Hello there and welcome to today's history lesson.

I'm Mr. Moss.

I'm really passionate about history and I'm also really looking forward to teaching you.

With you today, you need to bring your looking eyes, your listening ears, and your thinking brains.

As well as that, having something to write with and write on and someone or something to talk to would also be really helpful.

Alright then, let's get straight into today's history lesson.

In today's history lesson, we're going to be looking at something really fascinating, the Vikings and their longboats.

So the outcome will be, I can describe the features of Viking longboats.

So what these incredible vessels were like, how the Vikings used them, what they were used for, and some of the fascinating features that were on them.

Here are then the key words for today's learning.

My turn, your turn.

Make sure you say these back to me and keep an eye and an ear out for them in today's lesson as they're really important.

The first word is Vikings.

The next word is longboats, shield and raid.

So, the term Vikings, this is what we are concentrating on today.

The Vikings were a group of people, a group of seafarers, so people who often travel by sea, and they're from Northern Europe.

I'm going to be looking in more detail about where they came from.

A longboat was a strong, narrow boat used by the Vikings, these seafarers, and we're really gonna concentrate on some of the features of these long longboats today.

And one of those features was a shield.

A shield is a large piece of wood or metal with a handle at the back that is used for protection and defence.

We're gonna look at how Vikings use these shields, not only on land, but also to help protect their longboats.

And finally, a raid is when a place is attacked and items are stolen.

The Vikings were excellent raiders.

They would go in their longboats, get what they needed, then get out.

So, we are looking at the Vikings and their longboats.

We've got three learning cycles today.

We're going to look at who were the Vikings and where they came from.

We are going to look at what were Viking longboats like.

Remember, we're concentrating on their features, and then we're going to consider what did Vikings use longboats for, what was their purpose? Let's get on then with answering this question.

Who were the Vikings and where did they come from? So the Vikings were seafarers from northern Europe around a thousand years ago.

And we can see here from our map to the left that Viking homeland in that sort of light green colour, this shows where they came from.

We can also see the routes that they took and travelled, many of these going across the seas and oceans.

We can also then see the lands where Vikings settled.

So, they travelled great distances by both land and by sea, and they came from the countries that we now call Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

Another term for this region is Scandinavia.

So this is where the Vikings travelled from about a thousand years ago.

There are a number of reasons why they decided to leave these places and to travel.

Some of these reasons included finding more fertile land for farming.

Some of them travelled to trade goods and also to find a better climate to live in.

The Vikings came from A, Northern Europe, B, Northern America, or C, Northern Australia.

Complete that sentence for me now.

Off you go.

Okay, let's see how you did then.

The Vikings came from Northern Europe, those countries that we now today call Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

And they began travelling about a thousand years ago.

So, the Vikings explored a lot, and we can see that from this map, our red lines being the routes that they travelled and they did a lot of their travelling on boats, which is going to lead us into those longboats that we're going to be looking at later on in this lesson.

Sometimes people called the Vikings pirates, and indeed, in Old Norse, "vikingr" is a term that means raider or pirate.

Because they appeared from the sea, they would come on their longboats.

Often they would attack, sometimes they would raid.

At other times they would trade or settle.

The boats the Vikings used are known as, my turn your turn, longboats.

Here we can see an illustration of a Viking longboat.

To me, I can see some similarities to early Mediterranean galleys.

We have a long, narrow hull, we have a sail, and I can also see some oars.

There are a few other fascinating features that I've noticed on this boat.

Take some time to look at this illustration now.

What else do you notice about this longboat? Pause the video and have a look now.

Great.

I've noticed as well that if we look at the front of the boat, it is carved like a creature.

Perhaps the Vikings did this in order to scare the people they were raiding or attacking.

I can also see some shields lined up carefully, and I can see some figures standing at the front of the boat.

We are going to be looking at these longboats in more detail for the rest of the lesson.

We are going to be considering some of their features and how they were used.

The Vikings hoped people would see the creatures on the front of the boat and that would frighten them away.

They often carved scary sea creatures into them.

Here we can see an illustration of a Viking soldier.

Vikings arriving in longboats would usually carry a shield.

We can see here a shield in a yellow and red colour that is round.

And they would carry weapons like a sword and a spear.

I can see a sword sheathed around this soldier's waist and he's holding upright a spear.

The Vikings were known to be fierce warriors.

How did the Vikings explore new places? A, swimming B, using longboats or C, using galley ships? Pause the video and select the correct answer now.

Off you go.

Brilliant.

Well, they couldn't have travelled such large distances through the seas and oceans by just swimming.

