MEDIEVAL TIMES:
CASTLES, KNIGHTS, AND HERALDRY

Christie Thompson
3rd-5th
Social Studies and Geography

Purpose:
This lesson is part of multi-functional unit because there is such a wide variety
of things you can do with Medieval Times. It can be taken across the curriculum
and I have chosen to explore different castles through a web site, map them on a
map and study the culture of the time period for the geography portion. We will be
discover knighthood and heraldry along with the different castles we find. The main
focus as far as the geography part will be the incorporation of computers and the
use of web sites to explore the castles rather than the traditional method of just
looking at pictures and maps.

National Standards for Geography Connection:
No.1  Seeing the World in Spatial Terms: knows and understands how to use maps, globes,
and other graphical tools to acquire, process and report information.
I think the connection would be that they are plotting castles on the maps and have
to locate the part of the world they found their particular castles in.
No.6  Places and Regions: knows and understands that culture and experience affect people's
perceptions of places and experiences.
This would be they get to discover what life was like in the Medieval period and compare
it to the style of living we have.
No.17 and No.18  Applying Geography: knows and understands how to apply geography to interpret the past, present, and future. This one kind of ties in with the above.

Objectives:
Students will demonstrate ability:
1. To use the computers for research and exploration of castles and any other sources
needed.
2. To locate web sites for various needs.
3. To understand what a coat of arms was and make their own.
4. To discover something they did not know and be able to use that information in
the future.

Overview:
The students will be studying various things associated with Medieval Times. I have
several subject areas that this will be dealing with including science and health,
reading, writing, P.E., art and of course social studies. We will be exploring castles,
learning about heraldry, and knighthood. There are limitless activities you can
do with this topic. The majority of the geography part of this unit is done with
computers and visuals.

Procedures
Sponge activity:
Have all the visuals out that you will be making over the course of the study and
talk about what they are and the origin of each of them. These will be a jousting
lance, castle, sword, and coat of arms.

Opening:
Bring out the visuals as used in the sponge activity and read some of the books
listed on the bibliography. Discuss what life was like back then and prepare students
for introduction into the unit we are about to begin. Show them pictures of castles
and talk to them about the program they will be using on the computer.

Guided Practice:
Use the classroom computer, Internet accessible, and an LCD panel with an overhead
projector and start the introduction of the web sites for the lesson. Do a worksheet
that has them looking for certain things related to the unit. This would be as a
practice exercise.

Independent:
Take the students to the school computer lab and give them a worksheet that has
them looking for certain things in web sites, they must use computers to answer questions
about the paper.

Evaluation-Assessment-Feedback:
The students will do several worksheets which will be given in class and have to
do a research type project from our work on the computer. They will be doing quite
a few activities that would be useful for assessment of their knowledge.

Closure:
As a closing and culminating activity, I would have a Medieval Madness Party. The
students would be showing off their projects, wearing costumes, and doing all the
activities we have been working toward.

Materials:
I have several attachments which have a lot of the materials already listed, but
for this part I would be using the computer, maps, worksheets, and books.
For how to make the visual refer to the materials page or bibliography.

THIS UNIT WOULD BE TAKEN ACROSS THE CURRICULUM,
SO I WILL ONLY BE WRITING THIS PART FOR THE GEOGRAPHY.

DAY ONE: Read some of the books listed on the bibliography and discuss the time period.

DAY TWO: Read Harold the Herald and talk about what heraldry was and
how it was used. Start working on the coat of arms.

DAY THREE: Finish the coat of arms, and start introduction to using the computer in
the classroom for searching the Internet.

DAY FOUR: Give out the web site assignments, and discuss the castles.

DAY FIVE: Devote the entire time to exploring the castles and learning about where
they are before we go back to the computers.

DAY SIX: computer time (research project)

DAY SEVEN: computer time (research project)

DAY EIGHT: Start the other activities related to our unit and work on the research
project.

DAY NINE: FINISH UP ALL THE ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS

DAY TEN: test and presentations.

EXTENSIONS: Learning Experiences
Reading:
Have the children pick a book from the ones set out in the reading center that correlate
with the Medieval theme, and read in partners. After reading the book get with two
other partners and trade stories. Make a game out of it, they may pretend to be the court
jester and wear the jester's hat.
Another activity that the entire class would do for an assignment would be to read
King Bidgood's Is In The Bathtub, and come up with some other ways to get him
out of the bathtub.

