During the Autumn Term in Y6, some of our work will be inspired by the theme of 'Were the Vikings heroes or villains?' The children will be learning about why the Vikings came to England, what place names tell us about where the Vikings settled and what rituals the Vikings used for burial.

Also this term, in English we will be focussing on writing instructions about how to train a dragon ; we will also be writing our own stories featuring dragons. In Mathematics, the children will be working on a variety of calculation methods - especially long multiplication and long division. We will also be looking at different types of fractions, and how to solve problems involving them. The children will be participating in Benchball and Hockey in PE, as well as learning about electricity and properties of materials in Science.

Where did the Vikings come from?

• The Vikings came from three countries of Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The name 'Viking' comes from a language called 'Old Norse' and means 'a pirate raid'. People who went off raiding in ships were said to be 'going Viking'.

The Viking age in European history was about AD 700 to 1100. During this period many Vikings left Scandinavia and travelled to other countries, such as Britain and Ireland. Some went to fight and steal treasure. Others settled in new lands as farmers, craftsmen or traders.

The Vikings in Britain

• Southern Britain (England) had been settled by the Anglo-Saxons. In AD 787 three Viking longships landed in southern England. The Vikings fought the local people, then sailed away. This first raid is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It was the start of a fierce struggle between English and Vikings. The English called the Viking invaders 'Danes' but they came from Norway as well as Denmark.

Norwegian Vikings or 'Norse' sailed to Scotland, where they made settlements in the north and on the Orkney and Shetland islands. Vikings also settled on the Isle of Man. Vikings raided Wales, but few made homes there. 

Why did Vikings attack monasteries?

• In 793 Vikings attacked the Christian monastery at Lindisfarne in Northumbria. They were pagans, not Christians like most people in Britain. A Viking robber did not think twice about robbing a Christian church. Christian monasteries in Britain were easy to attack, because the monks in the monasteries had no weapons. Churches and monasteries kept valuable treasures, such as gold, jewels and books. There were food, drink, cattle, clothes and tools too - tempting for greedy Vikings.

Where did Vikings settle?

• Some Viking ships brought families to Britain looking for land to farm. Good farmland was scarce in the Vikings' own countries. The parts of Britain where most Vikings settled were northern Scotland and eastern England. For 500 years, from about AD 900, Vikings ruled the north of Scotland, the Orkney and Shetland isles and the Hebrides islands off the west coast. In Ireland, Vikings founded the city of Dublin.  Viking areas in east and northern England became known as the Danelaw. Viking settlements brought new words into the English language, and new ideas about government too. For a short time England had Danish kings (King Cnut and his sons, from 1016 to 1042). 

USEFUL WEBSITES:

Vikings Fun Facts | Viking Facts for Kids | DK Find Out

KS2 Year 6 SATs Papers

KEY REMINDERS:

PE: Tuesday and Thursday

SPELLINGS: Set on Friday, completed and returned on Thursday.

HOMEWORK: Set on Friday, completed and returned by the following Wednesday - English and Maths alternately.

Please ensure all school uniform is clearly labelled.