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EDUCATION WORLD'S MILLENNIUM SERIES PRESENTS...
The Middle Ages: Twelve Activities Take Students Back in Time!
Learn how a unit on the Middle Ages inspired great writing among fourth and fifth graders in Chandler, Arizona. Included: 12 great activities for teaching about the Middle Ages.
"Hoofbeats thunder on the hard dirt. The big heavy armor clacks as one knight fights another. The king watches with interest as two lances smash together at full force. One man falls to the hard dirt ground. That's what happens at the scene of a joust."
-- Brian, Brisas Elementary School, Chandler, Arizona
That's the sort of writing that came out of students at Brisas Elementary School in Chandler, Arizona, when the fourth- and fifth-grade students in Ruth Sunda's gifted resource language arts class wrote about Life in the Middle Ages.
Recently, Sunda shared with Education World some of the strategies she used to help her students create research reports that avoided the dry prose typical of the genre.
TRACKING DOWN INFORMATION
Sunda's students began their study of the Middle Ages -- and their study of great writing -- by reading The Door in the Wall, Marguerite de Angeli's Newbery Award-winning book about a boy growing up in medieval Europe.
"I also made up a booklet of information about the Middle Ages," Sunda told Education World. "The booklet briefly touched on a variety of medieval topics and provided a background for the students' further study and personal research."
After reading the book and studying the booklet, the students brainstormed a list of appropriate topics, and each student chose one to research. Most of the research was done using school and public library books, although students did use the Web to search for some information and to find pictures.
"Unfortunately, in this project, I didn't require my students to cite their sources," Sunda pointed out in an aside to teachers. "Since then, however, having discovered the responsibility that comes with publishing to the Web, I do require a sources list."
ATTENTION-GETTING LEADS!
After the students completed their research, the writing process began!
"The students were free to present the written information in whatever manner they chose, "Sunda said. "I only asked that they have an attention-getting lead -- No 'My report is about ...'s!'
"I work very hard on teaching students how to write an interesting lead -- not just for narrative/descriptive writing, but also for expository writing," she added.
"First we look at encyclopedia articles, which typically have pretty boring introductions. Then I have students look at the first page of the various books they used for their research, to see if any of them have more interesting leads," Sunda said.
"Although it can be hard to find good sources as inspiration, there are some," according to Sunda. "Russell Freedman's lead in Lincoln: A Photobiography is a good one to show that factual information can begin with a strong image. Jean Fritz has some great beginnings too in her historical books, such as Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams?"
After the students studied those resources, Sunda led them in a discussion of ways to catch a reader's attention. Together, the class decided that specific, concrete images and interesting contrasts or intriguing facts make great leads. Leads that sound like the beginning of a storybook story -- in other words, leads that include dramatic action, dialogue, a character's thoughts, or a strong description of setting, character, or mood -- make great story openings too.
"I have a small -- but growing! -- file of great leads written by former students," Sunda said. "It's always helpful for the students to see what other kids their age can do!"
THE LEARNING ISN'T OVER YET!
In this project, however, the learning wasn't finished when writing was done.
"Another big benefit of the project was learning to prepare Web pages," Sunda told Education World. "We used no authoring software, I taught them basic HTML tagging. That requires a great deal of patience and proofreading!
"Students prepared their own pages and found images for them," added Sunda. "I gathered a selection of backgrounds, and they chose what they wanted and added the appropriate tagging for the background and images. They created their own pages, and I created the main page."
MORE MEDIEVAL ACTIVITIES
You may not be interested in teaching HTML tagging or in creating your own Web pages, but the Middle Ages theme lends itself to a variety of exciting, educational activities across the curriculum. Here are some others that you might use in your medieval unit!
Write about the Middle Ages -- writing and study skills. Encourage your students to read some of the research reports written by Ruth Sunda's students on Life in the Middle Ages. Discuss what makes those papers interesting to read. Then brainstorm a list of topics related to the Middle Ages, and ask each student to select one to research and write about.
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Publish a cookbook -- language arts and history. Encourage students to explore sites about medieval foods, such as 14th Century French Feast and A Boke of Gode Cookery. Have each student choose a favorite recipe, then copy and illustrate it. Make copies of all the recipes for each student, and have them create personal cookbooks. Invite students to take the cookbooks home and create one or more of the dishes with their families. You might invite the families to share their creations at a medieval feast. (Don't forget to prepare the hand-washing water!) |
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Make your own paper -- science. Although it's believed that the Chinese invented paper before the first century A.D., it wasn't introduced in Europe until the tenth century. Introduce your students to the science of paper making by sharing An Adventure in Paper Making, created by middle school students from Mancos, Colorado. The paper you create will be brown, but you can explore other possibilities with Dye Recipies from the Innsbruck Manuscript. Students in high school might enjoy following this activity with a look at Manuscripts, Books, and Maps: The Printing Press and a Changing World, a history of the development of a print-dominated society.
Excavate a medieval monastery (virtually)! -- science and history. In 1536, the Act of Suppression was passed, resulting in the seizure and destruction of many medieval monasteries. Now scientists suspect that they've located the archaeological remains of one of those monasteries. Your students can take part in a virtual excavation of the site by exploring the Virtual Excavation Tutorial. Here, they'll learn what archaeology is, excavate the ancient site, and draw conclusions about their findings.
