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Leif Ericson
By Mary L. Bushong
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.
1
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.
2
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.
3
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.
4
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.
5
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.
6
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.
7
8
A short time after their return, a man by the name of Bjarni Herjolfsson
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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.
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.
9
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.
10
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.
11
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.
12
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Date ___________________
Name _____________________________
Leif Ericson
1. Leif lived in what country until he
2. Who was Leif's father?
was 12 and was trained there to be
a trader?
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 _____________________________
Date ___________________
Leif Ericson
7. Which of these names indicated a
place of wild grapes?
Vinland
Woodland
Flat Stone Land
9. Vinland may have been in one of
which two countries?
8. The "Land of the Flat Stones" was
probably in what country?
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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Date ___________________
Name _____________________________
(Key 1 - Answer ID # 0500589)
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.
2.
explor____r
4.
3.
nor____hern
5.
bo____t
7.
6.
retu____n
8.
sever____l
10.
run____s
tr____uble
betwe____n
sta____ed
sh____p
w____st
18.
20.
sur____ame
21.
s____nd
23.
wel____-known
ha____e
over-gr____zed
se____ond
22.
tal____s
15.
17.
19.
a____hore
12.
14.
16.
Whe____ Eric
9.
11.
13.
es____ecially
amo____g
24.
asse____bly
fo____low
25.
spre____d
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Name _____________________________
Date ___________________
Leif Ericson: Math
Complete and show your work.
1. Austin had a wonderful imagination! When 2. Katherine and her mother prepared beef,
the teacher suggested that everyone
cheese, milk, and oatcakes to serve on
choose a project for Leif Ericson Day,
Leif Ericson Day. Her Aunt Helga sent her
Austin decided to compose a saga. He
the recipe for the oatcakes from Norway.
would be the hero of the saga, of course.
The recipe makes ten oatcakes and uses
He would make up a story about all of his
two and a half cups of oats. Katherine
brave adventures. According to
wants to make 30 oatcakes. How many
researchers Leif Ericson was born about
cups of oats will she need?
980 A.D. Austin was born in 2005 A.D.
How many years after Leif Ericson was
born was Austin's birth?
3. Erik was a 10-year-old Viking boy who
4. Ryan and Connor were building a scale
lived with his family and helped on their
model of a Viking long boat for Leif
farm. It was his job to tend to the sheep.
Ericson Day. The used a scale of one inch
Each morning he took the sheep out to
to eight feet. The long boat they built was
pasture, watched them all day to keep
ten inches long and 1.6 inches wide.
them safe and to keep them from
Based on their scale, what were the
wandering away, then brought them back
measurements of the real boat?
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?
5. Kaylee was making a model of a typical
6. Leif Ericson's ship was small. Most Viking
Viking farm for Leif Ericson Day. It would
long boats were about ninety feet long and
have a house, a barn, meadows, trees,
seventeen feet wide. There were thirtysheep, cattle, goats, and a large garden.
one men on his ship. If each man ate two
She had planned to build her model on a
pounds of food per day, how many pounds
24-inch wide, 61-inch long piece of poster
of food would have to be carried on the
board, but her model grew too large. Her
small ship to feed everyone for one week?
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?
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Leif Ericson - Answer Key
Answers:
1 Norway
2 Eric the Red
3
12
Slaves and herd animals
4
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
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Answer Key 0500589
Key # 1
1.
2.
explorer
4.
3.
northern
5.
boat
7.
6.
return
8.
several
10.
runes
trouble
between
stayed
ship
west
over-grazed
second
surname
21.
send
23.
well-known
have
18.
20.
22.
tales
15.
17.
19.
ashore
12.
14.
16.
When Eric
9.
11.
13.
especially
among
24.
assembly
follow
25.
spread
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