Year 5 - History
How we know about life in Anglo-Saxon England
The Anglo-Saxons: how do we know about life in Anglo-Saxon England?
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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
In this unit, pupils develop their understanding of the link between sources and historical knowledge. They learn about some of the main historical sources that exist for the Anglo-Saxon period and how historians have used these to present arguments about life in Anglo-Saxon
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe the different sources of evidence that historians have used to uncover life in Anglo-Saxon Britain.
Key Notes
- Most of our sources for Anglo-Saxon Britain are artefacts, supplemented by some writing.
- All of these sources can be used for different enquiries.
- By using the sources in different ways, and asking different questions, historians have inferred different things.
- Historians have inferred a lot about Anglo-Saxon culture and society by combining their findings from different sources.
- A good description of the evidence used to uncover life in Anglo-Saxon Britain will use knowledge from across this unit.
Vocabulary To Learn
- modern: when something is described as modern it means it relates to the present time, not the past
- enquiry: an enquiry is a search for information or truth by asking questions
- infer: to infer something means to make conclusions based on evidence and reasoning
- insight: insight is an accurate or deep understanding of something
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Students may think that for something to be taught as history, all historians have to agree on it.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Summarise this historical learning in two key ideas.
Most of our sources for Anglo-Saxon Britain are artefacts, supplemented by some writing. All of these sources can be used for different enquiries.
2. Define this history term and explain why it matters in this topic. 'modern'
when something is described as modern it means it relates to the present time, not the past.
3. Correct this common history misconception using evidence language.
Mistake: Students may think that for something to be taught as history, all historians have to agree on it. Correction: Historians do not always agree about the past and what sources tell us. It is important to remember this when being historians ourselves!
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 5 History guide library.