Mary's Accession and Initial Religious Policy

Active learning works well for this topic because it helps students move beyond textbook summaries of Mary’s religious policies. Working through timelines and simulations lets them see how legal, political and personal forces shaped the Marian Restoration in real time.

• Year 12
• History
• 3 activities
• 30 min–45 min

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the legal and religious justifications Mary I used to repeal Edwardian legislation.
2. Analyze the popular support or opposition to the reintroduction of Catholic practices in England in 1553.
3. Evaluate the significant challenges Mary I encountered in reclaiming Church property confiscated during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
4. Compare the initial religious policies of Mary I with those of her father, Henry VIII, and brother, Edward VI.

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Restoration Timeline

In small groups, students analyze the legislation of Mary's reign (e.g., the First and Second Acts of Repeal). They must identify the 'stumbling blocks' (like the issue of former monastic lands) and discuss why Mary had to compromise with Parliament to get her way.

Prepare & details

Analyze how popular the return to Catholic worship was in 1553.

Facilitation Tip: For the Restoration Timeline, give each group two different-coloured cards: one for legal changes and one for local reactions so students can trace cause and effect side by side.

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

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

Simulation Game

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Simulation Game: The Return of Cardinal Pole

Students role-play the 1554 ceremony where Cardinal Pole formally absolved England of its 'sin' of schism. They must represent the different reactions of the nobility, the clergy, and the common people to the return of Papal authority.

Prepare & details

Explain the initial steps Mary took to reverse the Protestant reforms.

Facilitation Tip: In the Cardinal Pole simulation, set a 90-second timer after each briefing card is read so that students learn to extract key points quickly in a high-pressure environment.

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Popular or Imposed?

Students analyze churchwardens' accounts from 1553-1554. They discuss in pairs whether the rapid return of altars and vestments suggests a 'popular' desire for Catholicism or simply a 'pragmatic' obedience to the new Queen.

Prepare & details

Evaluate the challenges Mary faced in restoring Church lands.

Facilitation Tip: For the Think-Pair-Share on popularity, provide a short anonymous ballot slip so students can vote publicly without fear of peer pressure skewing the discussion.

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

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

Teaching This Topic

Experienced teachers approach this topic by treating Mary as a constitutional monarch, not a tyrant. They avoid framing her simply as a religious zealot by spotlighting the legal steps she took through Parliament. Research shows that when students analyze primary evidence about Church-land disputes and Pole’s mission, they grasp how religion and property intertwined in sixteenth-century politics.

What to Expect

By the end of these activities, students should be able to explain how Mary used Parliament to reverse Edward’s reforms and why the return of Catholicism was both rapid and incomplete. They will also evaluate whether the changes reflected popular feeling or state enforcement.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Collaborative Investigation: The Restoration Timeline, watch for students who assume Mary acted alone and ignored legal constraints.

What to Teach Instead

Use the timeline cards to prompt groups to mark every Parliamentary repeal with a date and vote count, so students see the constitutional machinery behind each change.

Common Misconception

During the Simulation: The Return of Cardinal Pole, watch for students who dismiss Pole’s role as purely symbolic.

What to Teach Instead

Ask each simulation group to tally how many of Pole’s actions in their briefs required papal approval or financial backing, forcing students to weigh his institutional influence.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

After Collaborative Investigation: The Restoration Timeline, present the primary source quote and ask students to annotate their timeline with a symbol showing whether the parish’s reaction fits early, mid or late period of the restoration.

Discussion Prompt

During Think-Pair-Share: Popular or Imposed?, circulate and listen for students who cite specific repealed laws or confiscated Church lands as evidence in the debate.

Exit Ticket

After Simulation: The Return of Cardinal Pole, collect each student’s two actions Mary took to reverse Edwardian reforms and one obstacle to Church-land recovery, checking for accurate details and clear explanations.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask students to draft a 1554 newsletter from a London parish describing the reintroduction of Catholic rites, using at least three details from the timeline they built.
• Scaffolding: Provide a partially completed timeline with key dates and gaps for students to fill in, then let them pair up to check each other’s work before presenting.
• Deeper exploration: Have students compare Mary’s use of Parliament with Elizabeth’s later religious settlement by annotating two short extracts from Mary’s 1553 opening speech and Elizabeth’s 1559 religious settlement.

Key Vocabulary

Act of Repeal	Legislation passed in Mary I's first Parliament in 1553 that reversed the religious changes made during Edward VI's reign, returning England to the religious state of 1547.
Papal Obedience	The formal submission of the Church of England back to the authority of the Pope, which occurred in 1554 under Mary I's reign.
Monastic Lands	Properties and wealth formerly belonging to monasteries, which were dissolved under Henry VIII and often sold to the nobility and gentry.
Clerical Marriage	The practice of allowing priests to marry, which was permitted under Protestantism but forbidden under Catholic doctrine.