How we know about life in Anglo-Saxon England
I can describe the different sources of evidence that historians have used to uncover life in Anglo-Saxon Britain.
How we know about life in Anglo-Saxon England
I can describe the different sources of evidence that historians have used to uncover life in Anglo-Saxon Britain.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- 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.
Keywords
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 misconception
Students may think that for something to be taught as history, all historians have to agree on it.
Historians do not always agree about the past and what sources tell us. It is important to remember this when being historians ourselves!
To help you plan your year 5 history lesson on: How we know about life in Anglo-Saxon England, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 5 history lesson on: How we know about life in Anglo-Saxon England, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 history lessons from the The Anglo-Saxons: how do we know about life in Anglo-Saxon England? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
They traded with far-away places.
They could be violent at times.
They were skilled fighters.