History & D&T KS2 LESSON PLAN Design, build and evaluate a longboat

WHAT Use questioning and trial THEY’LL and error to fire imaginations LEARN and hone innovation skills, says Adam Parkhouse l About the design and shape of @parky_teaches Viking longboats

l How sails have The era of the is such a rich strand of the history been used to power travel on water in curriculum, and one of my favourite subject areas to different cultures teach. There’s such depth wherever you look: from the compelling mythology to the lasting impact they had on l To use trial and error to get a modern-day Britain. This lesson focuses on the famous better result Viking longboat, renowned for its sleek design and speed in the water, and brings an opportunity to add design l How to evaluate the impact of and technology into your history lessons. It doesn’t even changes to a design need a water feature to work – your desks and floors will become the treacherous north seas to explore. MAIN LESSON START HERE 2|MAKING AND 1|LOOKING AT SAILS TESTING Before your pupils Once you’ve completed your Explain to the children they become master epic journey on the north will become sailmakers shipbuilders, take seas, it’s time to move back themselves, and learn how into the classroom and for the to evaluate and improve them outside to get pupils to become shipbuilders designs by testing and a feel of the scale of themselves. First, they need making alterations. a Viking longship. to familiarise themselves Each child should Architects have with the purpose and design have access to a discovered boats of a sail. Show them pictures supply of A4 paper, of various sail designs in a toy car, a pencil ranging from 23 to history, and ask the children and some Blu Tack. 30 metres, so get to compare designs from The pencil will act as the your trundle wheels out and measure out the distance different cultures. Draw mast, and will need to be from prow to stern. Depending on where you are, you attention to the different sharp enough to poke through can use cones or chalk to begin marking the outline of shapes and number of sails the paper sheet. After that, it’s a longship. Children can work in teams or relays with a used. This can be used to time for them to build their generate hypotheses about ‘longboats’. It is really important metre stick and cones/chalk to get from one end of the why longboats only used to establish some ground rules boat to the other. Once your Vikings have mapped out one or how they worked in at this point as there is potential the boat’s perimeter, get them to embark and pretend comparison to, say, a for children to rush in and be to row in unison. or a . disappointed. You can do this

92 | www.teachwire.net “There’s such depth EXTENDING wherever you look: from the THE LESSON

compelling mythology to the l Suggest and provide alternative materials. lasting impact the Vikings l For example, the Vikings had on modern-day Britain” would not have used paper – why is fabric well suited for a job as a sail? l Look into the shields that line the outside of a longship. l How significant were 3|EVALUATING SAILS these shields to the Viking It is highly likely that pupils warriors? won’t be satisfied with just l How were the Vikings' making one sail, and this is shields made? the perfect opportunity to l How did the Vikings use talk about possibly the most these shields? important element of a l Design a prow for your design and technology longship to ward off project: evaluation. sea-creatures. l Give the prow a name. l What went well? l Learn how to carve the l What didn’t? name in . These are two starting points, l Use the journey as a but encourage children to writing prompt – saying narrow it down to specifics. goodbye to loved ones, travelling on treacherous l How will you know if the seas or your arrival at a second design is better? new land. l Would a different shape make a difference? When pupils are given a second (or third) chance, they will certainly rise to the challenge and try all manner of different designs, many of which will end up in the bin, much like any concept by giving them the following l What size of sail would give you the optimum speed? designer will no doubt tell you. questions to ponder: There are many possible l Will your boat tip over the l How curved or straight would you like the sail? endings to bring this lesson minute it gets windy? Why to a close, and all would work USEFUL is that? What difference might this make on how the as the learning comes from QUESTIONS longboat travels? the questioning and trial and error throughout. You could Pupils should then host an all-out race across the discuss and choose classroom, or run a time trial l Which design of yours what to do with to see whose is most effective. has worked best so far? their A4 sheets. If time or space is scarce, then l How do you know it After they poke the you can move the discussion works the best? mast through the back to the evolution of sails l Have you tried doing A4 sheet, they can attach as referenced at the start. the same design in it to their toy Either way, you will have different sizes? car with the Blu Tack. some curious minds leaving l Why do you think The sails can be tested on your classroom! longboats only had any reasonable surface by one sail? trying a range of different Adam Parkhouse was a l Would longboats wind speeds. This can be silver winner at the 2017 have worked better done simply by breath power Pearson Teaching Awards with two sails? alone or even with fans if and is a senior teacher at l How did you reach you have them. Cantley Primary in Norfolk. your answer?

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