Earlier this school year my friend and colleague, Cindy Putnam, and I shared a pleasant lunch and had great conversations about teaching any content area in a project or integrated format. We talked about the American Revolution and connections with literature, history, and geography. We moved from that to how to design a unit or project around the book, The Giver by Lois Lowry ( who also wrote Number the Stars- a novel that works well with WWII).
Our conversation lead yet again to getting things started in designing a project based unit of study. So I began with the topic of the Middle Ages. While I was teaching 5th grade preparing to loop to 6th with my students, I gave them a choice about in depth studies about world history. They had a keen interest in learning about the Middle Ages. Our text at that time had a paragraph. So over the summer I developed a concept unit on the Middle Ages. It was one of the best experiences of my 23 years in the classroom. I learned as much as the students did. We had authentic evaluations including model construction, medieval dances, technology presentations, and collaborative work. There is no doubt this is hard work prior to student involvement- intensive and detailed development on the part of the teacher. The payoffs are incredible.
Here’s an overview of the planning. Perhaps it will spark other ideas:
Title : Life in the Middle Ages Grade 6
Language Arts:
- indicate sequence of events in print and non-print texts.
- use context clues, dictionaries, thesauruses, electronic sources, and glossaries as aids in determining the meanings of unfamiliar words.
- select questions to clarify thinking.
- choose the correct meaning of multiple meaning words in context
- draw inferences from selected texts.
Literature to connect with Middle Ages:
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
The Castle of Llyr (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Lloyd Alexander
The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Llyod Alexander
The Black Cauldron (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Llyod Alexander
Taran Wanderer (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Llyod Alexander
The High King (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Llyod Alexander
Social Studies
- Governance and Civics:
- Describe the purposes and structure of governments.
- Identify written laws handed down from ancient civilizations.
- Explain and apply concepts such as power, role, status, justice and influence to the examination of persistent issues and social problems.
- Recognize the relationship between a place’s physical, political, and cultural characteristics and the type of government that emerges in that place.
Guiding Question: How do governments of the Middle Ages (feudalism) and democracy compare?
Vocabulary: feudalism, democracy
Activity 1: Simulation with Government: Whole class activity where students act as rulers and peasants in the fuedalism system.
To Introduce government of long ago.
Students will actively participate in a role-play activity.
Activity 2: Life in the Middle Ages
Discovery Streaming Video clips-Short video clip about Feudalism.
Web Address 1 : From Discovery Streaming- must have subscription
Activity 3: Research: Use websites to discover more about Middle Ages. With partner find 5 -10 facts and record in a table in Word or Google docs. Build content with other groups in the class on the class wiki for sharing globally.
Activity 4: As you read The High King by Lloyd Alexander, participate in discussions in the class blog section for the Middle Ages. Post your impressions on the literature blog after chapters 3,6,9. Respond to other classmates thoughts.
ISTE technology standards:
Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
c. develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.
d. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
a. plan strategies to guide inquiry.
b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
d. process data and report results.
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