The Viking Age · Term 1

Viking Longships and Navigation

Students will investigate the design and technological innovations of Viking longships and their impact on exploration and warfare.

About This Topic

This topic explores the rapid expansion of the Viking world through a lens of interconnectedness. Students investigate the motivations behind the raids, such as land hunger and political instability, but also look at the sophisticated trading networks that stretched as far as Byzantium and the Abbasid Caliphate. This period saw the Vikings as the premier explorers of the North Atlantic, establishing settlements in Iceland, Greenland, and briefly, North America.

In the Australian Curriculum, this study emphasizes the importance of primary sources and archaeological evidence, such as the L'Anse aux Meadows site. It challenges students to think about global history as a series of encounters and exchanges rather than isolated events. By mapping these routes, students gain a better sense of the scale of the medieval world.

Students grasp this concept faster through collaborative investigations where they map trade routes and analyze the 'push and pull' factors of migration.

Active Learning Ideas

Inquiry Circle: Mapping the Viking World

Small groups are assigned a region (e.g., Russia, Newfoundland, England). They research what the Vikings brought there (trade or raids) and what they took back, then plot these on a giant shared classroom map.

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Generate mission

Formal Debate: Raiders or Traders?

Students are split into teams to argue whether the Vikings' primary impact on Europe was destructive (raiding) or constructive (establishing trade networks and cities). They must use specific historical evidence to support their claims.

⏱ 40 min·Whole Class

Generate mission

Think-Pair-Share: The Vinland Mystery

Students examine maps and saga excerpts describing 'Vinland.' They discuss why the North American settlement failed while others succeeded, focusing on geography and contact with Indigenous peoples.

⏱ 15 min·Pairs

Generate mission

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Vikings only traveled to England and France.

What to Teach Instead

Viking routes extended to the Middle East, Central Asia, and North America. Collaborative mapping activities help students visualize the true global scale of their maritime reach.

Common Misconception

Raiding was the only way Vikings gained wealth.

What to Teach Instead

Trade in furs, amber, and enslaved people was often more lucrative and sustainable than raiding. Analyzing trade goods at different 'stations' helps students see the economic complexity of the era.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did the Vikings start raiding?

Several factors likely contributed, including a shortage of good farmland in Scandinavia, internal power struggles between local chieftains, and the discovery of poorly defended, wealthy monasteries along the coasts of Britain and Ireland.

How do we know Vikings reached America?

Archaeological evidence at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, confirms a Norse presence around 1000 CE. This site includes sod buildings and iron-working tools that match those found in Viking Greenland and Iceland.

What are the best hands-on strategies for teaching Viking exploration?

Using a 'Trade Simulation' is highly effective. Students can act as merchants from different regions, bartering goods like walrus ivory for silk or silver. This hands-on approach helps them understand the economic motivations and the vast distances involved in Viking travel better than a standard lecture.

What was the Danelaw?

The Danelaw was the part of north-eastern England where Viking laws and customs held sway following their invasions and subsequent treaties with Anglo-Saxon kings like Alfred the Great.

Browse curriculum by country

• Americas
• US
• CA
• MX
• CL
• CO
• BR

• Europe
• UK
• IE
• FR
• DE
• ES
• IT
• NL
• PT
• SE

• Asia & Pacific
• IN
• SG
• AU