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Year 8

Social life for the poor in Tudor England

I can explain how social life for the poor changed in Elizabethan England.

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New
New
Year 8

Social life for the poor in Tudor England

I can explain how social life for the poor changed in Elizabethan England.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Social life was affected by changes to the Church and changes to the seasons.
  2. Many forms of entertainment remained the same throughout the Tudor period.
  3. Blood sports became more popular during the Tudor period.
  4. Theatres were built in London as a venue for plays to be performed.

Common misconception

The English have always been a nation of animal lovers.

Blood sports were a very popular form of entertainment for hundreds of years. A large variety of animals were killed for our entertainment, such as bulls, bears and badgers.

Keywords

  • Blood sports - blood sports are forms of entertainment involving hunting, wounding or killing, usually of animals

  • Theatre - the theatre is a venue where plays are performed

Virtual tours of The Globe are available online: show students a virtual tour in order to help them understand the setting and appeal of plays during this time period.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Contains subject matter which individuals may find upsetting.

Supervision

Adult supervision suggested.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
refers to the countryside.
Correct Answer: Rural, rural
Q2.
Which of the following is the correct definition of subsistance?
Correct answer: the act of maintaining oneself at a most basic level
the act of trying live above basic living conditions
the act of keeping others at the most basic level
Q3.
Why did sheep farming present problems for the rural poor?
Correct answer: Many became unemployed as less people were needed to tend to the sheep.
Correct answer: Land enclosures for the sheep meant the poor had less land.
There were not enough sheep and so it was not profitable.
Q4.
Rural people who moved in order to find work, food and shelter were known as .
Correct Answer: vagabonds, Vagabonds
Q5.
Why did food prices increase during the Tudor period?
Correct answer: There was less food being grown due to switch from crop to sheep farming.
Correct answer: There were poor harvests in the 1590s.
Correct answer: There was less common land available for subsistence.
There was more common land available for subsistance.
Q6.
Which of the following statements best explains why the Elizabethan elite were alarmed by the ever-growing urban poor in London? Select the best explanation.
They feared the occasional food riots.
Correct answer: They feared that riots could transform into full-blown rebellion.
They feared the crime.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
means the form of entertainment involving hunting, wounding or killing, usually of animals.
Correct Answer: Blood sports , blood sports, cruel sports, Cruel sports
Q2.
A is a venue where plays are performed.
Correct Answer: theatre, Theatre
Q3.
How much of the year was given over to holy days in Tudor England before it became Protestant?
roughly 1/2
roughly 1/3
roughly 1/4
Q4.
Which sport did men have to practise on Sundays after church in preparation for war?
football
Correct answer: archery
bear-baiting
Q5.
Choose the concerns that Puritans had with blood sports.
Correct answer: Blood sports attracted criminals.
Correct answer: Blood sports attracted drunken behaviour.
Blood sports were an abuse of animal rights.
Q6.
The name of the first theatre to be built, in 1576, was .
Correct Answer: The Theatre, Theatre

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