Teaching Ideas for a Tudor Day!

Set up a Tudor-themed day in your classroom with this enormous collection of cross-curricular teaching ideas and activities!

These ideas could also be used over a week, month or term when your children are learning about the Tudors.

Don’t forget to download our enormous Tudor resource pack too!

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Watch this video about Shakespeare and then have a go at writing your own Shakespearean plays. Discuss how Shakespeare used known stories for his plays.

• Write a persuasive advert for a Tudor house using this template.
• Hold a class debate on a Tudor topic. For example, was Henry right to divorce Catherine of Aragon? Who should become Monarch when Elizabeth I dies?
• Storyboard the story of the Spanish Armada.
• Write a letter from Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon explaining why he wants a divorce.
• Write your own “horrible history” style fact files about a Tudor figure.
• Collect, illustrate and display key Tudor vocabulary.
• Look at this list of words invented by Shakespeare. Look up their meanings in a dictionary.
• Listen to some stories from Shakespeare.
• Write a newspaper article about the Battle of Bosworth Field.
• Write a few lines of iambic pentameter with the help of this page.

Maths

• Invent some Tudor-themed word problems. For example, You are planning a feast for Henry VIII. He has invited 420 people. For the meat course, one leg of mutton is enough for 3 people. How many legs of mutton will you need?
• Write the dates of the reigns of the Tudor monarchs in roman numerals.
• Explore Tudor money and set some questions, for example, how many pennies are in half a crown?

Science

• Find out about health in Tudor times on this great site.

Computing

• Use PowerPoint to design a quiz about the Tudors.
• Watch this video and use it to stimulate discussion on spam emails and messages.

Design Technology

• Plan and cook a Tudor Feast. Visit this site to find lots of Tudor recipes.
• Make your own Tudor houses using this printable net.
• Make a Tudor pomander. 

Art

• Watch this Horrible Histories video and then paint your own portrait of Queen Elizabeth I.

• Look at The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein. Draw your own picture which includes objects to tell you something about the subject.

Music

• Listen to Tudor music on the BBC’s site.

Geography

• Look at some of the maps on this page and compare them to modern-day maps. Why are they so different?
• Sir Francis Drake was the first Englishman to sail around the world. Plot his journey on a map of the world.
• Draw a plan for a Tudor knot garden like this one.

History

• Create a Tudor family tree
• Use these ideas and photos to research Tudor homes.
• Compare the lives of rich and poor people in Tudor times. You can find information here and here.
• Research Tudor medicines. This page is a good starting point.
• Create a Tudor timeline. What events could you include?
• Look at some Tudor artefacts and find out more about them, for example, on this site.

Physical education

• Watch this video of Tudor dancing and make up your own.
• Organise a tennis tournament.

Religious education

• Find out about the differences and similarities between the present-day Church of England and the Catholic Church.

PSHE

• Tudor punishments were very severe, for example, school children were often whipped if they misbehaved. What kind of punishments do you think are appropriate in school? Why might we need them?