Writing:
There are several ideas for a writing activity, the one above from reading could be
a writing as well. I would have the children write their own adventures of being
a knight after we have talked about it in class and read the books on my bibliography.
As a art project they would draw pictures of their adventures and we would make a book
of their own.
Another activity that goes along with that would be to make their own coat of arms,
after we have discussed what they were and the meaning behind them. I thought this
could also be a social studiesactivity because you will be discussing heraldry and
what the shields and arms were for and their origins. These activities would correlate
with Sir Dana:A Knight As Told By His Trusty Armor and Harold The Herald:
A Book About Heraldry.

Art:
I have already mentioned several things that could be done for an art project, but
the coat of arms would definitely be one of the major ones. Another project I would
have them do is to make castles out of milk cartons. This of course would take planning
ahead to have the children be saving them from home. All that is needed is a milk
carton, paint, glue, markers, and scissors. You cut the top off the carton and cut
up and down until it looks like the top of a castle. ( illustration provided)
The coat of arms can be made with anything, just take the pattern provided and either
have the children color in or actually cut and paste their various things on a cut
out shield.

P.E.:
SEE ATTACHED LIST OF MATERIALS)
There are several things that you can do to make the theme fit into P.E.; Leapfrog,
Bowling with castles- the homemade milk carton castles are great for using as pins,
and just use a little ball, Statues,and jousting. Jousting would require a lot of
supervision because the children could get carried away. Another game for this lesson
would be Hoops, which is a variation of a Medieval dance. A small group of 3-4 people
link arms back to back and dance around in a circle. The people in the circle move
around staying linked together as quickly as they can to avoid someone throwing a ball
in the middle of the circle. If someone throwing the ball makes it into the circle
they get to join in and let someone else throw the ball. Play until everyone is
in the circle. You may choose to include music from this period and make it a combination
of musical movement as well. Another activity that is included in the copies I have
provided is Statues. I have changed it a little though I think adding music helps
this game.

Health/Science:
Discuss the fact that personal hygiene in the Medieval Ages was not a priority,because
they did not bathe as we do today. As an incorporating activity make a smelling
wand, which is a cinnamon stick with a lemon that has cloves all over it. These
were used to sniff to cover the stench of body odor. This would be a sensory experience
as well as a learning. This could go along with King Bidgood's Is In The Bathtub.

Culminating Activity:
Medieval Madness Party-dress up in hats that could be made during the length of this
theme and serve castle cake and play games. There are many things that could be
done for this party. I have included copies of several things that I did not actually
use in this lesson, but could be used.

Visuals
Borrow a suit of armor from a friend or some source and this will be one of the major
visuals. I also will have a coat of arms made out of poster board and felt, a milk
carton castle, a jousting lance, and a sword. My jackdaw will be fun foam castles.<BR>
Patterns or Materials
There are copies of the instructions and materials available. See the bibliography
for the magazine for these: Crayola Kids Magazine. March 1997.

1.sword: materials needed will be
- one long wrapping paper tube
- two paper towel tubes
- scissor
- duct tape
- electrician's tape or colored tape
2. castles: materials needed
- milk or juice cartons
- scissors
- tape or glue
- construction paper
- decorative items depending on own choice
3. jousting lance: materials
- one long wrapping paper tube
- paper plate
- streamer if desired
4. coat of arms:
- you may use construction paper, felt, or just draw it
it really depends on how elaborate you want to make them

Children's Books For Medieval Times
I have chosen four books from my thematic bibliography to use in this lesson. They
are all relevant to my theme and can be used in a variety of ways for different curriculum
areas. My lesson could be used in third and fourth grade, it could even go into
junior high if you wanted to get really detailed. There are many other books that
go up into high school level reading that could be used. This lesson will be targeted
for later third early fourth grade.
The first two Sir Dana: A Knight As Told By His Trusty Armor and Harold
The Herald were written by Dana Fradon a cartoonist for the New York Times.
He played Sir Dana on a children's radio program where he saw a need for children's
books about this topic. He wrote these books to answer children's questions about
Medieval times. The Sir Dana book tells about the adventures this suit of armor has
been on with his knight and is written as though the armor is talking. Fradon wrote the
heraldry book to explain to children what heralds did and why they were needed. The
second book is a comical look at the life of Harold who was a herald.
The third book, A Knight's Book is a book written from the point of view of a young
squire almost like a journal.
He talks about his knight who trains him and their adventures. This book was written
by Ali Mitgutsch who lives in Bavaria, and is a well known storyteller there. He
wrote this book from a child's view so that they could understand more of Medieval times.
The fourth book is King Bidgood's In The Bathtub, by Audrey and Don Wood;
who wrote The Napping House. They have written several other books for children.
This is a great book about a king who will not get out of the bathtub for anything,
until a young boy pulls the plug.

