World History

Day 1

Vikings

This is probably what most of us think of when we think of the Vikings:

Actually, the Vikings were a group of Scandinavians who raided, traded, and colonized areas in Northern Europe, Iceland, Greenland, and even North America beginning in AD 800. The Vikings were known for their violent invasions and plundering (stealing) along the coasts of England and Europe but they were also great explorers and settlers.

The Vikings mastered the art of shipbuilding. They created longships—which were fast, did well in the open seas, could be rowed up rivers, and beached along the shoreline.

Try to draw a picture of a Viking longship. Follow the directions.

1. Draw a long, shallow boat that looks sort of like a banana on its side.
2. Add ten oars out of the side, that they would use to row the boat.
3. Decorate the outside of the ship with any sort of repeating pattern.
4. Add a dragonhead on one end of the ship.
5. Add a wide rectangular sail to the ship. You can add more than one.
6. Decorate the sail with either red stripes or diamond designs.

When you are done look at the pictures in When Longships Sailed (pg. 94) to see how close you were.

The Vikings had a writing system called runes. Vikings believed that runic inscriptions, carved on stone or wood, were a gift from the gods and could be used to cast spells. They were also a way to pay tribute to people's accomplishments. Their alphabet was called Futhark. Each rune, or letter, represented a sound but also had a specific meaning of its own.

Write a sentence in runes that tells something you accomplished this year.

In 982, a Viking named Erik the Red discovered Greenland; eighteen years later his son Leif the Lucky reached the shores of North America and the Vikings actually settled there for a short time.

When did Columbus discover North America?

Who was the first person to discover North America?