History · Year 11

Active learning ideas

Elizabeth's Religious Settlement 1559

Active learning helps students grasp the nuance of Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement because it lets them wrestle with compromise in real time. Moving beyond a lecture helps students see how political stability required careful balancing, not dogma.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• GCSE: History - Early Elizabethan England

• 15–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 25 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The 'Middle Way' Sort

Students are given cards describing features of the Elizabethan Church (e.g., the Queen as 'Supreme Governor', priests wearing vestments, the Bible in English). They must sort these into 'Appeals to Protestants', 'Appeals to Catholics', or 'Both', identifying how Elizabeth tried to please everyone.

Explain how Elizabeth I attempted to create a 'middle way' to satisfy both Protestants and Catholics in 1559.

Facilitation Tip

During the 'Middle Way' Sort, circulate and listen for pairs that justify their placements using direct evidence from the Acts—this is where the real learning happens.

What to look for

Provide students with three statements about the Religious Settlement. Ask them to write 'Agree' or 'Disagree' and provide one piece of evidence from the lesson to support their choice for each statement. For example: 'The Act of Uniformity was primarily designed to please Catholics.'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 35 min · Small Groups

Role Play: The Parish Visit

Students act as Elizabeth's 'commissioners' visiting a local church. They must interview a 'Puritan' who wants to remove the altar and a 'Catholic' who wants to keep the Latin mass. They must explain the new rules and the 'Recusancy fines' for non-compliance.

Analyze the key features of the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity.

Facilitation Tip

For the Parish Visit role play, assign clear roles from the start so shyer students can participate while stronger speakers model the range of reactions.

What to look for

Display a Venn diagram with 'Catholic elements' on one side and 'Protestant elements' on the other. Ask students to call out features of the 1559 Settlement and the teacher can place them in the correct section, facilitating a class discussion on the 'Middle Way'.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 15 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The 'Supreme Governor' Title

Students discuss in pairs why Elizabeth chose the title 'Supreme Governor' instead of 'Supreme Head' (which her father, Henry VIII, had used). They then share their thoughts on how this subtle change helped soothe Catholic and male-centric anxieties.

Evaluate the extent to which the Religious Settlement successfully achieved religious peace.

Facilitation Tip

In the Think-Pair-Share on the ‘Supreme Governor’ title, deliberately pause after the pair discussion to call on students who haven’t shared yet, ensuring everyone contributes.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a village priest in 1560. What specific challenges might you face in implementing the new Book of Common Prayer, considering the views of your parishioners?' Encourage students to consider both Puritan and Catholic leanings within a community.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Experienced teachers approach this topic by treating it as a study in pragmatism rather than theology. They avoid framing Elizabeth as a radical Protestant, because her personal beliefs mattered less than her political goal. Using primary sources from 1559 helps students see the Settlement as a negotiation, not a declaration. Research suggests that activities which require students to categorize elements of the Settlement help them internalize the ‘Via Media’ concept more deeply than passive reading.

By the end of these activities, students should be able to explain why Elizabeth’s policies were both Protestant and traditional. They should also identify how the Settlement set the stage for future conflicts. Look for clear examples in their discussions and work.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Collaborative Investigation: The 'Middle Way' Sort, watch for students who assume Elizabeth’s settlement was a radical Protestant break.

  Use the sorting cards to redirect students: show them the text of the Act of Supremacy and Act of Uniformity and ask them to find language that appeals to both sides, reinforcing that the goal was stability.

• During the Role Play: The Parish Visit, watch for students who believe the Settlement ended religious conflict in England forever.

  After the role play, ask each group to identify one ongoing challenge their character would face, then collect these on the board to create a simple timeline of threats.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Role Play
• Think-Pair-Share