Tudor Workshop
This short outline, on a Tudor Day held for A Level students in Newcastle, shows the content of the day.
Dates: 28 & 29th November 2006
Attendance: 120 students each day
Course Structure
Session 1: Was Henry VII an Effective King?
(Morning: 2.5 hours, including a break)
Session 2: Protests & Rebellions in Tudor England - an Overview
(Afternoon: 1.25 hours)
Course Content
Session 1: Was Henry VII an Effective King?
A review of Henry VII's kingship (using Active Learning and source work) including:
- What was expected of a king
- Richard III's legacy
- Henry's personality, interests and skills
- His relationships with his nobility & gentry
- The significance of foreign relations
- Why has Henry's reputation changed in recent years
During this session students were required to create a timeline, take part in a structured role play, use 2 different kinds of sources and create a physical map of Europe - all this, and they were still allowed a tea break!
Session 2: Protests & Rebellions in Tudor England - an Overview
A session (again using Active Learning) surveying the causes of protests and rebellions asking students to assess which threats were the greatest to the Tudor state.
Teachers' Pack
Teachers were provided with a resource pack which included handouts of the PowerPoint presentations (that were used as a back-drop for the two sessions) and copies of all the source material.
Feedback
The feedback form asked teachers 'what aspects of the course have been valuable for your students?' Answers included:
- All - but particularly nobility/gentry case study and the model of evaluating the threat from rebellion (Ian Ferguson, Whitby Community College)
- Consideration of key historical questions and answering/comprehension of documents (Emma Mole, St. Thomas More)
- Pacy session with lots of variation. Debates & decision making activities helped with oracy skills/chance to use higher order thinking skills (David Bartlen, Longbenton Community College)
- The chance to see how you analyse thematically (Kirsty Jackson, St. Robert of Newminster)
- Visual representation of effectiveness - really useful, memorable and transferable (Andrea McGuigan, Cardinal Hume Catholic School)
- Someone displaying a real passion for the Tudors (Andrea McGuigan)