Find fascinating facts -- history and study skills. Invite students to browse A Compendium of Common Knowledge, one of the most interesting -- and easiest to read -- sources of information about the Elizabethan period. This "short attention span history" of the 16th century includes such nuggets as these:
- Children are the property of their parents and give them the respect a servant gives his master. Or else.
- Some medical texts advise against eating raw vegetables as engendering wind (gas) or evil humours.
- The most deadly sins are despair, hatred, greed, anger, gluttony, and pride.
Then brainstorm a list of topics relating to the Middle Ages. Ask each student to select a topic and create a fact file about it. Remind students to include a bibliography.
Make a sundial -- astronomy and art. Encourage students to click on Overview and read the "Practical Information" section at Sundials on the Internet from the British Sundial Society. Then, in small groups or as a class, complete one of the site's Four Simple Sundial Projects.
Make a virtual sundial and calendar -- astronomy and geography. As a follow-up to the previous activity, invite students to use
Great Circle Studio's Sundial Generator to create sundials for various areas of the world. Students must enter the latitude and longitude in order to create an accurate sundial. You might also encourage students to create a calendar of any month or year during the Middle Ages using the Medieval Calendar Calculator.
Write a ballad -- music and language arts. Invite students to listen to The Internet Renaissance Band's Medieval Music, explore instruments at
A Guide to Medieval and Renaissance Instruments, and read ballads on The Ballad List. Then ask students to compose ballads of their own. Encourage them to think about which instruments might be used to accompany their ballads.
Put on a play -- language arts and drama. Help students stage the play Robert the Bruce, about a medieval Scottish king. Or arrange students into small groups, and invite them to create their own one-act plays about some aspect of medieval life.
Technology marches on -- science and history. Encourage students to explore The Medieval Technology Timeline, which traces the advance of technology, from the plow and horseshoe in the epoch between A.D. 500 and 700 through the development of the blast furnace between 1300 and 1500. Arrange students into groups, assign each group a century between 1500 and 2000, and have the students create a timeline of the technological advances during the assigned century. Combine the timelines into one complete timeline, and display it on a classroom bulletinboard.
Learn about the English language -- language arts. Have students explore the origins of words at Ye Olde English Sayings. Then brainstorm a list of additional common words or phrases of unknown origin. Arrange students into groups and have each group research the origins of the words on their list. Students might also enjoy learning to count in Old English at Hwæt! Counting. Sound files are included.
What's your future? -- career planning. According to the wise wizard at Kingdomality, in medieval times "it was very important that within each
kingdom all the major crafts and professions of the day were ably represented to insure the survival of the kingdom. … Each of us still has a medieval vocational personality within us." Invite students to discover theirs. (Be sure to tell them not to provide any personal information. It isn't necessary in order to take the career profile quiz.) Discuss the factors, such as personality, aptitude, education, and so on, that affect career choices.
TEACHER-CREATED PROJECTS
For more lesson plans and online activities about the Middle Ages, visit one of these sites, all of which feature great projects or project suggestions for K through 12 students.
Life in the Middle Ages This site includes a list of more than 20 possible projects on the Middle Ages. The activities are appropriate for middle school students and above.
The Middle Ages Global Studies Project This site contains ideas for two individual and one group project on the Middle Ages, appropriate for middle school students and above.
Sworn to Serve In this WebQuest, students in middle school and above explore the feudal system in medieval England.
Life in a Medieval Castle: Five Art Activities for an Integrated Medieval Unit This site provides art activities involving stained glass, tapestry, and heraldic shields. The activities are designed for students in middle school and above but can be adapted for almost any age-group.
Cardboard Box Castle Enchanted Learning Software provides complete illustrated directions for building a cardboard box castle. Students in elementary school and above can complete the project, although younger students will need adult assistance with some of the cutting.
KinderCastles Nancy Yost, a kindergarten teacher at Indiana University of Pennsylvania's lab school, provides a variety of resources for teaching about the Middle Ages. Sections include literature, integrated activities, songs and poetry, software, recipes, armor, teacher resources, and links. Most activities are appropriate for students in kindergarten and above.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Medieval European History This section of the History/Social Studies Web Site for K-12 Teachers provides lots and lots of links to educational sites related to the Middle Ages.
MSS: Medieval Studies in the Schools John Houghton, an English and history instructor at Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School (Ladue, Missouri) provides resources and links to resources for medieval studies in elementary and secondary schools.
Castles of the World This site includes sections on castle architecture, armor and weapons, arts and crafts, books, food and wine, games, hotels, and links. There's even a real estate section if you're in the market for a castle!
Knighthood, Chivalry & Tournaments Resource Library Besides the information about knights, weapons, armor, reenactments, and so on, this site also includes a couple of glossaries, the text of the Magna Carta, and a "Roll of Fine Deeds."
Castles on the Web This site contains castle books, games, crafts, recipes, links, a virtual castle tour, and much more.
Article by Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2000 Education World
ADDITIONAL ONLINE RESOURCES
- Medieval Life and Times Research unit on the Middle Ages. Topics and projects available online. Reseach links listed by category. Reading list and bibliography. Medieval Fun Day and Parents' Night.
- Middle Ages A simple but well put together site built by 8th graders in Taiwan. 16 topics and 16 famous people all relating to the Middle ages.
- Castles on the Web A collection of sites that offer information and pictures to castles from around the World.
- Teachers Only - Activities for Medieval Unit Five projects for a medieval unit.
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01/10/2000
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