Movies for Learning: The Black Shield of Falworth

The Black Shield of Falworth

Our next movie set in the Middle Ages was The Black Shield of Falworth loosely based on the Howard Pyle book Men of Iron. 

This movie was a great way to explore feudalism, chivalry, knighthood and heraldry. 

Here are the questions for The Black Shield of Falworth.

Blessings! Natalie

Movies for Learning: Robin Hood

Robin Hood

We had such a fun time with watching and discussing Robin Hood. There are so many themes that this movie has to draw out with your students. Oppression, injustice, abuse of power and much more historically with King Richard, Prince John, the Normans and the Saxons and much more! Above is the trailer for the version of Robin Hood that we watched. 

Here are the questions for Robin Hood ;) 

Movies for Learning: The Sword and the Rose

The Sword and the Rose

https://goo.gl/images/pJwopY

The Sword and the Rose is a Disney historical movie about Mary Tudor, younger sister of Henry VIII during his reign. Hoping to make an alliance with France, Henry VIII wants Mary to marry King Louis VII. Mary is in love with Charles Brandon and so the plot unfolds. 
It is a great way to introduce your students to Henry VIII, The Middle Ages and abuse of power.
Here are the questions for The Sword and the Rose.
Blessings!! Natalie

Movies for Learning: A Kid in King Arthur's Court

A Kid in King Arthur's Court

This is a great movie for exploring the Middle Ages in a fun and light way. 

This movie was a great way to look at fact vs. fiction as well as exploring the characters, knights and legends of King Arthur. 

Here are the questions from our time with A Kid in King Arthur's Court. Enjoy!!

The Black Plague Interactive Lesson

My student and I had a wonderful time learning more about the Black Plague with these varied activities. 

First, we took a look at this infographic. It was very informative about many aspects of the Great Plague! We also explored this powerpoint for more information, especially about supposed cures. 

Next, we played this simulation about the spread of the plague. 

We used counters to keep track of the spread to each of the towns. Thanks to Homeschool Den this really brought home the spread of a contagious disease with little to stop it!

We then used this template to do a newspaper article based on the spread of the black plague in our towns from the simulation above. 

This lesson was interactive and interesting! Enjoy!! 

Blessings,
Natalie

The King John Decision Game

One of my students and I played this game to get a better understanding of the decisions that King John had to make. It helped us to understand:
1. King John's Reign and the problems that faced him.
2. Events leading up to the Magna Carta.
3. What it might be like to be a monarch and make decisions.

The King John Decision Game includes a Powerpoint, worksheet for the student and activity file with instructions for you. I had to create a page of crowns for the activity and instructions were included. I just used clip art from here.

This game was an exercise that included critical thinking, decision making, problem-solving and historical context. It could be used collaboratively as well. Thank you to Thinking History UK for this resource!

Blessings,
Natalie

Free Ebooks - Middle Ages

Image from: http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/

Here is the next Booklist of free ebooks. 

This list is based on the Middle Ages and Medieval Times.

There are many great titles from authors including:

GA Henty

Howard Pyle

Charlotte Yonge

Jacob Abbott

And many more...

Blessings! Natalie

Henry VIII and the Beginning of Divorce Co-op

We had a great time at Co-op this month studying Henry VIII and the beginning of divorce. 

I started by using a powerpoint from this site to teach from. The title is  “Why did Henry VIII divorce Catherine of Aragon”. I then made up this note sheet based on the powerpoint so that the children could make notes on the lesson.

I then had them do a “Chatterbox” and a Timeline of Henry and his wives. The Chatterbox I got here and the timeline here.

I then created 2 sets of task cards based on the powerpoint above. They are available here and here.

I divided the group into 4 groups and gave the groups 15 minutes to discuss the questions. I also gave the groups that were exploring divorce statistics to look at about divorce around the world. They were shocked at how high some of the divorce rates were. They did very well in citing reasons why they thought that Henry acted the way he did. I love that these students move beyond what is presented and give ideas of their own. Many of them have done their own studying ahead of time. It makes for lots of discussion!

Finally I had the children get into groups and create a jingle, a song or a skit about Henry VIII and his 6 wives. I ran off these as flash cards (6 per page) just to help them remember who was beheaded, divorced, died or outlived Henry. These presentations were ingenious!! 

