What the Wars of the Roses tell us about England in the fifteenth century
I can explain what the Wars of the Roses tells us about 15th century England.
What the Wars of the Roses tell us about England in the fifteenth century
I can explain what the Wars of the Roses tells us about 15th century England.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The Wars of the Roses can tell us a lot about why England became unstable in the 15th century.
- Henry VI’s reign shows how important having a strong, warrior king who could control the nobility was.
- Despite his qualities, Edward IV’s inability to control his nobility led to further instability and conflict.
- The Wars of the Roses show how actions by dissatisfied, powerful nobles like Warwick often led to further instability.
- Richard III’s actions show how England was still an unstable place when arguments about who should rule broke out.
Keywords
Rebellion - resistance to the government, often an armed uprising
Power - control or influence over others
Plantagenet - royal house of England, which reigned from 1154-1485
Tudor - royal house of England, which reigned from 1485-1603
Common misconception
Students may think the Wars of the Roses ended with the victory of Henry VII at Bosworth and that all historians agree with this interpretation.
Explain that Henry VII also faced rebellions at the start of his reign and, although the Tudors are well-known for their rule of England, few expected them to last long as a result of the rebellions and the prior decades of instability.
To help you plan your year 7 history lesson on: What the Wars of the Roses tell us about England in the fifteenth century, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 7 history lesson on: What the Wars of the Roses tell us about England in the fifteenth century, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 history lessons from the The Wars of the Roses: what does it tell us about fifteenth-century England? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of serious crime
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
resistance to the government, often an armed uprising
control or influence over others
royal house of England, which reigned from 1154-1485
royal house of England, which reigned from 1485-1603