Galley ships were commonly found in the early Mediterranean period and region.

The way we describe the Viking ships and boats they used are longboats.

Those long, narrow boats that we've been looking at.

So for our practise task now, I'd like us to reflect on who the Vikings were and where they came from.

Talk to our partner about this picture of a Viking that we've already looked at.

Consider what he's wearing, what he's carrying, why you think he's dressed this way, and share your ideas with your learning partner.

Remember to look very carefully at the illustration.

Pause the video now and share your thoughts with your partner.

Brilliant.

I loved hearing some of those conversations.

Here are some ideas to what you might have included.

The Viking is wearing a red cloak and a helmet on his head.

He has a long beard and long hair.

The Viking is carrying a big shield and a spear.

The Viking looks like he might be going to battle because he has weapons, and as we know, the Vikings were often seen as pirates or raiders.

Onto our next learning cycle then.

We've considered who the Vikings were and where they came from.

And now we are going to look in more detail at Viking longboats.

So Viking boats were called longboats because they were long and narrow with many oars.

Here is a photo of a reconstructed Viking longboat.

You can see that it has that carving at the front.

Its sail is currently down and stowed away.

We can see some shields on the sides of the longboat.

At the moment, we can't see any oars, perhaps they've been pulled in.

The wooden hull, so that hard outer body of the boat was very strong, but it was also very flexible, which means it was bendy so it was less likely to crack when there were strong waves.

The Vikings were seafarers, remember, and they would be travelling across many rough seas.

So they had to design a boat that was both strong and flexible in stormy and wavy conditions.

Here we can see a labelled illustration of a Viking longboat.

We can see the large sail.

In this illustration, it is red and white and striped.

We can see the strong, flexible wood that makes up the hull.

We can see also the long, flat bottom.

Notice too that it is quite shallow.

This was for a very good reason so that the boat could travel in both the sea, but also near shallow shorelines and up some rivers.

We can see too the carved animal head at the front.

The hope was that this would strike fear into the places that the Vikings were raiding or their enemies.

And here now out to the sides, we can see many oars.

These oars would've been rowed by oarsmen and would've been pushed and pulled in order to propel the boat either forwards or backwards.

You can see here too that the shape at either end means that it's effectively double-ended.

This means it could go forwards or backwards in a similar way.

It really was a fantastic marvel of engineering and was one of the reasons why the Vikings were so successful at exploring, settling and raiding other places from the sea.

So true or false, Viking, longboats could handle strong waves at sea? Great.

This is absolutely true.

And why could they do this? This was because the hull, so that hard outer body, the main body of the longboat, was made from flexible wood.

It was most strong, but also flexible so it would not crack in strong waves or stormy weather.

So Viking longboats were light as well.

They were made of light, but strong wood.

So vikings could easily pick up the boat and carry it onto the beach from the sea or walk with it to get to a river.

This was a really important feature of these longboats.

The sailors could lift up the boat and carry it where they needed to carry it.

So they could either get to a river or if they needed to get up a beach or make an escape or get elsewhere.

This improved their ability to transport these longboats.

Flat bottom of the long boat, and the fact that it's so shallow meant they could sail very fast through shallow, so not very deep water, and even travel through some rivers.

This is a really key point about longboats.

They were able to successfully navigate sea and particularly wavy and choppy oceans because of what they were made of.

But the shallow design meant they could go through shallow shorelines and also up some rivers making them extremely useful boats.

Which statement about Viking longboats is true then? A Viking longboat had no oars.

There were no sails on a Viking longboat.

The bottom of a Viking longboat was flat.

Which of these statements is true? Select the true statement now.

Off you go.

Brilliant job.

Hmm.

Let's go through them and decide.

A Viking longboat had no oars.

Well, we know this is not true.

It had sails.

So the second one is B is also incorrect.

It did have sails, and when those sail weren't useful, the Vikings would use oars to row backwards or forwards.

The bottom of the Viking longboat was flat.

Now this is true.

It's flat so that it could travel through shallow waters and even through some rivers and not just the seas and oceans.

So for our practise now, I'd like you to have a look here at this illustration of a Viking longboat.

Look carefully at this Viking longboat.

Look at its features.

Consider what we've looked at so far in this learning cycle.

Something is missing from this illustration.

Well, which key feature is missing from this illustration of a Viking longboat? Pause the video and look carefully at the illustration now and decide what is missing.

Off you go.

Wow, I can see loads of you figured out what was missing there.

Good job.

Your answers could include, this longboat hasn't got any oars.