We all had lunch and then the fun began. Our art and drama mom taught the group about Vincent Van Gogh and they began their paintings based on "The Starry Night". 

The kids have such a great time painting, but beyond that they are learning about the life and times of the painter. Today was just putting on the first steps! Next month they will continue with their Starry nights!!

PE today was floor hockey. Lots of great exercise for the kids!! Lots of great exercise for our gym dad as well!!

Another wonderful co-op with the "Tremendous Twenty"!! Blessings, Natalie!!

Robin Hood, King John and the Magna Carta - Another Great Co-op!

Our co-op this month was based mainly on the Magna Carta and King John with a little of Robin Hood thrown in!

First I had our students shout out what they knew about Robin Hood and King John. Then I gave them the sheet of paper below to work on. They got into groups and discussed, looked up verses and determined as a group if they felt that Robin Hood was justified in stealing. We had some amazing points come forward from these students, and they really thought about this dillemma - what a great group of kids they are!!

 

We then moved on to the Magna Carta. I chopped it up and each of the children read about points from the Magna Carta. 

I then highlighted areas that were important to us today. I asked some “what if” questions as well, just getting our students thinking what would have happened if the Magna Carta was never signed.

I then had the kids number off and play the King John Decision Game.

It was so great to hear the discussion from the groups as they were challenged to make the most “kingly” decisions that would further their Kingdom. After we went through the decisions that they made and whether they would lose crowns or not for them. They started with 10 crowns and the team with the most crowns in the end “won”. I used this graphic for the crowns.

I love hearing the discussion amongst these students. They didn't just answer anything, they engaged in the process. They thought critically about the implications of their decisions.

After lunch we had another amazing drama written by our drama mom. This one was during the time of the Black Plague. 

They did a run through and then performed for us once again! These plays are history lessons in themselves!! 

After drama time it was off to the gym for European Handball. We didn’t know about this game so we watched this you tube video and this one sent by our PE dad. 

We are so blessed to have this kind of variety in our Co-op. It is a long day from 10 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon, but all the kids seem to leave with smiles on their faces. 

Such a blessing!!

Natalie

Da Vinci Catapult Kit

Today Elizabeth built this kit as part of her study of the Middle Ages. The kit was a Da Vinci Medieval design from the 15th Century and was from Pathfinders Design and Technology . 

The kit was easy to use and had clear instructions. I really felt that it helped Elizabeth to understand what went into building everything from wood. Pathfinders have many different Da Vinci kits including a Trebuchet, a Siege Tower and The Da Vinci Aerial Screw. 

We are going to order a few more of these, as Elizabeth really enjoyed making the Catapult. Pathfinders suggests that the catapult will shoot clay about 15 feet. This kit did not disappoint!! 

 On this page they have some ideas for extending the educational value of the kits and there is also a resource tab with science worksheets and links to go along with the kits on the main website.

Stay tuned for the Hydraulics kits that Elizabeth is going to build in the future!

Blessings, Natalie

Knights vs. Samurai - Our next Middle Ages Co-op

It was a great day with our co-op yesterday! The children had a full day! First thing they looked looked at armor of Knights and Samurai. They filled in a worksheet based on that. 

They did a hierarchy diagram of Knights and Samurai in their respective societies.

Then came the fun part. The children worked in groups of boys and girls and did several venn diagrams and other comparisons. 

For the first one compared Knights with Samurai.

The children then compared their two venn diagrams and found some points that each of the groups hadn’t made. It was so interesting how the boys worked on their venn diagrams and how the girls worked on theirs. Very different!!

The students then got a great instruction time from our mom on the role of women in the  Middle Ages in Europe vs. in Japan and then in groups they compared them.

Finally they compared the Code of Chivalry  to the Bushido. They did a great job and brought out some very interesting points. 

This group work is so valuable! 

After lunch the children got their second lesson on perspective with our art mom. She taught them how to draw a castle in perspective.

They were excellent! It took a long while to finish up the class but they got a chance to read through their play for next month. It is based on the Black Plague! All will enjoy that I am sure!!

Then it was off to gym time with our amazing gym dad. This month the focus was Volleyball. He always has the kids stretch before they start which is excellent!

Then they reviewed the rules, but once again the main thing was to play the sport. The children did great and had fun! Considering many of them had never played before they did very well!!

Another awesome Co-op day! 

Blessings, Natalie