Viking and Early European Colonies in North America BUNDLE

It can be hard to teach about the Viking Age and early European colonies in North America because there are so many people and places that students learn about. It’s even more difficult for English Language Learners and other students whose reading skills make it hard for them to access grade-level texts. The materials in this bundle can help! They contain writing, speaking, vocabulary, grammar, and research activities that help you teach these topics.

✓ Please note:

* The Columbus Day and Thanksgiving word search and crossword puzzle resources are available in Boom Cards” versions and are available HERE and HERE.

* The October and November holiday posters are included in the American Holiday Posters in Acrostic Poem Format with Writing Activities resource, which you can find HERE.

Bundle at a Glance:

★ What will students learn?

* Facts about the Viking Age and 10 European colonies in North America in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

* Vocabulary words related to the Vikings, European colonization, Christopher Columbus, and Thanksgiving.

* 81 words in English that are derived from Old Norse and some indigenous North American languages.

★ Who is it for?

* English Language Learners and other students in regular education Social Studies and content-based ESL classes who have a hard time comprehending grade-level texts about the Vikings and early European colonies.

* ELLs and other students learning about Columbus Day and Thanksgiving.

* All students who are new to the U.S. who are learning about American culture.

★ How does it help teachers?

* Students reading below grade level can use the materials in the Viking and Early European Colonies resources to learn information about these topics while other students read different texts.

* Reading passages in the Columbus Day and Thanksgiving resources introduce students who are unfamiliar with the holidays to their origins, how they are celebrated, and why they are controversial.

* The vocabulary words in the Columbus Day and Thanksgiving word search and crossword puzzle resources extend students’ learning about those holidays and all students can do the puzzles as fillers or homework.

* The acrostic poem posters teach immigrants and other students about 4 U.S. holidays.

* The resources about Old Norse, Nahuatl, and Algonquian words in English provide interesting background information to students.

What educators who have used these resources say about them:

♥ “Really well put together and organized Unit."-- William F, about this bundle.

♥ "I appreciated this packet more than others I have used. The resources were adaptable, accurate, fun and engaging, and comprehensive. Great purchase!" -- Kendra H, about the Viking resource.

♥ “Lots of good ideas to use."-- Mary F, about the Early European Colonies resource.

♥ "This was a good holiday resource to use before Thanksgiving break for middle level students." -- Marisa B, about the Thanksgiving puzzles resource.

More Info:

Students learn about the Viking Age and Early European Colonies by reading texts in chart form with information that describe important Viking people, places, gods and goddesses and 10 European colonies in North America. You can use these charts with English Language Learners at intermediate and higher levels of language proficiency as well as other students who are reading below grade level. Blank charts are also provided for the same topics and students can use them to take notes about those people, places, gods and goddesses, and colonies if they are reading other texts. The Viking resource includes lots of introductory and extension activities. The Early European Colonies charts are also available in a Google Drive version.

The Columbus Day word search and crossword puzzle resource also includes a short text written in easy-to-understand language that provides ELLs and other students with information about that holiday. Both the Columbus Day and Thanksgiving puzzle resources help keep all students engaged with the subject matter and reinforce vocabulary learning. Each word search puzzle has 3 levels of difficulty and all puzzles include answer keys. Both resources include Google Drive versions.

The holiday poster resources teach students about Columbus Day and Thanksgiving in a visually appealing way. They are especially helpful for ELLs and other students new to U.S. American culture. In addition, there are blank templates you can use to have your students write their own acrostic poems about those holidays. Instructions for using the posters to do a grammar task are also provided.

The information in the word origins resources helps students understand how Old Norse, Nahuatl, and Algonquian languages have impacted the English language. The materials are available in both color and black-and-white versions and come in flashcard and poster versions. You can use the poster versions to create great bulletin board displays when teaching about the Vikings and early European colonies.

Every resource includes pages with background information and suggestions on how to use the material. For teachers who work in Common Core states, some of the resources can help address various ELA Common Core standards and lists of those standards are provided. In addition, for teachers who work in WIDA Consortium states, the Viking and Early European Colonies resources include pages with sample WIDA Model Performance Indicators.

If you are teaching American history and have English Language Learners in your class or other students who need more support to access grade-level content, the resources in this bundle will surely help!

