History · 5th Year

Active learning ideas

Viking Longships and Warriors

Get ready to explore the fierce world of the Vikings, whose incredible longships brought them right to Ireland's shores. We'll discover the secrets behind their powerful ships and the warriors who sailed them.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA History: Early People and Ancient Societies - The Vikings

• 30–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Maker Learning
• 60 min · Small Groups

Build a Viking Longship

In small groups, pupils use recycled materials like cardboard, lolly sticks, and fabric scraps to construct a model of a longship. They must include key features like a shallow hull, a square sail, and a carved prow, and can test its buoyancy in a basin of water.

Identify three key features of a Viking longship that made it effective for both raiding and exploration.

Facilitation Tip

Provide simple diagrams of longships to guide the construction and ensure key features are included.

What to look for

During group work, circulate and listen to pupils' discussions about longship design, posing questions to check their understanding of key vocabulary like 'draft' and 'clinker-built'.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Maker Learning
• 45 min · Pairs

A Viking Warrior's Kit

Pupils work in pairs to research and create a labelled drawing of a Viking warrior. They must include and describe the purpose of their helmet, shield, axe or sword, and leather or mail armour.

Explain the types of weapons and armour used by a typical Viking warrior.

Facilitation Tip

Use a projector to show images of real Viking artefacts from the National Museum of Ireland's collection.

What to look for

Pupils complete a 'Viking Fact File' project, where they draw and label a longship and a warrior, and write a short paragraph explaining why the Vikings were successful invaders and settlers in Ireland.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Maker Learning
• 30 min · Whole Class

Raid or Trade? Class Debate

Divide the class into two sides to debate whether the Vikings' primary impact on Ireland was as violent raiders or as influential traders and town-builders. Pupils should use evidence learned during the topic to support their arguments.

Compare the technology of a Viking longship to the boats used by the Irish at the time.

Facilitation Tip

Assign specific roles or points to pupils beforehand to ensure a structured and inclusive debate.

What to look for

Pupils use a 'two stars and a wish' method to review their longship models, identifying two features they included correctly and one aspect they could improve.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Begin by showing a dramatic image or short video clip of a longship to capture their imagination. Use storytelling to narrate a Viking journey to Ireland, engaging pupils emotionally. Provide clear diagrams and word banks to support the hands-on activities, ensuring all pupils can access the core concepts.

By the end of this topic, your pupils will be able to explain what made a longship a masterclass in boat design and describe the equipment of a typical Viking warrior.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• All Vikings wore helmets with horns on them.

  There is no archaeological or historical evidence that Vikings wore horned helmets in battle. This popular image comes from 19th-century paintings and operas. Real Viking helmets were typically simple, dome-shaped caps made of iron and leather.

• The Vikings were only savage barbarians who came to steal.

  While raiding was a major part of their activity, the Vikings were also skilled craftspeople, explorers, farmers, and traders. They founded Ireland's first towns, including Dublin and Waterford, and introduced new technologies, words, and trade routes to the island.

• All people from Scandinavia at the time were Vikings.

  The word 'Viking' really describes an occupation, like a raider or sea-farer. Most people living in Scandinavia during this period were farmers, hunters, or merchants who never went on raids and lived their entire lives at home.

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Methods used in this brief

• Maker Learning