Welcome to the 2016 VIKINGS! Geography Quest

Transcription

1 Welcome to the 2016 VIKINGS! Geography Quest The Geography Quest is an annual PTG- sponsored event designed to let families explore geography together while learning history and how to use reference tools. This is for FUN! It is not another assignment or a contest. It is intended for students of all elementary ages. Some of the questions will be above the Kindergarten level. A smiley face indicates the easier questions; a black diamond indicates the challenging questions. Please help your child as they try and answer some or all of the questions. Remember the goal of the Quest is family learning. Please use these suggested goals for the number of questions to be answered by grade level: Kindergarten 1-10 questions 3 rd grade questions 1 st grade questions 4 th grade questions 2 nd grade questions 5 th grade all 56 questions While each child s Quest will be scored, this score is only for their own information and is not recorded anywhere or considered in any academic evaluation. Use this copy to record your answers. Electronic versions will be made available to each school. Please return the Quest to school by Friday, March 4. (Remove this cover sheet before returning the Quest. Be sure to include the student s name, grade and teacher s name. QUESTS WITHOUT NAMES WILL NOT BE SCORED.) If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at GeographyQuest@gmail.com. Have fun! The Concord Geography Quest Committee Nathalie McCarthy, Bonnie Hoover, Liz Wei

2 Suggested Resources at the Concord Public Library Berger, Melvin and Berger, Gilda. The Real Vikings. Washington D.C.: National Geographic, Corbishley, Mike. The Vikings at a Glance. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, Gallagher, Jim. The Viking Explorers. Stockton, New Jersey: Chelsea House Publishers, James, John and James, Louise. How We Know about the Vikings. New York Peter Bedrick Books, Margeson, Susan M. Eyewitness Books Viking. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Nardo, Don. The Vikings. Farmington Hills: Gale, Cengage Learning, Somervill, Barbara. Iceland Enchantment of the World. New York: Children s Press, Wilcox, Jonathan. Cultures of the World: Iceland. New York: Marshall Cavendish,

3 YOUR NAME TEACHER GRADE Hey, Meg, look what I found! You won t believe the size of this sword! shouted Eric. Not so loud, Meg said as she walked across a large room at the National Museum of Natural History and joined her classmate. Together the two admired a beautifully wrought sword, three feet long. Meg & Eric were visiting a traveling exhibit about the Vikings. While the rest of their class was in a different room listening to a history of the Vikings, Meg and Eric slipped away to explore on their own. Meg noticed some markings on the sword: Eric, what do you think would happen if I rubbed these markings on the sword? asked Meg. She gently rubbed the hilt. Within seconds, they heard, Who touches my sword? Startled, Meg and Eric whirled around. Before them stood a giant figure, one who had just been a mannequin in a Viking display. He towered above the kids with reddish hair and a long beard. He wore linen plants and a woolen tunic and a metal cone-shaped helmet. Who are you? stammered Eric. The giant bowed. I am Gulbrand, at your service. That is my sword you are admiring. The runes you just rubbed say trú ok vísdómr, which means faith and wisdom. A real Viking WOW! whispered Eric. Viking! That is your modern name for me, said Gulbrand. When I lived around the year 1000 AD, I was known as a Northman or Dane. For me, the word a-viking was something we did. It meant to sail away on a raiding expedition. We heard that Vikings were all ruthless raiders. What cities did you attack? asked Meg. Now, young lady, Gulbrand laughed. I see you need a better education about us. True, many of us were fierce fighters and plunderers. But most of us were farmers, traders, storytellers and craftsmen, like me. Please tell me, who are you? My name is Meg and this is my friend Eric. We are here to learn about Vikings. Can you tell us some facts? Of course. I would be happy to tell you all about our people. Gulbrand started and gave the kids a quick lesson about Vikings. 2