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What you get in this product:

In the Viking Curriculum Unit resource, for Grades 5-8 & Homeschool:

★ A table of contents for easy reference (1 page)

★ A Notes to the Teacher page with background information and suggestions for using the charts (3 pages)

★ Suggested sequence for using the materials in this resource (1 page)

★ A list of ELA Common Core standards addressed in this product (1 page)

★ Sample WIDA Model Performance Indicators (1 page)

★ Student Learning Objectives page (1 page)

★ Introductory activity (1 page)

★ Map activity (4 pages)

★ Reading passage, glossary, comprehension questions & answer key (4 pages)

★ Glossary for the charts (1 page)

★ 2 vocabulary tasks with rubrics & answer key (5 pages)

★ Cover page for completed charts (1 page)

★ 18 charts filled in with answers to questions about Viking explorers, rulers, places, gods and goddesses (18 pages)

★ Cover page for blank charts (1 page)

★ 18 blank charts about Viking explorers, rulers, places, gods and goddesses (18 pages)

★ Templates for charts about a Viking person, place, god, and goddess (1 each for a total of 4 pages)

★ Task cards with 14 general questions, 2 blank task cards, and answer key (7 pages)

★ Task cards with 6 “Would you rather…” questions and 2 blank task cards (2 pages)

★ Cover page for word search puzzles (1 page)

★ 1 word search puzzle, with 3 levels of difficulty, and answer keys (6 pages)

★ Crossword puzzle and answer key in 2 versions (3 pages)

★ The runic alphabet and 2 runestone templates, 1 in color and 1 in black-and-white (3 pages)

★ Hnefatafl game with instructions, game boards, and playing pieces (7 pages)

★ Suggestions for research, writing, and alternative tasks plus rubrics (4 pages)

★ Suggestions for extension projects and rubrics (5 pages)

★ 2 end of unit tests with answer keys (Test A is 4 pages and Test B is 5 pages for a total of 9 pages)

In the Early European Colonies resource, for Grades 5-8 & Homeschool:

In the PDF File:

★ A table of contents for easy reference (1 page)

★ A Notes to the Teacher page with background information and suggestions for using the charts (2 pages)

★ Instructions on how to access the Google Drive™ materials (1 page)

★ A list of ELA Common Core standards addressed in this product (1 page)

★ Sample WIDA Model Performance Indicators (1 page)

★ Blank charts with ten questions, labeled with the names of Early European colonies, two colonies per chart, and a cover page (11 pages)

★ Charts filled in with the answers to the ten questions about Early European colonies, two colonies per chart, and a cover page (11 pages)

★ Two templates of the blank chart, for teachers who wish to modify which colonies are studied and for students who need more space to write, and a cover page (3 pages)

★ 1 word search puzzle about the countries colonists came from and why they went to the New World, with 2 levels of difficulty and answer keys included (4 pages)

★ 1 word search puzzle about people and colonies and what they're known for, with 2 levels of difficulty and answer keys included (4 pages)

In the Google Drive Materials:

★ Cover page (1 slide)

★ Blank charts with ten questions, labeled with the names of Early European colonies, two colonies per chart, and a cover page (11 slides)

★ Charts filled in with the answers to the ten questions about Early European colonies, two colonies per chart, and a cover page (11 slides)

★ Two templates of the blank chart, for teachers who wish to modify which colonies are studied and for students who need more space to write, and a cover page (3 slides)

In the English Words with Old Norse Roots resource, for Grades 6-8 & Homeschool:

★ A table of contents for quick reference (1 page)

★ A Notes to the Teacher section with background information and 4 ways to use the words in this resource (2 pages)

★ A list of all 51 words on one page, for easy reference (1 page)

★ A guide to pronouncing the Old Norse words (1 page)

★ A list of 14 categories the words can be sorted into (1 page)

★ One set of 8.5” x 11” poster-sized words in color, with a blank template for adding your own words if desired (51 words plus 1 template for a total of 52 pages)

★ One set of 8.5” x 11” poster-sized words in black-and-white, with a blank template for adding your own words if desired (51 words plus 1 template for a total of 52 pages)

★ One set of flashcard-sized words in color, with a blank template for adding your own words if desired (13 pages)

★ One set of flashcard-sized words in black-and-white, with a blank template for adding your own words if desired (13 pages)

In the English Words with Nahuatl & Algonquian Roots resource, for Grades 6-8 & Homeschool:

★ A table of contents for quick reference (1 page)

★ A Notes to the Teacher section with background information and 5 ways to use the words in this resource (2 pages)

★ A list of all 30 words on one page, for easy reference (1 page)

