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Leif Ericson
By Mary L. Bushong
1 Have you ever wished you could be an explorer?
Sometimes it is fun to think about the things you might see or do. Imagine taking a trip on the ocean with only a sail or oars to make the boat move. Leif Ericson, a Viking, came to the North
American continent over 1,000 years ago. He brought only one ship and thirty-five men.
2 Leif Ericson was probably born in Iceland between the years AD 970 and AD 980. His father was a well-known Viking by the name of Eric the Red. Leif's surname came from the fact that he was Eric's son.
3 He did not grow up at home like you. It was common in those days to send children, especially sons, to live with another family to be trained. Leif was sent to
Norway. He was taught to read and write runes. He learned to speak the Celtic and Russian languages. He learned how to be a good trader. He was also taught the old tales or stories handed down among his people. He learned about plants and weapons.
4 By the time Leif was twelve years old, he was considered a man. He was sent back home. Eric had grown richer and now owned many herds and slaves in
Iceland.
5 In the spring, an assembly was called. All the important people went, and Leif went with his father. Almost right away, Eric the Red got himself into trouble. The council banished or exiled him from Iceland for three years. Leif and Eric couldn't go to Norway, because Eric had been exiled from there already. Eric had heard of a new land to the west. Now he wanted to find it.
6 They loaded many of the herd animals, slaves, possessions, and the whole family into several ships. Then they set sail for the new land. The new land was called Greenland by Eric, even though it was cold and not very green. He hoped other families would later join them there. He named the land Greenland to attract them. The family stayed there through the time of their exile.
7 When they were finally able to return to Iceland, things were not going well there. A famine had struck the island. The pastures had been over-grazed by the animals. All the trees were almost gone. When Eric told people of Greenland, many people decided to follow him back there.
8 A short time after their return, a man by the name of Bjarni Herjolfsson http://www.edhelperblog.com/cgi-bin/vspec.cgi?FORMMODE=RC30_31_1&DSKILLOP...
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Page 2 of 9 returned after having been lost for a year. He had been trying to come to
Greenland, but his ship had become lost in a fog. When he had finally been able to see around him again, he found he was sailing along a strange coast. There was no ice. Trees grew thick and green. He did not go ashore but kept trying to find his way back.
9 Leif was excited about this new land. He wanted to go explore it for himself.
After several years, he was able to get a ship with a crew of thirty-five men.
About the year AD 1002, they set out on the voyage.
10 The first place they came ashore had many flat rocks. They called that place
"Land of the Flat Stones." It was possibly what we now know as Baffin Island, part of Canada. The second place they came ashore was a forested area with a white sandy beach. Some people think this was in Newfoundland on the
Canadian coast. They called it "Woodland" after the trees. Finally, after traveling further south, they built a settlement in a place they called “Vinland the Good.” It was an area where there was little frost all winter. Wild grapes and other foods grew there. Some people think this land was on the northern part of the eastern coast of the United States.
11 Leif spent the winter in Vinland before returning home. He never returned to
North America. Little is known of Leif after his discovery of the North American continent. He had converted to Christianity on his first voyage to Norway. He worked to spread that faith in Greenland.
12 October 9 is Leif Ericson Day in the United States. That day was chosen because on October 9, 1825, the first Norwegian immigrants came to the United
States.
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Name _____________________________
Leif Ericson
Date ___________________
1. Leif lived in what country until he was 12 and was trained there to be a trader?
2. Who was Leif's father?
3. A young Viking was considered a man when he reached what age?
12
16
14
18
5. What does the word "banished" mean?
4. Other than his family and possessions, what other things did
Eric the Red take to Greenland?
Grapes and figs
Horses and wagons
Gold and silver
Slaves and herd animals
6. What event sparked Leif's interest in exploring a new land?
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Name _____________________________
Leif Ericson
Date ___________________
7. Which of these names indicated a place of wild grapes?
Vinland
Woodland
Flat Stone Land
8. The "Land of the Flat Stones" was probably in what country?
9. Vinland may have been in one of which two countries?
10. If each ship could hold a maximum of twelve sheep, six people, and they had twenty ships, how many people, and animals could they take?
