Medieval Unit

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/Project1/Medieval.html

Unit Authors

This unit was developed by Sherry Wachna and Ken Hughes and delivered to 7th & 8th graders at O'Farrell Community School in several forms over the last three years.

Content Areas

This unit was created with a focus in social studies. Language Arts, Music, Science, Music and Art were used to enrich and enhance the unit.

Organizing Theme

The theme that was used to hold this piece together was the concept of the Castle. By exploring the different concepts of the "castle system" the students were able to view the historical, political and social history of that time period.

Implementation

The unit was implemented throughout Family D. The Medieval Unit lasted a total of ten weeks. Since it was anchored in Social Studies, the unit was taught everyday for fifty minutes in that class. The language arts component of the unit studied the work of Chaucer and other literary persona of the time. Science, art and music were taught so that the themes coincided with material studied in the social studies classroom.

Outline of Activities

The order in which the unit was presented is as follows:

The Castle System:

Social Order

Architecture:

Roman Catholic Church:

Music

Art

Student Products

Having studied and explored the Middle Ages for ten weeks, the students had ample opportunities to produce many projects. Students explored and researched historical figures and created bio-boards for class presentation. As a major project for the second semester social studies class, students had an opportunity to choose from one of the following projects: banner, castle, or a shield. They had one month to complete this project for class presentation. In Language Arts the students transported themselves into the Middle Ages and wrote narrative letters to family members to describe daily life. The students then transferred these letters onto parchment paper they created with manila paper, tea bags and a lighter--neat project!! Another project the students created in Language Arts were Canterbury Tales which they perfected and created a finished product in the Computer Lab. As a culminating activity for the Middle Ages, Family D had a feast. Projects were displayed and students brought in foods that did not require the use of utensils.

Thinking Skills Engaged

The study of the Middle Ages is an interesting one, this unit was one that employed various methods of learning. Perhaps the learning method most enjoyed by the students was the creative production. As mentioned above, the students had many opportunities to produce interesting and challenging projects. Comparisons were made between Christians and Muslims. They also had the opportunity to observe the music, instruments and the importance they played on everyday life in the Middle Ages and compare them to that of today.

Lessons Learned

The teachers felt that the unit was all inclusive and that it was productive, interesting, and challenging for all students. An activity that they would like to implement into this unit in the future is debates. They felt that there were great opportunities throughout the unit where they could have had great success in having students debate about issues that plagued the Middle Ages.

This description was written by Lourdes Duran. Last updated on March 6, 1996.
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