Anglo Saxon life and times brought to life

In connection with their history topic, the workshop - conducted by ‘Viking School Visits’ - gave the year 4 children a rich, detailed experience through personal involvement and hands-on activity.

The children arrived for the day dressed as Anglo Saxons, with shields that they had made as part of their home learning. Feeling the part, they were then shown how to re-enact a battle line-up, using their shields, and step in time with the beat, given by their leader for the day, Wynfeald of Legra.

They were able to hold Anglo Saxon weapons and learn about how they were used. The children were shown the chain mail that was worn in battle - it was so heavy they could hardly lift it, and the helmets they tried on completely covered their faces!

It was fun to learn some of the old English words used by Anglo Saxons, such as ‘wassail’ for ‘hello’, and to find out about how people were named according to where they came from.

The children listened with great interest as they learned about the Anglo Saxon gods Woden and Freya, who had days named after them, and which we still have today (Woden’s Day – Wednesday, and Freya’s Day – Friday). Through an interactive game, they also learned about what Anglo Saxons ate. All in all, the children were immersed in Anglo Saxon life, which enabled them to absorb a wide variety of facts and skills.

Curriculum enrichment leader at Grove Road, Katie Carter, said: “The Anglo Saxon Day is one of many workshops in which our children participate to enhance their learning. Earlier this year, year 4 took part in a Mayan workshop in line with their history topic, and year 3 had an Egyptian Day.

“Later this month year 2 will be visiting a rainforest, to further embed their learning on this topic. We are very proud of our curriculum enrichment programme, which is designed to engage the children and promote learning. As the children enjoy themselves and get involved, they remember more, and it encourages further exploration.”