Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe how Elizabeth I reacted to the threat of the Spanish Armada.
Key learning points
- Elizabeth I faced one of her greatest challenges in 1588 when mighty Spain went to war with England.
- Spain wanted to invade England and take control of it, so they sent a huge armada to do so.
- Elizabeth sent her best sailors to fight the Spanish in the English Channel to stop them from invading.
- At the same time, Elizabeth made a famous speech to her army at Tilbury, saying she was as brave as any king.
- Although the English had fewer ships, they were helped by the weather, which blew the Spanish ships away from England.
Keywords
Armada - an armada was a large group of warships
Invade - when a group of people attack another country, moving their soldiers into it, they invade that country
Common misconception
Pupils may think England defeated Spain easily with their Navy.
It was a combination of factors that allowed England to defeat Spain including being helped by the weather.
Teacher tip
Take a look at some of the paintings of the Spanish Armada and discuss what you can learn from them about the event.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Elizabeth I was a Catholic.
Q2.Elizabeth I made her government...
Q3.Protestants and Catholics are both Christians.
Q4.Elizabeth's family had left England in...
Q5.Elizabeth’s government suggested that she should King Philip of Spain.
Q6.Queen Elizabeth I never got married.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.King Philip and Spain decided to England.
Q2.In what year did Spain invade England?
Q3.Match these keywords to their definitions.
Q4.Put these events into the correct order, starting with the earliest.
Q5.What did the Spanish lose in the storm?
Q6.Queen Elizabeth I won against the Spanish Armada.
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 history lesson on: Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 history lessons from the Ruling and religion unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.