Elizabeth I and the Church of England
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe Elizabeth's religious settlement and the threats it faced.
Key learning points
- Elizabeth was known as the 'Supreme Governor of the Church of England'.
- Elizabeth's religious settlement, the 'Middle Way', found a middle ground between Catholic and Protestant beliefs.
- In 1570, Elizabeth was excommunicated giving Catholics a justification to act against her.
- Radical Protestants, known as Puritans, wanted more changes in the English Church.
- Elizabeth was able to defend her religious settlement from both Catholics and Protestants.
Keywords
Excommunicate - to excommunicate someone means to ban a person from church services and the community
Jesuit - the Jesuits were a Catholic group who worked in secret to convert people in England to Catholicism
Nicodemite - a Nicodemite is a person who pretends to follow one religion but secretly believes another
Puritan - a Puritan was a member of the English Protestant movement of the 16th and 17th centuries which sought to simplify and purify worship
Recusant - a recusant is a person who refuses to attend Church of England services
Common misconception
Everyone in Elizabethan England was Protestant.
Protestantism in Elizabethan England was the norm by the end of Elizabeth's reign, but England was religiously divided during her reign.
Teacher tip
Try to emphasise that people didn't object to Mary I killing people per se, as executions by monarchs in this time period was entirely normal, but the manner of execution was what people objected to.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
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.What does 'succession' mean?
Q2.What was the name of Elizabeth's suitor who was also her childhood friend?
Q3.Which of Elizabeth's suitors had previously been married to her sister, Mary I?
Q4.Which of these was used as propaganda by Elizabeth?
Q5.What was the normal expectation for a royal woman during Elizabeth's time period?
Q6.Why was it considered a problem that Elizabeth never had a child?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In which year did Henry VIII break away from the Catholic Church and begin the period of religious change in England?
Q2.Why did Elizabeth I pass the Act of Uniformity in 1559?
Q3.What was the term used for Catholics who pretended to be Protestant but still secretly practised Catholicism at home?
Q4.Who were Elizabeth's preferred group of believers?
Q5.Match the religious group to the correct definition.
extreme Protestant, wanted to remove Catholics from England
Protestant who accepted Elizabeth's religious rules
Catholic who refused to go to Protestant church services
Catholic group who tried to convert people to Catholicism
Q6.How did most Catholics in England respond to the Papal Bull issued by the Pope in 1570?
To help you plan your 8 history lesson on: Elizabeth I and the Church of England, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 history lesson on: Elizabeth I and the Church of England, 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 3 history lessons from the Elizabeth I: why has Elizabeth been represented so differently? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.