Who Were the Anglo-Saxons?Activities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning helps Year 4 students grasp the complexity of Anglo-Saxon migration by making abstract ideas concrete. Movement, discussion, and visual comparison let students explore cause and effect in human history, not just memorize dates or names.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify the geographical origins of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes.
- 2Explain the push and pull factors that motivated the Anglo-Saxon migration to Britain.
- 3Compare and contrast the religious beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons with those of Roman Christians in Britain.
- 4Differentiate between the historical interpretations of the Anglo-Saxons as invaders versus settlers.
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Inquiry Circle: Why did they move?
In small groups, students look at 'clues' (e.g., a picture of a flooded field, a map of crowded land, a Roman letter asking for mercenaries). They must categorise these into 'Push' factors (reasons to leave) and 'Pull' factors (reasons to come to Britain).
Prepare & details
Explain where the Anglo-Saxons came from and why they migrated.
Facilitation Tip: During Collaborative Investigation, remind groups to look at both flooding maps and farming diagrams to balance environmental and economic reasons for migration.
Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials
Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template
Gallery Walk: Roman vs. Saxon
Place images of Roman stone villas and Saxon wooden longhouses around the room. Students move in pairs to identify three major differences in materials, size, and how the buildings were used.
Prepare & details
Differentiate whether they were primarily invaders or peaceful settlers.
Facilitation Tip: Set a 3-minute timer for each station in Roman vs. Saxon to keep the Gallery Walk brisk and focused on visual evidence.
Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter
Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback
Think-Pair-Share: Invaders or Settlers?
Students discuss whether they think the Anglo-Saxons were mostly 'invaders' (coming to fight) or 'settlers' (coming to live). They must provide one piece of evidence for each side of the argument.
Prepare & details
Compare their religious beliefs to those of the Roman Christians.
Facilitation Tip: During Think-Pair-Share, circulate and listen for pairs to use specific terms like ‘tribes’ or ‘migration routes’ rather than vague phrases like ‘they came from somewhere’.
Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor
Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs
Teaching This Topic
Teach this topic through layered sources: maps, artifacts, and short written accounts. Avoid presenting the Anglo-Saxons as a single group; use tribal names consistently. Research shows students understand migration better when they see the push factors (flooding) and pull factors (new land) side by side, not as a timeline event.
What to Expect
Students will explain why the Anglo-Saxons moved, compare their lives with Romans using evidence, and justify whether they were invaders or settlers. Their reasoning should connect climate, farming, and cultural changes to the sources they study.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionThe Anglo-Saxons were one single group of people.
What to Teach Instead
During Collaborative Investigation, watch for students who group all migrants as ‘Anglo-Saxons’. Hand them a tribal map and ask them to color each group’s homeland, then label the arrows with the correct tribe name before they summarize their findings.
Common MisconceptionThey 'wiped out' all the British people.
What to Teach Instead
During Think-Pair-Share, listen for students using the word ‘wiped out’. After pairs share, prompt them to check their notes on ‘DNA and language’ from the Gallery Walk and add evidence about shared culture or continued British people in the sources.
Assessment Ideas
After Collaborative Investigation, provide a map of Northern Europe and Britain. Ask students to draw arrows showing migration routes for the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes and label at least two reasons for their journey.
During Think-Pair-Share, pose the question: ‘Were the Anglo-Saxons primarily invaders or settlers?’ Ask students to provide evidence from their learning to support their viewpoint, encouraging them to consider different perspectives.
After Roman vs. Saxon Gallery Walk, present students with a T-chart. On one side, list characteristics of Roman Britain. On the other, list characteristics of early Anglo-Saxon life. Ask students to fill in the similarities and differences based on the visuals they observed.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Ask early finishers to create a comic strip showing one family’s journey from Frisia to East Anglia, including two reasons for leaving.
- Scaffolding: Provide sentence stems like ‘The Anglo-Saxons left because…’ or ‘Unlike the Romans, they…’ for students who need language support.
- Deeper exploration: Invite students to research how place names like ‘England’ and ‘Suffolk’ still reflect Anglo-Saxon tribal identities today.
Key Vocabulary
| Angles | One of the main Germanic tribes who migrated to Britain from the area of modern-day Denmark. |
| Saxons | Another major Germanic tribe, originating from areas of modern-day northern Germany, who settled in Britain. |
| Jutes | A Germanic tribe that, along with the Angles and Saxons, migrated to Britain from the Jutland peninsula. |
| Migration | The movement of people from one place to another with the intention of settling, temporarily or permanently. |
| Paganism | A religion that does not belong to one of the main world religions, often involving worship of many gods or nature spirits. |
Suggested Methodologies
Planning templates for History
5E Model
The 5E Model structures lessons through five phases (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate), guiding students from curiosity to deep understanding through inquiry-based learning.
Unit PlannerThematic Unit
Organize a multi-week unit around a central theme or essential question that cuts across topics, texts, and disciplines, helping students see connections and build deeper understanding.
RubricSingle-Point Rubric
Build a single-point rubric that defines only the "meets standard" level, leaving space for teachers to document what exceeded and what fell short. Simple to create, easy for students to understand.
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The Letter of Honorius: Rome Withdraws
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Sutton Hoo: A King's Burial
Analysing the ship burial at Sutton Hoo to understand Anglo-Saxon wealth, craftsmanship, and beliefs.
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The Anglo-Saxon Village and the Hall
Daily life in an Anglo-Saxon settlement and the importance of the Lord's Mead Hall as a community hub.
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Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Heptarchy
Learning about the seven main Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (Heptarchy) and their constant struggles for dominance.
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