In history, we have gone straight to basics. How do we know history? Well, we analyse different sources – primary and secondary. Primary sources are artefacts that were created during the time under study, like a Viking helmet! Secondary sources are evaluations of primary sources, such as textbooks or documentaries. We learned how to analyse primary sources and draw conclusions about Viking society. First, we analysed the nature of the artefact, the purpose and then the significance. We could then draw conclusions about Viking society from what we had learned.
In geography, we have gone back in time, 4.5 billion years in fact! We are studying how our planet has developed since the Big Bang. We have had to divide time into eons, eras and periods in order to understand how huge deep time is. It is so big we cannot really imagine it. In fact, to give you an idea, humans have only been on Earth for a fraction of the time. A really small fraction. We are very new to planet Earth. Yet, we have managed to spread all over the place. Our earth is very special, its axis is even at a slant – this is why we have seasons!
In English, we have been studying Anglo – Saxon poetry focussing on the historical context of Beowulf. We were surprised to find that rhyming is a relatively new idea in poetry! Instead, Anglo-Saxon poetry contains alliterations, metaphors known as kennings and caesura.