English 12 Demo

You've read the Saga of Erik the Red and the voyage of his son Leif Erikson. (If not, you should do that now. It may be helpful to scan over the names of people and places because they can be difficult to pronounce. Look for some specific references that will help you to answer the questions below. Searching the text for the word Iceland will help you with the first question.)

Answer the following questions before moving on with this unit:

1. How did Erik the Red end up in Iceland? (Saga of Erik the Red)

2. Why does Erik quit his seafaring ways and turn things over to his son? (Saga of Leif Erikson)

3. Describe the first encounter with the Native Americans. What were they called by the Norse? Why?  (Saga of Leif Erikson)

4. Why do you suppose that Columbus has typically been credited with being the first European in North America when others beat him there by around 500 years? And why do we call it a discovery when there were approximately twenty million people living here already? What should we say instead?

5. Do some quick searches, why didn't the Norse settlement in North America last? Based on what you've found, what do you think happened to them? Why do you think they eventually left settlements in Greenland as well?