Resources: Pens and pencils
Support Research Tool: A handout with the name and a fact about 6 Norse gods.
Core Research Tool: A handout with more detailed fact files about a wide range of Norse gods.
Support Handout (1): A handout provides four letters from Norse people and a scaffolded space to write a response to each one.
Core Handout (2): A handout provides four letters from Norse people and space to write a response to each one.
Stretch Handout (3): The handout is the same as the core handout, with an added section to identify any alternative gods that might also be able to help.
Challenge Handout (4): The handout provides space for children to create their own Norse character and problem.
Use the starter slides to ask the children to recall the reasons Vikings built longships and how their construction helped them to raid, trade, and explore.
Use the presentation slides to explore what we know about the Norse people, particularly their home lives. The children will then learn about Norse runes by comparing them to their previous learning about runes in the Year 4 Anglo-Saxons unit. The children will also learn that the Norse people believed that runes were a gift from their gods. Through the rest of the slides, the children will begin to recognise some of the most important Norse gods and understand Norse beliefs about the world tree and its 9 different worlds.
Using the handouts, ask the children to write responses to letters from the Norse people. These letters are seeking help with a problem, and the writers want to know which god to make an offering to. Developing Experts have provided differentiated mythology fact files to support pupils in researching the gods so they can provide a response.
Note: There is more than one potential god that can be chosen for each problem.
Challenge Task:
Ask the children to create their own Norse character with a problem to solve, and give this to a partner. The partner needs to respond by identifying which god to make an offering to. The children should check each other’s answers.
Ask the children to share some of their responses and discuss if they had chosen the same gods or different ones. Discuss why this might be and explain that lots of religions that believe in multiple gods evolve over time, often adding new gods to their mythology as beliefs develop. There is also an opportunity here for the children to make links back to their learning about Ancient Greek beliefs (Year 4) and Ancient Egyptian beliefs (Year 3).
Teacher Mastery
Most Norse people lived ordinary lives as farmers, craftspeople, and traders in small communities, and only a small number travelled as Vikings to raid or explore. Families lived in longhouses that were shared spaces for sleeping, eating, and working, often organised around a central hearth, and daily life was similar in many ways to that of the Anglo-Saxons. The Norse used runes, an alphabet made of straight-line symbols, for carving messages onto wood, stone, and metal, and they believed these symbols were a gift from the gods rather than just a form of writing. Norse religion was polytheistic and included a wide range of gods and goddesses, each linked to different aspects of life, such as war, weather, fertility, and wisdom. Central to their beliefs was the world tree, Yggdrasil, which connected nine different worlds, including Asgard, the home of the gods, and Midgard, the world of humans, shaping how the Norse understood the structure of the universe and their place within it.
Address
Developing Experts Limited
Exchange Street Buildings
35-37 Exchange Street
Norwich
NR2 1DP
UK
Phone
01603 273515
Email
[email protected]
Copyright 2026 Developing Experts, All rights reserved.
Unlock expert-designed lessons, resources, and assessments tailored for educators. No credit card required.
Claim Your Free Trial →
