Name:__________________________________________Date:__________________________________Block:_________________

Middle Ages Journal

Imagineyouarelivingduringthe
HighMiddlesAges;thisisthestoryofyourlife

YourTask:
YouareaskedtobecomeamemberofmedievalsocietywhoislivingintheHighMiddleAges
(1000about1300).Youwillkeepanotebookofyourexperiencesduringthistime.Yournotebook
willrecordwhatishappeningtoyouandthosearoundyou.Thenotebookwillcontainletters,maps,or
drawingsthatyoucollect.
Byreadingyournotebook,yourancestorswillbeabletounderstandtheenormoushardshipsorgreat
joysyouencountered.
Youwillhavea
minimum
of3entries.Eachentrymustbefromtheperspectiveofadifferentmemberof
Medievalsociety(Thenobilityclass,thepeasantclass,andtheknighthood).

YourProcess:
Duringclasswewillbewatchingvideos,listeningtomusic,andexaminingresourcestogetafeelfor
theeverydaylife,aswellaswhatitwasliketobeaknight,peasantornobleintheHighMiddleAges.

Name:__________________________________________Date:__________________________________Block:_________________

Middle Ages Journal

Therearealsosomesuggestedwebsitestoresearchfromaswellasalargeselectionofbooksfromthe
library.Drawfromtheseresourcestocreateastorywithlotsofdetailsandinformation.

Eachentryshouldhaveappropriatepictures,diagrams,drawings,etc.,toenhancethestory.Yourstory
shouldbewritteninthelanguageofsomeonelivingintheMiddleAges.Aslangdictionaryhasbeen
includedtohelpyouinyourwriting.Keepinmindthatamemberofmedievalsocietymighthaveto
carrythisnotebookwiththemwherevertheywentsoitemsshouldbesmall,lightweight,andcarry
importancetotheperson.Eachentrycanbeineitherletterorjournalformat,andmustanswerthe
questionsthatcorrespondtothetopicyouchoose.Foradditionalcredit,thefinalproductwillbeboundas
abookwithatitlepage.

AdditionalResources:

http://www.macmillanhighered.com/Catalog/uploadedFiles/Content/BSM/Product/TOC/McKay%2
0West%20Understanding%20Chapter%2010%20reduced%20size.pdf
KidsDiscover,MiddleAges:http://www.kidsdiscover.com/shop/issues/middleagesforkids/
HistoryChannelsMiddleAgesOverview:
http://www.history.com/topics/middleages
DailyLifeintheMidleAges:http://medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/dailylife.html
HelpfulVideoClips:
TheMiddleAgesin3.5minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EAMqKUimr8
BritainAD:TheNotSoDarkMiddleAges:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT6Ademm37k

Name:__________________________________________Date:__________________________________Block:_________________

Middle Ages Journal

Journal Entries 1-3

Chose ONE option

for each letter
by checking the box below!
Option B

Option A
Letter #1 Noble/King

June 1215
TheMagnaCarta

What is your opinion of the signing of this

document by King John of England?
How will this new law impact your life? Will
it affect your power?
What is your relationship with your vassals
and peasants like?
What is your daily life like?

Letter #1 Noble/King
1300- The Decline of Feudalism

Explain in detail why Feudalism is in decline.

How might your peasants be affected by the
decline of the feudal system?
How do you feel about this?
What is your daily life like?

Letter #2 Vassal/Knight
Letter #2 Vassal/Knight
1337- Hundred Years War
1187- The Third Crusade
How is the coming war impacting your life?
How did the Hundred Years War begin?
Explain the code of chivalry? What rules are
You are about to leave and fight in the first
you expected to follow?
major battle of the Hundred Years War What do you think about King Richard the
Describe what life is like at the Battle of
Lionhearts strategy for winning back the
Crecy.
Holy Land? Is it working?

How is the coming war impacting your life?

Describe the relationship between
Explain the code of chivalry? What
Sultan Saladin and King Richard
rules are you expected to follow?
What do you think?
Letter #3 Peasant
1347- The Black Death

What do you think is the cause of this

disease?
How has this epidemic impacted your daily
life?
What can you do to prevent the spread of
this disease?
How does the Catholic Church influence
your life?
If you were not taught to read at a
monastery, you were most likely illiterate.
Include a picture or design that
helps to illustrate what your daily
life was like.

Letter #3 Peasant
1381- Peasant Revolt

Why have you decided to revolt?

How effective do you anticipate this revolt will
be?
What is your relationship with your vassal
like?
How does the Catholic Church influence your
life?
If you were not taught to read at a monastery,
you were most likely illiterate. Include a
picture or design that helps to illustrate what
your daily life was like.

Name:__________________________________________Date:__________________________________Block:_________________

Middle Ages Journal

Middle Ages Journal Entries: Grading Sheet

Excellent

Good

Fair

Please Try Again

Writing
Process

Student devotes a lot of

time and effort to the
writing process
(prewriting, drafting,
reviewing, and editing).
Works hard to make the
story wonderful.

Student devotes sufficient

time and effort to the
writing process
(prewriting, drafting,
reviewing, and editing).
Works and gets the job
done.

Student devotes some

time and effort to the
writing process but was
not very thorough.

Student devotes
little time and
effort to the
writing process.

Focus on
Assigned
Topic

The entire story is

related to the assigned
topic and allows the
reader to understand
much more about the
topic.

Most of the story is related

to the assigned topic. The
story wanders off at one
point, but the reader can
still learn something
about the topic.

Some of the story is

related to the assigned
topic, but a reader does
not learn much about
the topic.

No attempt has
been made to
relate the story to
the assigned topic.

Organize

The story is very well

organized. One idea or
scene follows another in
a logical sequence with
clear transitions.

The story is pretty well

organized. One idea or
scene may seem out of
place. Clear transitions
are used.

The story is a little hard

to follow. The
transitions are
sometimes not clear.

Ideas and scenes

seem to be
randomly
arranged.

Accuracy of
Facts

All facts presented in

the story are accurate.

Almost all facts presented

in the story are accurate.

Most facts presented in

the story are accurate
(at least 70%).

There are several

factual errors in
the story.

Creativity

The story contains many

creative details/
descriptions that
contribute to the
reader's enjoyment. The
author has used
imagination.

The story contains a few

creative details/
descriptions that
contribute to the reader's
enjoyment. The author has
used imagination.

The story contains a

few creative details/
descriptions, but they
distract from the story.
The author has tried to
use imagination.

There is little
evidence of
creativity in the
story. The author
does not seem to
have used much
imagination.

Required
Elements

All of the written

requirements (# of
pages, # of graphics,
type of graphics, etc.)
were met.

Almost all (about 90%) the

written requirements
were met.

Most (about 75%) of the

written requirements
were met, but several
were not.

Many requirements
were not met.

Spelling and
Punctuation
(S&P)

There are no S&P errors

in the final draft.

There is few S&P error in

the final draft.

There are some S&P

errors in the final draft.

The final draft has

many S&P errors.