The issues and questions raised in Dan Grossman's dispatch from Greenland provide an excellent foundation for teaching students about Viking history, Inuit society, and the science of climatology. WBUR presents these teacher guides free of charge as an educational resource. If you decide to use these guides in your classroom, please send us an email at webmaster@wbur.bu.edu and let us know what you found useful and what could be improved for future projects.

•  Unsolved Viking Mystery. What happened to Greenland's Viking colony? Research the mystery and debate the theories in your classroom.
  
  
•  Frozen in Time: Creating Ice Cores. Students design their own climate timeline and construct ice cores to match their imagined history.
  
  
•  Inuit Culture. Produce your own radio interview exploring Greenland's native Inuit culture and language.

These guides are designed for grades 6-8, but they can be used as a starting point for students of any age. Beyond the three teacher guides we have provided, you can use the WBUR Greenland site for all kinds of classroom learning activities.

•  Write and illustrate a children's story based on the photographs of the wildlife or people of Greenland. This might include a story from the animal's point of view, or a "day in the life" type story of an Inuit child.
  
  
•  View the photographs of the Viking ships. After viewing the ships, visit the Viking Ships Home page on the University of Pittsburgh Web site to learn more about the Vikings.
  
  
•  View painter Martial Boss' paintings of Greenland animals and landscapes in the wildlife section of the site. Choose a photograph from one of the galleries and, using the subject matter of the photograph, create a painting.

Evaluation:

After conducting the activities in your classroom, we offer the following evaluation criteria. The guides are designed to conform with the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning Consortia standards; more information is available at www.mcrel.org.

Teacher Evaluation of Learning
 • Growth in cognitive skills
 • Interactions that occur during group work
 • Growth in social skills
 • Growth in attitudes toward learning.

Student Evaluation of Learning
 • What did I learn about Greenland from this unit?
 • What do I still want to learn about this topic?
 • What part of my work on this unit gave me a sense of achievement?
 • What would I do differently next time?
 • In what ways was I able to work with others on this unit?
 • What did I like most about this unit?

Contact Us

We'd appreciate hearing from you, please send us an email at webmaster@wbur.bu.edu to tell us about your experience using the WBUR Greenland Teacher Guides in you classroom. WBUR's Greenland Teacher Guides were prepared by Bay Breeze Educational Resources.