4 The Vikings were a people who lived between the 8 th 11 th centuries AD. Their homelands were the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. During their lifetimes, these people were known as Northmen or Danes. Not all Vikings went raiding, and many of the raiders only raided to raise enough money to feed their families. Before the start of the Viking Era, most of Scandinavia was small villages with local chiefs. These isolated chiefs wanted to demonstrate their power and this fueled the desire to go a-viking. Early Viking raids were very fast and small, and the raiders left as quickly as possible. This started to change in the early 800s when the Vikings would stay in newly conquered lands and raiding partied grew. Vikings warriors were unusually brave and fierce. 1. Draw the flag of Sweden. 2. Denmark is made of a large peninsula and over 400 islands. What is the name of this peninsula? a. Cape Cod b. Jutland c. Malmo d. Brittany e. Bergen 3. There are several countries that are generally considered part of Scandinavia. Which country is NOT part of Scandinavia? a. Portugal b. Iceland c. Finland d. Greenland Norway is mountainous country with deep fjords along its 13,600 mile coastline. 4. What is a fjord? a. A canyon near the ocean b. A long narrow inlet with cliffs on both sides created by glaciers c. A narrow landform generally created by stream erosion d. An area where tree growth is stopped because of low temperatures and short growing season e. A traditional Norwegian ice cream 3

5 The early Vikings lived as farmers on their Scandinavian homelands until land became scarce. The number of people grew faster than farms could support. Growing enough food to eat was a constant challenge in Scandinavia. This forced many Northmen to leave their homes to find new wealth and resources elsewhere. Around 800 AD, Vikings began to explore the coasts of England and Europe. These trips were either for trading and raiding or simply searching for new lands to settle. The Vikings were skilled traders. 5. Norway has little land available for good farming. Why? a. Most of Norway is swamp b. There are too many reindeer c. The land is too mountainous d. There is no fresh water for irrigation Below is a map of Europe. Most Vikings came from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Please label these three countries. Questions 6, 7, 8. 4

6 During the 3 centuries of Viking influence, they traded all over Europe, and as far east as Central Asia. They bought goods and materials such as silver, silk, spices, jewelry, glass and pottery. In return, they sold items such as honey, tin, wheat, wool, wood, iron, fur, leather, fish and walrus ivory. Most of the raids on England and Europe and even Asia were independent events, not coordinated attacks. Most attacks were undertaken by small groups, led by one Viking chief. In many cases, the Vikings killed local people and they could be ruthless. However, the Vikings were great at absorbing the people of newly gained lands. Eric wanted to know more about how the Vikings traveled. There were pictures on the museum wall of very long, thin ships the Vikings made and used. Can you please tell us about these boats? asked Eric. Of course! said Gulbrand. The Vikings were very skilled sailors and master ship builders. We built these ships called longships. Before we Northmen started traveling the seas, sails were not used in Scandinavia. We introduced a large woolen square sail to catch the wind. When there was no wind, we used oars to move our ships. Also, we were early users of a keel, the long strip of wood that runs along the very bottom of a ship. The keel makes the ship much more stable. The construction of our ships allowed Viking boats to glide over the waves, floating high in the water, rather than cutting through them as before. This allowed us to travel in shallow rivers. We could pull our longships directly up on land for a quick exit. We were experts in using the element of surprise in our raids. We navigated primarily by observing the sun, stars and the movement of seabirds and seals. 9. What other feature was common on Viking warships? a. Carvings of scary animals and beasts (often a dragon head) on the front of their ships to terrify their enemies b. A special area under deck, called a vio, to house prisoners c. Ice chests to keep fish cold d. Windmills to boost speed One of the oceans the Vikings crossed was the Atlantic Ocean. 10. Approximately how many square miles does the Atlantic Ocean cover? a. 25 million square miles b. 150 million square miles c. 2.5 million square miles d. 41 million square miles e. 750,000 square miles Each Viking was responsible for providing his own weapons and clothing, there was no standard uniform. A Viking warrior typically had a shield for defense, and a spear, axe and sword as weapons. What did you do after you reached these new lands? asked Meg. Did you stay there? Good question, Meg. Gulbrand continued, Our travels were often very far from home, and we had to set up temporary winter camps. Eventually some of these camps became permanent settlements. In 838, Vikings from Norway captured a city and settled there, a settlement named Dugh-Linn or Dyflin. 5

