History · Year 11

Active learning ideas

Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

Active learning helps students grasp the complexities of Tudor politics by moving beyond memorization of dates. When students step into roles, debate decisions, and reconstruct timelines, they see how personal ambition, patronage, and fear shaped events like the Essex Rebellion.

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

• 20–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Role Play
• 35 min · Whole Class

Role Play: The Patronage Game

Students act as courtiers competing for 'monopolies' (the right to be the only seller of a product like sweet wine). They must 'flatter' the Queen (the teacher) and sabotage their rivals, experiencing how the system of patronage kept the nobility loyal but also created deep resentment.

Explain the legal process that led to Mary, Queen of Scots' execution.

Facilitation Tip

During the Role Play, assign students roles with clear objectives and limited information so they experience the frustrations of court politics firsthand.

What to look for

Provide students with a prompt: 'Imagine you are an advisor to Elizabeth I in 1587. Write a short paragraph (3-4 sentences) explaining one reason for or against executing Mary, Queen of Scots, referencing a specific consequence.'

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

Activity 02

• Inquiry Circle
• 25 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Essex 'Downfall' Timeline

In small groups, students are given a list of events (the failure in Ireland, the 'slap' from the Queen, the loss of his sweet wine monopoly). They must identify the 'point of no return' where Essex decided that rebellion was his only option.

Analyze the political and international consequences of Mary's death.

Facilitation Tip

For the Timeline activity, give groups distinct sets of events to prevent overlap and require each group to justify why their event was pivotal to Essex’s downfall.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Was Mary, Queen of Scots, a victim of circumstance or a threat to Elizabeth I's throne?' Facilitate a class debate where students must use evidence from the trial and political context to support their arguments.

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

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The Problem of the Succession

Students discuss in pairs why Elizabeth's refusal to name an heir made the court so unstable in the 1590s. They then share their thoughts on whether she was being 'wise' (by keeping everyone guessing) or 'reckless' (by risking civil war).

Assess the long-term impact of Mary's execution on Elizabeth's reign and succession.

Facilitation Tip

In the Think-Pair-Share, have pairs record their arguments on chart paper so you can circulate and see which claims need more evidence during the whole-class discussion.

What to look for

Ask students to create a timeline of the key events leading to Mary's execution, including the Babington Plot and the Act of Association. Have them label each event with its significance in the legal process.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start by making the political personal: students need to feel the weight of Elizabeth’s choices and Essex’s desperation. Avoid presenting these events as inevitable; instead, emphasize contingency by having students role-play moments where decisions could have gone differently. Research shows that students engage more deeply with succession crises when they confront the human stakes rather than abstract policies.

Students will explain how patronage worked and why its breakdown mattered, evaluate Elizabeth’s leadership in her final years, and analyze why Essex’s rebellion failed. Their work should show clear connections between individuals’ motives and political outcomes.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Role Play: The Patronage Game, some students may assume the rebellion had widespread public support.

  After the Role Play, ask students to tally how many people actually joined Essex. Have them revisit their role-play scripts to identify why so few supported him, focusing on the lack of popular appeal and the city’s guarded response.

• During the Think-Pair-Share: The Problem of the Succession, students might assume Elizabeth’s declining popularity meant she lost control.

  After the Think-Pair-Share, have students create a T-chart listing Elizabeth’s strengths and weaknesses in her final decade, using evidence from the rebellion’s suppression to argue whether she remained in command.

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Methods used in this brief

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