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Year 1 - History

Viking navigation and expansion

William Adams and John Franklin

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

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