7 This town became present day Dublin, the capital of Ireland. 11. Dublin is at the mouth of what river? a. Potomac b. Seine c. Corrib d. Charles e. Liffey 12. If you boarded a ferry from Dublin headed due east toward England, in which major English city would you land? a. Sherwood Forest b. London c. Liverpool d. Sheffield e. York After settling in Dublin, the Vikings from Norway pushed farther inland and established other settlements in Ireland. They were primarily at the mouths of rivers. They captured Waterford and Limerick and Cork. 13. Match the Irish cities with the rivers they are on: a. Waterford River Shannon b. Limerick River Suir c. Cork River Lee Did Vikings sail past Ireland in their explorations? asked Eric. Where else did you go? Oh, yes, much farther, said Gulbrand. The Vikings from Norway pushed farther west towards Iceland, arriving about 870 AD. It was probably a seven-day sail from Norway for our explorers. Iceland was the Vikings first stop on westward explorations. By the year 1000 AD, Iceland was a thriving home to over 30,000 people who fished, tended livestock or farmed. Many settlers lived near Reykjavik, the current capital of Iceland. On their way to Iceland, the Vikings might have visited their settlements on two other island groups: the Orkney Islands or the Faroe Islands. 14. What country owns the Faroe Islands today? 6

8 Oh, yes, started Meg. I read about Iceland in a magazine. Even though it is next to the Arctic Circle and covered in glaciers, it is also full of volcanoes, more than 100 of them! I remember reading that article, too, said Eric. Iceland has so many volcanoes because it is centered over the Mid Atlantic Ridge. That is a mostly underwater mountain range. The ridge extends for approximately 10,000 miles! Iceland is the only place where you can stand on this ridge on dry land. Iceland has a volcanic eruption about every 5 years. Much of the land is lava rock where nothing can grow. The Vikings learned that the interior of Iceland is not a great place to live or farm. Today, most people live along the coasts. 15. The center part of the island is what type of land? Remember this is not a great place to farm, and is not along the coast. a. Sandy desert b. Very tall, green mountains c. Volcanic Desert d. Swamp In 1963, a new island was created off the coast of Iceland by volcanic eruption. Lava poured out from an underwater vent and this island was built from the ground up. 16. What is the name of this island? The earth s crust is not solid, but broken into 16 large pieces called tectonic plates. 17. Name the two tectonic plates that meet under Iceland. 18. Because Iceland is located above the spot where two tectonic plates meet, what impact does this have on the country? a. There is a national holiday and festival celebrating the meeting of these plates b. Iceland is home to some of the worst earthquakes in the world c. Iceland is growing by about 5 cm per year as these plates split apart d. Iceland s highest peak, Hvannadalshnjúkur, grows by 6 inches per year as these plates push together 19. Iceland is approximately 103,000 square kilometers or 40,000 square miles. It is closest in size to what other European country? a. Hungary b. Sweden c. Albania d. France 7

9 20. The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik, which means smoky bay. This city has what distinction? a. It is the world s smallest capital (population) b. It is the world s northernmost capital c. It is the world s only capital that was destroyed by a volcano (in the 1800s) d. It is the only world capital that begins with the letter R When Iceland was settled in the 900s, there was only one land mammal present on this island country. 21. Please name and draw that animal. As the name suggests, there is some ice in Iceland. Some is in the form of permanent glaciers. Runoff from melting glaciers creates most of the rivers in Iceland. 22. Approximately what percent of Iceland is covered by glaciers? a. 5% b. 10% c. 40% d. 65% e. 90% Below the surface of Iceland, some water is boiling hot! In some places, this boiling hot water comes out of the ground, creating a hot spring. 23. Can you think of something positive to do with all this hot water? 24. Iceland is at approximately the same latitude as what Alaskan city? a. Fairbanks b. Vancouver c. Barrow d. Juneau 8

