Grades 4-6 at St. James were taught about Vikings and how they were famous for being fierce warriors, traveling on their longships. Their ships were designed to scare off sea monsters and people alike. They were early pirates, traveling from town to town along the coasts looking for goods.
The name Viking came from the Scandinavians themselves, from the Old Norse word "vik" (bay or creek) which formed the root of "vikingr" (pirate). -History.com
Students examined images of Viking helmets, weaponry, and ships and began to construct their sketches which they will later use pen and ink techniques to add definition and detail with.
Students created drawings of what the Vikings seemed like to them. Many drew Vikings with horned helmets, this idea actually started in the 1800's when artists drew Vikings in their paintings with such helmets on, to date there are no artifacts that would suggest Vikings had horned helmets. Other students chose to draw dragons due to the shape of many Viking boats.