2. Key Stage 3 Norman Conquest of England- What did the Anglo-Saxons do all day?

This is the second lesson in the Norman Conquest series of lessons, which explores how William the Conqueror was able to take control of England.

This lesson aims to give students a basic understanding of what the Anglo-Saxons did in their day-to-day lives looking at what they produced while farming. It also gives students and understanding of why England was an attractive place to invade in 1066.

This resource is a power point including the full lesson and all resources needed. It includes:

• A topic title slide with a trivia question to get students thinking while they write the title and date
• clear smart differentiated learning objectives
• starter- students must work together to try and solve the riddle
• Activity 1- explain to students that the majority of people in Anglo-Saxon England would be farmers and would work the land to produce food for their lord/thegn as rent. Students are given a list of ingredients used by Anglo-Saxon farmers and must work out what they made from them.
• Activity 2- students are given a map with symbols showing why England was a wealthy country in 1066. They must label their map by matching the information to the symbol on the map.
• Activity 3- students are given 3 pieces of information about how Anglo-Saxon England was governed- the social hierarchy, The Witan and Justice. As a group, students must choose one and create a role play showing how it helped the king to run the country.
• Plenary- students must try to solve the riddle
• Homework. students are asked to create or find their own riddle to share next lesson.