Medieval Times
A WebQuest for 7th Grade Social Studies
Designed by
Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page
Introduction
Have you ever wondered what it was like to live in Medieval European times? What were the kinds of foods they ate? What clothing did they wear? What exactly is a joust? What was life like as a knight or a peasant? Have you ever been to the Castle at Disneyland? What does it look like inside? Can you imagine what it would be like to live in it? Is it anything like the home you live in? If you are wondering what life was like in the Medieval times, you are about to find out!
Task
Your
group has been chosen to travel back in time to learn all you can about
the medieval times. You will be creating objects that are representative
of that time period and placing them in time capsules. For this activity,
each group will create their own time capsule, which will be about the size
of a large shoebox.
Your time capsule needs to display what life was like in medieval times
for next year's students. In order to really show what life was like back
then, you need to look at many different aspects of that time, including
the daily life of people such as knights, peasants, merchants, and nobles,
music, trade, clothing, food, castles, homes, art, farming, the Crusades,
the feudal system, science, health, and medicine.
Process
* Time capsules are a way to share information about a particular place in time by collecting artifacts and keeping them stored in some sort of a container for a long period of time. The time capsule is then opened by a new generation of people to learn about the past.
Here are a couple links to get you familiar with time capsules. Read about time capsules before
you start the activities so that you understand more about what you are going to be creating.
International Time Capsule Society
The Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium
- You will be assigned by your teacher in groups of five.
different aspect of Medieval life. Choose from the topics listed below, but remember that you
are all choosing different topics.
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3. Use these links to gather information on Medieval times and become an expert on
your topic:
These websites cover several areas of medieval life, from the different kinds of people to the way they live their lives. This includes clothing, daily life, and homes.
Life in the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages
Medieval
Times Theme Page
Medieval Siege
This website provides a great resource for reading about different medieval terms associated with the art and architecture of that time.
Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture
This
website is a good resource for learning more about the musical instruments
of the Medieval times. It includes not only descriptions and pictures, but
also audio samples.
A Guide to Medieval and Renaissance Instruments
This website discusses important people from the Medieval times.
Medieval
Times
This website focuses on the tools that were used for science and
technology during this era.
Medieval Technology
4. Use the Medieval Worksheet to record the information you find. On this sheet, you
will need to write the names of the artifacts/objects that you will be considering
about putting in your group's time capsule. You will also need to describe your five
objects and your rationale.
5. Each member of the group will choose their favorite object from their worksheet to
create a replica to include in the time capsule. In choosing which object to create a replica of, think of what would best represent your area of expertise. What do you want next year's seventh graders to learn about your topic? Talk with your group members for feedback on the quality of your choice. Using materials that your teacher provides, do your best to replicate your medieval object. Each member will have a chance to discuss their object with their group members to undergo any fine-tuning that is needed and to make sure that the time capsule is a collaborative project. Also, as a group you want to do your best to make sure that the time capsule is a good representaton of the Medieval times. That means, that several different aspects of Medieval life are represented. You don't want to just focus on the people of that time. Do your best to teach the next year's seventh graders as much as you can, to the best of your abilities.
6. After creating your object, each member of your group will write a letter addressed
to next year's seventh grade students. Include the information that you gathered through
your research on your area of expertise. Refer to your Medieval Worksheet for help.
Be sure to include a description of why the object you chose to create for the capsule
best represents that time. Why was that object a better choice than the other four
on your worksheet?
7. Once the objects and letters are completed, you will present as a group, the
information you have gathered to your classmates. You must share your objects with
the class and give a brief summary of your letter.
8. Now you will be putting together your time capsule! Gather all of the objects, letters
and worksheets that your group has created and place them in the large box that
your teacher has provided. Make sure everything is included in your time capsule
because once it has been sealed, it will not be opened again until the following year
by the next class of students.
Evaluation
Even though this is a group project, you will be graded on an individual basis, taking into account the several different aspects of this activity.
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Beginning 1 |
Developing 2 |
Accomplished 3 |
Exemplary 4 |
Score |
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| Medieval Worksheet |
Worksheet is incomplete,
messy, little to no research, no explanation for object inclusion. |
Worksheet is partially
complete, not neat, shows little research, and very little explanation for object inclusion. |
Worksheet is mostly
complete, somewhat neat, shows some research, and contains some explanation
for object inclusion. |
Worksheet is complete,
neat, thoroughly researched, and contains well-explained rationale for
object inclusion. |
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| Created Object |
Object is unoriginal,
very hastily prepared, and shows no remote resemblance at all to the original
object. |
Object shows little
creativity, seems rushed, and hardly resembles the original object. |
Object shows some creativity,
well-designed, and is a satisfactory resemblance of the original
object. |
Object is creative,
very well-designed, and it closely resembles the original object. |
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| Letter |
Letter is incomplete,
messy, with an abundance of spelling/mechanics, and formatting errors,
little to no information gathered about the area of expertise. |
Letter is partially
complete, not neat, with several spelling/mechanics errors, with minor formatting
errors, little information gathered about the topic of expertise. |
Letter is mostly complete,
somewhat neat, with a few spelling/mechanics errors, with very few
formatting errors, some description of the object and the information gathered
about the topic of expertise. |
Letter is complete,
neat, with no spelling/mechanics errors, well-formatted, thoroughly describes
the object and the information gathered about the topic of expertise. |
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| Presentation |
Presented the information
in a very immature manner, relating pertinent information. |
Presented the information
vaguely, and was unprofessional. |
Presented the information
in a somewhat clear, efficient, and professional manner. |
Presented the information
in a clear, efficient, and professional manner. |
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| Cooperation |
Had constant difficulties
working with the group and lacked communication abilities. |
Barely cooperated with
group members and had difficulty communicating effectively. |
Worked well with the
other group members and often communicated effectively and cooperatively.
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Worked exceptionally
well with the other group members and communicated effectively and cooperatively.
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Conclusion
Now that the time capsules are sealed, they will be ready and waiting for next year's students to learn from your discoveries. You have done a wonderful job creating a time capsule so that others may learn about the medieval times. To continue your quest of learning about the medieval period you can click on the following links.
Women Artists of the Medieval Period
Food in the Middle Ages
Continuing to learn about other time periods will enhance your knowledge about history. To learn about other interesting periods in time such as Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome click on the following links. Happy exploring!
Ancient Egypt
The Ancient City of Athens
Ancient Rome
Daily Life in Ancient Civilizations
Since you are doing so much research about other time periods. Who will be researching you in the years to come? What kind of time capsule would be created for our time? Only time will tell.
Credits & References
University of Maryland Virtual Time Capsule
Lord Bartholomew Hightower of Canterbury
The California Native International Adventures
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Last updated on July 2,2003. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page