Hello, my name's Mrs. Casey.

What's your name? I am so excited to be joining you for this History Lesson today.

This unit is called, "Traditional Stories." What do they tell us about the distant past? I love listening to stories.

I hope you enjoy today's story.

It is set over 1,000 years ago and about a girl called Aethelflaed, who would grow up to become a very powerful Anglo-Saxon ruler.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to describe the early life of Aethelflaed and her return to court, following the Viking invasion of Wessex.

Here are today's Keywords.

Listen carefully while I read them to you.

Are you ready? Anglo-Saxons.

Court.

Vikings.

Victory.

Let's have a go at saying those words together.

My turn.

Anglo-Saxons.

Your turn.

Brilliant, everyone.

My turn, court.

Your turn.

That's fantastic.

My turn, Vikings.

Your turn.

My turn, victory.

Your turn.

Well done, everyone.

Listen out carefully for these new words in our lesson today.

Today's lesson has two parts.

The first part is called, Aethelflaed's early life.

The second part is called, Vikings and Anglo-Saxons.

So let's get started with Aethelflaed's early life.

Are you ready? Let's go.

In Britain over 1,000 years ago, during the time of the Anglo-Saxons, there lived a young girl who was brave and strong and clever.

Her name was Aethelflaed, and she would grow up to one day be the Lady of Mercia, a powerful Anglo-Saxon ruler.

The Anglo-Saxons were the people who lived in Britain at the time of Aethelflaed, and her father King Alfred.

Most Anglo-Saxons were farmers.

Here is a timeline.

It shows us when Aethelflaed lived during the time of the Anglo-Saxons over 1,000 years ago.

Aethelflaed was the oldest of six children.

She had three brothers and two sisters.

I wonder if you have any siblings.

At the time there was not just one King of England, but three different kings, for three different Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria.

Aethelflaed's father was the King of Wessex.

His name was Alfred the Great.

Can you see the statue of him here? And Aethelflaed's mother was called Ealhswith Mercia.

Aethelflaed lived with her siblings and parents at the court of the Kingdom of Wessex.

The place where a ruler spends time ruling is known as their court.

Can you see Alex telling us this? Fantastic listening, everyone.

Now, it's time to check what we've learned.

Which statements about Aethelflaed are true and which ones are false? A, Aethelflaed lived in Scotland.

B, Aethelflaed was a young Anglo-Saxon girl.

C, Aethelflaed's father was Alfred the Great.

D, Aethelflaed lived in the Court of Wessex.

Have a talk to the person next to you to decide which of the statements are true and which ones are false.

Pause the video.

Fantastic, some great discussions, everyone.

So which statements were true and which ones are false? A, Aethelflaed lived in Scotland.

True or false? That one's false.

Aethelflaed was a young Anglo-Saxon girl.

True or false? That one was true.

Aethelflaed's father was Alfred the Great.

True or false? Well done, everyone, that one's true.

Aethelflaed lived in the Court of Wessex.

True or false? True, well done, everybody.

And here we have another check.

It's another True or False.

When the Anglo-Saxons lived in Britain, there was more than one king.

Is that true or false? Tell the person next to you what you think.

Pause the video.

Excellent discussions, everyone.

Do you think this is true or false? This is true, well done.

During the time of the Anglo-Saxons, there was more than one king in Britain.

Which of these is correct? There were three Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Alfred The Great was King of Wessex, or there were four Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and Alfred the Great was King of Mercia.

Is it A or B? Tell the person next to you.

Pause the video.

It was A.

There were three Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and three kings.

Alfred the Great was the King of Wessex.

There was also a King of Mercia and a King of Northumbria.

Aethelflaed's father loved poetry and Latin.

That was the language used at the time.

And so he made sure that all of his children, all six of them, including Aethelflaed, learned both, as well as learning how to read and write.

During this time, not all children would have been taught to read and write, and it was even more unusual for girls to be taught.

There were also no schools like there are today.

So Aethelflaed would have been taught at court with her brothers and sisters.

Aethelflaed was very lucky to have had an education.

Can you see Sophia? What's she telling us? "During the time of the Anglo-Saxons, it was unusual for girls to be taught to read or write." Let's check what we've learned.

Laura is talking about Aethelflaed's early life.

Do you agree with Laura? Discuss your ideas with a partner.

Here's what she said.

"Aethelflaed was lucky to learn how to read and write." What do you think? Discuss your ideas with a partner.

Pause the video.

Some excellent discussions there.

Well done, everyone.

Laura is right that Aethelflaed was lucky to learn how to read and write as it was not very common for girls to learn in Anglo-Saxon Britain.

And here is our first Task.

Can you tell a partner about Aethelflaed's early life? Here are some words to help you.

Britain.

Anglo-Saxons.

Daughter.

Alfred the Great.

Wessex.

Court.

Read and write.

Thank you, Andeep, there are some great words to help us.

Laura tells us to, "Listen carefully to your partner.

Can you add anything?" Pause the video and have a go at Task A.

Well done, everyone.

Your answer might have included, Aethelflaed lived in Britain during the time of the Anglo-Saxons.

She was the daughter of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex.

She lived at court with her family.

Aethelflaed learned to read and write.

Excellent work, everyone.

That's the end of our first cycle.

We're ready to move on to Vikings and Anglo-Saxons.

Are you ready? While Aethelflaed was still growing up at court, the fierce Vikings sailed across the roaring seas in their longboats to Britain.

The Vikings were raiders from Scandinavia who attacked and settled in Britain at the time of Aethelflaed and Alfred.

The Vikings had come from Scandinavia and wanted to take over the Anglo-Saxon's land.

