Medieval

Times

Katie Hostutler
EDU 320
Text Set

Text Set Book 1

1. Osborne, M. P. (1993). The knight at dawn. New York: Random House.

2. Grade Level: Grades 2-5

Ages: 6-9
Content Area: History
Genre: Historical Fiction
3. This book would be most effectively presented after the students have learned some
information about the medieval time period. This book would be fun for students to
read towards the end of the unit. They could even act out some of the scenes from
the book.
4. In The Knight at Dawn, Jack and Annie take a trip to the medieval time period in
their magic tree house. They explore a castle, meet a knight in shining armor, and
escape a near arrest. Throughout their trip they are learning different facts about
castles and medieval life from a book that they brought with them. This book helps
save their lives!
5. A follow up activity to this book would be having the students make their own
medieval outfits and put on a play! The boys could make shields and swords and the
girls can make tiaras and dress up like princesses

Text Set Book 2

1. Royal, P. (2016). Land of shadows: A medieval mystery. Scottsdale, AZ:

Poisoned Pen Press.

2. Grade Level: 6-8

Ages: 11-14

Content Area: Language Arts

Genre: Mystery

3. While reading this book, students will learn about the different parts of a story
(characters, plot, climax, solution, etc.). The students will learn that there are
different types of books and we will be focusing on mysteries. Students will have to
write their own mystery story.
4. Prioress Eleanor and the nurse Sister Anne are headed to Woodstock Manor where
Eleanors father has been stricken with illness. Sir Hugh and his bastard son are also
headed to the Manor to visit. They find one of the attendants to the queen hanged in
her bedroom. Everyone in the manor hides the information from the queen while
they investigate whether this was a suicide or a murder.
5. Parents are invited to the school for a Meet the Detectives event. Before the
parents arrive, students will set up many clues throughout the school that will lead
the parents on a mystery hunt that will lead back to the classroom. Students will
dress up as a detective and read the mystery they have written to their parents.

Text Set Book 3

1. Heer, F. (1962). The medieval world: Europe 1100-1350 (J. Sondheimer, Trans.).
London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
2. Grade Level: 9-12
Ages: 11-18
Content Area: History
Genre: Nonfiction
3. This book is a great textbook to use when learning about historical facts of the Middle
Ages in Europe. The students will refer to this book after learning about what Medieval
Europe was like. They can choose a chapter and compare and contrast Medieval Europe
to modern day America or modern day Europe.
4. Friedrich Heer writes about the main elements of the life and culture of the Middle
Ages. He describes how the resilient society of twelfth century Europe turned into the
medieval world: a fourteenth century of religious and intellectual intolerance. He gives
a detailed summary of the height of the middle ages and includes areas that are often
overlooked such as the relationship between the aristocracy and the peasantry, love
and literature, and science. He discusses the issues of the faith of church and people, the
crusades and the conflict of eastern and western Christianity, and popular religious
movements, among many more topics.
5. To expand this content area, students will be divided into groups and given a chapter of
the book to identify the most important details. They will use whatever technology
presentation tool they prefer to present the information to the rest of the class.

Text Set Book 4

1. Macdonald, F. (2005). How to be a medieval knight. Washington, D.C.: National

Geographic.

2. Grade Level: Grades 3-7

Ages: 8-12

Content Area: Language Arts

Genre: Informational

3. This book would be read aloud to students during centers. After learning about knights,
the students will refer back to the book to see the different requirements and steps for
becoming a medieval knight. The students will then create their own How to lesson.
They will choose a topic and teach the class how to do the topic that they chose. This
measures their skills in following and writing steps in the correct order.
4. How to Be a Medieval Knight provides all of the necessary information that a person
needs to know before becoming a knight. It includes details about social classes,
training, equipment, and survival. Once a person is found worthy of becoming a knight,
this book teaches us about going into battle, sieges, tournaments, and rewards!
Although being a knight is only useful in a time of war, we can learn about what these
people did during a time of peace and in their spare time.
5. A follow up activity could be having the students watch a video on Youtube about
jousting and jousting tournaments. Students will then compete in a jousting
tournament. Two students will compete at the same time by standing on a small
platform and using pool noodles as their swords.

Text Set Book 5

1. Creech, S. (2007). The castle corona. New York: Joanna Cotler Books.

2. Grade Level: Grades 3-5

Ages: 8-11

Content Area: Language Arts

Genre: Fairy Tale

3. This book can be presented with a lesson on characters. After learning about the
different classes of people in medieval times, the students will read this book and pick
out the different characters. They will create a list of characters with their specific
characteristics. Students will be given a prompt and will have to write a short
paragraph from the point of view of the different characters in the story. This measures
students understanding of character development.
4. Pia and her brother Enzio are peasants living in the shadow of the Castle Corona. They
serve a demanding master who puts them to work. They know nothing about their
parents and they dream of living in the beautiful Castle Corona where they can wear
nice clothing, eat delicious foods, and have an easy and luxurious life. The King and
Queen of the Castle Corona and their three children live that dream that Pia and Enzio
want. However, they are surprisingly dissatisfied with their way of living. They dream
of freedom from their duties and adventures out in the world. When one day, a thief
steal a leather pouch from the castle and the story embarks on the flipped worlds of the
peasants and royals as dreams come true and secrets come out.
5. An activity for this lesson is to assign students different roles to act out. They will act
and be treated as if they were from that period and will write about their experience.

6.

Text Set Book 6

1. Pyle, H. (1954). The story of King Arthur and his knights. New York: C.

Scribners Sons.

2. Grade Level: Grades 9-12
Ages: 11-18

Content Area: History

Genre: Legend & Myth

3. To introduce this book, students will have already learned a few things about the
legend of King Arthur and his Knights. Together, the class will create a timeline of
his adventures on the board and identify the geographical regions he visited. This
will give them a better understanding of the setting of the story. After they become
familiar with King Arthurs adventures, they will research to compare and contrast
the real life of King Arthur versus the man in the legends and stories.
4. This book takes its readers back to the world of King Arthur and his Round Table.
We follow King Arthur on his many adventures as he removes the sword from the
stone, wins the heart of the beloved Guinevere, defeats the evil Morgana le Fay, and
mourns the loss of the magical Merlin. This book brings chivalry, magic, and drama
back into the lives of its readers.
5. To follow up, students will research the lives of one of the other Knights of the
Round Table and create a case file on them. They will present their Knight to the
class by creating a Biteable video presentation.

Text Set Book 7

1. Osborne, M.P. (1998). Favorite medieval tales. New York: Scholastic Press.
2. Grade Level: Grades 4-7

Ages: 9-13

Content Area: Language Arts

Genre: Fable/Folk Tale

3. To present this book, students will learn that there were no written stories in the
medieval time period. Not many people knew how to read or write so stories were
shared by word of mouth. A few students will be chosen to read a story in the book
and then repeat the story to their peers from what they remember. This will
measure the students communication skills and will allow them to summarize and
identify the most important parts of the story.
4. In the medieval times, there were no books or stories written down. The tales of
heroic knights, brave heroes, and mighty dragons were kept alive by the voices of
the people who told them. Later, when written language was established, the stories
were written down in beautiful manuscripts. This book is a collection of nine of
those stories, including the tales of Sir Gawain, Beowulf, and Robin Hood.
5. To further this lesson, students will be divided into groups and will choose one story
out of the book. Each group will perform the story as a play. The students will then
go on a field trip to Medieval Times Restaurant and Tournament so they can eat
traditional medieval meals and watch a tournament.