Lesson Outcomes
National Curriculum
Resources: Pens and pencils
Support Handout (1): The handout provides space for children to draw a picture of the character and write a paragraph describing what the actor should look like. A word bank of vocabulary has been included.
Core Handout (2): The handout provides space for children to draw a picture of the character and write a paragraph describing what the actor should look like.
Using the starting slide as a prompt, share images of the Vikings and ask pupils what they already know about them: Do they remind you of any time periods you have already studied? Where have you seen or heard of Vikings before?
Use the presentation to explore with the children where the Vikings came from and their first major raid in England. They will understand when and where Norse people lived and where the term ‘Viking’ comes from. The children will be introduced to the events of the first Viking raid on Lindisfarne and some of the primary sources that exist about it. Ask the children to consider how it might have felt to be a monk during those raids, and what they would have thought about Vikings.
This Mission Assignment aims to explore the children’s misconceptions and pre-conceived stereotypes they may have about the Vikings. Ask the children to imagine that they are casting a film about the Viking raid on Lindisfarne. Ask them to draw a picture of a character from their film, then write a paragraph as a ‘casting brief’ for the actor, explaining what the actor will need to be like to be cast in the film. They will need to consider both their appearance and personality traits. Developing Experts has produced a handout, but this could also be done in their books.
Note: It is expected at this stage in the unit that children will draw a stereotypical image of a Viking. These drawings will be explored and debated by the children in Lesson 6, by which time they should have formed a more balanced view of the Norse people.
Challenge Task: Discuss with the children where they might have seen Vikings before in films, television, and books. Do they think that this has had an impact on what they have created today?
Use the slide that shows images of Viking helmets to explain that the depictions we see in media about the Vikings aren’t always accurate - for example, they did not wear horned helmets! They wore similar helmets to other warriors around Europe that covered their upper faces and noses. The next slide also shows images of Norse people and explains to children that Viking warriors spent most of their year living as farmers, etc., with their families. There is a film after this, where the children can play a ‘Norse or not?’ quiz to test their knowledge. The quiz is a true or false quiz. Pupils are given statements, and children can respond with ‘Norse’ for true, and ‘not’ for false. Discuss with the children that we need a more rounded view of the Vikings before we can make a judgement on them.
Teacher Mastery
The Vikings came from Scandinavia, an area that includes modern-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and were part of a wider group known as the Norse people who lived there during the early medieval period, around 800–1066 CE. The term “Viking” does not describe all Norse people, but refers specifically to those who travelled by sea to raid, trade, or explore, while most Norse people spent their lives farming and living in small communities. The first major Viking raid in England took place in 793 CE at Lindisfarne, a small island off the northeast coast of England that was home to an important Christian monastery. The attack involved killing monks, stealing valuable objects made from gold and silver, and caused widespread shock across Christian Europe because monasteries were seen as holy places that should be protected. Much of what is known about the raid comes from Christian written sources, such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and church accounts, which describe the Vikings as violent and heathen attackers.
When discussing dates, we use BCE (Before Common Era) for dates counting backwards before year 1, and CE (Common Era) for dates counting forward after year 1. BCE and CE are terms that parallel BC and AD but are more inclusive and widely used in historical study.
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