They.

They arrived in their longboats with weapons and armour and there were many ferocious battles between them and the Anglo-Saxons.

Here is a map of Europe showing where the Vikings settled.

Can you see their homelands in the green, and where they settled in the red? Here's Scandinavia and here is Britain.

The Vikings had many victories in battles against the Anglo-Saxons and took over more of their land.

Alex says, "When someone or a group of people win something, it is called a victory." Well done, everyone, excellent listening.

Now, it's time to check what we've learned.

Here is a True or False.

The Vikings came to Britain across the sea.

Is that true or false? Tell the person next to you.

Pause the video.

Well done, everyone, that's true.

The Vikings came to Britain across the sea.

Did they, A, come on longboats from Scandinavia to take over land in Britain.

or B, come on longboats from Italy to take over land in Scotland.

Have a chat to the person next to you.

Pause the video.

Great work, everyone, it was A.

The Vikings came on longboats from Scandinavia to take over land in Britain.

One grey, cloudy, winter morning, when Aethelflaed was just nine years old, the Vikings attacked Wessex.

They were led by a fearsome warrior and they charged into the kingdom, when Alfred and his family were least expecting it.

The Anglo-Saxons were taken by surprise and not prepared for battle.

Alfred and his family only narrowly escaped being captured.

Luckily, they ran to safety, travelling many miles to hide in a village in Somerset.

They had to travel through vast woods and across muddy marshland to avoid being caught by the Vikings who continued to look for them.

It must have been a really scary journey.

But the young Aethelflaed was very brave.

Marshland is very wet most of the time.

It would have been very hard for Aethelflaed's family to cross.

Aethelflaed and her family stayed in a small farming village.

This was very different from her life at court.

Aethelflaed stayed in a small wooden hut with a straw roof with her family.

They would have baked fresh bread on the stove, made cheese and looked after the sheep and cattle.

Aethelflaed missed her old life at court very much, but hopes that one day when she was older, she would be able to return.

Here is a photo of a reconstructed Anglo-Saxon village.

It might have looked like this where Aethelflaed was staying.

Excellent listening to the story, everyone.

Well done.

Let's check what we've learned.

Sort the tasks Aethelflaed might have done in court and in the village.

Life would've been very different.

Learning to read.

Baked bread.

Made cheese.

Learned to write.

Missed home.

Where did Aethelflaed learn to read, in court or in the village? Aethelflaed learned to read in court.

Baked bread, where did Aethelflaed bake bread? In court or in the village? That's right, Aethelflaed and her family baked bread when they were staying in the village.

Made cheese.

Would Aethelflaed have made cheese when she was living in court or in the village? Well done, everyone, she would have made cheese in the village.

Learn to write.

Did Aethelflaed learn to write when she was living in court or in the village? Excellent, she learned to write when she was living in court.

Missed home.

When did Aethelflaed miss home, when she was living in court or in the village? Excellent, she missed her home when she was living in the village.

Well done, everyone.

Meanwhile, Alfred the Great had been planning his victory over the Vikings and was rebuilding his army.

The years went by and now, Aethelflaed was a young woman of around 16 years old.

Something else had changed too, her father and his army were now ready to defeat the Vikings.

Alfred bravely led his army in the Battle of Edington.

And this time, it was the Vikings who were surprised and unprepared.

King Alfred won the battle and achieved an impressive victory over the Vikings.

Here is a picture of the Viking leader.

The mighty Viking leader agreed not to attack Wessex anymore, and peace was declared between Wessex and the Vikings.

Alfred the Great returned to his court to rule Wessex once again.

Finally, Aethelflaed was home.

In some ways, though, her adventures had only just begun.

Excellent listening to the story of Aethelflaed, everyone.

Well done.

Let's check what we learned with this True or False.

Alfred the Great led his army to victory against the Vikings.

True or false? Tell the person next to you.

Pause the video.

Excellent, that one was true.

Alfred the Great led his army to victory against the Vikings.

What happened to the Viking leader? Did he A, agree not to attack Wessex anymore, B, die on the battlefield? Well done, the Viking leader agreed not to attack Wessex anymore.

Hooray.

And here is our second Task, Task B.

Can you tell your learning partner the next steps in the story of how Aethelflaed returned to court? The first and last steps have been done for you.

You can use these words.

No.

The Vikings arrived from Scandinavia wanting to take takeover Britain.

Then there are one, two, three more steps.

Before the last step, Aethelflaed finally returned to court with her family.

Tell your learning partner the steps in between.

You could use these words.

Vikings, ran away, Anglo-Saxon village and victory.

Pause the video and have a go.

Fantastic work, everyone, well done.

You might have said, "The Vikings arrived from Scandinavia wanting to take over Britain." "The Vikings attacked Wessex and Aethelflaed and her family ran away." "Aethelflaed lived in an Anglo-Saxon village." "Alfred the Great declared victory against the Vikings." "Aethelflaed finally returned to court with her family." You have all worked so hard in today's History Lesson learning the story of Aethelflaed.

Well done, everyone.

Let's summarise what we learned.

Aethelflaed was the daughter of Alfred the Great.

She lived in the Court of Wessex and learned to read and write.

Aethelflaed lived in Britain and grew up at the time when the Anglo-Saxons were being attacked by the Vikings.

When the Vikings attacked Wessex, Aethelflaed and her family ran away for safety.

They lived in a farming village for many years.

During this time, Alfred made a plan and rebuilt an army.

Alfred achieved victory against the Vikings.

Peace was declared and Aethelflaed returned to court.

Excellent listening, everyone.

Thank you for joining me for today's History Lesson.

Bye for now.