Social Studies

Early Exploration:

Lesson 3 – Leif Ericsson

(Fill in the Blank version)

The BIG Question:

What are some of the main reasons people began to

explore their world?

The BIG Question:

How did the discoveries of early

explorers help people learn about

their world?

accomplishment

something remarkable

that has been done

Why did Leif Ericsson explore

his world, and what were his

accomplishments?

GreenlandIceland

NorthAmerica

ScandinaviaVikings

700 - 1100

saga

a long spoken tale repeated

from one generation to

the next

The Sagaof

Leif Ericsson

Eric the Red

* Viking named Erik the Red

* had son named Leif Ericsson

* got married in Iceland

* left Norway with father and moved to Iceland

* Erik the Red kicked out of Iceland because of trouble

* family lived there alone 3 years

* discovered new island covered mostly with ice

* took family out to sea

* went back to Iceland and told people about new land named Greenland

* built houses out of sod and driftwood

* discovered land had no trees

* 600 people set sail, but only about 350 made it there

Norway

* at age 20, Leif sailed to Norway to trade with King Olaf

* asked by King to spread Christian religion to Greenland in exchange for ships and goods

* became a Christian

* heard stories about a sailor whose ship was blown off course and spotted land with trees

* decided to try to find this land

Helluland “Land of Flat Stones”

Markland “Land of Woods”

salmon

grapes

* bought the man’s boat and set off to find the land he described

* found land with grapes – spent winter there – named it Vinland

* found flat land with trees and kept sailing farther south

* found land covered in rocks and kept sailing farther south

* found a shipwreck on his way back to Greenland

* the logs he found in Greenland and the ship’s cargo made him rich

* was given the ship’s cargo

* saved the crew

* nicknamed Leif the Lucky

* father died

* remembered as first person from Europe to set foot on North America

* exploring days were over

* became leader of Greenland

Newfoundland,

Canada

L’Anse aux Meadows (LOHNS oh meh dohz)

L’Anse aux Meadows (LOHNS oh meh dohz)

L’Anse aux Meadows (LOHNS oh meh dohz)

L’Anse aux Meadows (LOHNS oh

meh dohz)

Some Artifacts Found at L’Anse aux Meadows

Why did Leif Ericsson explore

his world, and what were his

accomplishments?

1000

Leif Ericsson

Reason for Exploration

He was curious about the unknown land and was looking for wood

and other resources to take back to Greenland.

Accomplishments

He was the first European to set foot on

the North American continent.