The Vikings in North America: Reading Comprehension Passage and Assessment

We now know that the Vikings first landed in North America over 500 years before Christopher Columbus, and this informational passage and assessment allows any class to have a one-day close and comprehensive look at the three most important early Viking explorers: Erik the Red, Bjarni Herjolfsson, and Leif Eriksson.

This non-fiction passage and assessment was written for Grades 5-8, can be used in either ELA or Social Studies classrooms, and is aligned with several key Common Core Informational Text Standards. It can be used in a number of ways by teachers (close reading, direct instruction in class, independent practice, absence work, homework, test prep, assessment, centers, etc).

The product includes:

1) A carefully written and engaging 1100-word historical passage called “Before Columbus: The Vikings.” The passage follows the timeline of the early Viking explorations (Erik, Bjarni, and Leif) in Greenland and North America and emphasizes that they were primarily looking for wealth and gain during their ocean travels. Flesch Kincaid Reading Level = 6.5

2) A set of 20 assessment questions, from basic comprehension to text-dependent short answer questions, written to align with these Common Core Informational Text Standards: RI.4.1, RI.4.5, RI.5.7, and RI.6.1.

3) A crossword puzzle for early finishers or to use as another form of assessment.

4) Answers to every question. For the short answer questions that require evidence clear examples are given to guide your discussion and evaluation of students’ work.

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Any claims of correlation or alignment to the Common Core State Standards are solely those of Mark Aaron and have not been evaluated or endorsed by the NGA. Mark Aaron is the sole creator of this product and does not claim endorsement or association with the creators of the CCSS.