★ A cover page listing 12 English words with Nahuatl origins, in both color and black-and-white versions (1 page each for a total of 2 pages)

★ A cover page listing 18 English words with Algonquian origins and the particular languages they come from, in both color and black-and-white versions (1 page each for a total of 2 pages)

★ 2 maps showing where the Algonquian languages were spoken, in both color and black-and-white versions (2 pages in color, 2 pages in black-and-white for a total of 4 pages)

★ A list of 7 categories the words can be sorted into (1 page)

★ One set of 8.5” x 11” poster-sized words in color, with a blank template for adding your own words if desired (30 words plus 1 template for a total of 31 pages)

★ One set of 8.5” x 11” poster-sized words in black-and-white, with a blank template for adding your own words if desired (30 words plus 1 template for a total of 31 pages)

★ One set of flashcard-sized words in color, with blank templates for adding your own words if desired (8 pages)

★ One set of flashcard-sized words in black-and-white, with blank templates for adding your own words if desired (8 pages)

In the Columbus Day Reading Passage with Word Searches & Crossword Puzzle resource, for Grades 5-8 & Homeschool:

In the PDF file:

★ A list of materials in the PDF and Google Drive™ files (1 page)

★ A Notes to the Teacher page with explanatory information (1 page)

★ Instructions for accessing the Google Drive™ materials (1 page)

★ Instructions for doing the online versions of the puzzles (3 pages)

★ Reading passage about the life and legacy of Columbus (1 page)

★ 3 word search puzzles with answer keys (6 pages)

★ Word bank for the crossword puzzle (1 page)

★ 1 crossword puzzle with answer key (2 pages)

★ Copyright, related products, social media, and credits information (1 page)

★ Cover page (1 page)

In the Google Drive™ materials:

★ Instructions for doing the online versions of the puzzles (3 slides)

★ Reading passage about the life and legacy of Columbus (1 slide)

★ 3 word search puzzles with answer keys (6 slides)

★ Word bank for the crossword puzzle (1 slide)

★ 1 crossword puzzle with answer key (2 slides)

★ Cover page (1 slide)

In the Thanksgiving Word Searches & Crossword Puzzle resource, for Grades 4-8 & Homeschool:

In the PDF file:

★ A list of materials in the PDF and Google Drive™ files (1 page)

★ A Notes to the Teacher page with explanatory information (1 page)

★ Instructions for accessing the Google Drive™ materials (1 page)

★ Instructions for doing the online versions of the puzzles (3 pages)

★ 3 word search puzzles with answer keys (6 pages)

★ Word bank for the crossword puzzle (1 page)

★ 1 crossword puzzle with answer key (2 pages)

★ Copyright, related products, social media, and credits information (1 page)

★ Cover page (1 page)

In the Google Drive™ materials:

★ Instructions for doing the online versions of the puzzles (3 slides)

★ 3 word search puzzles with answer keys (6 slides)

★ Word bank for the crossword puzzle (1 slide)

★ 1 crossword puzzle with answer key (2 slides)

★ Cover page (1 page)

In the American Holiday Posters for October & November with Writing & Grammar Tasks resource, for Grades 3-8 & Homeschool:

★ A table of contents for quick reference (1 page)

★ A Notes to the Teacher page with explanatory information (2 pages)

★ A list of the ELA Common Core standards addressed (1 page)

★ 5 ideas for discussion practice about the holidays (1 page)

★ 2 writing tasks for students (2 pages)

★ Instructions for implementing the grammar activity (1 page)

★ A picture showing how to assemble the posters (1 page)

★ Columbus Day poster, plus cover page with answer key for grammar activity and template for writing an acrostic poem about the holiday (6 pages)

★ Halloween poster, plus cover page with answer key for grammar activity and template for writing an acrostic poem about the holiday (6 pages)

★ Veterans Day poster, plus cover page with answer key for grammar activity and template for writing an acrostic poem about the holiday (6 pages)

★ Thanksgiving poster, plus cover page with answer key for grammar activity and template for writing an acrostic poem about the holiday (11 pages)

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Other products you might like:

★ The Corn Raid Novel Study: A Story of Jamestown

★ End of Year American History (Late 1400s-1800) Persuasive Writing Activity

★ Columbus Day: Reading Passage & Vocabulary Task Boom Cards™

★ Thanksgiving Vocabulary Boom Cards™

★ Write Summaries, Edit Paragraphs, Organize Writing Into Outlines & Essays BUNDLE

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