Year 4 - Viking Traders are coming!

Year 4 has taken on some very exciting and important roles in Anglo-Saxon and Viking life. We explored their similarities and differences and identified the difficulties the Vikings faced when farming in Scandinavia and their need to trade with others.

We started our game by setting up our trading stalls in the market and selecting a wise leader to rule over the people. The leader allocated their farmers and traders and sent them off to work. The farmers had the challenging task of ensuring their produce was in perfect condition in order to gain as many gold coins as possible. The traders took their produce to market and tried to get the best price to take home to their leader.

They faced many challenges along the way, especially the Vikings! A harsh winter in Scandinavia meant that their tools were no longer suitable for farming and their livestock quickly diminished. Many Vikings searched for a better life in England resulting in a shortage of farmers and traders.

The children found this activity engaging and enjoyable due to the roles they took on. They were able to understand and discuss the need for Vikings to settle and trade elsewhere.

The next problem the Vikings faced was that the ships could not hold the vast amount of goods. Stay tuned for our improved Viking Longship designs.