Spanish Armada defeat

AQA GCSE 9-1 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603

The overarching aim of this and the subsequent lessons is to question and explore how Elizabeth asserted her authority and control in the second half of her reign.

The key to this lesson is to recap not only the causes of the Spanish Armada and the build up to its eventually defeat, but also to analyse the battle itself and reasons for English success and Spanish failure.

Furthermore, what were the consequences for Elizabeth and her successors?
How did Britain regain the initiative and establish Elizabeth as a Protestant force to be reckoned with in Europe and at home?

How did the defeat change her status as a world power for the next generation of explorers and seafarers as Britain became the dominant naval power in the world by the 19th Century?

Students make up and pour a toxic cocktail of causes before piecing together the reasons why the Armada failed and ran out of energy, by giving it an energy rating in a prioritisation exercise.

They also have to amend a number of statements and correct them, explaining the reasons why they are incorrect as well as studying an interactive map as the events unfolded.

Finally students can complete a ‘How important’ GCSE practice question worth 8 marks to consolidate their learning with hints and tips of how to answer this.

The lesson is enquiry based with a key question using a lightbulb posed at the start of the lesson and revisited to show the progress of learning.

The resource includes suggested teaching strategies, retrieval practice, differentiated materials and comes in Powerpoint format if there is a wish to adapt and change.