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Nature as Code

Creating Identity Using Nature Symbolism

About this learning resource

Format: PDF

Portrait artists of the Tudor era used nature symbolism as a form of coded language between sitter and viewer to promote a specific public image. This lesson pack examines the difference between public image and private identity. Students decode public personas in Tudor-era portraits. They will then explore, through self-portraiture incorporating nature symbols, their personal sense of self and how that supports self esteem.

National Curriculum links

  • Create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas
  • Learn about great artists, architects and designers in history
  • Respecting self and others

Learning objectives

  • Be able to describe how Nature symbols have been used by the artists to convey public and private messages about the sitters in Tudor-era portraiture
  • Be able to explain the difference between Image (public) and Identity (private)
  • Explore personal qualities, strengths, skills, traits, interests, concerns and ambitions

Resource Information

Key Stage

  • KS2 (age 7-11)

Subjects

  • Art & Design
  • History of Art
  • PSHE

Topic

  • Tudors

Palace

  • Tower of London
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What was it like moving to Tudor England?   Step back in time and uncover the journey of Catalina of Motril, an enslaved woman who moved to England with a famous queen.  

Key Stage

  • KS2 (age 7-11)
  • KS3 (age 11-14)
  • KS4 (age 15-16)
  • KS5 (age 16+)
  • Home Educators

Subject

  • History

Topic

  • Tudors
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Which Tudor monarch kept the most prisoners at the Tower of London?

Key Stage

  • KS2 (age 7-11)
  • KS3 (age 11-14)
  • KS4 (age 15-16)
  • KS5 (age 16+)

Subject

  • History

Topic

  • Crime & Punishment
  • Tudors
  • Elizabethans

Download an editable Tudor Kings and Queens Family Tree for Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5. Use key facts, activities and historic sources to explore King Henry VIII, his queens and his children.

Key Stage

  • Home Educators
  • KS2 (age 7-11)
  • KS3 (age 11-14)
  • KS4 (age 15-16)
  • KS5 (age 16+)
  • International Schools

Subject

  • History

Topic

  • Tudors
  • Elizabethans