams
  • newspaper accounts

Source collection:

  • statistical data
  • newspaper reports
  • historians' accounts
During the Battle Reasons for Actions
Cause of Events 		2. Why did Scheer launch his torpedo attack at 7.25pm?

3. What was the situation as Jellicoe saw it at 7.25pm?

4. Why did Jellicoe turn away?

5. What else could he have done?

6. What have you learned in Questions 1-5 about explaining actions? 		For assessment purposes, the questions are considered as a set. Higher levels awarded to pupils who reconstruct Jellicoe's situation and consider options open to him in order to explain his actions. Highest level to those who, in addition, can relate Jellicoe's actions to the wider context.
After the Battle:
Short Term Consequences 		Consequences of Events (2b) 7. How successful was Jellicoe in achieving his objectives in battle? Pupils study a small collection of British and German sources dealing with the immediate aftermath of the battle (see Gains and Losses section within Web site). Possibility of group work to develop each side of the argument - clear opportunity for work on 'interpretations' here.
After the Battle:
Longer Term Consequences 		Significance of Events (2d) 8. What effect did Jellicoe's actions at Jutland have on the course of the war? Pupils use longer-term consequences to assess the overall significance of the battle.
After the Battle:
Overall Significance 		Significance of Events (2d) 9. What have you learned in Questions 7 and 8 about ways of deciding the significance of the events of history? At a lower level, pupils will effectively repeat their answers to Questions 7 and 8. At a higher level, they argue that significance will depend on whose account we read, or on whether we focus on short or long-term consequences.