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The Wars of the Roses for A Level

Introduction

I’ve long wanted to provide more material to support teachers and students studying The Wars of the Roses and this section sets out to do that, building on my textbook published in 2012.

The core teachers’ support material can be found on the SHP site [ click here ] – including a description of the purpose and approach of each chapter with suggestions for teaching activities and further reading.

What I hope to add here is more varied – PowerPoints, more developed description of activities and any useful links that crop up. These will be noted in the Diary below so you can see if anything new has appeared since your last visit.

Any queries or contributions – please get in touch.

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Diary of Resources and Additions

28 December 2012: Why did Burgundy help Edward IV win back his crown in 1471?

This brief role-play explores why Burgundy helped Edward IV in 1471, focussing on the effect of French aggression towards Burgundy on Burgundy’s attitude.

See the activity [ HERE … ]

25 October 2012: Understanding the Pattern of Events 1455-1461

Three brief activities exploring the pattern of events between 1455 and 1461 – a physical timeline, a brief role-play and a decision-making activity.

See the activity [ HERE … ]

30 September 2012: Feuds and alliances 1452-1455
Understanding the sides at St. Albans in 1455

A new, brief activity enabling students to work out how feuds led to alliances and how these alliances determined the sides at the first battle of St. Albans.

See the activity [ HERE … ]

28 September 2012: New Outline for The Wars of the Roses

In writing my recent A level book I was never sure whether the timeline/living graph at the beginning was the best kind of summary.

So the two mocked up book spreads [ HERE …] provide that summary in text form as an alternative or supplement. These could be used alongside that timeline or independently or whenever you like really!

Any feedback on how and when you might use these is always welcome.

3 September 2012: The Wars of the Roses Part 1: Rivalries and Alliances (1450-1455)

An introduction to the events leading up to the first battle of St. Albans, the first of a series of activities which will outline the key events of the period of the Wars of the Roses.

This activity is similar to another activity on the site on the events of 1452-1455 [ HERE … ] but the differences are important:

• this one goes back to mid-1450 (beginning after Cade’s rebellion)

• more importantly, it’s less detailed and I hope provides students new to the topic and to A level with a more manageable overview. …

SEE THE ACTIVITY …

1 May 2012: Royal Family Tree PowerPoint (1399-1461)

The whole family tree of Edward III’s descendants can be intimidating. To avoid over-powering students this PowerPoint provides a sequence of 5 screens which gradually build up the royal family tree. MORE …

20 April 2012: Family Tree PowerPoint slides

Copies of 5 family trees from the Roses textbook as a PDF or a PowerPoint:

p.78 – family of Richard, Duke of York
p.81 – Woodville diagram
p.95 – Edward’s IV’s children and brothers
p.109 – the Neville inheritance
p.119 - Henry of Richmond’s descent from Edward III

Download here as a PDF or as a PowerPoint

Pre April 2012: Other Resources

There were already a couple of Roses activities on the site before I began this diary section:

• The beginning of the Wars of the Roses – a role-play on the
events of 1452-1455 [ HERE … ]

• 1471: Why did Edward IV win the throne back? – a starter activity to get students thinking about an answer before they know anything! [ HERE … ]

There’s also a separate Teaching Issues section on Henry VII [ HERE … ]

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