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Cross-curricular Connections
Language Arts
Fiction
Stories
• “The Hunter Who Was to Mind
the House”
Myths and Mythical Characters
• Norse Mythology
At a Glance
The most important ideas for you are:
The Vikings originated in Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
The Vikings moved out from Scandinavia in different directions: those
from Norway sailed west and south; those from Denmark moved south;
and those from Sweden went east and south.
Skillful shipbuilders and sailors, the Vikings developed fast-moving,
highly maneuverable longships that could sail rivers as well as oceans.
The Vikings were interested in trade as well as in raiding Europe.
Eric the Red, one of the Vikings who ventured west beyond the known
lands, discovered Greenland.
Archaeologists have found what they consider proof that Leif Ericson,
the son of Eric the Red, explored as far west as the North American
continent.
Text Resources
44
Eric the Red: The Vikings
Take Greenland
Materials
Instructional Masters
24–25
The Viking World, p. 142
Viking Voyages West, p. 143
books with photos of the
Scandinavian landscape,
p. 141
overhead transparencies,
p. 143
overhead projector, p. 143
sentence strips, 1 per
student, p. 144
world map, p. 144
reproductions of the
outline of a Viking ship,
p. 144
construction paper
6" x 6" squares,
2–3 per student, p. 144
project rubrics, p. 144
What Teachers Need to Know
Background
The Vikings moved out from their home base of Scandinavia across the
North Atlantic to the British Isles, Iceland, Greenland, and finally North
America. Their presence in North America was fleeting, but they had a lasting impact in Europe, establishing long-term rule in England, France, and
Russia.
Scandinavia
The Vikings originated in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, the countries
known collectively as Scandinavia. Norway and Sweden share the Scandinavian
peninsula, while Denmark lies to the south of them on the Jutland peninsula. The
term Viking comes from vikingr, which means “pirate” in early Scandinavian.
Teaching Idea
Bring books with photographs of the
Scandinavian landscape to class.
Give students about 15 minutes to
browse through the books and then
share their observations of the landscape with the class. Talk about any
landforms that students see in the
photographs.
History and Geography: World
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III. The Vikings
Teaching Idea
Make an overhead of Instructional
Master 24, The Viking World, and use it
to orient students to the routes that the
Vikings took as they moved south and
east across Europe.
Point out that their voyages took
place about 400 years after the end of
the Roman Empire in the west, but that
an important trading partner for the
Vikings from Sweden was the
Byzantine Empire.
Name
The Scandinavian peninsula is bordered on the east by the Gulf of Bothnia,
Finland, and Russia; on the south by the Baltic Sea; and on the west by the
Norwegian Sea. Mainland Denmark lies between the North and Baltic Seas, but
the country also encompasses more than 400 islands scattered on these seas. To
the south, mainland Denmark borders Germany.
Much of the Scandinavian peninsula is rugged highlands with little fertile
land. In contrast, Denmark is very flat with good farmland. Thousands of years
ago, during the last Ice Age, glaciers moved south across the Scandinavian peninsula. As they moved, their force carved out lakes and valleys. The displaced soil
was dragged along by the glaciers and deposited in Denmark and other areas of
Europe farther south.
Sailors, Traders, and Raiders
Because of the limited resources of their homeland, the people of Scandinavia
had long turned to the sea for their living. They developed light, fast craft called
longships that were sturdy enough to strike out on the rough northern seas. Their
ships were capable of great speed and maneuverability.
Date
The Viking World
Study the map below. Then answer the questions that follow.
Beginning in the late 700s CE and until the 1000s CE, the Vikings launched a
series of raids against the rest of Europe. These raids may have begun due to population pressures and internal rivalries, and were certainly initiated to gain trading advantages. No town, castle, or monastery in the way of the Vikings was safe
from burning and looting. But the Vikings were also traders. By the end of this
period, the Vikings had opened trade routes from northern Europe to the
Byzantine Empire.
SCANDINAVIA
SWEDEN
NORWAY
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
SCOTLAND
IRELAND
RUSSIA
N
DENMARK
ENGLAND
E
W
S
0
500 Miles
0
500 Kilometers
FRANCE
ITALY
BLACK SEA
SPAIN
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
1. The Vikings came from Denmark, Norway, and
2. The arrows on this map show some of the major
Sweden
Viking
.
invasions.
Purpose: To read and interpret a map featuring the regions inhabited and/or invaded by the Vikings
Master 24
Copyright ©Core Knowledge Foundation
The Byzantine Empire in 565
Grade 3: History & Geography
Use Instructional Master 24.
Teaching Idea
Compare and contrast the Viking raids
and pillaging with the exploration of
North America by the European settlers. Note the similarities and differences in motivation and results of the
efforts.
In the late 700s, the Danes attacked and pillaged what is now England. Alfred
the Great, king of the West Saxons, rallied his people to resist. One hundred years
later, the Danes, under Canute, again attacked. For a time, they succeeded in controlling a large part of the country, but were again routed by the Saxons. In addition to England, the Danes raided the Netherlands, France, Spain, and Italy.
The Vikings from Norway raided Scotland, Ireland, France, and various
islands, including the Hebrides off the coast of Scotland. Like other Vikings, these
raiders from Norway also traded with local inhabitants and established their own
settlements. Dublin, Ireland, was a Viking settlement established in 839 CE.
Varangians (Vikings from Sweden) moved east into what is today eastern
Europe and Russia. Using the river systems and Baltic and Black Seas, they were
able to reach as far south as Constantinople. According to legend, the Varangians,
known as Rus among the local Slavs, are credited with the founding of the
Russian state. In 862 CE, Rurik, a Varangian chief, established a settlement at
Novgorod. Twenty years later, Oleg, also a Varangian chief, seized Kiev, which
became the center of a powerful state. The Russian state’s early rulers had
Scandinavian names, but after the people converted to Christianity in 988 CE, the
local Slavs became dominant. From this base, the Varangian and Slavic cultures
mixed, blended, and emerged as Russian.
Around 1000 CE, after the introduction of Christianity among the Vikings,
the raids against Europe ended. In various places like Russia, newly settled Viking
states were the norm. In 911 CE, the Viking chief Rollo settled in northwest
France. In exchange for protection against other Viking raiders, the French king
recognized Rollo’s right to rule what became known as Normandy. Norman is the
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Grade 3 Handbook