anglo saxonOutstanding KS2 history lessons on Anglo-Saxon Britain

All lessons below follow the outstanding Anglo Saxon lesson planner you can find in the medium-term planning section

To ensure that you follow the National Curriculum requirements, and more importantly to deepen pupils’ real understanding of this topic, it is important to plan it with the Vikings in mind. Indeed, there is a case for combining the two to make one longer topic. The reasons for this are clear. You can’t teach the Anglo-Saxons for long without mentioning the Vikings. For example, Alfred the Great was considered great partly because of the way he saw off the Viking threat at a critical time in Britain’s history. So our approach has been to have 4 enquiries relating exclusively to the Anglo-Saxons, and then a  couple which look at their inter-relationship with the Vikings.

Resist the temptation to get so bogged down in detail that pupils lose sight of the overview. That is why activities such as those in KQ4 are so important. Always remember: deep vibrant learning trumps curriculum content coverage every time.

In terms of the concepts being taught, there is ample opportunity to look at causation in terms of why the different invaders came to our shore, change and continuity as the battle for control of these land ebbed and flowed, and interpretations: was Alfred really great and were the Dark Ages in Anglo-Saxon Britain really that dark?

Planner, assessment task and knowledge organiser

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anglo saxons
Anglo-Saxons – assessment task – What were the main changes that took place in Anglo-Saxon England?

Focus: significance and change Using 3 images to help you, what were the most important changes that took place in…

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Anglo-Saxons knowledge organiser – KS2

During this period England emerged as a recognisable nation and Christianity became established. The recent coronation of Charles III is…

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Outstanding Scheme of Work for teaching the Anglo Saxons

You’ll probably be thinking that there is an awful lot of pre-1066 British history in the KS2 curriculum with the…

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Anglo-Saxons – KQ1a – Why did the Saxons invade? Push or pull?

A fun thinking skills activity in which pupils infer from visual clues before moving on to analyse a range of…

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Anglo-Saxons – KQ1b – Where did the early Anglo-Saxons live and how do we know? Bells and whistles

This ambitious but engaging lesson asks children to test some simple hypotheses about where the early Anglo-Saxons settled.  They start…

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Anglo-Saxons – KQ2 – The mystery of the empty Saxon grave.

This highly engaging lesson places pupils in the role of detectives.  After a short briefing they have to work out…

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Anglo-Saxons – KQ3 – Coming of Christianity – How did people’s lives change when Christianity came to Britain and how can we be sure?

A series of smart tasks, rather than a full outstanding lesson. The first part of this two part session looks…

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Anglo Saxons – KQ4 – Anglo-Saxons struggle against the Vikings – How did the Vikings try to take over the country and how close did they get?

This task encapsulates the struggle between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings in an engaging way that really makes pupils think…

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Anglo Saxons – KQ4b – Alfred and Guthrum: 878 the year things changed

Following a lively, interactive and illustrated story-telling session, reinforced by a sequencing activity, pupils consider the reasons for Alfred’s success…

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Anglo-Saxons – KQ5 – Alfred the Great. How great was he?

In this outstanding lesson, pupils are asked to critique and then improve the BBC children’s website entry for Alfred the…

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Keeping up to date with your teaching of Alfred the Great

The outstanding lesson on Alfred addresses the key question as to his greatness. Has it been exaggerated? You might like…

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Anglo-Saxons – KQ6 – How effective was Anglo-Saxon justice?

Pupils work in groups to create a series of short dramatic enactments, each of which illustrates a way of keeping…

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Anglo-Saxons – KQ7 – Were Saxon times really ‘Dark’ Ages?

Pupils design a two-sided paper plate on which they record the arguments used in the debate about the ‘Darkness’ of…

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How well do you and your pupils understand the Anglo-Saxons? Diagnostic Smart Task

This short activity contains a number of statements about the Anglo-Saxons (RS1) which can be used diagnostically. Some are correct:…

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10 things your pupils MUST know about the Anglo-Saxons

For many of you teaching the Anglo-Saxons will be something you are doing forte very first time. It is easy…

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What have the Anglo-Saxons ever done for us? Some KS2 answers

If you asked Michael Wood what the Anglo-Saxons ever did for us he would give a very full and erudite…

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