Viking Britain Resources and Lessons KS2
Explore Vikings at KS2
Go beyond the familiar image of Viking raiders to explore settlement, trade, conflict and archaeology. Examine how fresh discoveries challenge traditional interpretations.
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Everything for this history topic in one place
The enquiry sequence
Enquiry-based lessons and resources
6 activities
Teaching the Vikings: seeing the wood for the trees
Whenever you teach a topic as exciting and colourful as the Vikings there is a strong temptation to focus on the stereotypical image of the Vikings which pupils find so…
Read MoreTop tips for planning your KS2 history studies – The Vikings in Britain
Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor. There are two key themes here: The struggle with the Anglo-Saxons; and how we…
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Vikings – assessment task – Depictions of the Vikings
Focus: historical interpretation After looking at similarity and difference between two depictions of the Vikings, pupils then offer reasons why they might be shown differently, representing a major milestone in…
Read MoreVikings – end of unit quiz – KS2
You’ve learned all about the amazing Viking world – from their brave voyages across the seas to their fascinating way of life. Now it’s time to test your knowledge and…
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Vikings knowledge organiser – KS2
Probably one of the most captivating of KS2 history topics, the Vikings present wonderful opportunities to capitalise on pupils’ fascination and to do some in-depth work on using sources and…
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Viking Britain – planner
This KS2 Vikings planner, judged outstanding by an OFSTED history inspector now links to all the fully-resourced outstanding lessons and smart tasks making the teaching of this topic completely self-contained….
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Vikings – KQ1 – What image do we have of the Vikings?
This two part session gives the topic on the Vikings a really active start. Following an introduction to the Vikings in time and place, including a competitive Time Team task,…
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Vikings – KQ2 – Why have the Vikings gained such a bad reputation?
Having explored the nature of the stereotypical Viking image in the first session, it is now time to examine the origins of the image. Pupils compare two very contrasting accounts…
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Vikings – KQ3 – 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 about the dynamics of the conflict – rather than ‘one…
Read MoreVikings – KQ3 Additional Resource – How did the Vikings try to take over the country and how close did they get?
This article supports KQ3 The first raids early 790s 1. In 789 three ships from Norway landed in Dorset. The king’s local official went to meet the Vikings in the…
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Vikings – KQ4 – How have recent excavations changed our view of the Vikings?
Evidence of Viking occupation Using the Mantle of the Expert approach, pupils help a confused museum curator to write high quality captions for 11 images that MIGHT show Viking occupation…
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Vikings – KQ4 Supporting information – The invisible Vikings?
Key Question 4 address the key issue of evidence to support, or contradict, the idea that the Vikings were simply raiders rather than trader sand settlers. Getting to grips with…
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Vikings – KQ5 – What can we learn about Viking settlement from a study of place-name endings?
Viking place name evidence A very active session in which pupils apply their knowledge of Viking place name endings to look for settlement patterns, using maps of Lincolnshire and the…
Read MoreVikings – KQ6 – Raiders or settlers: how should we remember the Vikings?
Differing views of the Vikings Fun concluding lesson in which pupils produce a balanced, illustrated Zig-Zag book to please a Scandinavian publisher, having looked at differing views of the Vikings….
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KS2 Quick Quiz on the Vikings
This exit task is a quick way of working out whether the key messages of your teaching about the Vikings have been understood and is best done towards the end…
Read MoreWritten by Neil Thompson
All content on Keystage history is written and quality assured by Neil Thompson, a former history teacher, county history adviser and Ofsted inspector with more than 30 years’ experience in history education.