The Anglo-Saxons

Our year 5 children thoroughly enjoyed investigating the world of the Anglo-Saxons. We looked at reasons why the Anglo-Saxons came to Britain and debated as to whether this period deserves to be called the ‘Dark Ages’.

Throughout our learning, our strong focus was on the range of sources that provided us with evidence about the people living at that time. The children were enthusiastic as they examined archaeological evidence from the Sutton Hoo ship burial and the Staffordshire hoard. We also used reading evidence from the time, Beowulf, which helped provide additional context for the archaeological finds.

The children also learnt of the importance of archaeological evidence and the work of the archaeologist, as well as the accidental finds of metal detectorists.

For our exit point, we re-enacted the discovery of the Sutton Hoo burial ship for our parents/carers. This made our learning even more fun, exciting and memorable! The children then shared their learning of the Anglo-Saxons further through the addition of extra scenes, work stations and the sharing of books.