History at key stage 3 (Year 8)
Unit 7: Images of an age what can we learn from portraits 1500-1750?
Section 2: How did Elizabeth I want herself to be portrayed?
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Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
- to use prior knowledge of a period
- ways of analysing and evaluating significant sources
- how Tudor and Stuart portraits were used as propaganda and how they contain symbolic information
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Activities |
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Outcomes |
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Children: |
- As a whole-class activity brainstorm pupils' knowledge of Elizabeth I.
- Show pupils a portrait of Elizabeth,
eg the 'Rainbow' or 'Armada' portrait. Help pupils make careful observations of the portrait, either by asking small groups to recreate the pose, or by asking each pupil in turn to make an observation about the portrait,
eg She is wearing a lot of pearls; There are ships in the background.
- Provide groups of pupils with a copy of the portrait and a large sheet of paper on which they can note their observations and questions they would like to ask. Ask pupils to try to group their questions,
eg those to do with clothes, those to do with why this portrait was painted.
- Lead class discussion of pupils' observations and questions, drawing out issues of propaganda, including the use of symbols.
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- analyse and begin to evaluate portraits as sources of information, making some use of prior knowledge
- recognise some ways in which the Tudors and Stuarts used portraits for propaganda purposes
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Points to note |
- This activity follows up the previous activity in the context of a portrait of a sixteenth- or seventeenth-century monarch. It is designed to help pupils look carefully at a portrait, initially by making observations, then by posing questions that could be developed into an investigation.
- Portraits of Henry VIII or Charles I might be used instead of Elizabeth I.
- As an additional activity, pupils could be asked to compare the portrait with written sources,
eg those giving a less flattering account of what Elizabeth was like.
- Language for learning: pupils collaborate with others to share information and ideas, and to answer a historical question.
- ICT: save a copy of the portrait of a monarch from a CD-ROM and annotate it using a word-processing application. Pupils could compare the portrait with other accounts of the monarch's appearance.
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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of
activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by
moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.
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