The Dark Ages? A look at the Anglo-Saxons through drama

Drama is a great way to breathe life into a study of the Anglo-Saxons. Whether students are putting themselves into the mind of an archaeologist making a significant find from this period of time, or into the shoes of an Anglo-Saxon king trying to defend his land from the Vikings, there is much rich material to inspire exciting, creative work. This scheme aims to bring this period out of the textbook and to life in the classroom.

The scheme covers the Anglo-Saxon topic very broadly, and while it is expected that students will come to the scheme with prior knowledge of the subject, there are also opportunities to invest the themed games and exercises with additional teaching.

The scheme has been written in line with the KS2 National Curriculum drama objectives, and with reference to the National Curriculum history programmes of study.

Learning objectives
By the end of this scheme the students will:

• Have a broad understanding of Anglo-Saxon village life, culture and hierarchy
• Have used a range of dramatic techniques to explore the Anglo-Saxon period of history, as well as the archaeology that has helped to inform our knowledge of the era
• Have some understanding of Beowulf, the most significant work of Anglo-Saxon literature
• Have experience of devising in small groups, to create short pieces of drama for presentation
• Have experience of group discussion, and of evaluating their own work and that of each other.

Number of lessons: 7