The Historian\ · 1st Year

Active learning ideas

Viking Towns: Dublin and Waterford

Active learning works for this topic because students need to connect abstract historical facts to tangible evidence from Viking towns. Hands-on activities like model building and artifact analysis let students see, touch, and discuss the real materials that shaped Viking daily life in Dublin and Waterford.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary Curriculum - Myself and the Wider World - Early People and Ancient Societies
• NCCA: Primary Curriculum - Myself and the Wider World - Exploring Local History

• 30–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 50 min · Small Groups

Model Building: Longphort Layout

Supply cardboard, clay, and straw for small groups to construct a Viking town model with docks, houses, and markets. Groups label features based on archaeological plans and explain their design choices. Finish with a gallery walk where groups tour others' models.

Which towns in Ireland did the Vikings help to start?

Facilitation Tip

During Model Building: Longphort Layout, circulate with photographs of excavated sites to prompt students to compare their model’s accuracy against real evidence.

What to look for

Provide students with a map of Ireland. Ask them to label Dublin and Waterford and draw one symbol representing a Viking activity (e.g., a longship, a trade good, a craft item) in each town. Then, ask them to write one sentence describing why Vikings chose these locations.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 35 min · Pairs

Role-Play: Trade Market

Assign roles as traders or buyers using drawings of goods like furs, slaves, and amber. Pairs negotiate exchanges in a simulated market, recording deals on charts. Debrief to compare with historical trade evidence.

What was it like to live in a Viking town?

Facilitation Tip

During Role-Play: Trade Market, give each student a role card with a persona (merchant, farmer, craftsman) and a list of trade goods to ensure they stay in character.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If you were a Viking merchant arriving in Dublin 1,000 years ago, what three items would you hope to trade for, and why?' Encourage students to use vocabulary related to Viking crafts and traded goods.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Stations Rotation
• 45 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Artifact Analysis

Prepare stations with images of Viking combs, coins, and house posts from Dublin digs. Small groups rotate every 10 minutes, sketching and noting what each artifact reveals about town life. Compile class findings into a shared poster.

What did Vikings trade in their towns?

Facilitation Tip

During Station Rotation: Artifact Analysis, place a magnifying glass at each station to encourage close observation of details like tool marks or wear patterns.

What to look for

Show images of artifacts found at Viking sites (e.g., a comb, a silver coin, a piece of pottery). Ask students to identify the artifact and explain what it tells us about life in a Viking town, referencing either Dublin or Waterford.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 30 min · Whole Class

Mapping Activity: Viking Settlements

Use a large Ireland outline map. Whole class marks Dublin, Waterford, and routes with string and pins for trade goods. Discuss how settlements linked to rivers and coasts.

Which towns in Ireland did the Vikings help to start?

Facilitation Tip

During Mapping Activity: Viking Settlements, provide tracing paper so students can overlay modern maps with historic Viking routes to visualize travel and settlement choices.

What to look for

Provide students with a map of Ireland. Ask them to label Dublin and Waterford and draw one symbol representing a Viking activity (e.g., a longship, a trade good, a craft item) in each town. Then, ask them to write one sentence describing why Vikings chose these locations.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should ground lessons in primary evidence like artifact photographs and excavation maps, avoiding romanticized stereotypes about Vikings. Group work should include clear roles to ensure all students engage with the material. Research shows that tactile activities, such as handling replica combs or coins, deepen understanding of craft and trade beyond textbook descriptions.

Successful learning looks like students confidently explaining how longphuirt grew into towns, identifying key artifacts, and describing trade and craft routines with specific examples. They should distinguish between raiding and settling, and articulate why location mattered for Viking settlements.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Model Building: Longphort Layout, watch for students assuming Viking towns were only temporary camps. Redirect by asking them to compare their model’s features (like streets and workshops) with excavation photos to highlight permanent structures.

  Ask students to add labels to their models explaining how longphuirt evolved into towns, using evidence from Wood Quay and High Street excavations shown on provided cards.

• During Mapping Activity: Viking Settlements, watch for students assuming Dublin’s name reflects Irish origins. Redirect by having them label the 841 AD founding date on their maps and discuss how place names changed over time.

  During the mapping activity, provide a timeline strip with key dates and place names, and ask students to sequence them to show how Viking settlements predated Irish names.

• During Role-Play: Trade Market, watch for students defaulting to battle narratives during discussions. Redirect by providing role cards focused on crafts, farming, or trading routines, not combat.

  After the role-play, debrief by asking students to share one non-violent daily task their character performed, using evidence from their trade lists or artifact analysis sheets.

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Methods used in this brief

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• Stations Rotation