Learning Resources by Subject
History
Introduction to Vikings
A short presentation to put the vikings in historical context, with a brief whole-class timeline activity.
A short presentation in which students can try to spot the historical anachronism and learn about what technology the vikings had access to.
Ancient Norse Life
A short presentation about viking longhouses. An activity in which children sketch and label their own version of a longhouse, with two levels of scaffolding. Will need adaptation if you don't have the book. (Slight spoilers for Ch. 1-4)
A presentation about the places the Ancient Norse people visited to explore and trade, with a link to an interactive map about what goods came from where. An cutting an sticking map activity to match the goods to the correct location.
A presentation about Skalds (Norse storytellers, singers and poets), Kennings (Norse poetic metaphors) and fronted adverbials, with an activity for students to create their own kennings and a heavy scaffold/madlibs activity for descriptive writing using fronted adverbials.
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A detailed presentation about Norse society structure: Jarls, Karls and Thralls, with a focus on thralls (slaves). Information about conjunctions and a writing task in which they are the thrall from Ch. 5. Heavy scaffolding for the task as a starter or as support for students who would struggle.
A short presentation about Ancient Norse board games and their love for them, with a link to try one of them online. A simple Hnefatafl printout (with rules), best used on A3 to allow students to play the game.
A presentation about Norse oil lamps with instructions for how to make your own version. Use of fire. Adult supervision required.
A presentation about runes and Ancient Norse writing with an art activity for children to make their own runestones. Slight Ch. 1-2 spoilers.
Raids and Battle
A presentation about the conflict between the Anglo-Saxons under Alfred and his children, and the Vikings. A look at how the two sides fought and the system of burhs that protected England. An activity in which students can decide the essential elements to put inside a burh, and sketch and label their own.
A presentation about different sources, how we find out about the past and if women were vikings with activities sorting types of source and giving their potential drawbacks.
A presentation about the weapons and shield used by the vikings, and when they used them. A shield-making activity with a description of viking shields and historical pattern ideas.
A presentation about the Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Empire, which was made up mostly of Norsemen. A task in which students write a letter to the Emperor, applying for a job in the Guard.
How We Learn About History
A presentation about how museums and historians in general learn about the past, with a look at different types of sources and bias. Two tasks - one a practical and written archaeology task in which children take on the role of archaeologists and the second a diary writing task from different point of view to examine bias.
A presentation about different sources, how we find out about the past and if women were vikings with activities sorting types of source and giving their potential drawbacks.