A Journey of Attack and Invasion
Pupils will learn that throughout history humans have attacked other people and have invaded their country. People will learn how, over time, invaders often settle in that place. Pupils will focus on invaders and settlers in relation to Great Britain. Pupils will know that our country and our lives today are a result of past invasions.
Phase 1 Periods in history when Great Britain has been attacked, invaded and when invaders have settled.
Pupils will not learn about every aspect of the invaders life.
Learning is focused on:
- understanding the context and the reasons for the invasion
- how people reacted to the threat of invasion and to the invasion itself
- how Britain changed because of the invasion, including examples in our lives today.
Part A - The Roman Empire
Pupils will learn about:
- the Roman Empire by AD42 and the power of its army
- successful invasion of Britain by Claudius and conquest, including Hadrian’s Wall
- Britain’s resistance, for example Boudica
- how Roman invasion and settlement change Britain and its legacy today (selected aspects).
Pupils will also:
- know that the Roman Empire is outside of living memory and they will use a timeline to record significant events (single timeline for all of Phase 1).
- understand the term ‘empire’.
- know that the Roman Empire lasted between 27BC and AD 476 and is regarded as one of the largest and most successful empires in history. - learn about the countries (regions of the world) that were part of the Roman Empire.
- know some reasons why the Romans decided to attack and to invade Britain and the dates when Britain was part of the Roman Empire. - know that the people of Britain prior to Roman invasion are known as Celts.
- know that the Romans referred to Britain as ‘Britannia’.
- learn about some of the resistance to the Romans invasion and why the Romans were successful.
- learn about resistance to the Romans after invasion, such as Boudica, and how the Romans responded, for example, the building of Hadrian’s Wall.
- learn about the end of the Roman Empire and when the Romans left Britain.
- learn about the legacy of the Roman Empire on Britain today, including; our language, calendar, laws and the legal system and central heating.
Part B – Post Roman Empire in Britain – Anglo Saxon Period
Pupils will learn about:
- know that the period from the fall of the Roman Empire (5th Century) to the 15th Century is known as the Middle Ages, or Medieval Period.
- consider what happened to Britain when the Romans left. They will know that a lot of people whose past relatives originated outside of Britain would now have considered Britain as home and would have stayed, they had settled.
- learn that the withdrawal of the Roman army left Britain with little defence and vulnerable to attack.
- know different groups of people (Romans would have referred to these groups as barbarians) started to attack Britain following the departure of the Romans, first half of the 5th Century.
- know the names of some of these groups and where they originated from including:
- Scotti from Ireland
- Picts from Scotland
- Angles and the Saxons from northwestern Germany
- Jutes from southern Denmark.
- learn that their initial attacks were raids and over time they began to settle.
- know that we refer to these groups of people as Anglo-Saxons.
- learn, like the previous Roman invasion, the Celts tried to defend Britain from attack. They will hear of the story of Arthur and the battle of Mt. Badon. know that a lack of primary historical evidence means that the stories attached to Arthur are often referred to as legends.
- know that by 600 the Anglo-Saxons had established a number of independent kingdoms for example: the kingdom of Wessex, which comes from the west Saxons; Sussex is where south Saxons lived; and perhaps the most famous being Northumbria.
- know that the name for Britain changed following the invasion and settlement of the Anglo-Saxons and that Britain was referred to as ‘Angleland’, the place where the Angles lived and what we call England today.
- learn, as an example of the impact of the invasion and settlement of the Anglo-Saxons, about the loss of Christianity as the Anglo- Saxons worshiped pagan gods such as Norse and Thor.
- know that in the 6th Century missionaries, sent by the Pope, arrived in Britain. They will know that St Augustine was a missionary sent by Rome and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
- know that the early Anglo-Saxons were illiterate and with the loss of Christianity too meant there are very few written records for this period of history.
- learn how the Anglo-Saxons faced attack from the Vikings and how Britain was divided into regions – Midlands and the north ruled by the Vikings ( study the Vikings in Year 5).
- know that the Anglo-Saxon period ended with William of Normandy’s triumph at the battle of Hastings in 1066 and that this marked the beginning of Norman rule.
- learn about the legacy of the Anglo-Saxon period on Britain today, including how many of our shire counties originate from the Anglo-Saxons.
Phase 2 Invasion in the 20th Century – Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany
Pupils will:
- know that the period of Hitler’s German attack and invasion is within living memory for their grand-parents or great grandparents.
- record significant events on a timeline.
- know Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party and people sometimes refer to Germany’s attack and invasion as the Third Reich, meaning the Third Empire.
- learn about regions of the world which were controlled by the Nazi Party in the late 1930’s.
- know that Great Britain was attacked by Nazi Germany but was no invaded (exception being the Channel Islands).
- know that Britain was at war with Nazi Germany between 1939-1945.
- learn that other countries across the world joined together to fight Nazi Germany and its friends. These countries we refer to as the Allies.
- know the difference between a war and a battle and will understand that a war often consists of many individual battles.
- know that there were so many countries (61 countries) involved from across the word that it was called a world war - because it was the second time there has been such a war it is referred to as World War 2.
- learn why Nazi Germany was initially so successful in attacking and invading other countries.
- know the term occupied and will learn how countries (focused on France) tried to resist German rule.
- listen to stories of the French Resistance e.g Jean Nallit.
- learn about how Britain lost the battle for France and the evacuation of soldiers from Dunkirk – hear the stories of the fleet of boats sent and how this is event is often referred to as ‘The Miracle of Dunkirk’.
- learn how the Battle of Britain and the role of the RAF saved Britain from invasion by Nazi Germany.
- learn about the impact of World War 2 on Britain, including the impact of air strikes, focus on Coventry.
- learn about D-Day and V E Day, marking the end of World War 2 in Europe.
- consider how Nazi Germany invaded many countries but this occupation was relatively short-lived and they did not settle. Pupils contrast this to the Roman Empire and the Anglo-Saxon period.
- that the legacy of World War 2 bought many changes to life in Britain, including a desire to improve lives e.g. creating of the welfare state in 1945, women rights etc.
- that there was a desire for reconciliation and peace following World War 2 and they will learn about the creation of the United Nations.
