A complete Anglo-Saxon unit of work – ready to pick up and teach

Anglo-Saxons is one of those topics that has a lot to offer: vivid primary sources, genuine ethical debates, and a clear thread connecting the past to the present. Getting that across in ten lessons, while covering the National Curriculum, is the tricky bit. This unit does that work for you.

It’s aimed at Year 5 but works across Upper KS2, and it follows an enquiry-based approach – meaning children aren’t just absorbing facts, they’re building answers to real historical questions across the unit. That structure gives your teaching a narrative arc rather than a list of disconnected topics.

You can sample the two enquiry summary lessons for free – including the full unit planning – before you commit.

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What’s in the unit?

The unit is built around two enquiry questions. Everything flows from those.

• Full planning for all 10 lessons
• All supporting resources and activities
• Differentiated tasks throughout
• Two enquiry summary lessons available as a free sample

Aimed at Year 5, suitable for Years 4-6.

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Enquiry Question 1: Who were the Anglo-Saxons and how do we know about them?

Lesson 1: Who were the Anglo-Saxons?

Children explore the British timeline and work out where the Anglo-Saxons fit in relation to other key periods. The main activity uses extracts from historical texts – children read them, draw conclusions, and discuss what those sources can and can’t tell us. It’s a solid introduction to historical thinking, not just historical content.

Lesson 2: Where did the Anglo-Saxons come from?

Covers the reasons for Anglo-Saxon settlement in Britain. The main activity is a differentiated jigsaw showing where the Angles, Saxons and Jutes originally settled – useful for getting the geography straight before moving into the social and cultural content.

Lesson 3: Enquiry summary

Children recap the first enquiry question and consolidate what they’ve learned through a cartoon strip activity explaining who the Anglo-Saxons were. Works well as an assessment checkpoint before moving into the second enquiry.

Enquiry Question 2: How did the Anglo-Saxons live, and how did they influence modern-day Britain?

Lesson 4: Anglo-Saxon society

Children compare and contrast the different classes in Anglo-Saxon society using a detailed text as a source. Good for building understanding of how power and hierarchy worked before moving into the more specific content in Lessons 5 and 6.

Lesson 5: How did the Anglo-Saxons punish crimes?

One of the strongest lessons in the unit. Children start by matching crime and punishment vocabulary to definitions, then study the real case of Helmstan – an actual Anglo-Saxon criminal – to explore how the justice system worked in practice. From there the lesson opens into a broader discussion: how has crime and punishment changed? Was the Anglo-Saxon system ever fair? That kind of ethical discussion is hard to manufacture and this lesson earns it naturally.

Lesson 6: Anglo-Saxon pastimes

A carousel lesson covering three activities: retelling the story of Beowulf, playing Tafl (an Anglo-Saxon board game), and solving riddles from the Exeter Book – with the option for children to write their own. It works in a single lesson but could also be extended into an Anglo-Saxon day if you want more time with it.

Lesson 7: Anglo-Saxon battles

Children explore five key conflicts – Edington, Ellendun, Stamford Bridge, Brunanburh and Hastings – and summarise each one into a battle card. It combines history with reading comprehension, and the battle card format gives children a useful reference point for the rest of the unit.

Lesson 8: What did the Anglo-Saxons influence?

Focuses on language and place names. Children explore the Old English words that survive in modern English, then use regional maps to find place names that have Anglo-Saxon origins. Six regional maps of England are included, so you can choose one that focuses on your local area – a simple tweak that makes the lesson feel much more relevant to your class.

Lesson 9: Anglo-Saxon defences

Children learn about the different defensive structures the Anglo-Saxons built, then design their own burh (a fortified town) on a grid, making sure it includes the correct features. A good mix of knowledge recall and creative application.

Lesson 10: Enquiry summary

The final lesson brings both enquiry questions together. Children build a knowledge wall – adding individual bricks for everything they’ve learned across the unit. This can also be started earlier in the topic and added to as you go, which works particularly well as a working wall that children contribute to lesson by lesson.

Ready to get started?

Download the Anglo-Saxon Unit →