History · Year 5

Active learning ideas

Viking Trade and Global Connections

Active learning helps students grasp Viking trade because it moves beyond dates and names to show how Vikings interacted with the world. Hands-on simulations and investigations let students experience how trade worked, making abstract connections tangible and memorable.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS2: History - Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England
• KS2: History - Trade and Economics

• 25–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 50 min · Whole Class

Simulation Game: The Viking Market

Assign students roles as traders from different regions (e.g., a Viking from Norway with furs, a merchant from Byzantium with silk, an Anglo-Saxon with wool). They must use 'hacksilver' (broken jewellery) to trade their goods, learning about the 'bullion economy' where the weight of silver was more important than the coin's face.

Identify what items Vikings traded, and what they brought back to Britain.

Facilitation Tip

During The Viking Market simulation, circulate with a basket of real silver jewelry or silver bars to show how bullion was handled, so students feel the weight and texture of Viking currency.

What to look for

Provide students with a map showing Viking trade routes. Ask them to draw arrows indicating the direction of trade for three specific items (e.g., furs from Scandinavia, silk from Byzantium, silver from the Middle East) and write one sentence explaining why each item was valuable.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Inquiry Circle
• 40 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Journey of a Dirham

Groups are given a map and a 'story card' for an Islamic silver coin found in an English hoard. They must trace its path from Baghdad, up the Russian rivers, across the Baltic Sea, and finally to Britain, identifying the different people and transport it would have encountered along the way.

Explain how silver coins (dirhams) from the Middle East ended up in English hoards.

Facilitation Tip

For The Journey of a Dirham, assign roles such as a Viking trader, Arab merchant, and British buyer so students physically trace the coin’s path across maps and artifacts.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a Viking merchant. What three items would you want to trade for in Britain, and why?' Have students write their answers on mini whiteboards to gauge understanding of imported goods.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Why trade instead of raid?

Students think about the risks and rewards of raiding a village versus trading with it. They discuss in pairs, considering themes like safety, long-term profit, and reputation, and then share why many Vikings eventually decided that being a merchant was better than being a warrior.

Analyze how trade changed the Viking way of life.

Facilitation Tip

In Why trade instead of raid?, give each pair a Venn diagram template with ‘raiding’ and ‘trading’ as headers to organize their ideas visually before sharing aloud.

What to look for

Facilitate a class discussion with the prompt: 'How did the arrival of silver dirhams change the way people in Britain conducted business compared to before Viking trade?' Listen for student explanations of monetary exchange versus barter.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with a visual timeline of Viking trade routes to establish context, then use role-play to deepen understanding. Avoid overemphasizing raiding, as trade reveals the Vikings’ sophisticated economic role. Research shows that when students physically handle materials like silver bars or replicas of traded goods, they retain concepts about value and exchange more effectively.

Students will demonstrate understanding by explaining how Vikings used trade to connect distant places, identifying key goods exchanged, and justifying why trade routes mattered. They will also compare Viking trade systems to modern economies where appropriate.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During The Viking Market simulation, watch for students assuming all Viking transactions used coins.

  Use pre-cut play-dough ‘hacksilver’ pieces and a balance scale to model how Vikings chopped silver into smaller portions, then have students weigh out exact amounts to pay for items like furs or swords.

• During Collaborative Investigation: The Journey of a Dirham, watch for students thinking Viking trade was local or limited.

  Provide a world map and string to let students trace the dirham’s route from Baghdad to York, marking stops along the way, so they see the global scale of Viking connections.

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game
• Inquiry Circle
• Think-Pair-Share