GCSE History Edexcel: Henry VIII The Role of Monasteries before Dissolution (Lesson 22)

In this lesson, students will start their study of the dissolution of the monasteries by examining the significant roles and functions of the monasteries in early Tudor England and Wales. The lesson is suited for or could easily be adapted for students aged 12-16

This lesson examines the following questions:
What were monasteries?
What roles did the monasteries play in local community life?
Why were monasteries significant institutions in early Tudor England and Wales?

This is a fully resourced lesson which includes a printable fact sheet as well as worksheets, discussion tasks, engaging background information, warm up tasks and learning reviews.

The downloaded lesson includes the following:

1x A4 worksheet about the various roles of the monasteries

1x main Power Point:
Slide 1: Title slide – The Role of the Monasteries
Slide 2: Main Lesson Aims
Slide 3-4: As You Enter Warm Up: Analysis of an illustration of a monastery followed by two other manuscript illustrations of the role of monasteries.
Slide 5-6: Recap Activity: Henry VIII’s religious reforms so far (answers included)
Slide 7: Starter Task: Analysis of a map of monasteries in England and Wales by 1500.
Slide 8-9: Starter Task 2: Use the images to identify the main roles of monasteries (answers given)
Slide 10: Background Information: Information about the land ownership, power and wealth of the monasteries.
Slide 11: Task 1: Students use the A4 worksheet provided to organise the main roles of the monasteries into ‘social’, ‘economic’, ‘religious’ or ‘political’.
Slide 12: Task 2: A creating writing task – students write a letter to Henry about the importance of the monasteries.
Slide 13: Follow Up Challenge Questions.
Slide 14: Example exam questions.
Slide 15-16: Learning Review – Match up the specific statistics to the fact.
Slide 17: Learning Review 2 – Memory Game
Slide 18: Lesson Fact Sheet

I would be grateful if you could leave a review for the lesson if you feel the lesson is effective for you. Many thanks if you spend some of your valuable time doing this as feedback is highly valued.

All images used in this lesson are in the public domain and are therefore copyright free at the time of publishing. Images which require attribution have been attributed in the notes section of each slide where the image appears. If you feel any errors have been made, please contact me at raschoolresources@gmail.com in the first instance to resolve any issues. My lessons are completed using PowerPoint and designed on widescreen formatting. Thank you.