Long Live the Queen!

The book Elizabeth I: The Outcast Who Became England's Queen by Simon Adams is part of the National Geographic collection. I found it to be excellent; it contains both information regarding Elizabeth's life as well as overall time period information. Located on the bottom of the pages is a time line of important events as well from the Queen's life, summarizing the information on the surrounding pages. In addition, on almost every page there is a bubble which includes additional facts about Elizabeth or the time period. For example, in the chapter about daily life for both peasants and royalty, the bubble describes how Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII once threw a party that lasted all night and consisted of elaborate food. This information would not be normally given randomly, but as a side note it is a break from the normal text and a fun fact.

Vocabulary in Elizabeth I: The Outcast Who Became England's Queen:
 abdicate, alliance, ambassador, armada, charter, circumnavigate, class, colony, coronation, dynasty, elect, heir, invasion, joust, legitimate, rebellion, ritual, symbol, hereditary, and tutor.

Other Vocabulary that needs to be addressed, but are not "common vocabulary" are:
Catholic, Protestant, Privy Council, bodice, high treason, lady-in-waiting, Parliament, the Reformation, ruff, welfare state, adultery, galliard, orb and scepter, and smallpox

Lesson Ideas

Before Reading: Make sure students are familiar with the monarchy system and other forms of government. Ask students what they already know about the class system and monarchies of that time period. Also, go over the important vocabulary from the text to improve comprehension.

During Reading: Have students choose a selection that interests them most, such as the fashion of the times or Queen Elizabeth's mother, and have student research that area more in order to expand and enhance the reading. Students can present this information to their classmates.

After Reading: Compare and contrast monarchies and democracies or monarchies of Elizabeth's time with the monarchy England has today, using a Venn Diagram.

Writing: Students will rewrite Elizabeth's final speech to the troops in Tilbury (see Weblink for speech)

Additional Resources

Weblinks:

• This link is a speech that Queen Elizabeth I gave to her troops at Tilbury, an English town. Showing this to students is a great way to get away from facts and have students see something that came from Elizabeth.
  
  
• Get additional information about Queen Elizabeth I, including fun facts, exploration details, and the styles/dress
• This game is all about jousting in Queen Elizabeth's tournament and could be a fun activity--students learn about different types of armor and things about jousting in medieval times!

Other Books:
Grades 2-4:

• The Queen's Progress by Celeste Davidson Mannis (Viking Press, 2003)

Grades 4-6:

• Behind the Mask: The Life of Queen Elizabeth I by Jane Resh Thomas (Clarion Books, 1998)
• Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor, England, 1544 (The Royal Diaries) by Kathryn Lasky (Scholastic, 1999)