Bibliographyfor
Medieval Times: Castles, Knights, Heraldry and Legends, Part One

Fradon, Dana. Sir Dana: A Knight As Told By His Trusty Armor. Illust.by
Dana Fradon. E. P. Dutton- Penguin Inc., 1988. A suit of armor tells
of the adventures of the knight who wore it. Written as from the armor's point of
view.

Fradon, Dana. Harold The Herald: A Book About Heraldry.
Illust.by Dana Fradon. E.P.Dutton Children's Books, 1990. A suit of armor tells
the story of Harold the Herald. It describes what heralds were and what their jobs
were.

Hazen, Barbara Shook. The Knight Who Was Afraid To Fight.
Illust.by Toni Goffe. Penguin Books, 1994. Sir Fred was a knight who had to fight
for the hand of Lady Wendylyn, but was afraid to fight. In the end everyone comes
out a winner.

Hindley, Geoffrey. Castles of Europe. Paul Hamlyn Ltd.1968. teacher reference
book. Color pictures and descriptions of the castles in Europe.

Hodges, Margaret. The Kitchen Knight. Illust.by Trina Schart Hyman. Holiday
House, 1990. A young man is knighted by Lancelot, helps fight off the feared
Red Plain Knight, and wins the heart of a maiden.

Hollerbach, Eugen. Castles on the Rhine. Klaus Rahmel-Verlag. 1976
teacher reference book. A picture and description book of thirty castles on the Rhine.

Huck, Charlotte. Princess Furball. Illust.by Anita Lobel. Greenwillow Books,
1989. A Cinderella type story, but the girl uses her own ingenuity to get out
of trouble.

Lewis, Patrick. The Frog Princess. Illust.by Gennady Spirin. Dial Books,
1994. Three princes are looking for brides, the youngest winds up with a
frog; who is really a princess under an evil spell.

Manson, Christopher. A Gift For The King. Henry Holt and Co., 1989.
A king receives gifts from people in the kingdom, but none of them are
satisfying until he receives a simple gift from a child.

Matthews, Morgan. Brave Sir Laughalot. Illust..by Mary Alice Baer.
Troll Associates., 1986. Sir Laughalot wanted to brag of adventures like
the knights he made laugh. He did not have any to speak of, until
he set out to find one and came home to the respect he wanted.

Mitgutsch, Ali. A Knight's Book. Clarion Books, 1990. A squire tells
about the adventures of knighthood and along the way meets a special
friend. Written as a journal or diary of a squire.

Perham, Molly. King Arthur and the Legends of Camelot. Illust. by
Julek Huller, Viking Press, 1993. Upper grade level book that tells
the stories of King Arthur and Camelot.

Stanely, Diane and Peter Vennema. Good Queen Bess: A Story of
Elizabeth I of England. Macmillan Pub. 1990. A story of the life
and times of the Queen Elizabeth I.

Winthrop, Elizabeth. The Battle for the Castle. Holiday House.
1993. A boy travels through time to the Medieval times and has
many adventures while there.

Wood, Audrey. King Bidgood's In The Bathtub. Illust. by Don Wood,
Harcourt Brace Jovanich. 1985. A story about a stubborn king
who will not get out of the bath tub to run his kingdom, until someone pulls the
plug out on him.

Bibliography: Part two

1. Crayola Kids Magazine. March,1997 This magazine has many good
things to do as far as art projects, games and curriculum ideas.

2. Clarissa Grisham- for the use of her castle tour books
Leed's Castle
St. George's Chapel
Warwick Castle
Windsor Castle

3. http://fox.nstn.ca./~tmonk/castle/castle.html - a site with many different
features allowing you to explore and learn about castles, it also has a children's page.

4. http://www.georgetown.edu./labyrinth/home.html - a site that has many things
dealing with Medieval times and heraldry.

5. http://www.historychannel.com/historychannel/thisday/
(WHATEVER THE DAY'S DATE YOU ARE ACCESSING THIS SITE)
(EXAMPLE: 970418.HTML). - this is a great site for doing any research,
just punch in the date and it will tell you what happened.

6. http://wwwl.pitt.edu/~medart/index.html - a site having a collective group of
Medieval Times unit ideas and web sites.

Created April 25, 1997.