10 Although Iceland is so far north, it is not as cold as many other places on Earth that are far north. 25. The main reason that Iceland is fairly warm is because of the Gulf Stream, the powerful current in the Atlantic Ocean that starts off the coast of Florida. TRUE FALSE (circle the correct answer) Meg saw a large portrait hanging on the museum wall. The man in the picture looked very proud. Who was this man? she asked. Gulbrand answered, That was Erik Thorvaldson, also known as Erik the Red. As a young man, his family was banished from Norway after his father committed a murder. They moved to Iceland in the late 900s. While in Iceland, Erik also committed murder and was banished for three years. 26. During this punishment, what was one of his major accomplishments? a. He developed a new type of boat that required only half as many rowers b. He was the first European to dye clothes a bright red color; this gave him his name c. He was the first European to settle in Greenland, the largest island in the world d. He successfully convinced other Vikings to stop raiding and plundering other countries and instead focus on making Norway their permanent home e. He was the first Viking to put animal horns on his helmet Greenland is the world s largest island. Below are five other islands that hold places 2-6 on the list of the world s largest islands. Put them in the correct order AND list what continent they are part of. The first one is done for you. Baffin Borneo Madagascar New Guinea Sumatra WORLD S LARGEST ISLANDS Island Name Continent 1. Greenland Europe

11 Eighty percent of Greenland is covered by a sheet of ice, about 8,000 feet thick at its thickest point. The land is permanently frozen a few feet below the surface. Only the top layer thaws in the summer. 32. What geographical term describes the condition of permanently frozen ground in subarctic or arctic areas? a. Sorbet b. Scrub c. Igloo d. Savannah e. Tundra Erik the Red had one son, Leif Eriksson. In 1001 AD, Eriksson and a group of about 35 other Vikings sailed west from Greenland and landed on what was probably Baffin Island. They were the first known Europeans to land in America. They spent the winter in a place they named Helluland or Flat Rock Land. 33. What body of water did they cross on this journey from Greenland to Baffin Island? 34. What Canadian Province is Baffin Island part of? Several months later, this group continued their journey. They named this next land they came to Vinland. One theory is that Eriksson saw large native berries called huckleberries and mistakenly thought they were grapes for wine making. There is a Canadian National Historic Site in this area called L Anse aux Meadows. It is the site of a Viking village founded about the same time as Eriksson s journey. This village lasted for about 3 years. 35. In which Canadian province is L Anse aux Meadows? Eric looked around the exhibit and saw a drawing of a very rough building. Is that where you lived? he asked Gulbrand. Yes, replied Gulbrand. That is a longhouse, where most Viking families lived. They were low, long buildings made out of earth, timber and rocks. The inside was one large room with raised earthen benches on either side. The hearth was in the center, providing light, warmth and cooking. There was no chimney, just a hole in the roof above the fire. 10

12 36. Please draw a longhouse. This is great! said Eric. Can you tell us other places that Vikings went? Of course, said Gulbrand. Vikings from Denmark went on raids and expeditions throughout Europe. France was a frequent target of our raids. One ruler even paid the Vikings 3,157 kilograms of silver to go away. This was the first of many bribes paid to keep the Vikings out of France. 37. How much is 3,157 kilograms in pounds? Please SHOW YOUR WORK. 38. The Vikings entered Paris, France along a major river from the English Channel. Name this river. Rollo was a famous Viking, also known as Rolf. He began leading raids on France in the ninth century. In 911, after many of these raids, a French king gave Rollo a piece of French land to rule over. 39. What is this land known as today? a. Brittany b. Normandy c. England d. Denmark e. Nice After spending many years in this part of France, these Northmen were then called Normans. Vikings sailed down the French coast, around Portugal and Spain into the Mediterranean Sea. 11

