Year 1 - History
Viking navigation and expansion
John Cabot and Brunel
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit on explorers and seafaring gives students a clear sense of change over time, highlighting technological, economic, and cultural shifts. It covers the sea's role in trade and exploration and explores material culture, craftsmanship, and the influence of seafaring on language and art.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain how the Vikings navigated over long distances to far away places.
Key Notes
- The Vikings used the sun, moon and stars to navigate, and also followed the path of birds and other animals.
- Some archaeologists have found wooden 'sun-shadow' boards that might have been used by the Vikings to navigate.
- The Vikings used these techniques to travel long distances.
- The Vikings sailed far down the rivers of Europe to trading ports and met with traders from the Middle East and Asia.
- They even travelled as far as Iceland, Greenland and North America.
Vocabulary To Learn
- archaeologist: an archaeologist digs up and studies objects from the past
- evidence: evidence is something that proves an idea or fact to be true
- stars: the stars are balls of gas in space that give off light and heat
- port: a port is a place where boats load and unload, and trade happens
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils may think that archaeologists only dig up bones, like dinosaurs or extinct creatures.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Summarise this historical learning in two key ideas.
The Vikings used the sun, moon and stars to navigate, and also followed the path of birds and other animals. Some archaeologists have found wooden 'sun-shadow' boards that might have been used by the Vikings to navigate.
2. Define this history term and explain why it matters in this topic. 'archaeologist'
an archaeologist digs up and studies objects from the past.
3. Correct this common history misconception using evidence language.
Mistake: Pupils may think that archaeologists only dig up bones, like dinosaurs or extinct creatures. Correction: Archaeologists work with all sorts of objects from the past, many of the items in museums have been dug up by an archaeologist.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Brunel's race to cross the Atlantic Study Guide
- Chinese innovation in seafaring Study Guide
- Early explorers and their boats Study Guide
- From sail to steam power Study Guide
- How Polynesian explorers travelled and navigated Study Guide
- John Cabot's journeys across the Atlantic Study Guide
- Life aboard the SS Great Britain Study Guide
- Seafaring 550 years ago Study Guide
- Seafaring in the early Mediterranean world Study Guide
- The incredible voyages of Zheng He Study Guide
- The Vikings and their longboats Study Guide
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