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 damn event and treaty after another’.
By using a technique called living (or fortunes) graph, pupils have to work collaboratively to create and then analyse a visual representation of the struggle. By making the shape themselves they are far more likely to understand and remember it.
Learning objectives
- Pupils grasp that when the Vikings landed in 865 there were 4 Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. 200 yrs later just one England. There were also separate Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
- They can recount key episodes in the struggle and can identify at least one turning point in Saxon fortunes.
- They can explain what is meant by the Danelaw.
- Pupils know that around 955 the kingdom of England was formed but that it was still
