Changing agriculture in Britain during the Iron Age
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe how the use of iron impacted farming during the Iron Age.
Key learning points
- Iron farming tools like the ard plough could be used in heavy clay soils and wetter conditions.
- This allowed a greater variety of crops to be grown, such as oats, and more land to become available for farming.
- Iron also allowed the creation of stronger tools, such as axes, meaning further clearing of the wildwood.
- With more farming, the number of enclosed settlements grew and land ownership became more important.
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
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.
Teacher tip
Play a game that shows Iron Age farmers marking their land with fences. Use a sheet of paper divided into fields. Player one rolls a dice and draws a fence around a corresponding number of fields in their chosen colour, player two repeats with their chosen colour. Who can own the most fields?
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which era is the Iron Age part of?
Q2.When did the Iron Age begin?
Q3.The Iron Age began when people started to use to make tools and weapons.
Q4.What were the people inhabiting Britain during the Iron Age called?
Q5.The Celts living in Britain during the Iron Age were mostly ...
Q6.Match the word to the correct definition
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.A tool used to push through the soil to create a line for planting seeds in the Iron Age is called...
Q2.What was the iron sickle used for in the Iron Age?
Q3.Iron tools made completing farming tasks and ...
Q4.What tool did Iron Age farmers use to cut down wildwood?
Q5.Match the keyword to the correct definition.
Q6.Order the changes to farming during the Iron Age.
To help you plan your 3 history lesson on: Changing agriculture in Britain during the Iron Age, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 3 history lesson on: Changing agriculture in Britain during the Iron Age, 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 Bronze and Iron Age Britain: how did life change during this time? unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.