Resources: Pens and pencils
Support Handout (1): A structured handout for children to write their argument on, with a word bank to support.
Core Handout (2): A structured handout for children to write their argument on.
Stretch Handout (3): A handout for children to write their argument on, without a given structure.
Using the starter slides, ask the children if they feel it is correct to say that the Vikings left England in 1066. Discuss the idea that Viking history is a part of English history, and that many Norse people settled and stayed in England, even if they no longer called themselves Norse. There is an opportunity here to research larger Viking settlements, such as York, and explore the legacy the Vikings left behind in place names.
Using the presentation slides, recap what the children have learned so far and ask them to consider whether this information shows the Vikings as raiders and invaders, or as settlers. Ask the children to look at their drawings of a Viking from Lesson 1. How accurate do they feel these are now? Why do they think that? What would they now change?
Using the handout, ask the children to write a structured argument to the question, ‘Are we right to remember the Vikings as raiders?’. They can take either position (yes or no), but they need to explain their view with evidence.
Challenge Task: Ask the children to prepare questions they could ask the other side of the debate to challenge them. An example would be, ‘If the longships were designed to be for trading and exploring, why did they have a scary figurehead on the front?‘
Ask the children to debate with each other, either in small groups or as a whole class, using their written arguments to support their discussion.
Teacher Mastery
Vikings are often remembered as raiders and invaders, but their lives were much more complex. They travelled to raid towns and monasteries, but they also traded goods, explored new lands, and settled in places such as the Danelaw in England. Most Norse people spent their time farming, crafting, and living in small communities, only going on raids for part of the year. They had longhouses for homes, used runes for writing, and worshipped a wide range of gods, including Odin and Thor, while navigating a world structured around the nine worlds of Yggdrasil. Looking back at drawings of Vikings from Lesson 1, pupils can reflect on how accurate their images were. Many early impressions focus on weapons and fighting, but understanding their daily life, beliefs, and skills may inspire changes to show Vikings as settlers as well as raiders, balancing their roles as warriors, traders, explorers, and community members.
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