Key Stage 3 History. Britain 1500-1750. Year 8. Unit 2. What were the causes and consequences of the
Reformation 1500-1750?
History Key Concepts Expectations
Cross Curricular Framework (CCF)
and processes
Aspects
1 Concepts
AF1 Thinking historically
1 Chronological understanding,
2 Cultural, ethnic and religious
diversity,
3 Change and continuity,
4 Causation,
AF2 Exploring interpretations
5 Significance,
6 Interpretation.
2 Processes
AF3 Historical Enquiry
1 Historical enquiry,
2 Using evidence,
3 Communicating about the past.
At the end of this unit
Most pupils will: show knowledge of the role of the Church in peoples lives in the
early 16th Century and some criticisms of the Church; describe some of the different
types of causes of the break with Rome and how Henry actually carried this out; to
make observations on the extent to which England was united by the Church of
England; select, organise and use relevant information from historical sources to
analyse and evaluate the utility of evidence; and to show that different
interpretations of events, such as the attempt to blow up Parliament, exist.
Some pupils will not have made so much progress and will: show some knowledge of
the role of the Church in peoples’ lives by 1500; begin to give some reasons why
Henry VIII was keen to reform the Church; identify that there were different
religious groups in England from the 1530’s and recognise that they had different
views; to begin to use relevant information from sources to answer historical
questions.
Some pupils will have progressed further and will: show detailed knowledge of the
role of the Church in peoples lives in the early 16th Century and a range of criticisms
of the Church; describe in detail the different types of causes of the break with
Rome and exactly how Henry actually carried this out; to make sophisticated
observations on the extent to which England was united by the Church of England;
select, organise and use relevant information from historical sources to analyse and
evaluate the utility of evidence to answer sophisticated historical questions and
suggest reasons for different interpretations.
i) PLTS and FS
1 Independent enquirers, 2 creative thinkers,
3 reflective learners, 4 team workers, 5 self managers, 6
effective participators
ii) PD, ECM and SEAL
1 Safety, 2 Healthy, 3 Economic well being, 4 Enjoy and 5
Participate
Dimensions
1 Identity and cultural diversity 2 Community
participation 3 Healthy Lifestyles 4 Enterprise 5 Global
dimension 6 Technology and media 7Creativity and critical
thinking
Curriculum Opportunities and links
(COL) (including themes of Discovery and Play,
Connections and Perspectives)
Resources
Key Stage 3. Subject. Unit Title
Year 7 Unit 1. ?
Enquiry questions, concepts
and processes
Pupils should learn:
Learning activities
 How important was the Catholic Church in
people’s lives in 1500 and why were some
people critical of it?
 Development of historical knowledge and
understanding.
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 Why did Henry VIII decide to change the
way in which the Church was organised?
 Development of the concept of causation.
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 Was it safer to be a protestant than a
catholic 1509-1603?
 Development of concept of change over
time.
 Development of concept of interpretation.
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Use text enable pupils to complete a
pyramid of power diagram for the
Catholic Church.
Guided by the teacher, pupils consider
the roles of the Church and produce a
spider diagram showing its impact on
everyday life.
Pupils complete empathetic/extended
writing revealing Protestant criticisms
of the Catholic Church and to use
criticisms to generate possible
changes.
Draw on some pupil’s prior knowledge of
Henry VIII, from KS2, to introduce
the lesson, explain that events are
usually multi-causal.
Ask pupils to sort Henry’s problems
into different causal categories and to
record this in a table.
Pupils use table to produce a piece of
extended writing showing whether they
agree with an interpretation of the
event that emphasises one causal
factor.
Tell the pupils how Henry reformed the
Church. More able pupils may consider
the interpretation of events, given in a
contemporary visual source.
Explain to the pupils that subsequent
monarchs changed the religion of
England several times and as a class
study the changes.
Pupils produce a diagrammatic
representation of religious change over
time.
Learning outcomes
Pupils:
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CCF and COL (including
themes)
Develop and reveal knowledge and
understanding of the hierarchical
nature of the Catholic Church and its
centrality in people’s lives.
Build on their prior knowledge of role
of the church in medieval times.
Understand and explain criticisms of
the church. More able pupils may also
infer how different religious thinking
could have implications for the church’s
power structure and role in people’s
lives.
