This term I am really excited to say, we will be learning about INVADERS AND CRUSADERS!

Our topic will cover the period from the Anglo Saxons to the Vikings and there might be a few dragons thrown in along the way! Keep an eye on our class page to see what we have been learning.

Here is our topic web for this term.

Viking Sagas

We began our literacy learning is term by reading some Viking sagas and then writing our own versions of them. The class acted out the stories and were really impressive as Thor, Loki, Freya and even a few Goblins!

Here are some pictures of the children acting out their sagas:

Archery

We were very lucky to be visited by Ken Crisp who ran an archery session with us. The class really enjoyed it and school are now running a weekly archery club.

Archery was a skill the Anglo Saxons and Vikings would have had when catching prey and fighting one another! We have some budding archers in Otter class!

Dragon Traps

As part of our literacy topic we are reading 'How to train your dragon' and the children wrote about how they might trap a dragon if they happened to come across one. When they went to forest school they were able to attempt to build their traps. There were some ingenious ideas.

Anglo Saxon Brooches

In art we have been looking at some beautiful Anglo Saxon brooches which were found at Sutton Hoo and some others which are on display in the Ashmoleum. 

We then explored the types of pattern that were used at this time and designed and created our own brooches using clay and gems. Here are some of the finished articles. Fit for any high ranking Anglo Saxon chief to wear I think you will agree!

Wattle and Daub

As part of our topic about the Anglo Saxons we have been learning about how they lived. About their villages and how they built their houses. Last week as part of forest school the children split into groups and were challenged to build a section of wattle and daub wall.

They used canes and sticks to create the upright parts of the structure. Then used more flexible sticks or dry plant stalks to weave in between and then lastly, used mud mixed with dry grass as the "daub" to put onto the wattle structure they had built. There were some very impressive results. Here are some photos of their efforts.

In science this half term we have been learning about Space. The children were each given a planet to research and they then made a poster which they presented to the rest of the class.

We were lucky enough to go on a school trip to Ufton House and had a Viking experience day to remember!.

We were met off the coach by Matt who was our Viking guide for the day.

Our first activity was learning about Viking battle tactics. We learned how both shields and axes would be used in battle and then practised getting in to some formations with our shields. The formations we learned were a shield wall, a boars snout and how we could protect the Jarl (our Viking leader).

Next we learned about Viking raids. We travelled on a longboat to many different countries and sang our Viking song along the way!!

Our last activity was a Viking funeral drama. We learned about the offerings that Vikings would give to the dead to take on their journey to Valhalla. The children played parts in the procession and we marched to the tomb where we laid our fallen tribe member to rest with our good wishes for a safe journey to Valhalla.

On our recent trip we were lucky enough to sit in a Longship and go on some Viking raids. The children were certainly enthusiastic! Please read the attached description of our trip by Maya and Aisulu and watch the video to see one of the activities;