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Name _____________________________
Fill in the missing letter.
Hint: Cross off each letter from this list after using it.
t o e a l e e i n n e a a p a m s e r l v c n e y
1. explor____r
4. bo____t
7. sever____l
10. tr____uble
13. sta____ed
16. w____st
19. se____ond
22. wel____-known
25. spre____d
2. nor____hern
5. retu____n
8. run____s
11. betwe____n
14. sh____p
17. over-gr____zed
20. s____nd
23. asse____bly
Date ___________________
(Key 1 - Answer ID # 0500589)
3. es____ecially
6.
Whe____ Eric
9. a____hore
12. tal____s
15. ha____e
18. sur____ame
21. amo____g
24. fo____low http://www.edhelperblog.com/cgi-bin/vspec.cgi?FORMMODE=RC30_31_1&DSKILLOP...
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Name _____________________________
Complete and show your work.
Date ___________________
1. Austin had a wonderful imagination! When the teacher suggested that everyone choose a project for Leif Ericson Day,
Austin decided to compose a saga. He would be the hero of the saga, of course.
He would make up a story about all of his brave adventures. According to researchers Leif Ericson was born about
980 A.D. Austin was born in 2005 A.D.
How many years after Leif Ericson was born was Austin's birth?
2. Katherine and her mother prepared beef, cheese, milk, and oatcakes to serve on
Leif Ericson Day. Her Aunt Helga sent her the recipe for the oatcakes from Norway.
The recipe makes ten oatcakes and uses two and a half cups of oats. Katherine wants to make 30 oatcakes. How many cups of oats will she need?
3. Erik was a 10-year-old Viking boy who lived with his family and helped on their farm. It was his job to tend to the sheep.
Each morning he took the sheep out to pasture, watched them all day to keep them safe and to keep them from wandering away, then brought them back to the barn as the sky began to darken. If he left his house at 6:22 a.m., herded the sheep to the meadow, and returned to his house at 8:54 p.m., how long did he work?
4. Ryan and Connor were building a scale model of a Viking long boat for Leif
Ericson Day. The used a scale of one inch to eight feet. The long boat they built was ten inches long and 1.6 inches wide.
Based on their scale, what were the measurements of the real boat?
5. Kaylee was making a model of a typical
Viking farm for Leif Ericson Day. It would have a house, a barn, meadows, trees, sheep, cattle, goats, and a large garden.
She had planned to build her model on a
24-inch wide, 61-inch long piece of poster board, but her model grew too large. Her father cut a piece of light plywood for her model. It was four feet wide and six feet long. What is the perimeter of the plywood base?
6. Leif Ericson's ship was small. Most Viking long boats were about ninety feet long and seventeen feet wide. There were thirtyone men on his ship. If each man ate two pounds of food per day, how many pounds of food would have to be carried on the small ship to feed everyone for one week?
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Leif Ericson - Answer Key
Answers:
1 Norway
2 Eric the Red
3 12
4 Slaves and herd animals
5 The council banished or exiled Eric from Iceland for three years. It means he was sent away. He had to go live somewhere else.
6 Bjarni Herjolfsson reported seeing a new land with no snow and ice.
7 Vinland
8 Canada
9 Canada or the United States
10 a) 120 peoples b) 240 animalss
Leif Ericson: Math
1 1025 years
2 7 1/2 cups
3 14 hours and 32 minutes
4 a) 80 feet long b) 12.8 feet wide
5 20 feet
6 434 pounds http://www.edhelperblog.com/cgi-bin/vspec.cgi?FORMMODE=RC30_31_1&DSKILLOP...
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1. explor e r
4. bo a t
7. sever a l
10. tr o uble
13. sta y ed
16. w e st
19. se c ond
22. wel l -known
25. spre a d
Answer Key 0500589
Key # 1
2. nor t hern
5. retu r n
8. run e s
11. betwe e n
14. sh i p
17. over-gr a zed
20. s e nd
23. asse m bly
3. es p ecially
6.
Whe n Eric
9. a s hore
12. tal e s
15. ha v e
18. sur n ame
21. amo n g
24. fo l low
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