OBJECTIVES

Students will understand the following:

1. We learn about people from long ago by reading records, such as
diaries, that they left behind.
2. In medieval times, only the wealthiest peoplethe lords, knights, and
ladieswere able to read and write.

MATERIALS

For this lesson, you will need:

Colored paper
Markers
Glitter glue
Paper fasteners

PROCEDURES

1. Discuss with students access to education during the Middle Ages,

leading them to see that the vast majority of people who lived then were
poor, uneducated laborers and that only lords, knights, and their ladies were
literate.
2. Luckily, some medieval people who were literate left written records,
so we know a lot about life at this time. Explain to the class that they are
going to pretend they are medieval lords, knights, and ladies who keep
diaries (or journals) so that future generations can read about what their
lives are like.
3. Allow students to make up names for themselves as lords, knights, and
ladies.
4. Now brainstorm with your class to produce a list of topics that the
lords, knights, and ladies would write about in their diaries. Such a list might
include the following topics:
Their daily lives in their castlescomfort (or lack of comfort), space, lighting,
furniture
Activities for entertainment
Romantic relationships
Attacks on the castle by other lords and knights
5. Direct students to write two entries in their diaries and to make up the
date for each entry. The two entries can focus on one topic (see previous list)
or can cover a variety of topics. Advise students to include as many details
as possible in each entry.
6. Give students sheets of colored paper to decorate as front and back
covers for the diaries. On the fronts, they should write the names they chose
as lords, ladies, and knights. Using markers and glitter glue, students can
decorate the rest of the front and the back cover with signs and symbols
they make up to represent their families. Use paper fasteners to hold each
diary together.
7. After you have read students entries, select a few of the most
detailed for their writers to read to the class.

SUGGESTED READINGS

The Middle Ages

William Chester Jordan, ed. New York: Scribners, 1996
This encyclopedia of the Middle Ages will answer all of your questions about
this time in history.

The Luttrell Village: Country Life in the Middle Ages

Sheila Sancha. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1982
Sit down and read this wonderful, classic book about life in the Middle Ages.
Admire the original drawings while learning about freemen, cottars, a
hayward, a reeve and how people lived throughout the year.

Castle
David Macaulay. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977
This award-winning classic book illustrates and describes in detail how a
castle and town were planned and constructed to keep people safe during an
attack.

King Arthur and the Legends of Camelot

Molly Perham. New York: Viking, 1993
Read these stories of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, Merlin, and
Camelot while looking at the pictures that illustrate each legend.

King Arthur: The Sword in the Stone

Written and illustrated by Hudson Talbott. New York: Morrow Junior Books,
1991
Will young Arthur be able to pull the beautiful sword from the anvil that holds
it in place? If he can, he will become the King of England!

Knights in Armor
John D. Clare, ed. San Diego: Gulliver Books, 1992
Women in the Middle Ages were not regarded as mens equals. Read about
a womans world of arranged marriages, cooking, obedience, sewing and
weaving, making music and reading stories about love and chivalry.

Medieval Life
Andrew Langley. Photographs by Geoff Dann and Geoff Brightling. New York:
Knopf, 1996
The many illustrations and pictures in this book will help you understand
what it meant to be a woman living in the Middle ages.

LINKS

Ians Land of Castles

See how castles were made, what they look like now, and what castle life
was like.

Castles on the Web

This is an excellent place to begin your study of castles. Have your students
visit Castles for Kids and the Glossary of Castle Terms.

Arthurian Home Page

This site will help you prepare your unit on King Arthur and his noble Knights
of the Round Table.

Wyrmes Knights
This site contains information on knights, warfare, entertainment and dining.

Diane CalvertMedieval Art for Today

Medieval people, numbers and letters.

Gregorian Chant Home Page

This site will assist you with a study of Gregorian chant. You can even find
pages of chant that you can print and give to your students.

STANDARDS

This lesson plan may be used to address the academic standards listed
below. These standards are drawn from Content Knowledge: A Compendium
of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education: 2nd Edition and have been
provided courtesy of theMid-continent Research for Education and Learningin
Aurora, Colorado.

Grade level:3-5
Subject area:world history
Standard:
Understands the redefinition of European society and culture from 1000 to
1300 A.D.
Benchmarks:
Understands the significance of developments in medieval English legal and
constitutional practice and their importance for modern democratic thought
and institutions.
Grade level:3-5
Subject area:world history
Standard:
Understands the redefinition of European society and culture from 1000 to
1300 A.D.
Benchmarks:
Understands the systems of feudalism and manorialism (e.g., the principles
of feudalism, manorialism, and serfdom, and their widespread use in parts of
Europe in the 11th century; how population growth and agricultural
expansion affected the legal, economic, and social position of peasant men
and women; how the lives of peasants and serfs differed; how their lives
were affected by the manors and castles).