by Fran Allfrey and Beth Whalley
In Old English literature, poets and writers are said to have a ‘word hoard’: a store of vocabulary that they can ‘unlock’ to create their work.
Flashcards are an easy and fun way for pupils to build their ‘Word Hoard’.
Pupils can work alone or in groups to match up the Old English and modern English words. Numbers and images on the Old English word cards make it easier to check vocabulary as a class when the children have finished.
You can consolidate this activity by asking children to write down the words as a paired up list. You can see an example of this on the Word Hoard Worksheet.
You can find more words on Hana Videen’s Old English WordHord website.
These templates can be used as they are, or adapted for your local area. You can adapt them yourself or we can adapt them for you for a small fee.
Teaching Old English in schools 