Were the Vikings Raiders, Traders or something else?

Year 5

Unit Overview

Extending their understanding of different societies, children learn about the Vikings. They develop their chronological understanding and learn about the struggle for Britain between the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. Using new types of sources and historical enquiry techniques, pupils investigate whether the Vikings were raiders, traders or settlers.

Unit Sequence: Learning Intentions

When and why did the Vikings come to Britain? - To explain when and why the Vikings came to Britain.
Were the Vikings raiders, traders or something else? - To evaluate ideas about the Vikings using sources.
Where did the Vikings go? How did they get there? - To investigate the importance of Viking trading routes.
Why are there different Viking sagas explaining the same event and what does this tell us about the Vikings? - To compare different versions Viking sagas.
What were the impacts of Viking raids and settlements on local communities in Britain? - To evaluate the impact of the Viking invasions and settlements using primary sources and case studies.
What were the Viking achievements and how did they impact the world? - To evaluate the achievements of the Vikings.

❇ SUBSTANTIVE CONCEPTS

Power (monarchy, government and empire)
Invasion
Settlement and migration
Civilisation (social and cultural)
Tax and trade
Beliefs
Achievements and follies of mankind

❇ DISCIPLINARY CONCEPTS

Change and continuity
Similarities and differences
Sources of evidence
Historical interpretations

❇ HISTORICAL VOCABULARY

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
balanced
bias
cause
consequence
Danelaw
event
longboat
one-sided
perspective
Viking

❇ MEMORABLE MOMENT

N/A

️✏️ WRITING OPPORTUNITIES

Newspaper report

🌳 LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

N/A

🏁 SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW

We are going to imagine we have time travelled from Viking Britain to modern Britain. Write a short newspaper report describing why you came to Britain, how you settled in Britain etc.

📖 FOCUS TEXT(S)

The Last Viking - Terry Deary

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