We can see that it has its carved head to strike fear into the Vikings' enemies.

We can see that it has its striped sail.

We can see that it is made of wood and is also quite long and shallow.

We can see the shields that are lining it, and we're gonna come on to talk more about those in the next learning cycle.

But a thing we cannot see, which is a really important feature, was the oars that the oarsmen or the rowers could row forwards and backwards so that the boat could be propelled when necessary.

Great job if you managed to spot that missing feature.

So we've looked at who the Vikings were and where they came from.

We've looked at how they travelled around.

Now we are going to look at what the Viking longboats were used for.

And answer the question, what did Vikings use longboats for? So, Vikings used their longboats to go on journeys to other places so they could explore, go to new and unfamiliar places and find new things, to trade, so to sell and swap goods with other people from other places, to get those things that they needed in order for them and their society and communities to survive.

And also to raid.

And remember, raid is one of our key words.

Can you say that word for me now? Raid.

Raid is when you attack a place and take things from it and then leave, where you steal items from other places.

The Vikings certainly did this throughout the course of their history.

When a Viking longboat got close to a place where they planned to raid, the Vikings would hang their shields over the side of the longboat.

If you look carefully at our illustration here, you can see the round Viking shields hung over the side of the longboat.

Hmm.

I wonder why they may have done this? Pause the video now and have a think.

What do shields offer? Great.

Well, shields are often used to protect oneself.

So I wonder if that has something to do with it? Let's check your understanding so far.

Pick two things the Vikings used their longboats for.

Relaxing, trading, raiding.

Pick the two correct ones now.

Off you go.

Great.

Well, I'm sure the Vikings did enjoy their sailing and they would go sailing for relaxing.

But we are thinking of this as historians, the key reasons they were used.

And that was for travelling long distances to trade and also for raiding, for going to places, stealing items, and then leaving.

Remember, the Vikings would also use their longboats for exploring.

So, Viking shields were big and round to protect the longboats and the Vikings during raids.

So they would hang them on the sides to protect themselves when approaching a place.

To protect themselves, perhaps, from things being thrown at them or arrows being shot at them.

They could also then detach and take off their shields and hold them on their arms when they jumped off their boats to go and raid.

Each Viking painted their shield in bright colours or patterns as a symbol of strength.

You can see a variety of different patterns here on these illustrations of Viking shields.

Notice the fact that they're round.

These shields would've been very strong and offered good protection.

Aisha is talking about Viking longboats, but she has made a mistake in what she said.

I'm wondering if you can correct her mistake.

She says, "Viking oars were big and round to protect the longboat and Vikings during raids." Can you find the mistake in her sentence? And can you correct it? Off you go.

Great job.

I think most of us there managed to find that mistake and you managed to correct it.

She said oars instead of shields.

Now the oars were part of Viking longboats, weren't they? But they were used to move the boat forwards and backwards.

Viking shields, though, were big and round and were used to protect the longboat and the Vikings during their raids.

Remember, they could be attached to the side and then taken off when needed as well.

And remember also that the Vikings painted them in bright colours.

So for our practise task now, we've got a really fun task for you.

I'd like you to design a shield for a Viking and explain your design to your learning partner.

You can look at these examples of illustrations of Viking shields to help you.

Also remember, when your shield hangs on the side of the longboat, it should show power and scare other people.

So choose your colours and patterns very carefully.

Consider how you might show your strength and power and warn others that you are a Viking pirate raider.

Pause the video now.

Design a shield and explain your design.

Off you go.

Excellent.

I love seeing some of these incredible designs.

Keep showing me.

I love that one and that one too.

Some brilliant patterns, some really scary designs, and also some brilliant warning colours.

I've just seen one and I would describe it like this.

You could have included, my shield is half red and half blue.

Blue for the water of the sea.

And we know that the Vikings were excellent sailors and had a really strong relationship with the sea and red because it would be a warning to people.

So red is that warning colour to warn that the Viking raiders are coming.

Brilliant.

I loved your explanations to your learning partners as well as to why you included what you did.

So today we've been looking at the Vikings and their longboats.

Viking longboats were long, narrow, and very fast.

Longboats had sails, oars and that flat, shallow bottom so they could sail in shallow waters.

Viking longboats were made from light, flexible wood so they could be easily carried ashore and so they could survive strong waves and stormy weathers at sea.

Their hulls were still very strong, though.

Vikings used longboats to go on journeys for exploring, trading and raiding.

Before a raid, Viking warriors hung their shields over the sides of their longboats to protect them.

Keep up the great history learning and I'll see you again soon.