+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Children of Eric the Red Explore the West: The Norsemen Encounter Indigenous People of North America

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students read about Viking exploration and complete activities based on the Indigenous people they encountered. In this Viking exploration lesson plan, students compare and contrast stories, write a character sketch, and more.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westward With the Vikings!

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students identify Norse explorers, considered by many historians to be the earliest Europeans to sail to Newfoundland. Then they recognize the superior craftsmanship of a Viking sailing ship that would have been needed to withstand the...
+
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Folklore Festivities: Exploring Short Stories

For Teachers 3rd
Students explore the stories of "William Tell, The Husband Who Was to Mind the House, The Little Match Girl, and Three Words of Wisdomare" in the five lessons of this unit. The understanding of folktales is highlighted in this unit.
+
Interactive
Curated OER

Mythology Study Guide

For Students 10th - Higher Ed
After exploring the wonderful world of mythology, give your high schoolers this multiple choice quiz to assess their ability to recall pertinent information. There are 15 questions posed, and users can press "submit" to receive immediate...
+
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Yo-ho, Yo-ho a Viking's Life for Me

For Teachers 3rd
Students complete a unit of lessons on the Vikings. They analyze maps, read and discuss myths, summarize the main ideas from resource materials, watch videos, sing a song, draw a picture to illustrate Norse mythology, and define key...
+
Unit Plan
Curated OER

GODS OF THUNDER: Myths and Mythical Characters

For Teachers 3rd
Students explore the myths and legends of the Ancient Greek and Romans in the ten lessons of this unit. Students compare and contrast the myths and the cultures that created them. Norse myths are included in this unit.
+
Activity
Poetry4kids

Writing Riddles

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
What's got 60 eyes, 150 fingers, and an endless number of ideas? Your language arts class! Challenge young writers to come up with clever riddles with an online poetry lesson.
+
Unit Plan
Curated OER

The Vikings of Scandinavia

For Teachers 3rd
Students become familiar with who the Vikings were and what they accomplished. In this Vikings lesson, students locate the Scandinavian countries. Students will record information about the Vikings in a Viking notebook. Students will...
+
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Be a Viking!

For Teachers 3rd
Students research the history and culture of the Vikings. Students complete a variety of lessons in which they use maps, discussion, lecture, vocabulary lists, worksheets and quizzes to investigate the culture and traditions of the Vikings.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oral History: Interviewing Elders

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders examine oral history traditions. They interview family members about their childhoods and compare them to their own. Students use the collected information to make posters, letters, essays, or poems about their research.
+
Worksheet
Curated OER

History Trivia For Kids

For Students 4th - 7th
There are 40 history trivia questions and answers.  Students have to cut out the questions and the answers and try to match the correct answer to the question.  The trivia questions are all related to history but from many different...
+
Lesson Plan
Other

American Journeys: The Children of Eric the Red Explore the West [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lengthy lesson plan about the Norse encounters with indigenous people of North America by examining two sets of stories handed down through history by Vikings. [pdf]
+
eBook
Sacred Text Archive

The Norse Discovery of America

For Students 9th - 10th
Collections of bits and pieces of lore and fact relating to the exploration of Nova Scotia and North America. Author promises "Bone-chilling stories," of Vikings!
+
Handout
Other

The Norse Settlers in the New World

For Students 9th - 10th
Features a time line of the events of the Viking voyages to Canada. Identifies different events that occurred during this time period of early Viking exploration.
+
Website
PBS

Pbs: The Vikings Explore a Viking Village

For Students 9th - 10th
This PBS website has information and video clips of a reconstructed Viking Village that you can tour online.
+
Website
PBS

Pbs Nova: The Vikings

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site, a companion to the NOVA program on PBS, examines the Vikings and whether or not their reputation as "barbarians" is founded. Content includes a look at a Viking Village, the Norse people, Viking ships, the Viking alphabet, and...
+
Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: The First Europeans

For Students 9th - 10th
The first Europeans to arrive in North America -- at least the first for whom there is solid evidence -- were Norse, traveling west from Greenland, where Erik the Red had founded a settlement around the year 985. In 1001 his son Leif is...
+
Website
Emory University

Emory University: Odyssey Online

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Odyssey Online is a resource for both students and teachers as they explore world mythology in reading, writing, history, and art classes. Providing sections on Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and African mythology, Odyssey uses...
+
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: O Logy: Kraken

For Students 9th - 10th
The sea monster, Kraken, might have been a giant squid. Find out how Kraken fit into Norse mythology. Flashcard format.
+
Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Norse America, 861 1285

For Students 9th - 10th
A facsimile of a map from the works of Carl Christian Rafn (1837) showing Iceland, Greenland, and the eastern portion of North America. The map shows the probable areas of pre-Columbian migration and exploration of the Norse from Iceland...
+
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Atlantic Coast, American Beginnings: 1492 1690

For Students 9th - 10th
Primary resources for U.S. history and literature offer a French and a Norse account of the earliest documented exploration on the Atlantic coast of North America and encounters with native peoples. Includes questions for discussion.
+
Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: The First Europeans

For Students 9th - 10th
The first Europeans to arrive in North America -- at least the first for whom there is solid evidence -- were Norse, traveling west from Greenland, where Erik the Red had founded a settlement around the year 985. In 1001 his son Leif is...
+
Article
BBC

Bbc: Legacy of the Vikings

For Students 9th - 10th
The author explores the rich legacy the Vikings gave to England. For example, many words in the English language have their roots in Viking language and usage. This can also include use of certain English dialects.
+
Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Erik the Red

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article from Wikipedia explores what is known about the life of Erik the Red, the founder of the first Nordic settlement in Greenland.