elizabeth I

Outstanding KS2 history lessons on Life in Tudor Times

Although the Tudors are not a unit in their own right in the current National Curriculum for history, we can still continue to teach them in one of  four ways:

  1. We can make it the main focus for the thematic study: e.g. looking at how the role of the monarch has changed from Tudor times to today. The focus in 80% on Henry VIII and Elizabeth focusing on their portraits and what they tell us about them as rulers. The rest looks at how the monarchy is presented in the media today. Alternatively you might look at ‘voyages of exploration’ focusing heavily on the Tudors.
  2. We can exploit any strong local links you might have e.g. schools within visiting distance of a Tudor palace
  3. We can still teach it outside the National Curriculum. This need not mean extra time for history. We simply shave off time from the other units to make space for a truncated Tudor unit.

If you’re an academy of course you just teach it because its a great KS2 topic which has stood the test of time.

Whatever you decide, all existing outstanding lessons provide superb opportunities for excellent learning .

Make sure you have the brilliant medium term planner with you, judged outstanding  by OFSTED, when you look at these lessons so you can see how well they are sequenced and how they each address a distinct and important concept that helps pupils to think historically.

Planner and assessment task

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All Life In tudor Times Key QuestionsHistorical focus
KQ1 – Henry VIII: Could you spot Henry VIII in a police line-up?Historical interpretations
KQ1 Part 2 – Interpreting Henry VIIIHistorical interpretations
KQ2 – Why did Henry break with Rome? Love or religion?Causation and religion
KQ2 Part 2 – The highs and lows of Catherine of AragonChronology and personal experience
KQ2 Part 3 – Making sense of a letter from Henry VIII to Anne BoleynPrimary source evidence
KQ3 – How different was life for people at different levels of society in Tudor times?Similarity, difference and society
KQ3 Part 2 – More glass than wall? A Tudor enquiryEvidence and Tudor society
KQ4 – Elizabeth I portraits: why aren’t things what they seem?Evidence, propaganda and interpretation
KQ4 Part 2 – Get ready: the Queen is coming!Power and authority
KQ5 – How was the Spanish Armada defeated by the smaller English fleet?Causation and conflict
KQ6 – How did people enjoy themselves in Elizabethan England?Everyday life and culture
Mystery picture – hidden meanings in a Tudor painting

One of the exciting things about teaching history is watching the penny drop with pupils who discover that history is created and is not a single uncontested story. To get…

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Henry and Katherine of Aragon: a love story less well told?

A recent find in a field in Warwickshire is to be sold and the hope is that the British Museum will be successful in their bid. Not only is this…

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tudors KO
Tudor Britain knowledge organiser – KS2

You are learning about the Tudors as it was a period of history that helped to shape the Britain we live in today over 500 years later. Although best known…

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elizabeth I
Tudor Britain – assessment task – What can we learn about the way Elizabeth ruled the country from portraits

Focus: evaluation of sources Children work on an unseen portrait after the teacher has read out the caption which explains the context of the portrait. The mark scheme clearly and…

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planner
Planning for teaching Life in Tudor times at KS2

As you know, the requirement to study Life in Tudor Britain was mysteriously and inexplicably removed from the Key Stage 2 curriculum. As one of the best-taught and popular of…

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Teaching Life in Tudor Times for KS2

The Tudors from Key Stage 2 history, it is too good a learning experience for pupils for them to miss out on. if you want to see how you could…

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portrait of henry viii
Life in Tudor Times – KQ1 – Henry VIII a question of interpretations. Could you spot Henry VIII in a police line-up?

This is a really fun lesson which shows children what is meant by historical interpretations in an engaging and accessible way.  It appeals to both visual and kinaesthetic learners by…

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portrait of henry viii
Life in Tudor Times – KQ1 part 2 – Great starter on interpretations of Henry VIII

Working closely with academic authors, in this case Catherine Fletcher, always gives a fascinating insight into what historians want to write and publishers want to sell.  This is fertile ground…

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Life in Tudor Times – KQ2 – Why did Henry Break with Rome? Love or religion?

This KS2 history enquiry revolves around Henry VIII’s divorce and the break with Rome, one of the best-known stories in English history. At first, Henry, this larger than life figure,…

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Life in Tudor Times – KQ2 part 2 – the highs and lows of Catherine of Aragon

The context of this lesson was to explore the highs and lows of Catherine of Aragon as a lead up to the Break with Rome.  Pupils had already looked at…

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anne boleyn letter
Life in Tudor Times – KQ2 part 3 – History and literacy – Making sense of a letter from Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn

14 ways of telling this is a love letter Pupils are given a copy of a letter from Henry to Anne Boleyn.   It appears, at first glance to be impossibly…

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A Tudor inventory
Life in Tudor Times – KQ3 – How different was life for people at different levels of society living in Tudor times?

This lesson features the lives of 4 different Tudor people as evidenced from a key document that they each have in common, namely an inventory.  By studying the nature, value…

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hardwick hall lesson
Life in Tudor Times – KQ3 part 2 – Linking history with numeracy; a Tudor enquiry

More glass than wall? Is this a fair description of Hardwick Hall? And how do we find out? This SMART task links history with numeracy asking pupils to apply numeracy…

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Elizabeth I portrait. Why was it rejected?
Life in Tudor Times – KQ4 – Elizabeth I portraits – why aren’t things what they seem?

This powerful lesson on Tudor portraits as propaganda gives pupils the chance to appreciate that things aren’t always what they seem. Elizabeth wanted to be shown in a particular light…

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Preparing a feast for the Queen
Life in Tudor Times – KQ4 part 2 – Get ready – the queen is coming!

This enquiry focuses on helping children to learn about the power and authority of Queen Elizabeth and to appreciate the contrasting lifestyles of rich and poor in late Tudor England….

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Life in Tudor Times – KQ5 – How was the Spanish Armada defeated by the smaller English fleet? Using a technique called Waiting room

This lesson works really well because the tension you build into the waiting room activity gets all the class involved and focused.  The more able pupils have a specific, more…

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globe theatre
Life in Tudor Times – KQ6 – How did people enjoy themselves in Elizabethan England?

This KS2 enquiry comprises three outstanding activities: 6a. Advising the film director To imaginatively reconstruct the scene using a variety of evidence 6b. Prove it! Using a gallery of images…

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Mary Rose
Why on earth did the Mary Rose, pride of the Tudor fleet, sink so quickly under the nose of Henry VIII himself? Home study option SMART TASK

A tightly structured series of activities on the reasons why the Mary Rose mysteriously sank which incorporates: a. A history mystery using evidence discovered in the last few years b….

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