The Anglo-Saxons, Vikings & the Normans

Many teachers will be familiar with aspects of these societies from earlier versions of the National Curriculum. The Curriculum 2014 introduced new areas such as the relations with the Scots and the continuity with the Normans. These societies have often proved popular with plenty of interesting sources including archaeology and artefacts. This is a crucial area of study with children given an opportunity to learn about the origins of so much of the United Kingdom. There is plenty of scope for a range of fascinating historical investigations using a range of key historical concepts.

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A view from the classroom: Teachers TV, The Staffordshire Hoard And 'Doing History'

Article

When the Historical Association was approached by Teachers' TV to produce ‘Great Ideas for Teaching History' at Key Stage 2, it was inevitable that I, as a full time teacher on the Primary Committee, would have no escape. My school agreed I could take part, with the involvement of two...
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Sutton Hoo - Classroom archaeology in the digital age

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Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content and links may be outdated. The class had composed its Anglo-Saxon funeral poem for Raedwald, an Anglo-Saxon king, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A6dwald_of_East_Anglia, the high king or Bretwalda of all seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the early seventh century as well as being King...
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The strange death of King Harold II: Propaganda and the problem of legitimacy in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings

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How did King Harold II die at the Battle of Hastings? The question is simple enough and the answer is apparently well known. Harold was killed by an arrow which struck him in the eye. His death is depicted clearly on the Bayeux Tapestry in one of its most famous...
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Case Study: Classroom archaeology. Sutton Hoo, or the mystery of the empty grave

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Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. ‘Would you like to go for a walk in the woods on the other side of the river? I asked my wife on a spring day in 1982. Happily she assented, and we drove off...
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Here come the Vikings! Making a saga out of a crisis

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Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated. What are your first impressions when you think of Alfred the Great? Perhaps it's the story of the heroic individual being humbled by burning the cakes or for those of a certain age, it may...
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Putting the Story back into History

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Children love stories. They like the drama, the excitement, the chance to listen and to wonder. Narrative is a very important part of history and sometimes, by concentrating on facts or on skills, we tend to lose the view of the big picture, especially in the Key Stage 2 curriculum...
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Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People

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Much research has been devoted in recent years to Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People (EH), completed in 731 at the joint monastery of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow; but in one crucial respect little progress has been made: the editing of the text. The excellent edition published by Charles Plummer in 1896...
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The Vikings in Britain

Article

Professor Henry Loyn provides an update on recent studies of the Viking Age. Interest in the activities of the Scandinavian people in Britain during the Viking Age, c 800-1100 A.D., has been strong in the last half-century or so, and it is good to pause and assess contributions to the...
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