91¶¶Òõ

Please consent to cookies to view content.

' ); iframeDoc.close(); } } } } } const observer = new MutationObserver(switchSrc); observer.observe(document.documentElement, { childList: true, subtree: true, }); })();

91¶¶Òõ

Resources Education Jobs Schools directory News Magazine Courses Log out Help
Home feed
My list
Courses My Jobs Job alerts My CV Career preferences Resources Author dashboard
Settings
Edit account Log out
Home Resources Jobs Schools directory News Magazine Courses Register for free Log in Help

Home feed Edit account About us My products 91¶¶Òõ for schools Work for 91¶¶Òõ Log out
Elizabeth I and the War with Spain | AQA A Level History

Elizabeth I and the War with Spain | AQA A Level History

Subject: History

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

9 June 2026

docx, 13.43 KB
docx, 13.43 KB
pptx, 14.64 MB
pptx, 14.64 MB
PNG, 275.32 KB
PNG, 275.32 KB

AQA A Level 1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603

This lesson explores the key reasons why England went to war with Spain during the reign of Elizabeth I

Students investigate the growing tensions between England and Spain before examining why Philip II’s invasion plans ultimately collapsed.

The first section of the lesson focuses on Elizabeth’s involvement in the Netherlands and how increasing hostility between the two nations eventually led to war. Students then move on to analyse the failure of the Spanish Armada, evaluating Philip II’s strategy and making links between events throughout the voyage to determine why the expedition was arguably doomed from the outset.

A significance ranking activity encourages students to assess the relative importance of key events leading to war, helping to develop higher-order thinking and analytical skills.

The lesson also includes exam question practice and a debate-style plenary which challenges students to justify, counter-argue and defend their interpretations using historical evidence.

An enquiry question is introduced at the beginning of the lesson and revisited throughout to demonstrate progress in learning and support deeper understanding across the wider unit of work.

Included in this resource:
Fully editable PowerPoint lesson
Activities analysing causes of war with Spain
Spanish Armada failure analysis tasks
Significance ranking activity
Exam question practice with support, model answer and markscheme
Debate and counter-argument plenary
Differentiated tasks and support
Suggested teaching strategies throughout

If you’re planning to use or adapt this lesson, I’d really appreciate any feedback.

Get this resource as part of a bundle and save up to 33%

A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

Bundle

AQA A Level History: The Tudors Foreign Policy Complete Lesson Bundle

This bundle explores the development of Tudor foreign policy from the reign of Henry VII through to Elizabeth I. Students examine the changing aims, successes and failures of Tudor monarchs in their relations with foreign powers including France, Spain and Ireland. The bundle begins with an introduction to Henry VII’s foreign policy aims before exploring key case studies including Brittany and Ireland. Students then investigate the foreign policy of Henry VIII both under and after Thomas Wolsey, before assessing the policies of Mary I and Elizabeth I. The final lessons focus on the war with Spain and Elizabeth’s difficulties in Ireland. Throughout the bundle, students assess changing foreign policy aims, analyse diplomacy, treaties, war and rebellion, and evaluate the success of Tudor monarchs in securing England’s position at home and abroad. Lessons include engaging activities, enquiry questions, interpretation work and exam-style practice, helping students build confidence in analytical and evaluative writing. The lessons are as follows: L1 intro to Henry VII Foreign Policy L2 Henry VII and Brittany L3 Henry VII and Ireland L4 Henry VIII Foreign Policy under Wolsey L5 Henry VIII Foreign Policy after Wolsey L6 Mary I Foreign Policy L7 Elizabeth I Foreign Policy L8 War with Spain L9 Elizabeth and Ireland Skills developed throughout the bundle: Source and interpretation analysis Evaluating historical interpretations Explaining significance and causation Comparing continuity and change Analysing treaties, alliances and diplomacy Constructing supported judgements Extract based exam practice Essay planning and analytical writing Map and contextual analysis Debate and discussion activities Any reviews would be appreciated to aid future planning.

£20.00
Bundle

AQA A Level Tudors: Elizabeth I Complete Bundle

**AQA GCSE A Level 1C The Tudors: England, 1485–1603** I have created this comprehensive bundle of resources to support students studying AQA A Level History and to help bridge the transition from GCSE to the demands of A Level study. Throughout this enquiry-based bundle, students will investigate the changing nature of Elizabeth’s reign and evaluate what kind of monarch Elizabeth was, considering how and why she adapted her policies and leadership over time. Students will: examine the challenges facing Elizabeth in 1558 and how she consolidated her authority investigate the Religious Settlement of 1559 and the ongoing religious tensions of the reign assess Elizabeth’s character, decision-making and political skill explore how government operated at both national and local level analyse Catholic threats, rebellion, Mary Queen of Scots and Puritan opposition evaluate the successes and failures of Elizabethan foreign policy study poverty, economic change and social developments investigate trade, exploration and England’s growing international influence debate whether Elizabethan England truly experienced a ‘Golden Age’ The lessons are as follows: L1 Introduction L2 Problems L3 Consolidation of power L4 Government of Elizabeth L5 Elizabeth and marriage L6 Background to the Religious Settlement L7 Elizabethan Religious Settlement L8 Catholic threats and rebellion L9 Mary, Queen of Scots L10 The Puritan threat (free resource) L11 Poverty and the Poor Law L12 Foreign Policy introduction L13 War with Spain L14 Elizabeth and Ireland L15 Economy and Society L16 Trade and exploration L17 Elizabeth Golden Age The lessons are fully resourced, differentiated and designed to develop the knowledge, analytical skills and confidence required for success at A Level. A wide range of activities are included throughout, such as source analysis, interpretation work, retrieval practice, debate, exam preparation and independent learning tasks. This bundle also includes extensive support for both AQA exam question types, including: model answers essay planning guidance scaffolding and structure support examiner-style advice helpful hints and tips mark schemes and assessment guidance (Please refer to the official AQA website for additional assessment materials and specimen papers, as these remain subject to copyright.) These lessons are designed to save planning time while maintaining high academic standards and student engagement throughout the course. If you are interested in the full Tudor A Level Bundle 1485-1603, please click here: /teaching-resource/resource-13151989. If you have any questions about the resources, please feel free to contact me via my TES shop. Reviews and feedback are always very much appreciated.

£38.00

Reviews

Something went wrong, please try again later.

This resource hasn't been reviewed yet

To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this resource can review it

to let us know if it violates our terms and conditions.
Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch.

£3.50
(no rating)0 reviews

Not quite what you were looking for?Search by keyword to find the right resource: