The Challenge of Mary Queen of Scots (Arrival)

Active learning works for this topic because Mary’s arrival forced Elizabeth into impossible choices that demand student analysis of evidence, perspective-taking, and risk assessment. By engaging with primary sources and role-play, students move beyond textbook summaries to confront the real dilemmas faced by Tudor decision-makers.

• Year 12
• History
• 3 activities
• 25 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the immediate political and religious implications of Mary Stuart's arrival in England in 1568.
2. Evaluate the extent to which Mary Stuart constituted a credible threat to Elizabeth I's reign compared to earlier claimants.
3. Explain how Mary Stuart's presence galvanized English Catholic opposition to Elizabeth I.
4. Critique the legal and ethical justifications for Elizabeth I's treatment of Mary Stuart during the 1560s.

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Casket Letters

In small groups, students analyze the 'Casket Letters', the evidence used to link Mary to the murder of her husband, Lord Darnley. They must debate whether the letters were 'genuine' or 'forgeries' and discuss how Elizabeth used this ambiguity to keep Mary in prison without a trial.

Prepare & details

Explain why Mary Stuart was a more credible threat than previous pretenders.

Facilitation Tip: During Collaborative Investigation: The Casket Letters, assign each group a distinct interpretive lens (e.g., forensic, political, religious) to prevent all students from reaching identical conclusions too quickly.

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

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Simulation Game: The Queen's Council, 1568

Students role-play a council meeting following Mary's arrival. They must brainstorm the 'pros and cons' of four options: execute her, restore her to the Scottish throne, send her to France, or keep her in 'honorable' captivity. They must try to reach a consensus while Elizabeth remains undecided.

Prepare & details

Analyze how Mary's presence galvanized English Catholics.

Facilitation Tip: In the Simulation: The Queen's Council, 1568, circulate with a timer visible to all groups to maintain urgency and realism in their deliberations.

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

⏱ 25 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: A Credible Threat?

Students analyze Mary's claim to the throne. They discuss in pairs why Mary was a more 'dangerous' threat than previous pretenders (like Warbeck) and share their findings with the class.

Prepare & details

Evaluate whether Elizabeth's treatment of Mary in the 1560s was legally justifiable.

Facilitation Tip: For Think-Pair-Share: A Credible Threat?, provide sentence stems on tables to support students who struggle to articulate their reasoning about Mary’s legitimacy.

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

Teachers approach this topic by framing Mary’s arrival as a historical ‘pressure test’ for Elizabeth’s governance, not just a dramatic event. Avoid oversimplifying Elizabeth’s actions as indecision, instead using sources to reveal her calculated avoidance of precedent. Research shows that role-play and source analysis help students grasp the long-term stakes of a single decision, which is critical for understanding Tudor politics.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students recognizing the complexity of Mary’s role as both victim and conspirator and articulating why Elizabeth’s inaction was strategic rather than weak. Evidence of understanding includes clear arguments about risk, motive, and consequence in their discussions and written outputs.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Simulation: The Queen's Council, 1568, watch for students assuming Elizabeth wanted to execute Mary from the start.

What to Teach Instead

Use the simulation’s final vote tallies and written justifications to highlight how Elizabeth’s ministers pushed for execution while Elizabeth resisted, pointing to her belief in the ‘sacred’ nature of monarchy as documented in their debate notes.

Common Misconception

During Think-Pair-Share: A Credible Threat?, watch for students portraying Mary as an ‘innocent victim’ of Elizabeth’s jealousy.

What to Teach Instead

Have students examine the Babington Plot evidence during their pairs to identify Mary’s active role in conspiracies, then ask them to revise their initial characterizations based on primary source details provided in the activity.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After Simulation: The Queen's Council, 1568, pose the following to the class: ‘Imagine you are an advisor to Elizabeth I in 1568. Present three distinct options for dealing with Mary Stuart's arrival, outlining the potential benefits and risks of each.’ Facilitate a class debate on the most prudent course of action and assess student arguments for evidence of risk assessment and historical accuracy.

Quick Check

During Collaborative Investigation: The Casket Letters, provide students with a short primary source excerpt describing a Catholic reaction to Mary's arrival. Ask them to identify two specific phrases that demonstrate how her presence galvanized opposition and explain their significance in 1-2 sentences on a shared document or whiteboard.

Exit Ticket

After Think-Pair-Share: A Credible Threat?, ask students to write one sentence explaining why Mary Stuart was a more credible threat than previous pretenders. Then, they should list one specific consequence of her being held in England on an index card to submit as they leave.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask students to draft a private letter from Mary to a foreign ally outlining her plan for escape, using details from the Casket Letters as evidence.
• Scaffolding: Provide a partially completed risk-benefit chart for one of Elizabeth’s options (e.g., trial, imprisonment, deportation) for students to analyze and extend.
• Deeper exploration: Compare Mary’s arrival to the arrival of earlier pretenders like Perkin Warbeck, focusing on how legitimacy and foreign alliances shaped reactions.

Key Vocabulary

Legitimate claimant	An individual with a recognized legal right to inherit a throne or title, often based on lineage.
Catholic threat	The perceived danger posed by English Catholics who remained loyal to the Pope and often viewed Mary Stuart as the rightful monarch.
Conspiracy	A secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful, particularly in this context, to overthrow Elizabeth I and place Mary Stuart on the throne.
Dilemma	A situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives, as faced by Elizabeth regarding Mary's fate.
Via Media	The 'middle way' of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, aiming to reconcile Protestant and Catholic traditions, which Mary's presence challenged.