13 40. Through what narrow body of water did they sail from the coast of Spain to the Mediterranean Sea? 41, 42, 43, 44. Below is a current map of the Mediterranean Sea. Correctly and clearly label any 2 countries in Europe and any 2 countries in Africa that border this Sea. From the Mediterranean, several Vikings sailed up a river to sack the town of Pisa, now in Italy. 45. What river flows from Pisa to the Mediterranean Sea? Gulbrand continued, While the Norse and Danes explored Europe and west, our Viking relatives from Sweden often went traveling to the east. Typically, armed traders were the first Vikings to establish relations with new areas. They brought furs and hoped to trade for spices, silver and silk. They built fortified settlements, which then developed into towns. These explorers used smaller ships, shallow enough to sail rivers and light enough to carry overland when necessary. The locals of the area called these Vikings the Rus. They eventually settled in Russia. Most journeys started from Sweden, heading due east through the Baltic Sea until they reached a large lake. This is the largest lake in Europe. 12

14 46. What is the name of this lake? a. Lake Louise b. Lake Baikal c. Lake Ladoga d. Lake Geneva e. Caspian Sea 47. In what country is this lake? Once on land, the Vikings in this region used rivers as their main transport. On one particular journey, the Rus had to carry their boats from Kiev to the Black Sea in order to avoid seven dangerous rapids on an important river. 48. Approximately how far is this journey from Kiev to the shore of the Black Sea? Circle the closest correct answer. 40 kilometers 400 kilometers 4000 kilometers 49. Kiev is the capital of what country today? 50. What river connects Kiev to the Black Sea? a. Dnieper b. Volga c. Yellowstone d. Danube 51. The Black Sea is approximately 436,000 square kilometers. Approximately how many square miles is this? You MUST show your work. 52. Many countries in Europe and Asia border the Black Sea. Match the correct capital to the following countries that border the Black Sea. Romania Bulgaria Turkey Georgia Sofia Ankara Tbilisi Bucharest The farthest record of Viking exploration was Baghdad, Iraq. 13

15 Gulbrand added, I ve heard that by the 11 th century AD, Viking explorers held power from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. They enjoyed regular trading with Miklagard, the center of the Byzantium Empire. Miklagard means the Great City. Miklagard was also known as Constantinople. 53. What is the current name of Constantinople? 54. What is unusual about this city s location? a. It is on two separate continents b. It the highest major city in Europe c. It was completely destroyed by a volcano in 1775 d. It is the rainiest city in Europe This city is split in two by a body of water. The water is a strait, a narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water. 55. Name this strait. 56. What two bodies of water does this strait connect? It is a myth that Vikings wore helmets with animal horns. MEG! ERIC! the kids heard from another room. Oh no! whispered Eric. That s our teacher! We have to be going. Thank you so much, Gulbrand, for telling us all about your people. It s been a great day! The kids waved goodbye to Gulbrand and ran to catch up with their class. The Age of Vikings ended in The Vikings, led by King Harald (known as Harald the Ruthless), attempted to invade England. The Vikings lost this battle. Two days later, Duke William of Normandy (France) attacked England. He won, was named the new king, and earned his name William the Conqueror. After this defeat, the Vikings largely stopped exploring and raiding and became more integrated with the rest of Europe. The Vikings made a huge impact through their raids and colonization of most of Europe and established many important trade routes. Many scholars believe that the Vikings contributed greatly to make the world a smaller place by connecting people from half of the earth. Thank you for participating in this year s GeoQuest! 14

16 BONUS ACTIVITY Vikings from Gulbrand s time used a runic alphabet. The 16 shapes they used also were magic symbols with individual meanings and properties. Over the years, the runic alphabet has changed many times, and modern versions include more sounds to be consistent with modern alphabets. Use the runic alphabet below to decipher the following message Gulbrand might have shared with his new friends. 15