Pupils build on their content knowledge
of the topic, form KS2. They also
further extend their understanding of
multiple causation, introduced in the
YR7 African Diaspora unit.
Pupils describe the different problems
that cause Henry to act. More able
pupils will also explain how the change
would address those problems.
Pupils have begun to consider the
relative significance of the different
types of causes.
Pupils understand the changes that
occurred.
PLTS
ECM
WCD
COL
demonstrate an understanding of
religious change over a hundred-year
period.
maintain a consideration of causal
factors.
Understand the consequences for
different religious groups at different
PLTS
ECM
WCD
COL
PLTS
ECM
WCD
COL
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 How united were the people of England
behind the Church of England by 1750?
 Development of understanding of religious
division and difference
 Development of the concept of
interpretation.
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 Why did Henry VIII dissolve the
Monasteries?
 Development of historical enquiry skills.
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 Was Mary bloody or misunderstood?
 Development of historical enquiry skills.
 Development of the concept of
interpretation.
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Establish that it was dangerous for
different religious groups at different
times.
Pupils produce a danger chart, showing
change over time, and may complete
extended writing activity.
As a class, study the descriptions of
the different religious groups in
England in the 17th century, from which
pupils produce displays in groups.
Pupils examine the arguments used by
Protestants and Catholics in the period
and use these to consider and conclude
on an interpretation of the period that
“The people of England were united
behind the Church of England by 1750.”
Describe the role that monasteries had
played in society prior to the
Reformation.
Give pupils a set of causation
statements, which they sort into
categories.
Give pupils three sources. Using the
table to structure their enquiry, they
should consider the provenance of the
source, which causal factor each source
suggests and extract relevant quotes
from each source.
Pupils use the causal statements and
evidence from sources to produce an
extended piece of writing answering
the question “Henry VIII dissolved the
monasteries because they were no
longer doing their job properly”. Do you
agree?
Working in groups of four, two pairs
study different sets of sources. Each
pair produces a written response to the
question; Was Mary bloody or
misunderstood?
The groups of four then compare their
answers, considering similarity and
difference.
Led a whole-class discussion, were
times. This prepares them for
understanding different contemporary
viewpoints, and considering reliability
of evidence in depth studies 2 and 3.
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Pupils gain an understanding of the
nature of religious belief in 17th
century England.
They then use this knowledge and
understanding to consider an
interpretation. Able pupils will attempt
to evaluate this interpretation and
some will reach substantiated
conclusions.
PLTS
ECM
WCD
COL
gain further understanding of multiple
causation and should be increasingly
confident in categorising causal
factors.
find answers to questions from
sources.
select and combine evidence to show
how the dissolution of the monasteries
can be interpreted in different ways.
more able pupils will have begun to
evaluate the sources of evidence and
some may be using them critically to
reach substantiated conclusions.
PLTS
ECM
WCD
COL
find answers to questions from
sources.
select and combine evidence to show
how Mary’s reign can be interpreted in
different ways.
have a practical experience of how
access to differing evidence can effect
the interpretation reached.
Developed their understanding, whilst
PLTS
ECM
WCD
COL
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 Can we be sure that Guy Fawkes was guilty
of attempting to blow up Parliament?
 Development of historical enquiry skills.
 Development of the concept of
interpretation.
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groups can fed back their findings.
Pupils use the results of the source
based group work and information on
factor affecting interpretations to
produce
Introduce this depth study with a class
discussion, drawing on prior knowledge
of ‘the Gunpowder Plot/Guy Fawkes’.
Make it clear that the version that
most people know is one interpretation.
As a class, or individually, pupils study a
range of sources.
Pupils answer a set of questions
comparing and evaluating the sources,
including an extended piece considering
an interpretation of Guy Fawkes; ‘Guy
Fawkes was guilty of trying to blow up
Parliament’.
building on their skills of cooperation,
leadership, oral presentation and
discussion.
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Come to see their own knowledge of
the world in the context of
interpretations.
develop their skill of historical enquiry;
finding answers to questions from
sources, using observation and
inference; selecting and combine
evidence to consider similarity and
difference; considering reliability and
usefulness.
show that the Gunpowder Plot can be
interpreted in different ways.
more able pupils will have begun to give
possible reasons for different
interpretations and may use the
sources critically to reach
substantiated conclusions.
PLTS
ECM
WCD
COL