New
New
Year 5

Anglo-Saxon kingdoms

I can describe how early Anglo-Saxon Britain was made up of different kingdoms.

New
New
Year 5

Anglo-Saxon kingdoms

I can describe how early Anglo-Saxon Britain was made up of different kingdoms.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In places where the Anglo-Saxons defeated the Britons, they built their own villages and established new kingdoms.
  2. No single king ruled over all the Anglo-Saxons.
  3. The Angles, Saxons and Jutes took over and settled in different areas.
  4. The Anglo-Saxons established seven kingdoms – Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex and Wessex.
  5. These kingdoms waxed and waned in their power over one another.

Keywords

  • Settlement - a settlement is a place where people choose to begin a community

  • Establish - to establish something means to set it up to last a very long time

  • Kingdom - a kingdom is a country or area ruled by a king or queen

Common misconception

Some pupils may believe the kingdoms were part of one united kingdom of England.

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had their own ruler and England was not a united kingdom or nation at this point.

You may wish to include some local examples of Anglo-Saxon settlements in the first section about the arrival of the different tribes.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which Empire ruled over Britain before the Anglo-Saxons arrived?
Viking Empire
Correct answer: Roman Empire
Ancient Greek Empire
Islamic Caliphate
Q2.
Why did the Anglo-Saxons choose to come to Britain?
Correct answer: Their farmland kept flooding.
There was gold buried there.
They kept getting attacked by the Romans.
They wanted to spread their religion.
Q3.
Some Anglo-Saxons were invited to Britain by the Romans to fight off the Scots and a group called...
Correct Answer: The Picts, the picts, Picts, picts
Q4.
Emperor Honorius decided that the Romans should do what?
invade Ireland
call a truce with the Scots and Picts
Correct answer: leave Britain
attack the Anglo-Saxons
Q5.
Why did the Romans choose to invite the Anglo-Saxons to help them fight?
Correct answer: The Anglo-Saxons were fearsome fighters.
They had been allies for a long time.
They knew the Anglo-Saxons did not like who the Romans were fighting.
They both believed in the same religion.
Q6.
Anglo-Saxons is a term that historians use to discuss the Angles, Saxons and what other tribe from Europe?
the Romans
the Celts
the Goths
Correct answer: the Jutes

6 Questions

Q1.
What is the term given to a place that is ruled by a king or queen?
Correct Answer: A Kingdom, Kingdom, a kingdom, kingdom
Q2.
What tribes of people from Europe began to arrive in Britain in the early 400s CE?
Correct answer: Angles
Correct answer: Saxons
Picts
Goths
Correct answer: Jutes
Q3.
What were the key features the tribes were looking for in order to establish communities when they arrived in Britain?
tall, rocky mountains
Correct answer: fertile farmland
Correct answer: sources of water like rivers
thick, dense forests
vast caves
Q4.
Where in Britain did the Angles mainly choose to settle in?
the south-west
Kent
Correct answer: the east coast
Wales
Q5.
Which of the following was not an Anglo-Saxon kingdom?
Mercia
Wessex
Essex
Northumbria
Correct answer: Powys
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort these events into chronological order.
1 - The Romans left Britain.
2 - Angles, Saxons and Jutes arrived in Britain.
3 - Anglo-Saxon tribes began to establish communities in Britain.
4 - The Anglo-Saxon communities became distinct kingdoms.

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