The Anglo-Saxons come to Britain
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how the Angles, Saxons and Jutes came to Britain.
Key learning points
- While the Picts and Scots attacked Roman Britain by land, seaborne Germanic invaders began to attack the east coast.
- The Romans left Britain in 410 CE due to problems elsewhere in the empire and they could no longer maintain control.
- With no Romans to defend Britain, Angles, Saxons and Jutes increased their attacks from the sea, pouring into Britain.
- These Germanic tribes wanted to migrate to and settle in Britain because of its rich farmland.
- Anglo-Saxons were able to defeat the Britons because they were skilled and experienced warriors with fearsome weapons.
Keywords
Migrate - to migrate is to move from one place to another
Seaborne - seaborne people are those that transport or travel by sea
Fearsome - someone who is fearsome is frightening or terrifying
Common misconception
The Anglo-Saxons are called that because only Angles and Saxons came to Britain.
'Anglo-Saxon' is a term historians use to describe all the groups of tribes who came to Britain from Europe around this time.
Teacher tip
There are many maps in this lesson. You may wish to spend some time focusing on these as historical sources.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In what year did the last Roman soldiers leave Hadrian's Wall?
Q2.What tribe did the Scots from Ireland combine with to attack Roman Britain?
Q3.Starting with the earliest event, put these events into chronological order.
Q4.Who were the Britons?
Q5.Which parts of Britain were less Romanised towards the end of Roman rule?
Q6.The Romans did not control most of Scotland. The main tribe who did were called ...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The year 410 CE marked the end of Roman rule in which area?
Q2.Match the words with their definitions.
people who travel or use transport over sea
to move from one place to another
frightening or terrifying
Q3.One reason the Anglo-Saxons left their homeland was because their was often flooded.
Q4.Why were the Anglo-Saxons invited to Britain by the Romans?
Q5.Which Roman emperor decided that the Romans should leave Britain?
Q6.Starting with the earliest, put these events in chronological order to show the Anglo-Saxons' arrival in Britain.
To help you plan your 5 history lesson on: The Anglo-Saxons come to Britain, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 5 history lesson on: The Anglo-Saxons come to Britain, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 history lessons from the Britain's settlement by Anglo-Saxons: what changed after the Romans left? unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.