New
New
Year 3

Changing agriculture in Britain during the Iron Age

I can describe how the use of iron impacted farming during the Iron Age.

New
New
Year 3

Changing agriculture in Britain during the Iron Age

I can describe how the use of iron impacted farming during the Iron Age.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Iron farming tools like the ard plough could be used in heavy clay soils and wetter conditions.
  2. This allowed a greater variety of crops to be grown, such as oats, and more land to become available for farming.
  3. Iron also allowed the creation of stronger tools, such as axes, meaning further clearing of the wildwood.
  4. With more farming, the number of enclosed settlements grew and land ownership became more important.

Common misconception

Farmers in the Iron Age had the same tools farmers have today such as tractors.

Ensure children understand that farming was done by hand with a few iron tools to help. New tools such as the ard plough and iron sickle made a huge impact on farming.

Keywords

  • Crops - plants grown for food are called crops

  • Ard plough - an ard plough was an iron tool used by Iron Age farmers to create lines in the soil for planting seeds

  • Sickle - a sickle was an iron tool used by Iron Age farmers to cut crops when they were ready to harvest

  • Wildwood - forest or woodland areas growing naturally are called wildwood

  • Enclosed - if an area is enclosed it is surrounded by a wall or fence

Equipment

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).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which era is the Iron Age part of?
Correct answer: prehistory
Roman Britain
Victorian Era
Q2.
When did the Iron Age begin?
2 million years ago
280 years ago
Correct answer: 2,800 years ago
2,000 years ago
Q3.
The Iron Age began when people started to use to make tools and weapons.
Correct Answer: iron, Iron
Q4.
What were the people inhabiting Britain during the Iron Age called?
The Neanderthals
Correct answer: The Celts
The Romans
Q5.
The Celts living in Britain during the Iron Age were mostly ...
brick layers
hunter-gatherers
Correct answer: farmers
Q6.
Match the word to the correct definition
Correct Answer:Iron Age,a period in history when people used iron

a period in history when people used iron

Correct Answer:Celts ,groups of people living in Britian and Europe during the Iron Age

groups of people living in Britian and Europe during the Iron Age

Correct Answer:tribes ,a group of people living and working together

a group of people living and working together

6 Questions

Q1.
A tool used to push through the soil to create a line for planting seeds in the Iron Age is called...
Correct answer: an ard plough
an iron sickle
an iron axe
Q2.
What was the iron sickle used for in the Iron Age?
to plant seeds such as oats
Correct answer: to cut crops when ready for harvesting
to prepare the land for planting crops
to build fences
Q3.
Iron tools made completing farming tasks and ...
slower
Correct answer: quicker
Correct answer: easier
harder
Q4.
What tool did Iron Age farmers use to cut down wildwood?
iron sickle
ard plough
Correct answer: iron axe
Q5.
Match the keyword to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:enclosed,an area surrounded by a fence, ditch or wall

an area surrounded by a fence, ditch or wall

Correct Answer:crops,plants grown for food

plants grown for food

Correct Answer:wildwood,forest or woodland areas growing naturally

forest or woodland areas growing naturally

Q6.
Order the changes to farming during the Iron Age.
1 - Iron tools made farming easier and more successful
2 - More land was needed for crops and animals
3 - Iron Age farmers chopped down the wildwood
4 - Iron Age farmers began to enclose their land and settlements

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