Life in Tudor Times

Curriculum Context

Subject: History
Year Group: Years 5–6 (Key Stage 2)
Time: 45 minutes
Class Size: 32 pupils

National Curriculum Links – History (KS2):

• Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world and British history.
• Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance.
• Understand how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
• Construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information.

---

Lesson Title

"Power, Piety, and People: Life Under Henry VIII vs Elizabeth I"

---

Learning Objective

To explore and understand how life changed for people in Tudor England under the reign of King Henry VIII compared to Queen Elizabeth I, with a focus on religion, wealth, and gender roles.

---

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, pupils will be able to:

• Identify at least two changes in religion, wealth, and gender roles between the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.
• Compare the impact of these changes on people’s daily lives using historical evidence.
• Communicate their thoughts using historical language and show empathy by articulating what life might have felt like.

---

Required Resources

• Tudor role-play character cards (provided)
• Venn diagram worksheets
• Large class timeline (sticky notes or string version)
• Printed images: Tudor clothing by class and gender, churches pre- and post-Reformation, royal portraits
• ‘Fact or Fiction?’ True/False sorting cards
• Teacher-led PowerPoint
• Music clip: Court music from both Henry VIII's and Elizabeth I's court.

---

Lesson Structure

⏱️ Starter Activity (10 Minutes) – "Tudor Time Travel"

Activity Name: The Royal Ripple Effect

• Pupils enter the room with quiet lute music playing in the background.
• Teacher greets students dressed (optionally!) with a Tudor-style accessory or tone to immerse them straight away.
• Pupils are quickly sorted into six groups, each assigned a role (e.g. farmer wife, noblewoman, clergyman, merchant, monk, and soldier).
• Each child receives a “Tudor Character Card” which includes:
  • Name, occupation, religion, gender
  • Key fact about life under Henry VIII or Elizabeth I
• As a class, place themselves physically on a human timeline across the classroom—groups identify whether their experience is set under Henry VIII or Elizabeth I.
• Brief whole-class discussion: What immediate differences can be seen between these two rulers?

⚡ Wow Factor: Not just telling pupils about social change—they become the people who lived it.

---

⏱️ Main Activity (25 Minutes) – "Tales of Two Tudors"

Part 1: Mini Masterclass (10 minutes)

Teacher-led discussion using visuals and questioning on these three shifts:

1. Religion

   • Under Henry VIII: Break from the Catholic Church, establishment of Church of England, destruction of monasteries.
   • Under Elizabeth I: Religious Settlement—Anglican Church dominance, more tolerance than Henry but still tension.
   • Key vocab: Reformation, Catholic, Protestant, Dissolution

2. Wealth

   • Henry: Spent vast sums on luxury, war, and buildings—nobles prospered, poor suffered due to land enclosures and monastery closures.
   • Elizabeth: Faced tight budgets, supported trade and exploration (e.g., the rise of the merchant class).
   • Key vocab: Enclosure, Armada, Merchant, Trade Routes

3. Gender Roles

   • Henry: Patriarchal expectations, women seen as property, queens failed if no male heir.
   • Elizabeth: Refused to marry, ruled alone effectively, used her image as "Gloriana" to challenge gender norms.
   • Key vocab: Heir, Monarch, Patriarchy, Gloriana

Part 2: Comparison Carousel (15 minutes)

Station Rotation Activity:

• Pupils remain in groups. The classroom has three carousel stations, one per theme (Religion, Wealth, Gender).
• Each station contains:
  • A visual clue (e.g. two church photos, side-by-side noble/peasant clothes, portraits of Henry and Elizabeth)
  • Two short description cards per monarch with identical writable sections.
  • A spot on a giant Venn diagram to place group’s conclusions.
• Roles in each group: Scribe, Reader, Timekeeper, Question Master.

Pupils move through each station and build up a whole-class Venn diagram track of similarities and differences.

🎨 Creative Twist: At each station, the “Question Master” must sum up the difference between the two monarchs in a single emoji with justification.

---

⏱️ Plenary (10 Minutes) – "People of the Past Speak Again"

Hot-Seat Reflection Exercise:

• Teacher randomly selects 3 students to step into the “hot seat” as a character from earlier.
• Remaining students ask them how their life changed under Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.
• Encourage questions like:
  • “Did your job become easier or harder?”
  • “What did you believe about God?”
  • “How were you treated as a woman/man during each reign?”

Final Writing Prompt (2 minutes silent reflection):

“One way life changed more under Elizabeth I than Henry VIII was… because…”

Pupils write this in books or Exit Slip for teacher assessment.

---

Differentiation

• Support: Vocabulary bank with definitions, sentence starters. Mixed-ability groups ensure appropriate support.
• Greater Depth: Extension: “Which monarch do you think created more lasting change and why?” Encourage use of historical terms and evidence.

---

Assessment Strategies

• Observation during carousel group activities (collaboration, vocabulary usage).
• Venn diagram contributions assessed for historical understanding.
• Individual written responses showing clarity and comparison in conclusions.
• Oral responses in the hot-seat plenary measure empathy and insight.

---

Extension / Homework Idea

Prepare a “Tudor Podcast Script” as a radio journalist reporting live from Tudor England. Pupils choose to report from either Henry VIII’s or Elizabeth I’s court. They must include reference to religion, wealth, or gender issues and ‘interview’ a fictional character.

---

Teacher Notes

• Feel free to adapt character cards to suit existing learning and diversify life experiences (e.g. include a servant with African ancestry from Elizabeth’s court).
• Encourage use of historical terminology consistently.
• Consider integrating prior learning about the Tudor family tree or monarchy if this is part of a longer unit.

💡Teacher Tip: Bringing history alive means giving pupils agency within it — by stepping into people’s shoes, they can better understand how the past shaped our world.

---

End of Lesson Recap

Circle back to the Learning Objective:

Revisit our central question:
“How did life change for people under Henry VIII compared to Elizabeth I?”

Ask for 3 hands — each to give one difference related to Religion, Wealth, and Gender Roles.

Applaud and physically “close the timeline” as students leave the Tudor world behind — for today!

---

This lesson is part of the “Turbulent Tudors” unit focused on monarchs and the changing lives of ordinary people during the 16th century.