Viking Travel: Where, Why, How? - Handy Information for Key Stage 2 Students

Where:

Vikings were expert sailors and navigators and, thanks to their advanced ships, they were able to travel to many distant lands.

Vikings travelled to places as varied as Britain, Russia, and Iran. Astonishingly Vikings even made it all the way to Greenland and North America.

Why:

Vikings travelled to raid and gather riches and slaves. Lindisfarne Monastery, York and even Paris fell victim to Vikings going "Vikinging".

Vikings also travelled to trade, this is why Viking artefacts can be found in countries all over the world.

Finally Vikings travelled to conquer and settle. It is believed that farming conditions in Scandinavia did not provide enough food to support the population, forcing them to spread further afield.

How:

Vikings would travel on vessels called Longships (or Dragon Boats). Find out more about Longships here.

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Are you a teacher? Yes? Then you'll definitely want Imagining History to bring their 'How to be a Viking God' Interactive workshop to your school.

Our Award-Winning sessions combine role-play, storytelling, demonstrations and drama and performance to bring history to life for your students.

Our How to be a Viking God workshop will take your students on a fun and informative journey through the Nine Worlds in this unique introduction to the ancient myths and legends of the Vikings. Your students will:

• Identify the key Norse Gods by becoming the Gods themselves.

• Forge weapons with the dwarves to outsmart Loki.

• Discover the different realms and afterlives and what they can teach us about the values and beliefs of the Vikings.

• Defeat the Frost Giants with Thor (and find out why he wore a fetching wedding dress).

• Transform your school hall into a battlefield to help Freyja take the worthy to Valhalla.

Find out more here!

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Further Reading:

• Viking Longships - Quick Facts

• Viking Craft Activities for Kids

• Viking Trade

• Viking Navigation