Resources For Teaching Middle School
Lesson Plans & Classroom Exercises
King Arthur: How He Became King?"
A lesson plan by Janet Blaylock for middle schools and high schools, posted on the
LocalSchoolDirectory web site.
King Arthur and George Washington: A
Thought Experiment on the Historical Arthur, by Alan Baragona
Life
Inside Castle Walls
A lesson plan by Trudy Driskell for 7th and 8th graders. "Students will learn about
life in the Middle Ages . . . use their information and creativity to design a castle and a personal
coat of arms [and] plan a medieval feast."
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Projects and Activities
Becky Fleming's Fifteen Simple Activities and
Assignments
A list of varied and creative ideas for introducing K-12 students to the Middle Ages
through King Arthur, Chaucer, and Dante.
Coats of Arms and Castles
Art Project Director, Susan Holman of Lusher Elementary and Middle Schools
conducted these projects in 1998-99. This is part of the website for Loyola University's
"Summer Teachers Institute,
'Making the Middle Ages Fun,'
that was sponsored by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in June of 2000. Our
on-going project has been to create a website that might serve as a resource for teachers K-12
who include (or even would like to include) medieval materials in their courses. The contents
here are as eclectic as our interests and teaching experiences. Here you will find syllabi,
handouts,
and reviews of material that we have found helpful in our own teaching and studies. We've also
tried to create links to web materials that seem particularly useful as well."
Two Introductory Activities for the Middle Ages
Two activities conceived by Della Hutchison of Mifflinburg Middle School, PA, to
introduce students to medieval culture: What's My Hat? and Old World, New World. Hutchison
gives a detailed account of tasks, purposes, resources needed, procedures, follow-up activities,
and the subjects each activity satisifes.
Organizing a Medieval Activities Day
A detailed set of instructions by Della Hutchison of Mifflinburg Middle School, PA,
that covers medieval activities for art, biology, home economics, music, physical education,
physics, technical education, and miscellaneous games. Hutchison covers all the logistics, from
gathering resources and getting administrative approval to piquing student interest and getting
cooperation from other faculty.
King Arthur for Kids
"The Loyola and LEH Summer Institute, 'King Arthur for Kids' is a four week
intensive seminar for elementary and middle school teachers (K-8) in the Greater New Orleans
area. Its purpose is to explore the legend of King Arthur to understand its origins and
development so that teachers might help students understand the way that legends grow and
function in our own society. Most important will be the exploration of why this story endured,
becoming a part not only of British or even Western Culture but of world culture as well. This
understanding will lead to a consideration of several enduring themes: identity and destiny,
discovery of self, and the pledging of oneself to something greater than one's self. Finally, we
will
explore some of the more modern reworkings of the legend that have become cultural staples in
our own and, again, world culture. Such modern accounts encompass the visual arts as well as
music (both popular and classical) and touch upon disciplines such as Literature, Philosophy, Art
History, Architecture, Mythology, History, and Sociology. An important part of the Institute's
focus will be on developing pedagogical strategies to enhance the learning experience and
cross-cultural understanding of their students, which will include developing craft projects and
local field trips. Participants will be asked to contribute to the web page generated last year for
'Making the Middle Ages Fun,'
so that other area teachers might benefit from the participants' ideas and experiences."
Synopses and ordering information for two Arthurian plays created by Kids 4 Broadway for elementary
and middle school students (recommended for ages 8-15), Merlin and the Magic
Sword and
Sir Gawain and
the Loathly Lady.
Swords Beneath Camelot: The Quest for Excalibur
Synopsis and ordering information for an Arthurian play by Lane Riosley. Encore
Performance Publishing also has scripts for other plays with medieval themes or settings.
Arthurian Origami
Website connected to a book of the same name. "Anyone who can fold a simple
origami
crane will be able to re-create the legend of King Arthur--castles, knights, sorcerers, dragons, and
all." You need the book for complete instructions, but the website has numerous detailed
pictures of the paper folding possibilities.
Bill's World of
Multimedia Education
A website for teachers, created by Bill Sutschek of Safety Harbor Middle School,
Florida, including multimedia resources for teaching
Arthurian Legend.
A Millennial Quest for Arthur
"In January 2000 two undergraduate students left for a month-long research trip, sponsored
by Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama. After traveling over 3000 miles
across the Island of Britain, we created this site for people who wish to learn more about those
places associated with King Arthur and the legends attached to them." Created by students
Joseph W.C. Boyles and W. Jacob Livingston, III, this site is beautifully organized and has lots
of
photographs. Suitable for all levels.
The Many Realms of
King Arthur
"BOOKLOOK, a publication of the Boulder Public Library, is intended to connect kids
with books. . . . BOOKLOOK's premiere online edition celebrates the The Many Realms
of King Arthur, a traveling Exhibition to America's Libraries organized by the American
Library Association, in cooperation with and based on the renowned Arthurian collections
of the Newberry Library, Chicago and the New York Public Library. . . . The Many
Realms of King Arthur traces the development of the Arthurian legends from their origins
in the Middle Ages to their latest adaptations in the 20th century. It considers versions of the
legend told in Britain, America and throughout Europe while suggesting some of the other places
to which they have traveled. It demonstrates the various forms in which the story has been told:
poetry, drama, prose, opera, popular song, musical theatre, film, dance, novels, children's
literature, comics, video games." The site includes links to bibliographies and puzzles for
children.
Kamishibai Story Telling for Medieval Tales
Kamishibai were a form of Japanese folk art from the 1920s to the 1950s in which
itinerant candy sellers would use painted storyboards to tell a story. Gretchen Lee of Old
Orchard Upper School had her 6th-graders do a series of kamishibai for Beowulf,
and she also provides instructions for organizing a similar project, which could easily be adapted
to Arthurian stories.
The Knight with the
Lion
The Knight with the Lion is an exciting, interactive resource for children. It tells
the story of Yvain, one of King Arthur's knights, and his intrepid lion companion, as well as
Gawain, Lancelot and others. Readers get to choose which knights to follow and which
adventures to explore, and to make decisions for them, as they wander through the mysterious
Forest of Broceliande. The Reader can discover all aspects of medieval life, from armour and
warfare to castles and clothing through the historical link material, with vivid illustrations and
photographs and clear explanation.
This site is provided by Aberdeen University's Literature Website.
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Site Administrator: Alan Baragona BaragonaA@vmi.edu
Last revised: February 5, 2007
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